Share what you have

According to the Grimsby Telegraph, the average family in the UK will spend around £700 on Christmas in spite of the current economic recession, meanwhile 2/3rds of the world wont have enough to eat. How should we respond as Christians?
Jesus' teaching was plain: share what you have; whether it was the widow's mite, or the boy's 5 loaves and 2 fish. If everyone followed this simple principle no one would need to go hungry this Christmas.
At this time of year it's not just  food that homeless or rootless people need. Here at the Jesus Centre we want to share what God has given us with those who come to us. Things like His love, joy, peace, forgiveness, a sense of belonging to a family, of being valued for who you are rather than what you have. More people attempt suicide during Christmas week than any other time of year. That's why we try and stay open over the holiday period when most of the agencies close. The fact that our visitors know that our volunteers aren't paid to care about them and have given up their time is often, the greatest gift we can give to them.

Whatever your doing over the holiday period please take the time to share what you have with those who might need it, even if it's just your time and a listening ear.

An alternative nativity story

Scenario 1- Once upon a time there was a drop in in Northampton... On Saturday 24th December a group of people who were hungry, cold with nowhere to go turned up to see if there was any room for them to come in... but they found the doors shut and locked and a sign saying that due to insufficient volunteers the Centre was closed until Wednesday 28th December. So they went away still hungry, cold and with nowhere to go.

Scenario 2- Once upon a time there was a drop in in Northampton... On Saturday 24th a group of people who were hungry, cold and with nowhere to go turned up to see if there was any room for them to come in...fortunately a group of volunteers had opened the Centre & they were welcomed in, offered showers, hot drinks, sandwiches and cake, and found people who were ready to listen to them in a warm, friendly atmosphere.

More people commit suicide in the week between Christmas and New Year than at any other time of year. 

Help us to help them

If you want to be part of a team of volunteer cover over the holiday period get in touch!

The bird with a broken wing, called Lisa

Every so often you have an encounter with a visitor to the Jesus Centre which is incredibly humbling and reminds you of why (on a good day) it is such a privelege to work here. Lisa (not her real name), was one such visitor. In her late 20's, like a little sparrow with a damaged wing, she came to the drop in window, fortunately on an afternoon when it was a Your Space session, our women only drop in, and for her, fortunately it was empty. For me I was feeling like I was wasting my time hanging around waiting to see if any of the regulars would turn up. Then suddenly I spotted her at the window. She was reluctant to come in, but when I offered her the option to talk privately & explained there was no one else around she agreed. I knew I had to be very patient and very gentle (neither of which are my particulr strong points!) if I was going to get her to unfold her damaged soul and tell me the reason she'd come. 

She was desperate, she needed help, she'd tried to commit suicide a few weeks earlier; she'd been diagnosed with a personality disorder and she had come today because she was all alone and she hopeless & so she'd decided she needed to get out of the house & be amongst people before she tried to overdose again. Her voice was quiet and racked with pain and I could sense her hopelessness. To her I would have appeared cool, calm & in control. On the inside I was thinking ' I need to phone the emergency mental health team, this woman's serious and I feel out of my depth right now to know what to say or do...' but I also managed to send up a desperate prayer, "God please help me to be gentle & give me the right words to say". I handed the situation over to God and relaxed.

