A New Chapter Begins to Unfold…

So it turns out I’m not very good at updating this regularly! So read on to see what we’ve been up to at Gaines Manor over the past few months: renovation projects, groups and almost the start of a new chapter.

Thanks for supporting me by reading this! If you would like to financially support me, you can do so here: https://www.give.net/20216952.

Happy reading!

Day 732

The students and twenties group from Woodgreen Church: After Eights, came for their weekend away at the beginning of February. The cold weather meant hanging out in the Lounge (where the fire was) was a must! A few of the team joined in with the group, as the doctrine of the Holy Spirit was unpacked.

Day 737

In early February, the members of Woodgreen Church affirmed the elders’ recommendation for Ben Putt to be appointed as Assistant Pastor, with a view to planting a church in Droitwich within 2 years. As you can imagine, this throws up some big changes for us at Gaines – we’re currently in the recruitment process for the next Director of Ministry – Ben’s replacement.

On a personal level, this has been heart wrenching for me: Ben and his family are very dear to me – it will be so painful when they move away, but I can also recognise the Gospel need there is in Droitwich. Living and working at Gaines Manor is really unlike any other situation: I not only work alongside Ben every day in full time gospel ministry, but his family are also my next door neighbours and close friends, and their kids have a special place in my heart. This big change means Ben hands me the baton for all the day to day running of the centre; I’ve already started to take on most of this, but am frankly scared for September, with 8 consecutive groups already confirmed. So please please pray for all of us in the change.

Day 739

The interns have been getting stuck into every aspect of life here at Gaines. Which, now that walls have been knocked down (and rebuilt) and pretty much every square inch of the rooms on the first floor have been sanded, means it’s been painting time!

Day 745

We ditched our painting clothes in favour of posh frocks to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a team – Mexican style! It was a real joy to be able to spend this together as a team.

Day 746

We FINALLY finished Room 2! It’s been a loooonngg time coming, but Neil has now moved into his flat we’ve been renovating!

Day 757

At MMTC (Midlands Ministry Training Course) we’ve been getting into 2 Samuel and Hosea, which has been both challenging on a personal level and stretching. As well as talk practice – 1 Thessalonians for the first years and Acts for the second years.

Day 766

We’re gradually improving the fabric and look of site. Some of these are essential but not so visible, like: fixing the roof, upgrading the fire alarm system and having some of the trees cut back. And some of these are more obvious, like: getting new signs!

Day 767

March brought us groups again: a welcome change after so much painting! Our first one was a new youth group from Nottingham. We enjoyed a programme of activities which involved: combat archery, bonfire, kayaking and an intense indoor games tournament among others. For the Bible teaching we were in Colossians 1: seeing that Jesus is the greatest ever King – so who else would we want to put our trust in?

Day 770

We finished renovating the rooms on the first floor! Complete with matching curtains, carpet, lampshades and bedding! We hope this will make the rooms a lot more welcoming for the groups that come and stay.

Day 772

To celebrate the end of renovation projects for this winter and groups returning, we had a team day out in Broadway: a very windy walk up to the tower and afternoon tea for 8!

Day 781

This time a returning group. Highlights included: wide games in the woods, some VERY competitive games of uno, a Friday night bonfire and combat archery in the sun! It was great to look at some of the ‘I am’ sayings of Jesus together – showing us the promises He makes to us to come to and trust in Him.

Day 788

This brought a returning youth group from Tewkesbury to us. Highlights included: wide games in the woods, getting creative in the art room, some competitive combat archery and of course s’mores round the bonfire! We were in Hebrews 12 for the Bible teaching, looking at how to keep going as a Christian.

Day 796

I was on the Norfolk Broads for a week on my annual sailing camp – the sun shone (some of the time), new friendships were made and old ones strengthened, we enjoyed some beautiful sailing, and got stuck into the storyline of the Bible: God’s plan to save His people. It was great to have time to have meaningful conversations about faith with the young people; I pray that they continue thinking and acting on what they heard from God’s Word.

Day 803

I went straight from my sailing camp to being on the 15s to 18s team at Word Alive (call me crazy). It was a joy to be able to open up 2 Timothy with the group of girls I had and see them really want to apply it to their lives.

Day 816

A new youth group from Birmingham came for their weekend away. It was a real joy to have them with us as we looked at God’s plan to save his people, in the book of Ephesians. We had possibly the most competitive combat archery session on record! Other activities we did together were a Wild West Murder Mystery, bushcraft down in the woods and games outside.

