AUGUST 2013 ISSUE 8

What a year this has been so far! It has had highs and lows and the occasional periods of calm! The highs have been seeing prodigals returning, seeing new people come to faith in Christ, seeing our influence spread as national figures have come to Kingfisher to see for themselves what is happening here. Some of those national leads have since spoken widely about how impressed they have been by what they have witnessed. Sir Michael Rawlings (retired Head of NICE) and Duncan Selbie (Chief Executive of Public Health, England) are just two examples of those who have spoken publicly of the impact that Kingfisher has had on them and is having in the community.

There have been tough times as well, as Kingfisher church in Brockworth decided to leave the network and become an independent church. This has torn relationships apart and caused great pain. Another low point came when we learned that the County Council had decided not to award us the Chequers Bridge building to deliver our vision of serving the community around us.

What have these times taught us? That it is absolutely crucial where we place our hope. Not in buildings, or even in visions of what might happen, but in Jesus Christ alone. Psalm 25:5 reminds us, “All day long I put my hope in you”. When we are faced with hard, challenging times, when setbacks happen and we are facing mountains, this verse

needs to be focussed on with fresh intensity. These are times that we often refer to as 'Discipleship Development Moments'... times when we are tempted to feel our hope slipping away and when we feel like giving up. These times are defining moments, when we can either succumb to those temptations or we can choose to follow the example of the psalmist and choose to put our hope in Him all day long.

Discipleship Development Moments are opportunities to come back to Jesus Christ in fresh dependence and with fresh resolve to put all our hope and trust in him to bring about his purposes in our lives. He really is the only one truly worthy of all our trust. And so, as we come back to him and put all our hope in him, we wait on him to lift us up

and show us the next move we should take. Waiting on him is, in itself, all part of the Discipleship Development Moment. As Isaiah 40 reminds us,

"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."(Isaiah 40:31 NASB).

The Hebrew word for wait is Qavah, literally means 'twist together'. Twist what together? It is referring to the separate twines of a rope that are twisted together to form that strong rope. What might those twines refer to? They refer to the Christian disciplines of prayer, reading the Bible, building strong Christian relationships, listening out for the still, small voice of God.

So, we take the opportunities in these Discipleship Development Moments, of renewing our hope and trust in The Lord. We come back to Him and wait on Him - not passively or half-heartedly, but in the true sense of Qavah - we twist together all those things a disciple of Christ is called to do and we wait expectantly for God to take us forward.

The second half of this year is going to be an exciting and fruitful time. Remember the threefold theme of this this year: hope, homecoming and harvest. All our hope is in him as we increasingly celebrate the homecoming of the prodigals and the harvest of all of His amazing promises!

Discipleship Development Moments

THE NETWORK

“It is absolutely crucial where we place our hope. Not in buildings, or even in visions of what might happen, but in Jesus Christ alone.”

Every Thursday, a team of four volunteers spend between 11.15 am and 2.30 pm serving the hungry in our community at Gloucester’s Foodbank. We make up food parcels, serve teas and coffees, listen, advise and sometimes pray with them. This ministry is motivated by the Bible’s teaching in Isaiah 58:9-12 and Matthew 25:35 -36, which challenges us to reach out to others by showing kindness, charity, justice and generosity. Other people from Kingfisher are involved in different ways, see the ‘thank you’ section at the end.

Our teams are mixed. The majority come from within Kingfisher, but we also have friends of team members who serve. Of these, two are Christians from different churches and two are non Christians. Each team is made up of a supervisor who has overall responsibility for the running of each session and three volunteers. Before the doors open at 11.30 am, sessions begin with prayer, where we ask God to protect us, and give us with wisdom plus His ears and hearts to serve the people we will be meeting with that day.

Veronica Tullett and I lead the ministry. I took over this role in Autumn 2011 and Veronica joined me later in 2012. It is a privilege for both of us to serve alongside such passionate and committed people. We also see many blessings, as God works in the lives of both clients and volunteers. One volunteer who isn’t a Christian visited Kingfisher one Sunday and found it (for

positive reasons) very unlike any other church she has been to. She has read all our leaflets of Kingfisher services and activities and regularly and enthusiastically signposts many clients to our church.

One vision I feel God has given me for the team is that of seeing it grow into a group of people who have connections outside of the weekly rota. Last year we began to have the occasional social group where we could all come together to share food and fellowship. Recently, this has extended into a small group type meeting once a month, where a few of us have met to seek God on where He is leading us, look at what He is saying and pray together for both Foodbank and for one another. Last time, we looked at the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which ones we feel God has equipped us with and how we are using these within Foodbank. This was a very encouraging time for us all.

From September, this is changing again into a day time group which will enable more people to join us. Initially it will have mainly a social aspect but we are hoping that as people feel more comfortable we can include some

prayer and look at how God is calling us to serve.

Veronica and I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who serves or helps in any way with Foodbank. This includes:

- those on the regular rota and the emergency cover rota

- everyone who generously donates food to the box kept at the back of church, which is then delivered to Foodbank where it is very gratefully received

- people who volunteer at supermarket collections across the city

- Kingfisher church who have donated some of their tithe money to Foodbank to help it with its running costs for maintaining the building.