She unfolded her damaged soul & let me have an insight into what was causing her pain....I knew in my spirit that God had brought her here today, because he wanted her to know that He loved her, cared about her, knew all about it & wanted to begin the process of healing....  so I decided to start by telling her that. Then I asked her if she believed in God & if she'd like to write him a letter & tell Him how she was feeling. As she wrote it, I prayed inside that God would help me to know what to say & do next. What she wrote was beautiful and honest and deeply humbling. It started simply with a cry from deep with her, "God please help me". It apologised for not living a good life, described the pain she was feeling, the abuse she had suffered and asked God for His help. As I read it out I hoped she felt what I sensed, which was God coming down and wrapping His arms around her and reassuring her that He had heard her. It felt an incredibly privelege to have been let into her life. Me a total stranger, from a stable Christian upbringing, who knew nothing of the pain she shared. I scambled around in my soul for a time when I'd felt desperate and shared on my experience of my Father's sudden death in my late teens and my fall out with God about it and my own desperate prayer, which had been much more "God I'm angry, I don't understand & you had better come up with an explanation for this because right now I'm not impressed!". 
I wasn't about to promise her a quick fix solution, 'pray this prayer, take this pill & it will all be ok.' For Lisa and many others I meet, God isn't some going to wave a magic wand & take away what happened, He may not even take away the memories. What happened, happened, it was wrong and it had caused pain and damage, mentally and emotionally to such an extent that Lisa had developed a personality disorder to separate the adult from her abused child. None of that was going to change over night, but I shared that I believed that God could heal the memories and the scars it had left could heal and He could ease the pain that they caused. Inside I prayed that God would turn up & at least do that for her. She looked more relaxed and said she felt more at peace. Having assured me that she no longer felt suicidal I let her fly off with an invitation to return any time she needed to talk or pray again. I've not seen her again. I pray to God that she's still alive and ok somewhere and that maybe I'll see her again.


After, she'd gone, I sat for a few moments thanked God for her and the opportunity He'd given me. So often in the drop in you can feel overwhelmed by the need, demands and emotional suffering of people. But that afternoon I was aware that God had come down to Earth and got involved in our painful, rotten world. He is willing and wanting to get His hands dirty. Are you?

Finding a 'YOU' shaped hole

One of our fundraising strap lines is "Help us to help them to start again"... many times that is as true for the people who come offering to volunteer as it is for our visitors. As Volunteer co-ordinator I get to meet a wide range of people, with various challenging circumstances and my challenge is to find a volunteer gap that will fit them. Most other places wouldn't thing it was worth the amount of support you have to put in to make this kind of volunteering work. But here at the Jesus Centre we must ensure we do not become the 'Have's' serving 'the have nots'. It can do wonders for someone's self esteem to be given a chance to help out. And let's face it Jesus didn't hire an accountant to run his common purse! 
  The woman with anxiety & depression who's been a victim of domestic violence but is also experienced in cafe serving. The Step Up visitor who someone takes the time to get to know & discovers they have catering qualifications. The young man with Aspbergers' who proves a real assett on reception. What you have to look for is the 'diamond in the rough'. Equally you can meet people who on the outside appear totally together ' who then tell you about their bi-polar disorder, depression, or battles with alcohol.
Many of the people I've interviewed over recent months have lost hope or confidence that they will ever work again...
Here at the Jesus Centre we give them an opportunity to take their place and find their value in making their contribution. It's not without it's challenges. but as our mission statement states we are here to "share the love of Jesus with every kind of person with support, friendship and help for all" and I believe that should include our volunteers.

