All week our team and members of Oikos Church have been inviting people to a “Summer Fun Day” scheduled for today in a local park. Several thousand homes received invite cards that were put through the mail drop in their front doors, an acceptable approach here. Plans included inflatables for the kids, crafts, food, etc. All week I’ve asked you to pray that God would hold off the rain. So what happened?
God surprised us.
It did rain last night and today. It wasn’t heavy, but it was steady. The inflatables were out of the question due to liability issues and the park was going to be a mess. So the event was canceled. Members of Oikos, and even some in the community, were disappointed – but everyone understood. However this does not mean the day was a failure or that nothing happened.
Plan B kicked into action. The large oven that had been rented to bake cookies was moved inside the building on the High Street the church is renovating and the front space was used for cookies, hot tea and coffee, a few crafts for the children, and a lot of conversations. Our team members and members of Oikos filled the street wearing Oikos shirts and carry cookies. Hundreds of conversations took place and people went inside the crowded space for more cookies and hot drinks.
What did God do? During our event from noon until 3 PM the rain either stopped or fell very very very lightly – which to a Brit is nothing. God brought people to us. God used the invite cards to spread word in this community about Oikos Church.
One young woman who was an atheist 3 years ago but is now a dedicated follower of Jesus and member of Oikos had a 30 minute conversation with a young woman who is lost. During the conversation she shared her testimony. They agreed to meet next week and discuss her questions over coffee. This is just one example of the kind of conversations that happened today.
God also used today to enlarge the vision in the minds and hearts of the Oikos members for how this buildig and future coffee house could be used to reach their community. Because of today there are now 100s of people here who know about Oikos Church and its future plans for this location on the High Street. The High Street is the center of most communities in England and a presence there is as valuable as our location on Dave Lyle Blvd in Rock Hill.
The day did not go as we had planned. But it did go well. God simply surprised us by doing something we didn’t expect.
Tomorrow we will worship with Oikos Church. The service begins at 2:30 pm / 9:30 am in Rock Hill. Earlier in the morning most of us will attend a British Baptist church in the city that is typical of the Baptist churches here – small and dying. But this particular church has reached out to our missionaries and the believers at Oikos Church for help. While I probably will not have time to write a blog entry Sunday, I do plan to post a few photographs with comments on Instagram – so you can get an update Sunday on my Instagram account at @steve_hogg.
Monieca arrives in Birmingham Sunday morning. That evening she and I, along with Jim and Jackie Davis, will take the train to London to begin a week long vacation in London and then Scotland. I’ll post some photographs on Instagram and try to post a couple of blog entries.
As always, “thank you” for praying for us.
Pastor Steve Hogg
Leave a Reply