Day 823

40 eight to eleven year olds descended on us for the early May bank holiday weekend – fortunately we had lots of volunteers to help though! It was a packed programme: games altogether, craft, archery, film, wide games, bushcraft and we even invented a new way to play Jenga! In the teaching sessions we were seeing how there is only one way to God, and that’s through Jesus.

Day 837

It was great to have this youth group from Knutsford back with us in May. We were looking at Judges and how they show us how much we need a King. Other highlights included: a very wet rafting session, combat archery and a beautiful walk up the Malverns to see the sunset together.

Day 844

Another new youth group, this time from St Ebbe’s church in Oxford. We were looking at the letters to the churches at the start of Revelation, and were really challenged by what they have to say to us today. For the activities we enjoyed spending time together round the bonfire, getting wet on the lake during rafting and getting into character for the murder mystery. We also enjoyed some tasty breakfast muffins!

Day 847

We hosted our first Family Fun Day on the late May bank holiday Monday, and we were thrilled that somewhere around 150 people came out! To get a flavour of the day, here’s what we got up to: combat archery, LOTS of tea and cake, slushies, rafting, garden games and a hog roast lunch! We pray that as a result, more people will know about us, so we’ll ha e a few more groups come to us and more kids on summer camps.

Day 851

And it was another new youth group – what a blessing that God keeps sending them to us! God’s rescue was the teaching for the weekend – looking at the Exodus from Egypt. Other highlights were: s’mores round the bonfire, rafting on the lake and wide games up in the woods! All in all, a great weekend.

Day 858

This was a boys only weekend – our Dads & Lads event. We did all the kinds of thing boys love: making a massive fire, full English breakfast, finding their inner survivor down in the woods, shooting stuff (safely!) and getting wet on the lake! They also had the chance to get stuck into 2 Timothy in their family groups. We received some really encouraging feedback from the weekend – showing how beneficial it was for the dads and their lads.

Day 865

A new group for us from Wolverhampton. We were blessed with a beautiful rainbow on the Friday afternoon, good weather for the activities and some GREAT food! We opened up Hebrews 12 to see how we can keep going as Christians.

Day 870

After 19 hours of travelling I made it to where I’m staying in San Francisco! I’m Ben g a tourist for a few days, then on Sunday I head to ‘The Academy’ – a Christian camp run by Wheatstone Ministries. I’m on the leaders track and really looking forward to it! It’s a camp really unlike anything in the UK (hence why I’ve had to come to the other side of the Atlantic!).

Coming up…

I’m in California! I’ll try to post updates of what I’m up to and what it’s like on the camp most days – so check back for updates. Meanwhile back at Gaines there are youth groups at weekends.

Please Pray!

• For safe travels while I’m in the US, and that I learn loads while on ‘The Academy’
• For the team back at Gaines, that everything goes smoothly while I’m away
• For us to be able to recruit Ben’s replacement really soon
• For us to have enough interns for September, so that we can serve the groups we have coming in
• That we’d trust God in this time of change

Five groups, lots of tea and a trip to Devon later…

We’ve been packed out with groups over the past month or so, and I’ve even had a role change – read on to find out more! My position here at Gaines Manor with Camp XL is self-funded; if you feel able to partner with me financially, you can do so here.

Day 621

It was great to have back with us a group of dads and lads from a church near Chester, who last came to us 2 years ago. We got stuck into 2 Timothy in the meetings, where Paul gives instructions to his spiritual son Timothy to stand firm – so it was a great fit for the dads and lads. We had an action-packed weekend with the boys: there was rafting, combat archery, a bonfire, football at every opportunity, air rifles, an unforgettable evening of karaoke, and we also celebrated Beth’s birthday on the Sunday!

Day 628

We loved having one of our regular groups back with us: Kensington Baptist from Bristol. Myself and Ben wrote a new teaching programme for the weekend called ‘The King is Coming’ looking at the last 4 chapters of Revelation – needless to say the ask it basket was very full! But it was so encouraging to see the youth getting really stuck into God’s Word and asking lots of questions. Other highlights from the weekend included: getting competitive in combat archery, creating some arty designs in the graffiti room, enjoying smores round the bonfire, a murder mystery, and a walk in the beautiful countryside.

Day 631

I headed up to the beautiful Lake District for a week-long conference called ‘Culture Uncovered’ which was a joint venture between Keswick Ministries and Growing Young Disciples. Ted Turnau challenged us to think how popular culture and apologetics intersect. The week definitely left me with lots to go away and think about more, and I also managed to squeeze in a walk up Skiddaw, although it was quite windy and cloudy at the top!

