Team verse

You are the light of the world. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise your father in heaven. Matthew 5:14,16

4am, 7th July 2001 and fourteen excited individuals ranging from ages 16 to 26 pack themselves into a minibus outside Exodus Christian Night Base, ready to travel to the USA and spread the word of Jesus Christ. Fifteen or so hours later and fourteen crumpled looking but none the less excited individuals, complete with bags, P.A. and instruments, are warmly welcomed by some of the members of Living Waters Church at Atlanta airport. It is here that the journey really begins.

Our team was initially based on music ministry and made up of the following groups:- praise, rock, irish traditional (you know how those yanks love to jig!) and Virtue the Dance group (girls only, coz boys have two left feet!)

During the first week we were based in Macon (1 hour’s drive from Atlanta), at Living Waters. We led the worship at the Sunday morning service, which refreshed and refocused us after the previous day’s long journey. Our first week was jam packed; (however we did seem to have enough time to eat exceedingly well and throughout the trip we managed to visit practically every variation of greasy fast food outlet possible!)

We played in Macon mall, the Joshua Cup coffee house, Woodstock Church, and a Block Party at the Powerhouse youth centre; which had been opened in a poor, black area of Macon. The poverty of the area was in stark contrast to the luxury we had been living in all week and was a real eye-opener to the fat that we really do not appreciate how much God has gven us until we are put into awkward situations as such. Both the Joshua Cup and the Power House were run by living Waters Church which only has 60 members; it really inspired us to think about outreach in our own churches. On reflection of the first week our team was beginning to realise the importance of getting out of our comfort zone both while we were in Atlanta but also more importantly when we returned home.

Week 2: We said goodbye to our friends at Living Waters and drove an hour in the other direction of Atlanta to Newnun. We were based at Crossroads church, which has 2000 members. After our busy 1st week it took us a while to accept that we would be doing a it less performing and a lot more listening. We stayed in with host families which was great. After much giggling during team time about the name, we finally met pastor Randy Gravitt:- and he was as radical as his name! He taught us so much in that week about abiding in Christ and our priorities as Christians. He made us realise that our prpose in Atlanta was not simply to be ministering when we were on stage but to be ministering all the time through our action in everyday life. One of the most important hings we learnt was when he illustrated our lives as being like light saying: “You can either live in the shade, where it is comfortable and easy to be insignificant, or you can stand out an live in the light where it can be uncomfortable but you can be noticeably significant”. Alongside the talks and the fantastic baptism service, our second week was one of reflection and enjoyment, especially when we went to the thunder/water park. We missed being fried by a thunder bolt by about 15 feet!!

God used weeks 1 and 2 as preparation for week 3, which was by far the most challenging and memorable week. We were still based with Crossroads church, and ninety members and us fourteen drove 3 hours to South Carolina and set up camp in small hotel for the week. We were part of an annual outreach scheme which takes place in Charleston. Throughout the week we took part in prayer walking, kids clubs, nursing home visits, vacation bible school, beach missions and block parties. The week was full of interaction with people from different circumstances, backgrounds, cultures, age and race. It really proved to us that God is universal and once again we were made to appreciate how much we have back home. A hug was enough to satisfy the children that we met at the bible schools, kids clubs and block parties and it really helped us to put life into perspective.

A personal eye-opener was when Pastor Randy’s nine year old daughter shared about how she had felt God calling her to two little boys at the kids club. She asked them if they know Jesus and when they said no, she prayed with them and then asked them if they wanted to have Jesus in their lives. It is amazing how God can work through anyone, in any way he wants and however young, old or insignificant we may be, God sees us as potential shepherds in Christ which is so reassuring.

Like any other team we had our highs and our lows, we learned from our mistakes and our joys. Some of the most precious times where when we prayed and had team time. A treasured moment was our last evening in the US when we returned to Macon and shared a prayer and worship time with some of the friends we’d made. It summed up the whole purpose of our mission. We went to minister, but returned having been ministered to and enriched, by the people we met and the experiences we shared together.