All these contributions are greatly appreciated and valued.

If anyone has any questions or would like to know anything else about Foodbank, please come and speak to Veronica or myself.

Felicity Tutton

News from the Network

Gloucester Foodbank

You can read more about this and one other newspaper article in the following links:

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/pound-1-50-Gloucester-Foodbank-Easter-feed-family/story-18563136-detail/story.html#axzz2Y3wKNAVN

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Feed-Family-Christmas-support-Gloucester-Foodbank/story-17466087-detail/story.html#axzz2Y3wKNAVN

THIS PHOTO FROM A LOCAL NEWSPAPER WAS TAKEN TO SUPPORT AN APPEAL MADE BY FOODBANK THIS EASTER TO LOCAL PEOPLE. PICTURED ARE ANNELIESE STERRY (LEFT), MANAGER AT FOODBANK AND, MARY CRESSWELL (RIGHT), ONE OF OUR KINGFISHER SUPERVISORS.

News from the Network

One Eighty across the Network

It is with a mixture of sorrow and excitement that I would like to announce my exit from serving within the youth ministry. The last seven years of getting alongside our church's

teenagers has been such an amazing privilege and a great experience all round. God clearly feels the time is ripe for me to move on to pastures new. It has been such a blessing to be a part of such a brilliant team of youth leaders and as I step forward into the prayer counselling team, I pray that God will continue to bless all that goes on with our young

people. They have such a bright future within our church and I really look forward to seeing where God takes them on their next steps. I'd like to wish the team well as they step up to

make Gods kingdom within the youth ministry a real blessing.

• Please be praying for our team as they so faithfully serve our young people. We wouldn’t have these groups if it wasn’t for them.

• Please also be praying for our young people as they head off to soul survivor. It is such an opportunity for them to really engage with God, and for some of our young people, for the first time.

• If you are interested in helping out in youthwork, either at Kingsway or Tredworth, please let me know. We need more volunteers to help with all the different groups we have going on in this forever expanding ministry! We have all sorts of groups, from Bible studies and small groups, to outreach and places to hang, as well as all girl groups and prayer counselling. From teaching to pastoral needs we could do with support!

There is a lot going on in this ministry across the

network, and with all of this there is a great need.

A message from Andy Davis

One Eighty is the name of the youth ministry across the network. Not everyone knows the reason why its called One Eighty. The reason is because we turn 180 degrees from doing things our way, to doing things Gods way. It’s that about turn that’s life changing and that is ultimately what we want for our young people, LIFE CHANGE!

At Kingsway we are seeing this more and more. We have seen young people getting baptised, and more young people giving their lives to God.

We have recently had to move location from Coco Coffee Shop to the local community centre, because we have out grown it! We have almost doubled in size in the last year. Its a fantastic group with a lot of energy but at the same time a real peace and maturity!

This year we have nearly all of One Eighty at Kingsway going to Soul survivor again, which is great news! Due to the shape of our church, being very young people and children orientated, the church is getting behind our young people by praying for them on the

morning we leave, and then providing lifts to Crypt. Its a real family time which is great!

At Tredworth we have seen the launch of ONE EIGHTY BREAKFAST and ONE EIGHTY SUNDAY. On a Sunday morning we have turned our original sessions into a place to come and chill and have breakfast together! I have heard that Simons bacon rolls are the particular favourite!

This has been great as we have seen real growth in the mornings, plus a lot of the guys that come along to One Eighty Friday have been coming along regularly.

On a Sunday evening we have been going deeper into what the Bible says about relative topics, using media and discussing together what the Bible has to say about these topics. It has had some great questions asked, and there is a great atmosphere from the young people really wanting and needing to hear what the Bible has to say!

Craig TuckerOne Eighty Network Co-ordinator

News from the Network

Kingfisher Resources

Have you read any of the books published by Kingfisher Resources, or completed any of the Leadership Training workbooks? Then we need you! Kingfisher Resources needs some reviews. These would be great to go on the Kingfisher Resources website and we are needing people to upload positive reviews to websites such as Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com! They can range from a couple of sentences in length to a few paragraphs. For more information - or to submit a review then email katie@kingfisher.org.uk

We need your help!

Kingfisher Resources is entering into an exciting phase in its development. We are gearing up for the launch of the Leadership Training Programme at the Christian Resources Exhibition in the NEC in early October. With over 200 exhitibitors and many thousands of visitors each day this promises to be a great event! We have been extremely blessed in that we have a corner stand in a great location so hopefully we should be hard to miss! In fact you can come and see us at the event on either the 3rd or 4th October as we have some free tickets to give away! Come see us as the wide range of exhibitors packed full of various Christian Resources! If you would like a ticket then just email katie@kingfisher.org.uk and once we have received our allocation we will send you details!