An unusual Saturday morning in the drop in

So it was Saturday morning at Northampton Jesus Centre and business as usual... or was it.. well not exactly... yes the JC was open, that was usual but sat in the drop in on my arrival was a small group of young men and a young woman all considerably under the age of 30. They were in good spirits, apologetic that a few of the crew were still asleep & so there were just enough of them to open up. "Tim (not his real name) is doing a ring round to get some more people out of bed". I looked over at Tim & thought "If Tim rang me & told me he was at the Jesus Centre & needed me to come in I'D get out of bed!"
(Sure enough we got two more additions less than an hour later!)
So what was so unusual about all of this? Once a quarter we invite our young people to open the Jesus Centre. It's the only time the Centre is virtually fully 'staffed' by young people under 30.
Everything was fine up until right near the end. Tim was signing people in at the window & giving out sandwiches the rest of the guys were chatting to people, playing scrabble & organising showers and clean clothes for those who need them.. there was a good atmosphere. People seemed to respond positively to having different faces around. Tim is a new volunteer but he's already got to know all the regulars and made friends.
Just as we were getting ready to close, Fred (not his real name) came in. He's a regular, in his early 50's, a drinker, not always in the best of moods or easy to please. However, on this occassion he seemed very quiet & within minutes collapsed in a seizure. Things got a bit hectic for a few minutes... we called the paramedics... cleared the drop in and made sure Fred was still conscious.
Fred had had 3 small seizures by the time the paramedics arrived. They tried to pursuade him to go into hospital, concerned that if he had another one he might bang his head on the pavement. Tim and his friend tried to talk him into going with the paramedics. But Fred was having none of it. Then suddenly Tim changed tack & said "Why don't you come back to our place* Fred.. you can get something to eat and a sleep & as soon as you feel well enough we can drop you back in town" (*Tim & his mates live in a large farm house with other Christians in intentional community). Fred had a half hearted banter for a few minutes with Tim & the paramedics & tried to get up & leave but in the end he gave in and agreed to go with Tim & his friends for a few hours.
One of the paramedics was amazed "you guys are fantastic" she exclaimed to Tim & his friends.
Nothing unusual for us.. it's part of what we do as members of New Creation Christian community http://www.newcreation.org.uk/ as an extention of our Jesus Centre project http://www.jesuscentre.org.uk/.
But there was one more thing that was unusual about that Saturday morning shift that challenged me far more than the guys taking Fred home for a few hours. It was watching people responding to Tim signing them in & giving them sandwiches.
Tim lost his sight suddenly about 2 months ago. The last time I'd worked a Saturday morning shift with him he'd been sighted. The next time he'd come in he'd lost the sight in one eye. Now that he'd begun to adjust to he couldn't wait to come in to help out in the drop in. Having experienced homelessness himself he can relate to guys like Fred. But in the midst of a tragic situation he's found hope & determination to keep living... I wish he could have seen the look on Fred's face when he invited him home....

How to motivate participation in community activities

more sound bits from Dave Andrews www.daveandrews.com.au

1. Communicate your vision- be passionate & vulnerable. Share your hopes, fears, dreams & frustrations
* Get people to share about the kind of community they'd like to live in (or Jesus Centre they'd like to be part of maybe?)
Focus on the vision & the good things NOT on the problems. Focus people on the positive reasons for engaging with change.

2. Communicate the vision through stories
"Stories are inclusive.. stories are inspirational.. they put flesh on the bones of our airy fairy ideas"
" ...every story they hear encourages people to believe that they too might be able to make the dream come true!"

3. Demonstrate the vision in your own life
"Talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words"

4. Invite others to participate with you
"We can cultivate the vision in the lives of others by articulating, communicating and demonstrating  the vision of community we have in our lives and inviting others to participate in the community we are developing with us"

5. Celebrate the realisation of our dream
"If we are to keep going, all of us need to celebrate every single breath we take and every single step we make.. and encourage those around us to do the same"

Motivating your church to get involved with their local community

Here are some sound bits from an event I went to yesterday called "Be the Change" http://www.communitymission.org.uk/ . Reflections & experiences from Dave Andrews a Christian who lives in intentional Christian Community in Australia and is passionate about loving people in his local community & getting other people involved http://www.daveandrews.com.au/

"Lord grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change.

