Reflection Lounge Southport and Carols at Costa

Sunday afternoon saw the launch of Reflection Lounge, Southport, via “Carols at Costa.” I was joined by about 25 people from at least four different churches in Southport, including St. Simon’s, Leyland Road, Christ Church and All Saints, as we led the customers and staff at Costa Coffee on Chapel Street in Christmas carols and a Christmas quiz!

Costa became adourned with sparkling balloons and carol booklets and customers were invited to sing along and join the Christmas festivities. The staff got involved too, and after the event, all expressed how much they enjoyed the atmosphere and the excitement.

Peter Knight, obviously excited about
winning the 70s Christmas quiz!

We held a Christmas Quiz based on the Christmas chart toppers of the 1970s, which was quite amusing to watch people scramble through their memory banks to come up with the right answers. We were so thankful to Costa for donating a £10 gift certificate as the coveted prize, which went to a shocked but chuffed Rev Peter Knight.

Following on from Carols at Costa, a core team is being created that will continue hosting Reflection Lounge Southport on the last Friday of every month, from 5-7pm, at the Chapel Street Costa. Inspired by Reflection Lounge Manchester, Reflection Lounge Southport is a joint project of Christian Churches in Southport dedicated to spreading the good news of the gospel of Christ to the community. Our desire is to encourage a real sense of community here and engage with people through live music, interactive games, friendly conversation and questions about the Christian faith.

If you are interested in joining our core team or want to learn more about Reflection Lounge, please contact me at SouthportFreshExpressions@gmail.com

Summer Update

“In ALL thy ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths!” THANK YOU GOD for the work of Fresh Expressions and the guidance You continue to provide.

This has been a great Summer in the work of Fresh Expressions and God has really opened some doors for an even more impactful 2016! A strong, prayerful foundation has been laid in Southport and we are beginning to watch seeds grow!

Franky’s Pizza at St Francis, on the Kew estate has had a relaunch this summer and now opens the first and third Friday of the month from 4-6pm.

Even with the promotion we received on BBC Radio Merseyside’s Daybreak, we weren’t getting people in the doors. Opening 4-6 will now help us to reach out to young families on the Kew Estate and invite them to join us for an early Friday night meal together. Two weeks ago, Franky’s Pizza leaflets were hand-delivered to 340 homes on the Kew Estate and a number of conversations took place with great interest for Franky’s. As a result of one of the conversations, a lady joined us with her granddaughter who is in year 6 at Kew Woods and they had a wonderful time; they’re joining us again this Friday and bringing along friends! The vision for Franky’s is to create sustainable relationships on The Kew Estate that will develop into living relationships with Jesus Christ. I recognise the belonging before belief mentality and that’s exactly what we hope to achieve at Franky’s Pizza. A bit of fun, a bit of food, a lot of conversation and a lot more God!

The Living Room has had a great summer, too! We have been praying for an expansion of our volunteer team and last week, our newest member of the team, Elizabeth, joined us for her third observational session and will now be serving with us twice a month. Hoping to grow this ministry ecumenically, Elizabeth joins us from St Patrick’s on Marshside Road and heard about The Living Room when I spoke at a joint churches’ prayer meeting a couple of months ago. We are still seeing a steady attendance and the last few weeks, I’ve been having progressive conversations with one of our guests who is now seeking baptism!

About 10 days ago, we celebrated our second annual SonFest, held outdoors at Town Hall Gardens! It was a tremendous event that no doubt saw more seeds planted throughout Southport. Alongside five live bands who performed a blend of Christian music throughout the day, Messy Ministries was on-hand with edible crafts and teaching for the kids. More than 100 children participated in the crafts, each hearing the Good News of the gospel through a sheep cupcake and a string cheese shepherd!

We had a number of community tables set up presenting information to the public, from Christians Against Poverty to the Southport Bible Society Action Group. I received 200 New Testaments donated by the Christian Book Shop and Derrick Chamberlain distributed more than 50 at SonFest. Bernard Wallbank, representing CAP, considered it a very worthwhile event, as nine contact details were collected.

I'm already in the planning stages of SonFest 2016, 3rd September, as I'm very excited about future-proofing SonFest. I'm delighted to have secured partnerships and relationships during the last two years with businesses and individuals who are deeply committed to the ministry and growth of SonFest. Thanks to our main sponsor, Fill The Gap, I have already secured Phillipa Hanna as our headline act next year! Fill The Gap shares the vision for reaching hearts through music and are committed to stand behind me each year and grow this work. I'm so very thankful for the missional network that's been created; it is beginning to pay dividends and I'm keen to further explore collaborative ways forward inter-denominationally for 2016 and beyond!

I'm looking forward with great anticipation, as I've just begun talks at the new Costa Coffee that is due to open this month on the corner of Chapel St and Eastbank St. In December, we'll be launching Reflection Lounge Southport, a social opportunity for Christians and non-Christians set up to revive our community by bringing people together to witness the love of God in action. This comes from our friends at Reflection Lounge in Manchester.

It is set to be an incredible year and as always, your prayers are needed!  

Franky's Pizza on BBC Radio Merseyside's Daybreak!

Thanks to our work in Southport being featured on the national Fresh Expressions website, I received a call earlier this week from Helen Jones, host of BBC Radio Merseyside's Sunday morning show, Daybreak. Helen was excited about both The Living Room and Franky's Pizza ministries and asked if she could interview me for a segment on Franky's, to be broadcast this Sunday morning for Daybreak. Enthusiastically, I agreed and met Helen in Southport yesterday. Along with the co-project leader, Stewart McTaggart, we took Helen to the home of Franky's Pizza, St. Francis of Assisi. As we prepped our fresh ingredients and fired up the pizza oven, we talked about our work and the purpose behind Franky's Pizza. The interview will be broadcast this Sunday morning at 8:20am and will be available online for 30 days following the broadcast.

Today at Franky's Pizza, a lady in her 60s came to us after seeing the Franky's poster on display at Ainsdale Methodist Church. Alone and with no other plans, she decided to give it a try, as she lives close to the Kew Estate. Although it was just one guest we served today, it was a real encouragement. Val was with us volunteering and we had a lovely time chatting to "Roz" and getting to know her. She suffers badly with arthritis in both her hands and she didn't believe she could make the pizza, but after some encouragement, she made two - and made them very well! Franky's Pizza gave one woman encouragement today and she left feeling so welcomed and proud of what she'd made. She experienced the hospitality of Jesus Christ today. Although I was full of cold and not looking forward to Franky's Pizza today, I left on cloud nine! This is why we do what we do...

I ask for continued prayer for both The Living Room and Franky's in prayer. I never stop ceasing to be amazed at what God is teaching me through my job and I'm continuously grateful. 

From little acorns, mighty oaks grow. 

Growing God's Kingdom in Southport one day at a time.