TEAM works

"If you want to go fast go alone; if you want to go far go with others- African proverb

        I've had cause to reflect, recently on this African proverb through a set of circumstances which has meant that all 3 members of staff trained to open up and oversee the daily management of the Jesus Centre were either off sick or away. Since it's never happened in 8 1/2years we've never had to work out what to do! As our evening & weekend deputies responded to the call to step in and provide cover I considered how important it is for projects and the people concerned that we don't become over reliant on one or two people to keep things running. 

 What I've noticed is that, in the face of adversity everyone has risen to the challenge and suddenly instead of being a group of individuals, each 'doing our bit' we are working together; everyone aware that their contribution is making a difference to the big picture. We tend to fall into relying on the same few people because it's easier than taking the time to work out if there's another solution but this is not a good strategy for the long term sustainability of a project.

 As Christians we believe that we have a 'father in heaven' who wants to supply the resources, wisdom, grace that we need but how often do we forget to ask Him? Sometimes it seems quicker or easier to rely on ourselves or others, rather than God Himself. Sometimes, that's precisely why, I believe, God allows crises or hindrances to crop up in our projects; He wants to remind us that we can rely on Him. He wants to be at the centre of what we do and as a loving father He enjoys being asked to help out.

And the same thing that is true for our projects and the visitors we try and help is true in our own lives too. The church is a team; the Bible talks about it as a 'body with many parts'. When we go through difficult circumstances God doesn't mean for us to suffer on our own. 

Often I meet people in our drop in, through our listening service, or amongst our volunteers and staff who were cruising along in the fast lane, unaware that they were leaving their family and friends behind until one day they crashed mentally, emotionally or physically and woke up to discover they didn't like where they'd ended up and worse still they had arrived there all alone. 

Often they had never given God, or the church any thought; they were living life in the fast lane and these things seemed irrelevant and unnecessary to their journey.  Then suddenly feeling aware of their aloneness they got to a crisis point where they couldn't find any motivation or sense in continuing the journey at all. Some descend into addictions, depression, illness or even contemplate ending their life completely; that's the point which as 'church' we ought to be there ready and waiting to to encourage them that the next stage in their journey does not need to be on their own, but with others. The Bible also talks about that as a body 'if one suffers, all suffer together'. 

 Here at the Jesus Centre we aim to provide a place where fellow sufferers can pause on their journey and work out where they want to go next. Sometimes that involves considering faith and asking questions about what is the purpose of their journey, where their journey will end up and what is their ultimate destination in life? We run small groups for people who are asking these searching questions and help them to find the answer for themselves.


So that's why it's been so important to be able to keep the Jesus Centre open during this time of high staff absences. Just as we will go farther if we learn to go together, so we can more effectively help those who come looking for an antidote for their loneliness and suffering, sharing the lessons we've learnt in the hope that many will decide to join the exciting journey that we're on, knowing that we'll get where we're meant to be......together.


for more information check out www.jesuscentre.org.uk, www.newcreation.org.uk, www.jesus.org.uk