An Adventure in Ministry

It has been a while since I came back from the riverbank conference, a fantastic weekend for women of The Salvation Army, but I am still processing the truth that I heard and how I can apply it to my life as a minister in Macclesfield. One of my highlights (although there were lots of highlights) was the teaching of Dr Helen Paynter. In her second teaching session she focused on some of the women in the early church who are mentioned in the bible. She took us on a fascinating journey back through time to explore each of  these powerful women who were used by God and how they did great things because  ‘Nobody told her she couldn’t’ We were reminded that Pentecost included women, that the book of acts included many women who helped grow the church and that beyond the bible there were many extraordinary women who were used by God in a mighty way. Helen also challenged us to consider that the church today should include women, and as women of God in The Salvation Army,  that ...

  I have recently returned from a fantastic weekend at the riverbank, a conference for women within The Salvation Army and I had such a brilliant time. The fellowship was sweet, the worship was spirit-filled and the teaching challenging, and I am only beginning to unpack all that God did over our time together. Today I am thinking about the keynote speaker Dr Helen Paynter who powerfully brought us the story of Esther - a woman in the bible who discovered she can! Dr Helen Paynter presented the account of Esther in a fresh light showing the tyranny of the powers of the day and how her story was truly one of resilience and pain. She talked about the call on her life to make a stand for God and how in spite of the barriers, she gave her risky yes.  While talking about the call on Esther’s life, Helen used a phrase that has been bouncing about in my mind for a little while, and one that I felt God had been challenging me with. This is the command of “Speaking Truth to power.” Est...

  In a couple of weeks time I will be joining lots of other women at The Salvation Army’s Riverbank conference. I attended last year and it truly was a special spirit-filled weekend. To be honest I wasn’t altogether prepared for the conference and it took me a long time to unpack all that God had revealed to me. This year I didn’t want that to be the case once more, so I am actively trying to prepare my heart, mind and soul for the weekend. Not only am I thinking about what clothes, shoes and other stuff I need to pack in my suitcase, I am also thinking about what I need to spiritually pack, or unpack before I go. So I thought that I might blog my thoughts so that if you are coming along you can prepare too! The name of the conference, riverbank, comes from  Acts 16:13-15 and the encounter that a group of women had with Paul and ultimately the Holy Spirit. It is a powerful story and one that is overlooked so I encourage you to take some time to look at it. The verses say: “On ...

Recently I attended most amazing weekend at the Riverbank conference, with women connected to The Salvation Army from all over the country. God’s presence was tangible, the worship was powerful and the teaching was Holy Spirit inspired. This is the fourth post in a series of what God spoke to me about while I was there (You can find other posts on this blog! ) If you were there too I would love to hear what God revealed to you. If you weren't there I pray that a little of the riverbank will flow into your heart and you might just sign up to join us next year!   In the world today we often hear people say ‘be you’ they declare the ‘be the you,you want to be’ or ‘do whatever is good for you’ and that makes me feel uncomfortable. Where is God is that. In the past when we I did what I felt like and followed my own plans it led me to a place that was so very far away from God. However on the Sunday Morning at the conference, Rachel Turner spoke about the 'youness of you' and I l...

  I have just returned from the most amazing weekend at the Riverbank, with women connected to The Salvation Army from all over the country. God’s presence was tangible, the worship was powerful and the teaching was Holy Spirit inspired. Over the next few days I will be sharing a little of what God spoke to me while I was there. If you were there too I would love to hear what God revealed to you. If you weren't there I pray that a little of the riverbank will flow into your heart and you might just sign up to join us next year! On the Friday night, on the bank of the beautiful river installation, the head of family ministries, Major David Betteridge taught from the story of Paul and Silas in prison found in Acts 16. One of the (many amazing) truths he spoke declared that ‘The songs you sing in the daytime become the songs you sing at midnight.’ Throughout the weekend I returned to this truth and I am sure I will many times more as the power of it takes root in my heart.  My hu...

Saturday was a really special day for me and a day of great encounter with God. I travelled from sunny North Wales to Coventry for a retreat day with other women who are walking down the road of childlessness and infertility. The devil had really tried to stop me going, so I knew it was going to be a good, God-centred day, but I never expected it to be such a beautiful day where I would feel so loved from the second I stepped through the door. It was a day with a Myriad of emotions. Each one made me feel more accepted and taught me something of the character of God. I share them today in the hope that they may bless someone who may be feeling grief, loss or loneliness or may be searching for a community who understands, they are out there and God will lead you to them Companionship It was amazing how in a room full of strangers I could feel such a community with those women. We weren’t all just sisters in Christ, but we were all fighting similar battles, with similar...