I just want to say a BIG thank you to all who provided feedback on how to run Grill a Christian events. The advice and tips are really helpful as we look to putting on this type of shindig in the future, and there is still loads of time to send me your own experiences If you have not done so already. At some stage I will compile a guide to running this kind of event and publish it over at grillachristian.com, but first I would like to put one on. With that end in mind I have started building a website with a feature set that will compliment question asking at these events. Watch THIS space.
Recently been inspired to set up a regular Grill a Christian event for our older church youth group (15-18). In a nut shell these events are an opportunity for people to ask tough questions to a panel of Christians and are stepping stone to events like Alpha.
So Im on a hunt to find out what works best and need the following questions answered.
What format do you take for your event?
Do you include other content slots like live music & entertainment?
How do you manage and source questions??
What technology do you currently use? Hardware, texting, web?
Where is the best place to run such an event?
How did Grill-a-Christian start, does it have history?
Also considering setting up a website where guests can ask questions in advance. There is a possibility that the feature set could be useful for other groups and become a resource base on how to conduct these events. So in anticipation I have just registerd grillachristian.com. I invite you to answer the above questions and watch this space. Any help would be fab.
So we have our first Ignite this Friday for our youth group called “Level-x” at County Church. Ignite is basically a youth service where we have a short game, worship and a talk with the youth having a chance to hang out at the end. We have about 20 young people coming regularly now, which is fantastic, with more lads which has been a answer to prayer. We have previously been meeting in the living rooms of generous people but have just moved to a hall on an housing estate which means our youth have more space but also means that we have a consistent place for our youth to meet which is near to them.
We have been living with the theme of Identity and have a series of related talks lined up. Some of our older youth have begun taking responsibility for leading in various ways which is mega awesome and I have been really proud to see them growing in this area. The growth we are experiencing means we need more practised leaders with time to serve, particularly a female leader for our young girls, we are praying and seeking someone who is called in this area.
As it’s our first event we are still learning what will work and wont work but in a typical youthful passion we are going for it! My prayer is that God meets with our youth and that it becomes a highlight in the monthly calendar for our young people. I continue to hold on to what James says “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” there is absolutely no reason we can’t encourage our youth in this way. You can find out what is happening with our youth on our Level-x facebook page.
You may have read my previous posts on treasure hunting, if not let me briefly explain. Basically Treasure Hunting is a new name for having divine God scheduled adventures, something that Christians have been doing for centuries. In small teams you pray that God gives you pictures, visions (the clues) which you then write down on some paper (treasure map) and then head out looking for the people (the treasure) who match the clues. These clues can be placed in all sorts of categories including appearance, aliment, names, locations and the just plain odd. So far I have been on three treasure hunting expeditions but wanted to share the last one I went on in Brighton in a Treasure hunting seminar we did at Mobilise.
So what is the 24/7 Prayer movement, how did it start? Do people really pray for 24 hours straight?! This documentary on 24/7 Prayer was originally made as part of a university dissertation and reveals how it is impacting people world wide since it’s humble beginnings (filmed in 2006).
There is a story behind the filming of the documentary. One of the student film makers producing the documentary found himself so impacted by the prayer room goings-on (combined with ‘Alpha’ and a little book called Purpose Driven Life bought by Jim) he decided to become a Christian, pretty much while on shoot. The last two scenes you see are of the moment Tom becomes a Christian, and the wonderful aftermath… Booyakasha!
I have seen for myself the outcomes of 12/7 Prayer in a Church community. It’s fantastic to see people who want to spend time with God and who want others to know about how awesome He is. Conversing, listening and loving God (prayer) really does rock socks as it helps us be who we were made to be, worshipers of Christ! To be totally honest a church without prayer is like a hamburger without the meat. It’s also possible that prayer without a truth guzzling Church becomes very wishy washy with no firm hunky holding.
In the UK alone 75% of the population apparently admit to praying at least once – many of whom don’t consider them selves followers of Jesus.
It looks like the Treasure Trail Healing Stories I blogged about in my last post, “Treasure Hunting Leads to Seven Youth Heald!“, are inspired by a Book by Kevin Dedmon called “The Ultimate Treasure Hunt“. I have added it to the Library section on this website, man I really want to read it! If you want to have an advanced read before you get your mits on it can do that on the US Amazon site. Thanks to Nat Carey for pointing the book out to me.
We as Christians seem to either go jelly at the knees or “wowzer!” when we hear of stories of people getting healed today. I was suddenly struck that actually we have a whole Bible crammed with awesome stories and practical examples where people have been healed by God’s power. These are reasons enough to get out there and begin praying for people, but Jesus says something that I feel gives us total permission and freedom in the knowledge that we too can do this work and heal people in John 14:12-14. Thank you Jesus!
I know I need to stop looking at the tails where Jesus healed as a surface stories but dive deep in to the relevancy they have for us today and to not only think about it but get practical about it because they are strong exhortations to GET CRACKING for HIS KINGDOM!
I came across this awesome video testimony with a chap named Simon Holley who is the lead elder at King’s Arms Church. Him and a friend called Tabo basically asked God to be their treasure map and were directed to people to pray for through pictures given to them. They directed to a group of youth and the results were amazing with the mark of an awesome God interested in revealing Himself as the ultimate treasure. “Treasure come and treasure go but Jesus your eternally mine”
You can find more on the Treasure Hunts at the King’s Arms Church website I found this video indirectly through Andy Bradley’s blog Theologising. I love stories like this where God is directing, inviting us to get involved in seeking people, healing and encouraging people to make decisions. If you have any simillar stories where God is working why don’t you share them in the comment section?
UPDATE:
There are also some brilliant audio testimonies from church members doing street encounters using the Treasure Hunt method. The one published on 29/11/08 is particularly encouraging.
This is the site of web enthusiast Dan Lee. He is pretty normal most of the time and likes smoothies, drumming, movie making, designing, being Church and knowing Jesus.
