Why do we have Jesus Centres?

Jesus Centres are the Jesus Fellowship church/Jesus Army in action. They are an integral part of the ministry of the church. 

 

Jesus Centres aim to “Express the love of Jesus daily, in worship, friendship & help for every kind of person?”  

  

 As a social worker I had often longed for a one stop shop where people could come and have all of their needs met and where my faith could be a part of the helping them find a solution. So often social work just felt like sticking a plaster on a gaping wound- people found help and support and a limited alleviation from personal suffering but so often the root causes of why they were in the mess they were in went un dealt with. When the vision for Jesus Centres was first expressed to me my Spirit leapt but my head went,  “we’re made, we’re far too busy as a church to take this on. Do they have any idea what they’re getting us into?” 

So why did we embark on what has proved to be a tough cookie to digest?

 Times have changed and these days the church doesn’t always carry a lot of credibility with people- it might be seen as out dated or its members’ naïve.  The church needs to earn the right to speak and be heard by people. Jesus frequently met people’s practical needs for food & physical health before he told them to repent or called them to follow Him. 

They’re more easily accessible to a wider group of people.

Church can often feel like a club where people need to adhere to the members code of behaviour, values and beliefs. They are only available to people at certain times and days and people may fear being forced into making a commitment they’re not ready or equipped to make. Whereas Jesus Centres are public places open to anyone regardless of their faith or non-faith. People who might never go to church will feel more comfortable in the Jesus Centre. It meets more obvious needs in their lives. Agencies feel more comfortable signposting people for help and in providing services based at the Jesus Centre.  There is no faith requirement to access or participate in are groups or services. Therefore, it makes the church accessible & available to a wide variety of people.

They preach the gospel without words

Jesus Centres reach and meet people’s needs in a way that church can’t. It enables the church to be available to people during the day, every day.  They are better able to support those who are homeless, need to learn English, are lonely or have mental health issues.  We can provide a shower, laundry facilities, a listening ear, help learning English or an environment where people feel relaxed & welcome ; where they find home and family and a sense of belonging.

They extend the capacity of the church

It is a gateway to the Kingdom of God- it is the place where people can meet Christians and explore faith, if they wish, without going to church – which these days is alien to most of the population.

It is a net that can catch people if they begin to struggle in their faith, pick up old habits and lifestyles and disengage from the church but still need and want relationship and support.

They are better equipped & resourced to support and help people in a variety of ways.

It creates the time & space to listen to people; enables relationships to be formed without the clutter of needing to sign up to commitment or a certain doctrine or lifestyle.

They give people an outlet for service

They give the church an opportunity to put their faith into action and share the love of Jesus in practical ways. It was Mother Teresa who said “do small things with great love”.  The success of the Jesus Centres depends on each volunteer & member of staff doing these small acts of kindness with great love every single hour of every day we are open.

It’s a place where as Christians we can live out our faith and Jesus’ call to love the poor (& even rich people can be poor in Spirit- mentally, emotionally, relationally)

 They help people explore faith & find their place

They offer opportunities for church members and visitors to use their skills, develop new ones and feel they can be contributors more easily than it may be in the church.

 Here'a quote from one of our visitors who became a cafe helper:

“I am truly grateful to the Jesus Centre for allowing me to volunteer. During my time there, they did far more for me than I ever did for them. Thanks to them my confidence is restored and I’ve secured employment and my own flat. I’ve made many friends there. They are amazing people and I love them a lot. Without them, I don’t know where I would be.”

The power of what we believe

I’ve been wanting to blog about the power of what we believe for a while. It was sparked by watching a film and reading a book about two boys from two different countries who had, what at first seemed like to very different experiences, but as I reflected on the powerful effect they had on me I realised that what had united them in their experiences was the sense that they were both in a prison of believing they belonged to no one and that no one cared about them.

 The first was the young boy in the film ‘I am David’ (based on the novel by Ann Holm),  who escaped from a prisoner of war camp aged 12 years old,  believing his parents were dead. The other was  Paul abandoned by his mother at 2 weeks old, found by a neighbour in amongst the rubbish, who was brought up in the notorious St Leonard’s children’s’ home in the 70’s (where paedophiles gained access to senior care worker positions and routine abused 100’s of children placed in their care.)  Just before David escaped from the prisoner of war camp, with the help of a German officer, he was told “Trust no one”. Paul’s experiences in the London children’s home taught him “trust no one”- because of their early experiences both of them believed they were worth nothing & didn’t deserve anything good to happen to them.

There is power in what we believe about ourselves.

What we believe impacts on how we behave. If you don’t believe you are worth anything then why does it matter if you wreck your body with alcohol and drugs and casual sex who cares anyway? How do you ever learn that God created you, in His image, as a unique human being who He loved & cared so much about you that He allowed His only son to be sacrificed in your place?

Many of our visitors have experienced rejection, abuse- sexual, emotional and physical, and from this they have believe that they are not worth anything to anybody.  However, with the help and support of the staff and volunteers here at Northampton Jesus Centre they find hope and begin to believe in themselves. 

A quote which I've decided to include in our annual report, from one of our volunteers, who started life as a visitor reminds of the importance of giving our visitors a chance

 
" Working at the Jesus Centre has given me the coherence to deal with difficult situations and people. I know I’ve changed for a better person since I’ve worked here.

I’d like to thank the staff for standing by me and offering me a chance and investing time in me.

The Jesus centre and its staff have inspired me to do better. The Jesus Centre truly is a place where everyone is valued – even me”