On February 16th and 17th 2024, we had a conference at the Salvation Army in Morecambe. Here is the story behind it

It was the day after Christmas and all was well in the world… 24 hours later, I would be in the Royal Lancaster Infirmary with a mystery abdominal ailment.

Thus began a 3 week stint in the local hospital. I had been bemoaning the fact that, despite being a missionary in Morecambe for over 15 years (following 5 years in central Lancaster), I was, for the most part, blind to the communities that existed in Morecambe, Lancaster and the surrounding areas.

.It took a stint in the Royal Lancaster to open my eyes to the communities that were living here… the ones I was vaguely hoping to bring the Gospel to:

5 weeks after I was discharged, my son and I were sitting in the Salvation Army building with a handful of locals and an internet audience that were saying Yes, let’s reach our city the best way we can.

This conversation pulls on the best wisdom of our local churches and ministries to collaborate for an accelerated harvest in our city.

The conference has sparked a conversation, and the warm weather is almost here. This year we harvest.

Alongside the progress of a regional conversation about mission, I’ll be chronicling my personal journey in 2024 through the 4 stages of mission activity that must be engaged in, in a joined up way, to reach our cities for Christ. At the moment, I’m stuck at the Go stage. To break through this barrier, I’m reading an old book “How to give away your faith” by Paul Little, and I’ll mention some hightlights from this book in a post, together with how I’ve got on with the mindset and lifestyle changes that are consistent with being a missionary who is willing to Go.

Quotable quote: It should not surprise us that the people whom God has greatly used throughout the centuries, have not just known their Bibles well, they have known people well, too. And loving both, they have made the word relevant to others. [HTGAYF, p22, para 2]