Christian Resources Exhibition

3rd/4th October

NEC

Kingfisher Resources is starting to build a great library of self-published

resources

Check out these books, and more at www.resources1.kingfisher.org.uk

News from Kingfisher Kingsway

We have had a busy few terms at Little Fishes where we have been continuing to invite the children and parents to social and church events. Earlier in the term we invited families to our father’s day service and picnic, we had a lovely meal together at the local pub in Kingsway, and we had a picnic planned in June which unfortunately got cancelled due to wet weather!

On 12th July we went on our Summer trip to Dick Whittington Farm Park in Longhope. Due to the fundraising that we’ve been doing throughout the year we were able to pay for everyone to get into the park. It was a lovely sunny day and most of us started outside looking at all the animals and playing on the electric cars, before going inside to the soft play barn, tramoplines and slides. As you can see from our photos great fun was had by everyone!

Over the summer holidays we are having some craft and play sessions with the aim to create a summer themed display to put on the big notice board at church. These sessions started with one at Kingfisher Tredworth in the first week of the holidays and will continue every Sunday during the holidays in sunshine club. Children will have the

opportunity to help with a different aspect of the large display each session, as well as a smaller craft on the same theme that they can take home with them.

Finally, we wish all our Little Fishes who are starting school in September good luck and a happy reception year - some of these children have been with us since we started the group four and a half years ago!

CRAFT AND PLAY SESSIONS

Every Sunday, 10-11am, during the holidays

(during the church service)

at Kingfisher church Kingsway Kingsway Primary School

Every Friday afternoon in term time kingfisher Tredworth is inundated with children, the majority of whom come from the local area, bursting with enthusiasm for another session of impact youth. This is a group where children in years 3-9 can come along and try out singing, dancing, puppet skills or drama.   

As you can see from the photos the children gain confidence and build their group working skills and develop their talents over the term and this all culminates in a fabulous show at the end of the term. We've covered themes as far and wide from My Favourite Things to High School Musical and the enthusiasm never wavers.  

As ever, the group can't run without the dedicated team of volunteers so if you feel God put this ministry on your heart and can help out in any way please see Sal or Rach. Remember these children are our future. Come and help build then up!  

Treasure Seekers Performing Arts (TSPA) put on a brilliant performance of Dreamboats and Petticoats from 22-24 March 2013. Celebrating the Rock ‘N’ Roll era of the late 1950s and early 1960s - the place was certainly rocking.

The singing group opened the show with a great rendition of Cliff Richard’s “Do You Wanna Dance” followed by the dance group who brilliantly danced their way through “Let’s Twist Again“. Next followed the drama group’s accurate interpretation of “Stars In Their Eyes” with appearances from Elvis, Roy Orbison, Connie Francis and Buddy Holly! I have never seen so many celebrities in one place! The Pink Ladies and Danny from “Grease” were there, and Frank Sinatra just to name a few. Even the President of the USA was there and

Marilyn Monroe was singing “Happy Birthday” to him!

There was the most amazing display I have ever seen by the art, design & photography team who dressed up and posed for some spectacular photographs. The belly dancing team shimmied their way through “You Really Got Me” and the finale song of “Rock and Roll is Here To Stay” brought the curtain down on another fantastic show.

Well done everyone! Watch out for the next newsletter for a report on our Summer Holiday show and details of our forthcoming Christmas show. Come and join us!

Treasure Seekers Performing Arts Show

News from Kingfisher Tredworth

Per forming Ar ts

News from Kingfisher Tredworth

The Monday Toddler group at Tredworth went on a well deserved away day at Dick Whittington Farm Park in Longhope.

The coach arrived there as the park opened at 10am and a great time was had by all.

Dick Whittington’s has a large indoor soft play area with trampolines and a range of slides that even challenged some of the adults bravery! The outside areas include a selection of animals to look at and feed, ranging from peacocks through to small ponies. There is a reptile house and a selection of barn owls to view with opportunities to become more hands on during the 'petting sessions' where our children got to handle chicks, snakes and even a giant screaming cockroach!

Children also enjoyed racing around the go kart track on a range of battery operated vehicles.

We had a fantastic day this was proven by the fact that most of the children (and several of the adults) were fast asleep on the coach by the time we arrived back in Tredworth!

Little Fishes Summer Trip

Wednesday 18th Jan

Saturday 9th November9.30am-12noon

at Kingfisher Tredworth

Contact Stuart Gray for more info(stuart.gray@windriver.com, 07771-603-750)

Saturday 14th September10am - 4pm

at Kingfisher Tredworth

Network Day of Celebration

including renewing of the vision and recommitment as we move forward into the new adventures that God

has for us. This will be a powerful and praise-filled day for everyone who calls Kingfisher home. After a

turbulent and yet very fruitful year, come and be part of this wonderful, Spirit-filled event. There will be

children's activities throughout the day.

Kingfisher NetworkKingfisher ChurchMoor StreetTredworthGloucesterGL1 4NJ

www.kingfisher.org.ukinfo@kingfisher.org.uk

+441452 304339

© Kingfisher Church, 2013

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