Day 635

A new, relatively local group were with us for the weekend. They got really stuck into all the activities: wide games in the woods, toasted marshmallows round the bonfire, combat archery, kayaking and more. And for the Bible teaching, we based ourselves in Hebrews 12: looking at what it looks like to keep running the race as a Christian.

Day 640

Intern life over the past few weeks has been pretty varied: sorting out all the dressing up stuff, refilling the beanbags (which involved Emily making a snow angel on her birthday), working outside in the grounds with Neil, helping out at Holiday Bible Club at Woodgreen Church (and Beth getting gunged), and Neil (very bravely) agreeing to let Emily and Mary shave his head!

I’ve been busy in the office sorting out programmes, communicating with future groups, sending out newsletters and more. And was grateful to have some time off to see friends at the end of October.

Day 647

During an office team day (it was actually more exciting than it sounds) I received the exciting news that I’ve been promoted to General Manager! Which means I now oversee most of the practical aspects of day-to-day life at Gaines Manor. I’m so thankful to be working alongside Ben and Jeremy who graciously recognise the gifts God has given me.

Day 649

For our final youth group of 2018, we welcomed a new group from London: the Ethiopian Christian Fellowship. Despite a late arrival on the Friday night, we had a great time! For the teaching, we were looking at holiness from 1 Peter; a challenge for both the youth and ourselves. Other highlights from their time with us included: combat archery, hanging out in the Dive playing pool and table tennis, karaoke, a walk in the countryside and a very competitive indoor games competition!

Day 653

Most of the team headed down to Saint George’s House in North Devon (where we ran ‘The Beach’ back in August). It was great to be able to enjoy some fellowship with other Christian centres, hear about their joys and challenges over the past year. And surfing and rock climbing were pretty fun too!

Day 656

The students from Birmingham City Uni Christian Union came to us for the weekend; this was a new venture for us, and I’m pleased to say the students loved it! It was a slightly more relaxed weekend for us, as they loved sitting round the fire drinking tea and playing games. Ben taught us from Nehemiah, showing us the importance for God’s people to be united around God’s Word. It was a real encouragement for us to be reminded of the unity we share with other Christians, and to see students living for Jesus at uni and wanting to share the gospel with their fellow students.

Coming up…

Our final group of the year: Worcester uni Christian Union are coming in today for the weekend, then next week we start maintenance, and plans for New Year House Party (fancy coming? Book here!) are also under way!

Please Pray!

• Thank God for the many groups we’ve had come to us in the past month, pray that they would come to know Jesus as their King
• That we’d remain united as a team as we have a change in working patterns with only one more group before Christmas
•  That God would keep us safe in the different maintenance projects we’ll be undertaking

Long Time No Blog Part 2: Busy, busy, busy!

If you missed Part 1 you can read it here!

Verse for April

Acts 2v21: “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This is the truth of the Gospel – salvation comes through trusting that Jesus has taken away our sin by dying in our place on the cross. So humbling and yet SUCH good news!

Day 422

Room 2 is almost there, but it got put slightly on hold while we finished the girls floor! We’re hoping to be able to finish it in the next month or so.

Day 424

Progress is also being made on the wash up room, and we’re hoping to be able to install the industrial dishwasher in the next couple of weeks – which we’re pretty excited about!

Day 426

Easter Part 1: Broads Cruise. I was doing the teaching with another leader on my regular sailing camp on the Norfolk Broads. We were looking at 1 Thessalonians: what the gospel is and how that should change the way we live. There were Bible studies in the mornings and evenings, as well as meetings in the evenings when everyone was together. I was encouraged to see the Pathfinders and leaders really getting stuck into God’s Word.

The weather was pretty windy (and rainy), but it meant we could go and play some games on the beach and spend time getting to each other. We did have a couple of afternoons of sunshine though, which meant we could enjoy sailing round the Norfolk Broads at it’s best.

Day 433

Easter Part 2: Word Alive. The other side of the country in North Wales, where I was a leader on ‘Resolved’ – the 15s to 18s team, where we had nearly 200 young people!

In the mornings we were looking at Malachi in small groups. I had 8 girls in my small group; one of them was actually on my boat 5 years’ ago on the Broads Cruise! It was SO encouraging to see her still going on with the Lord. Also in my group were a couple of girls from my church in Worcester! In the second part of the mornings we ran our very own ‘Discipleship Training School’ – the first years were looking at Christian worldview and the second years were diving into apologetics. It was great to see the young people engaging with these challenging topics.

