On Wednesday 9 March we held a special local meeting of all the pastorates in Everyday Kingston, to share plans in the pipeline of a potential partnership with Green Pastures, a national social enterprise that purchases houses so that partner churches and charities can house homeless people in their local area.
We prayed for the ongoing work in Kingston by Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness, the Joel Trust, and other churches, and the guests who were with us in February in the winter night shelter.
Derek shared the vision for partnering with Green Pastures for homes for the homeless in Kingston, and that we are putting a proposal together for the elders and trustees. A small venue-wide team that prays regularly for Everyday Difference had been reminded that ‘unless the Lord builds the house, [we] labour in vain‘, and Beth was stirred by the story Jesus told of the wise man who built his house on the rock, so we did a little symbolic building of our own!
We prayed for God’s clarity, wisdom, timing, and favour as we work on the proposal, for the first house and its occupants (in faith that this will go ahead!), for befriending and inclusion, and that we, as a church, would share God’s heart and compassion, that His name alone would be made more known and glorified, and most of all, that those who are homeless will be restored to themselves, their families, the community, and ultimately to faith in Jesus.
We prayed for volunteers, as a team will be needed to do admin, provide pastoral support and also help with maintenance (not to mention donations of household items etc!). We asked God in faith that our response would be like that of the people of Israel when they were asked to give to the building of the sanctuary in Exodus 35 and 36. The Bible speaks of their willingness to bring freewill offerings, and that so much was brought that the workers stopped building, went to Moses, and asked him to tell them to stop as there was more than enough!
Who is like the Lord our God,