The courage to change the one I can

And the wisdom to know that person is me"

1. Change your idea of church
"The church was never intended to be those who were called out of the community but those who were IN it but not OF it"

2. Change your image of church
"The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked through the dough" (Matt13:3)
"Note the yeast only does it's work when it is mixed into the flour to such a dgree that you cannot tell the difference between the yeast and the flour... it is only then that it makes a difference"

3. Change your model of church
" Don't look for something great to do for God... Paul says those who would follow the example of Christ need to empty ourselves of our ambitions to do big things, so we can respond to the call to do little things with a lot of love over the long haul"

"Christ moved in amongst us in the neighbourhood, as one of us. He did not try to be different. He lived the same life and experienced the same hassles as everyone else. He emptied Himself... Christ made himself available to the people as their servant... When it came to the crunch Christ did not cut & run. He was prepared to pay the price for His commitment to people- in blood, sweat & tears"

Other sound bites:
For those who are afraid of anything that isn't tried or tested or might be seen as controversial
* It wasn't the greatest start to Jesus' ministry to turn water in to wine (which theologically these days would be a bit controversial for some denominations) or simply because His mother insisted that He did it!

Here's a great one for those of us that feel we never get anything done because we are constantly interrupted by other people making demands on us:
"Jesus' whole ministry, if you read the Gospels, was to be constantly interrupted by people. Sometimes He was even interrupted by other people whilst being interrupted by the first lot of people"

Or for us achievement focused, task orientated types
"Always do with others what you could do far more effectively and efficiently on your own"- OUCH!

Visitors Vs Volunteers or....?

This morning we've had to close our drop in. It's never an easy decision to make and the debate always boils down to visitors vs volunteers which feels uncomfortably polarised. At least this morning out of a minimum team of 3 we have 1 volunteer so we've been able to offer sandwiches, giro collection and booking laundry in.
When staff and Team leaders are showing signs of stress & 'compassion fatigue' and there's a shortage of willing & able volunteers do you open at any cost because otherwise vulnerable visitors wont have access to services like showers & a hot drink what should you do?
The answer lies somewhere within our mission statement "Expressing the love of Jesus daily in worship,friendship and help for every kind of person"
It starts with our own relationship with Jesus, our corporate worship together and out of that comes the life to offer friendship and help for all. It doesn't say that we promise to provide a drop in facility 6 days a week. It says we promise to express the 'love of Jesus' to everyone daily. Even, Jesus didn't feed the 5,000 8 hrs a day 6 days a week. He knew when He, and the disciples needed time out away from the demands.
So the decision to open or close is generally made at our brotherhood time together between 2 or 3 of the senior staff team. If there's no sense that the team, however big or small is connected with the Holy Sprit life or has any awareness of God's love to offer people it is far better to close. If we think we can run things for very long without the Holy Spirit we're on dangerous ground. We will end up a bunch of stressed out 'do gooders' and whilst people may receive material help, they wont receive anything of real value which is any different from anything they'd get for a slightly longer walk to the soup kitchen. 
If we give in constantly to the pressure to simply meet the demands by being available we deny those who could, the opportunity to take responsibility for their lives and find a different solution.
After 20 years working with volunerable people I learned fairly early on we don't matter nearly as much to most of them as we like to think we do and for those in genuine crisis there is always the grace and wisdom to find a solution.
So decisions to close should never be easy but they should not leave us feeling guilt ridden. Instead they should take us back to the source of Life, who has promised to supply all our needs, if He is truly central to all that we do then both visitors and volunteers will know His blessing and provision. Sometimes He just has to get our attention.

Movement, Machine or Monument?

"The greatest things ever done on Earth have been done little by little" William Jennings Bryan (whoever he was!)

Imagine if you walked past the Jesus Centre building in 10 years time and the shutters were down, the bulding looked derelict and uncared for and when you asked a passer by why the building was closed they said "Oh it used to be a Jesus Centre, run by the Jesus Army. It helped thousands of people of all ages and nationalities but then one day, suddenly it just closed... I hear it was because they couldn't find enough people in their congregation to keep it open. Such a shame. I know many people who were helped through their work. Now it's just lying derelict..."

No! You say, that's awful. That wont ever happen. There's loads of people who could have helped out... if only they'd been asked, if only they'd known what to do, if only they'd listened to the warnings that we'd have to close, if only people had listened to our ideas & let us find our place.