In the evenings, we had talks from the front on Nehemiah from Ben (who was heading up the team), which were helpful and encouraging not just for the youth but for the leaders too! It was humbling seeing the young people so hungry to learn and be changed by God’s Word. My highlight has to be from the last evening when we had a time of open prayer; there were so many of the youth praying out loud.

It was great to be able to go to some of the evening celebrations, as well as spending time in the afternoons with people form church, Gaines team from last year, as well friends from elsewhere!

Day 440

I was thankful to have some time off after Word Alive to go away on holiday, which involved enjoying the sun, going surfing and cycling to a cheese museum!

Day 449

We now have a fully functioning laundry room! Which will be a great help for the busy months we have coming up.

Day 451

Never thought I’d be laying laying carpet tiles: but Gaines teaches you new skills! The final 2 rooms on the girls floor are almost there…

Day 452

MMTC (Midlands Ministry Training Course) has been going well. I really enjoyed delving into Galatians before Easter, and am looking forward to 1 Samuel coming up; teaching practice on 1 Thessalonians has also been really beneficial.

Day 453

Ben fixed the roof, we put the finishing touches to the final 2 rooms on the girls floor – which is now FINISHED – all just in time for the group to come! We’re really thankful to God for enabling us to finish the work and keeping us safe throughout, and we’re looking forward to lots of groups being able to enjoy it.

We welcomed a youth group from Luton; the teaching was a familiar one to us – looking at Jesus as the greatest ever King from Colossians. But such great truths to be reminded of. Highlights from the weekend included: our first rafting session of the year, some very competitive combat archery, a great murder mystery, crocker and of course fridge cake!

Coming up…

LOTS of groups! As well as finishing off a couple of maintenance projects: the wash-up room and Room 2.

Please Pray!

• We have 43 eight to eleven year olds coming for MGP Junior Camp on Friday for the Bank Holiday Weekend – so please pray for energy, enthusiasm and patience! And also pray that they’d encounter the Saviour God by looking at the story of Joseph.
• Pray that the pathfinders who were on the Broads Cruise wouldn’t just remember it for a great holiday, but would know all that Christ has done for them, and trust Him as their Saviour
• Thanks for Word Alive and the girls in my group; pray that all the youth there would keep going on with the Lord.
• We’re now down to 4 on the team, as Joe & Alice have moved on (and had a baby), pray for enough volunteers to help us so that the groups we have coming will be able to hear the gospel
• Praise God for potentially 6 gap years starting in September!

Long Time No Blog Part 1: Where is Spring?!

Sorry for not blogging in a long time, life has been pretty busy here… we’ve had snow (twice), done LOTS of painting, had groups and washed all our pillows and duvets! Read on to find out more; if you feel able, you can financially support me here.

Read part 2 here!

Verse for February

Psalm 23v4: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

During February, this verse was a great comfort to me, being reminded that even in hard times, God is still with me.

Verse for March

1 Thessalonians 1v9: “How you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.”

Having spent quite a lot of time in 1 Thessalonians in March, and preparing talks on it, this verse really stood out to me. God is true and He’s alive; what amazing truth to hold on to! The idols of money, fame, career, family, success, love, possessions and more promise us so much… yet always let us down because they are not the truth and they cannot live us everlasting life. But God IS truth and Jesus defeated death so that we also could have life through Him.

Day 380

It was a real blessing to help out at Worcester CU’s Mission week, and seeing several non-Christians at the lunchbars, evening events and even at Church was a great encouragement.

We also said a huge thank you to these amazing girls: Beth, Phoebe, Lauren & Alice, who have served so faithfully for the last year on the committee. And have passed on the leadership to the new committee.

Day 387

Over half term, we had several of the youth from Woodgreen Church help us on girl’s floor; they did LOTS of painting, which was a massive help! I managed to get so into painting, I not only got paint in my hair, but also on my face!

Day 395

Who knew we had so much bedding?! We got all the pillows and duvets washed before the new bedding arrived… read on for photos!

Day 397

We were supposed to have a youth group coming to us from Nottingham, but unfortunately ‘The Beast from the East’ hit us, and they couldn’t get to us. So instead we enjoyed a morning tabogganing down the back hill!

Day 404

More work up on the girls floor: lots more painting, the boys built a wall to split the largest room in half; carpet got laid in four of the bedrooms and part of the corridor; and we’ve now got bedding!

