Thursday 22 September 2011

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.

Friday 16 September 2011

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 

Friday 9 September 2011

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.