Well if you don't want that nightmare to become reality and you're aged between 18-35 years old see Salim or Ruth Lants about how to become part of the movement  to stop the Jesus Centre becoming a monument... alternatively talk to Kelly.
They want to hear your ideas, your frustrations, your dreams, your visions.. and then they want you to get your butt down to the Jesus Centre on Saturday 15th October 9.45- 1.15pm to be part of the J Gen Saturday morning.

Alternately arrange a face to face with me, Jayne Elliott Volunteer co-ordinator & I'll help you to find your place in our future.

So you wanna make a difference?

Ok so maybe homeless people, serving cups of tea to old ladies or administration & reception just isn't your thing...maybe your time is limited but flexible, or outside of conventional office hours...read on....


Maybe you want to travel the world, meet interesting people and make a real difference to their lives.... In which case check out www.vso.org.uk... no seriously we really can offer you opportunities to do that NJC (well maybe not travel the entire known world but at least Northamptonshire.)
Paul Veitch, our friendly community liaison man is looking for a team of creative people who want to connect with people in a varity of ways
He needs people who are good with words: 

Marketing - preparing press releases, setting up radio interviews, networking with agencies,

 

Newsletter - writers, interviewers, photographer, graphic designer, those with creative and cutting edge ideas to communicate and promote the work of the Jesus Centre to the town

 People who like exploring and finding out what weird & wonderful things are going on in Northamptonshire: 

Research - keeping abreast of what is happening in the town (tap into the heart beat of the town), scan local news, the needs of the town, what cutting edge inititatives can the Jesus Centre do to help meet any needs?

 

 

and people who are interested & good with people:

Networking linking up with various groups, music, poetry, art, drama etc who may be interested in a Friday night event in the cafe. We want to transform the Circle cafe into a vibrant hive of events that will connect with the kinds of people YOU want to meet but we need fresh ideas & fresh sponsors of those ideas.

 

Working with students to be a Jesus Centre rep to the students (Uni holds 10,000 on campus). Look at ways the Jesus Centre can be used by students - student nights etc.

 

Community Liaison  willing to be able to represent and speak on behalf of the Jesus Centre, networking with every kind of group & organisation and looking for and taking opportunities. Able to approach and communicate with every kind of person whatever age, back ground etc so being generally outgoing is an advantage.

and arty people: 

Working with artists keeping in the loop of the local, regional, national art scene. network with artists who have appropriate work to show, work with them re publicity, booking the exhibition,  help with hanging the work, sorting out the disclaimer, keeping the exhibition looking nice (straigntening the work regularly), going to local art events, promoting the Jesus Centre as a major art gallery in the town. Need to make sure there is a continual changing exhibition (once a month) and bookings and full to at least 6 months ahead. Can also include organising and promoting an artists Friday night event.

 

 

To be considered for one of these roles you need to be need to be self motivating, have lots of initiatives and ideas and able to make them happen. Not be easily discouraged but able to hold onto the vision in the long term. Media savvy is needed too, as well as discernment and wanting to hear what God is saying and together with others forge ahead the work of the Jesus centre and be able to pioneer, take risks and occasionally be able to learn for mistakes. Flexibility, clear sightedness, and endurance are good qualities to have as well.

So go on... get involved & make a difference!

If you think this could be you contact Jayne Elliott or Paul Veitch at Northampton Jesus Centre 

Autumn Volunteer Training at NJC

We want to ensure that we support our volunteers with training to meet their needs. Each year we organise a programme of core training for new volunteers or old volunteers who would like a refresher. Coming this Autumn

Saturday 8th October 9.15- 1.15
Mental Health Awareness

Saturday 19th November 9.15-1.15
Dealing with challenging and aggressive behaviour

Saturday 17th December 9.15-1.15 ( Iprovisional- TBC)
Listening Skills - level 1

Also early next year....
Drug & alcohol awareness
If you haven't already been contacted and would like to be booked on please contact Jayne Elliott or Sue Gilbert at the Jesus Centre.

so what's new on the Volunteer front?

