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Commit

March 28, 2008

A missionary society wrote to David Livingstone and asked, “Have you found a good road to where you are?

If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you.” Livingstone wrote back, “If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.”

Life can present us with the opportunities to commit to a particular enterprise or activity without necessarily having the route fully worked out we only have the destination in mind. The reality is that we will never reach that destination without commitment.

Our life’s vision will never be fulfilled without commitment. Yet in today’s world commitment seems to be constantly under challenge .Commitment to life, commitment to relationships and to ongoing dreams and vision. Without it progress is very limited.

Commitment has life changing power. Frederic F. Flach writes: ‘Most people can look back and identify a time and place at which their lives changed significantly. Whether by accident or design, these are the moments when because of a readiness within us and a collaboration of events around us, we are forced to seriously reappraise ourselves and the conditions under which we live, and to make choices that will affect the rest of our lives’ I remember when I met and married my wife it was not only the external event of meeting her but also internal changes that were taking place in me that enabled a personal commitment to be made

Personal commitment to a relationship, a career, a church, a ministry, a vision, will be tested - daily. Too many of us see commitment as an event, like saying, ‘I do’ in a wedding ceremony or shaking hands to close a business deal. Yet what helps to make a marriage successful is not necessarily wealth or even health but rather commitment. In January we buy a treadmill to get in shape, by February we quit because it calls for too much discipline. Any time you make a commitment to something, you will be tested - daily

Commitment helps you overcome life’s obstacles. Maltbie Babcock said, ‘One of the most common mistakes and one of the costliest, is thinking that success is due to some genius, some magic something or other which we do not possess. No, success is generally due to holding on, and unwillingness to let go. You ‘decide’ to obtain a qualification, learn a language,begin a business enterprise etc. Will it be a success or failure? That depends upon how much pluck and perseverance that word ‘decide’ contains. It is the decision that nothing will overrule and the grip that nothing can break, that brings success.’

“Will you please tell me in a word,” said a Christian woman to a minister, “what your idea of consecration is?”Holding out a blank sheet of paper the pastor replied, “It is to sign your name at the bottom of this blank sheet, and to let God fill it in as He will.” It takes commitment to see this kind of consecration through.

Why do people find it so hard to make commitments?

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Life Groups Together

March 26, 2008

Life Groups (our midweek meetings) provide an opportunity outside of our church services for people to get together talk about God share experiences and befriend one another. They usually meet on Wednesday evenings at 7:30PM , in several different homes and locations around the city - where it is convenient for people to get together.

How do I join one?

Initially by contacting the Life Church office here…

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What is Project YES?

March 26, 2008

Life Church takes the lead on one of the most exciting youth initiatives to hit the city of Lincoln in recent years.

Project YES (Youth Education Services) is a venture that has been designed to capture the imagination of young people within the Birchwood area through creative workshops, youth clubs and IT-based activities.

It is being headed up by Life Church after significant funding was recently granted by BBC Children in Need, with additional finance from Awards for All, Lincolnshire County Foundation, The Acorn Trust and the Co-operative Society.

Project Yes will run for three years and Life Church youth leader Andy Hicks cannot wait for things to get underway.

“The Church is extremely excited about Project Yes because there really is nothing else like it within the area,” said Andy.

“The main aim is to see an impact within the community. While there are a few initiatives throughout Lincoln that are funded by the Local Authority and various charities, there really is nothing out there that is quite like Project Yes.

“We are aware that there is a growing level of crime and anti-social behaviour in some parts of Lincoln and want to be part of trying to change that.

“Project Yes also aims to bring the importance of community pride to the minds of young people and we will also encourage kids to get involved with activities that will run in conjunction with local schools and the police.

“The project will have a fairly wide scope and will include workshops that help those who are being bullied or are on the verge of becoming bullies themselves, while we will also tackle subjects such as self esteem and conflict resolution.

“Additionally, we will run after-school sessions and youth/children’s clubs that will not only provide a safe, fun environment for local kids but will provide them with education about issues that really matter to them.”

Andy stressed that Project Yes has only been made possible because of the hard work of a number of dedicated volunteers.

Furthermore, the funding that has been received – much of which has come from Children in
Need – will also provide for two part-time workers who will help put the scheme into action.

“After a lengthy period of planning and the sourcing of funds from various sources, we are almost ready to begin and hope to launch the project just after Easter,” he continued.

“I am confident that it will be well received and will run to plan because I believe that the Church has its finger on the community pulse in a personal sense that a Local Authority could never quite have.

“We have a real passion for local people and want to see improvements in their lives. Life Church is one that is at the heart of the community of Birchwood and Project Yes is a forum by which we can reach out to the local population.”

- James Prentice

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Joining Up The Dots

March 26, 2008

Recently I was reminded of an old game that I grew up playing in years gone by. It was a children’s connect-the-dots game: in which participants answered general-interest questions to connect dots that made a portrait of a famous or historical personage.
 
As questions were successfully answered and the dots began to be joined together a clear picture usually of something recognisable began to emerge.

Prior to the start of the process the dots looked like a group of unrelated marks, with only at best the most tenuous of relationships. Then suddenly the picture began to come to life as the dots were joined up.

Over recent months it has been evident that God has blessed us with evidence of his power at work raising up ministries and changing lives.

However if the effectiveness of our current activity is to rise there has to be an increased level of connectedness I felt I heard God say to me it was time to join up the dots.

We can join up the dots if we have joined up thinking if we develop that we can have joined up speaking, if we have that we can have joined up partnerships and relationships working to produce joined up solutions.

Leadership determines the direction. If we can support and get behind that Organisation determines the potential of what we do. But personnel determine the success of the activity; this gives us a perfect picture of unity. Psalm 133 reminds us that unity is very special .God cannot resist it but the enemy can. Therefore he is often at work trying to undermine this particularly precious blessing.

As we enter into the first weeks of a new year it is my belief that God wants to be at work amongst us joining up the dots of spiritual activity that are evident in the vision and corporate life of not just this church but our city as a whole and in this nation.

My prayer is that we as a people might truly be joined together in such a way that the message that God wants to proclaim through us is expressed with great clarity and effectiveness. May you have a great new year and flourish in all that God has for you. 

- William Prentice, Pastor

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A Warm Welcome!

March 26, 2008

Life Church Lincoln has a thriving congregation of 120-130 people attending services each week, including a wide mix of ages, and backgrounds.
 
Take a look around our site to find out about everything with which we’re involved including our current highlights, schedule, church events, courses and training, articles and pastors blog.

We meet at the Priory Academy (City of Lincoln Community College,) Skellingthorpe Road Lincoln each Sunday at 10.30 in the morning also in various other venues midweek.

We aim to be a warm friendly church and you will be met on your arrival by one of our welcome team.

- William Prentice, Pastor

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