Day 411

It was great to have a group in at last! Reminding us that the reason we’ve been working so hard to renovate is so that we can share the gospel with the youth that come to us. We had a regular group from a church in Tewkesbury, with teaching from Colossians 1: seeing that Jesus is the greatest ever King. And yet more snow! Highlights from the weekend included: a competitive game of combat archery, a (quite muddy) walk in the countryside, a murder mystery evening and of course pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning! It was really encouraging to see the young people’s faith, particularly in small groups, where they were so keen to talk.

Day 415

Yet more painting… to finish off the corridor and two more of the rooms.

Day 418

We were thrilled to be able to host our first ‘Supersize’ weekend, specifically designed for small youth groups who wouldn’t be able to run a weekend themselves. The teaching was on holiness from 1 Peter, and I was really encouraged by the young people in my small group when we were looking more into 1 Peter. Other highlights included: air rifle shooting, some very competitive ultimate Frisbee, and some equally competitive combat archery, craft round the fire, and a quiz and karaoke evening (see our facebook, twitter or instagram for video evidence!)

Coming up…

Part 2… including what we got up to over Easter and the start of our really busy season!

Please Pray!

• That whether we’re in the middle of maintenance or a really busy run of groups we wouldn’t forget that the Gospel is what motivates us and keeps us going
• Praise God for non-Christians coming to the events put on by Worcester CU during their Mission Week – pray that they would come to know and trust Jesus for themselves
• Thanks for completing so much maintenance: God keeping us safe, having the skills, as well as resources to do the work

Summer Craziness!

On Sunday our first camp starts and I’ll have also been at Gaines for 6 months – time flies! Thank you so much for taking time reading this. If you feel able to support me, you can do so here. And don’t forget to check out Gaines on facebook, twitter and instagram!

Day 159

Our fourth weekend group in a row was a new group to us from a church in Stafford, and it was great to have them with us! The teaching was from Colossians – The Greatest Ever King; looking at Jesus is always encouraging and challenging – no matter how many times we hear it! Activities included the usual Friday night bonfire with marshmallows, rafting (it got competitive with boys vs girls!), air rifles (which became equally competitive), murder mystery evening, mug decorating in the sun, and combat archery (pictured above).

Day 162

39 girls and their teachers from Lady Margaret School in London enjoyed a full on pirate-themed week. It kicked off with an afternoon of inflatables, which were a lot of fun – and yes Joe did dress like that for the whole week!

The teaching took a slightly different form to normal: we had small groups in the mornings with a mixture of upfront and discussion time, looking at ‘The World We All Want’ – how the world is not as it should be, why that is, that Jesus came to fix it, and by trusting in what Jesus has done we can look forward to being in the New Creation with Him as King. It was incredible to see how open the girls were to God’s word.

We did lots of activities with the girls, including rafting, tie dye t-shirts, combat archery, graffiti, air rifles, a trip to Drayton Manor and much more! It was also great to have a couple of last year’s gap team back to help out.

It was a tiring week (as you can see from the team photo above!) but it was so amazing to be able to share the gospel with mostly un-churched girls.

Day 170

Bethany and Sally enjoyed the two canoeing sessions we did on a lake the other side of Worcester. I’ve now finished all of my canoeing and kayaking sessions – so I’m now almost ready to go for assessment!

Day 174

St George’s, another new group to us, enjoyed a Bible and activity-filled few days with us. We did an extended teaching programme in Ephesians, looking at God’s big plan to unite all things under Christ, as well as Paul’s 2 prayers. It was great to see the kids in my small group engaging with and thinking about what the Bible says, which produced lots of questions towards the end of their time with us! There was lots of time to do activities with them as well, which included: wide games, graffiti, rafting, mug decorating, combat archery, film night, ultimate Frisbee, team games, combat archery and more!

In our spare (?!) moments between groups we’ve been doing the very final preparations for summer camps: decorations are up, programmes are finished, Bible talks are written, all we need now are the kids!

Coming up…

Summer camps! Escape starts on Sunday, Breakout the following Sunday, and Ignition the Sunday after that!

Please Pray!

• For all the kids coming on summer camps, that they would engage with God’s Word (we’re looking at Judges and Ruth), be challenged and transformed by it
• That all of the leaders: Gaines team and those coming to help over the summer, would model the gospel to the kids on camps. Pray for us to be gracious, loving and patient towards each other and the kids
• For all of the those who have heard the gospel at Gaines over the past month or so, that God’s word would be continuing to impact, challenge and change their lives