Well there's been quite a bit of movement on the volunteer front particularly from people offering to become Helpers which is the first step towards becoming a volunteer for those who may require additional support, or not yet fully committed to the Christian faith or our church but never the less want to help in some practical way. Helpers can get involved in cleaning and maintenance, potwash, supporting the volunteer team in Step up making sandwiches, doing laundry or keeping the clothing store tidy ( a never ending task)

We're re- launching Volunteer Supporters - these will be people within your household who's role it will be to support active volunteers. They will be the people you can talk to if you are having any difficulties or have any questions that you don't feel able to tell us about directly. You can also pass on your suggestions & comments about what we are could do better at or any new ideas you have. Expect them to introduce themselves over the next few weeks.

We're improving the strength of our volunteer co-ordination team so that we can offer better support and communicate more effectively with all our volunteers. I've got 2 new assistants to help me with this. Vanessa will look after Volunteer Support and Seb will help me with the admin side of things. Helen will continue to be your contact for theme nights, cafe and chase you up about Neighbourhood Saturdays. Sue Gilbert is still incharge of training and processing applications although we've got Seb helping out with that too.

Hopefully you'll notice some improvements in the support and information we provide to you...

Thinking of volunteering?
Please contact me Jayne Elliott for an informal chat if that would help
Or if you used to be a volunteer but haven't been in for a while and fancy a change then I'm happy to try and find you a role that will fit your needs.

Good things (& some not so good things) about Monday morning

Arrived into work today to find a volunteer application for a new volunteer on my desk. Hurrah. Contacted them instantly & booked an interview with them on Thursday. Good start to Monday morning.
This was followed by discovering a new J Gen guy in brotherhood who'd come in after hearing about our volunteer shortages to do a GIG shift in cafe. He's doing a training year with us. (Note to self suggest to Church Growth folk that volunteering at the Jesus Centre should surely be a compulsory part of a training year?) Completed his application form and interview after brotherhood.

One of the things I love about my job (some days the only thing!) is meeting new people, who I otherwise wouldn't meet and helping them to find their ministry at the Jesus Centre.

Good prayer time at lunch time. Heard there were several new people in Step Up including a couple of people who seem to have been met during Saturday's evangelism on Abington street. Very grateful for the team leader who'd come in to cover at short notice otherwise we would have had to close. Average age of the team nearly 70 years old! Not sure that's really good if we're looking to the future of NJC. Prayed in faith for more young people to find ways to get released to volunteer during the day.

Not so good thing about today... not able to open the cafe kitchen due to the regular chef being on holiday and no one being willing or available to cover. anyone a trained Chef can help out covering holidays & sickness?

Other not so good things which make the start to the week difficult... one team leader dropped out at short notice. Step Up virtually covered all week but 5 vacancies on Info desk Wed, Thurs, Fri am. Prayed a prayer of agreement that they would all get sorted even though I have no idea how!

Also believing for some volunteers who've gone on hold as well as new volunteer applications to come in as a result of the strong entreaties there have been this week to leaders and the congregation about owning their Jesus Centre and supporting it in whatever way they can to be open and available to share the love of Jesus in practical ways to those in need... it's easy to sing about it on Sundays but it's what people do on Monday's that is the real test of what their faith means to them...

Encouraging happenings recently

It's felt like there's been too much doom & gloom around associated with NJC recently. Yes it is tough going at the moment with volunteer shortages and high staff sickness BUT that isn't the whole story....


We've had 7 baptisms of people met through the Jeses Centre this year
Bible study with English looks set for it's first baptism thanks in part to RAW.
A Latvian family who recently came in have been to Church with us


2 J Gen groups have taken on a Wednesday night shift and  4 out of 6 new volunteers this quarter are young men under 30.


Our 1 new work release this quarter is a young man under 20 yrs old.


The "Socks" video produced for Faithworks based on the story of an ex- Jesus Centre visitor, Sid Elliott (I would say no relation at this point... but he's actually my husband!) was produced by 2 J Gen young men and has received Rave reviews at this years Edinburgh Fringe (ok that's not strictly true) but it has been very well received .


The last J Gen Saturday resulted in 2 new volunteer applications.


During our current volunteer shortages people have been coming from as far as Milton Keynes and Kettering to do extra shifts to help us stay open.

Current Volunteer vacancies

More than anything we need people who are willing to serve and who want to share the love of Jesus with people in practical ways, or through random acts of kindness.


We particularly need young men who will step up to the line and take on responsibilty, be it Team leading in the Drop in, or in the cafe, or with an eye to the future to get involved in cafe management, site maintenace, to train to be ESOL tutors and Finance/ accounts people. 


We also need Receptionst on the Info Desk Thursday or Fri mornings and several afternoons, front line meeters & greeters, pot washers, Gifts in Kind fundraisers, and general drop in volunteers.


The ability to work as a team, cope under pressure at times, and above all flexibility and a willingness to serve and love people.


If you want to know more please contact me at the Jesus Centre.

So I'm thinking of volunteering - but I'm not sure what I could do.

That's fine. There are various things that you can do which don't involve committing the rest of your life to something you wont enjoy out of some misplaced guilt or sense of duty! 


* You could do a GIG shift (give it a go) simply come in with a friend or someone who already volunteers and spend time hanging out with them in what they are doing... if you don't like it you could contact me for an informal chat and we could suggest other areas you could try.


* You can do GIG shifts in as many different areas as you like until you find the thing that you really enjoy. 


* If dealing with the public or being out in the forfront isn't really your thing you could assess how much time a week, a fortnight or a month you might have to offer and contact me to find out ways in which you might be able to help behind the scenes


We offer you an informal opportunity to discuss with me what you want to get out of your volunteering, full training and support. 


Want to GIG? you can complete an application form, talk to me face to face, ring me at the Jesus Centre or email me...but PLEASE do something!

So what does a Volunteer co-ordinator do? pt1

So what does a Volunteer Co-ordinator do? 

Well the simplest answer is- organises volunteers but that's not all I do! 

It needs over 100 volunteers a week to run our current services at Northampton Jesus Centre which includes a Community cafe,offering a reasonably priced menu and the opportunity for a few minutes peace and quiet away from the busy Northampton High Street; a drop in with laundry and shower facilities, drinks and snacks and a listening ear or support for those wanting to make positive changes in their lives. Then there's there's support, signposting and English conversation offered through New to Uk and Talk English services or for those looking for a more academic approach to reading and writing English to a high standard there are ESOL classes with trained tutors and classroom assistants. For the rest of the community there are a wide range of creative and social groups and groups for those who are spiritually searching. We also need cleaners, receptionists, meeters & greeters, listeners, people with administration and finance skills, people to fundraise, be involved with our publicity & promotion, lettings management, maintenance, most importantly people who love God, love people and are willing to serve in what ever ways they can. In fact I made a list the other day & counted 68 different roles that are needed and roles like the drop in and cafe volunteers, reception and meeters & greeters need many more than just one of them in order to run services. 

Currently, we're always at least 10 volunteers a week short, during our day time opening, some times more during holiday periods, even on our basic minimum requirements to open the core services (drop in, cafe, reception, front line) 

That means a lot more work for the Volunteer co-ordination team in trying to fill gaps so we can open or a lot more pressure on the staff and current volunteers who have to do more.

This blog is a way of hi-lighting the needs and also the benefits of volunteering. So if your looking for a challenge, an opportunity to grow, serve, have your love & your patience stretched, work as part of a team, learn new skills, discover your potential, a new ministry or simply share the love of Jesus with our visitors in practical ways then read on...