#NotOnMyWatch is the new initiative launched today by Ignite . This new project aims to raise the issue of people trafficking and slavery to young people, particularly those based in Wales.

It is a shocking statistic that there are more people being kept as slaves today than there was at the time of the abolution of slavery by the USA in 1865. It is estimated that over 27,000,000 people in slavery, bonded labour and being used as pawns (ie someone given held as security for a debt). That is almost the equivelent of 50% of the population of the United Kingdom. 

Human trafficking is the 2nd fastest growing criminal industry in the world. This involves people moving others, often against their will to other countries for profit. We would naive to assume this does not happen into Wales. Indeed reports have suggested that there could be 600+ woman who have been smuggled into Wales who are now acting as sex workers. Evidence is very difficult to obtain as understandably not only the industry very secretive but victims themselves are reluctant to report their conditions as they fear not only their "masters" but also the authorities as they are most likely in the UK illegally.

#NotOnMyWatch seeks to engage young people with the issue so not only will they be informed but also so that they can become modern day abolistionists ensuring the Wales becomes a "traffic free" zone. This is not just a human rights issue it is a key discipleship issue. 

Lots more information will follow......

I have known Joel & Luke for many years and have been delighted to watch their development as artists. I recently started to book their international shows. Check this video out and you will see why this is a very exciting prospect.... 

IgniteHope 2012 is by far the biggest project we have ever done. From May 4th -7th 2012 hundreds of young people will converge on Sophia Gardens, Cardiff to take part in the biggest youth lead mission to South Wales for a generation.

Already we have nearly 500 young people signed up. On top if this they will be joined by approximately 200 adult volunteers who will deliver over 10,000 of community action to neigbourhoods throughout South Wales. From litter picking to grafitti cleaning from fun days to football coaching. This is young people taking the good news and being the good news to people of all ages.

We know it will make a difference. We know is going to bless it, we know lives will be changed forever.

As you can see we are full of vision and faith but short of cash! Please consider giving to this amazing cause. You can give Here

Ever since IgniteHope in 2008, we have believed that God has been encouraging us to establish an expression of urban mission in Cardiff. This thinking is not original of course. Our friends at the The Message have been doing this for more than a decacde with their Eden projects in Manchester and further a field. Indeed a great prototype in Cardiff was established by Dai Hankey in St Mellons with EZ:36 and Pete and Deb Croall continue to fly the flag on this needy estate.

Some people are called to mission overseas and some people will be called to stay in Wales or move to Wales. In the meantime, good friends of ours Bart and Sharon Geere moved from Penarth to Tremorfa where they bought an ex-council house in order to be salt and light in that community. Little did we know that they were praying how they could partner with Ignite as we were praying about where we should establish our initiative. 

Long story short it became evident that this was a great kingdom partnership and that Bart & Sharon were the natural team leaders for the project. Based in and around Belmont Baptist Church, they established a Sunday club for children and a youth club each Thursday night.

Our next challenge was to begin to adding people to the team. To decide to work in the 3rd most socially deprived area in Cardiff and in the top (bottom?) 20 in Wales means that people cannot be forced, coerced or bribed, they need to be called. Anything else is insufficient.

Each year at Ignite we hope recruit a team of interns. Young people who will spend a year serving Jesus. Our team leader is Ruth Probert. I hoped that she might feel called with her husband, Geraint to be a part of Re:Gen. In recent months we began to talk about what she might do after IgniteHope 2012. I was delighted to discover she was also praying about Re:Gen and potentially basing the intern team there. They have now arrived at a point where they can see their calling to the east of the city. Hallelujah!

He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

 

So we are now stepping up our efforts to recruit workers to the project. Our requests are pretty simple.

Give a night - Join the team by helping with our youth or kids club.

Give a year - Over 18? Looking to give a year to God before going to university or starting work? You should definitely consider Re:Gen. You will be based at least 3 days in Tremorfa & 2 days in the Ignite headquarters. There is a great inservice training programme and you will work not inly in projects in the church but also in the local high school and community.

Give your Life - The big step is to move to Tremorfa. There are a number of options. People can buy or rent a property on the estate. We are also looking to establish team houses where people can live in community in the heart of Tremorfa. We recognise that this is a big commitment and we will do all we can to support people who have responded to this calling.

Just Give - None of the above options for you but you recognise the importance of the mission? Well you can play your part. Would you pray for estate, the team and all they are doing? If so we will keep you updated on the needs and joys. Could you financially support this initiative? If so be in contact with [email protected] and I will be delighted to tell you how you can assist!

We are hoping the IgniteHope 2012 will be a great time to recruit people to the team. Keep checking back for updates!

 

 

This is an amazing season we are in. This blog is quite long but PLEASE read it. It will undoubtedly raise your faith!

Everyone at Ignite is involved in developing the biggest evangelistic youth outreach for a generation. It is exhilirating, exciting and not a little scary!

At the beginning of the year we took a day out and committed it to prayer and fasting. The question that I wanted answering was a big one but a simple one. Was igniteHope 2012 something that was on God's agenda or was it just a worthy developed by Ignite. In truth by the end of the day we had not heard from God on this. However, as the week progressed there were numerous ways that God made His will known. Not least being increased bookings, churches signing up and cheques in the post.

Let me be honest in saying that although IgniteHope is a joy, it is not without its challenges. One of them is paying all the bills. This is the biggest project we have ever undertaken and we need to find a significant amount of extra cash. For a small organisation like us this would be challenging enough but in the middle of a worldwide economic crisis it is even more challenging. 

However, in simple terms I believe that where it is His will it is His bill!

A few weeks ago I met with a bunch of guys at Band of Brothers. They asked what they could pray for. I asked them to pray that we could meet payroll the next day. To be honest I knew we were short but I had no idea by how much. When I enquired the next day how much we had allocated for salaries I was shocked to discover we had only £185! I would like to tell you that we had a cheque in the post that morning that resolved the problem. The truth is that we needed to be more creative than that. We needed to claim gift aid, move money from one account to another and a number of other things I cannot now recall. However it did mean that I signed all the cheques within 2 hours!

That afternoon we heard that we had a bill for the deposit for the main IgniteHope marquee. Of course we had no money at all to pay it.

In church the previous day, Pastor Steve Ball preached on giving and finance. One of the key verses about God's provision came from Exodus 36: 5-7

⁵ and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.”

 ⁶ Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, ⁷because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.  Imagine being part of a project that had more income than was needed? Wow!

 As part of that we were asked to make a declaration. It was:

As we receive today's offering

we are believing the Lord for:

Jobs & better jobs

Raises & bonuses

Benefits, sales & commissions

Favourable settlements

Estates & inheritances

Rebates & returns

Cheques in the mail

Gifts & Surprises

Finding Money

Debts paid off

Expenses decrease

Blessing & increase

Thank you ,Lord, for meeting all of my financial needs that I might have more than enough to give into the Kingdom of God & promote the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lesley & I give our tithe monthly to the church  but I felt a prompt to empty my pockets into the offering basket. That evening we had one of the occasional "Sunday in the City" prayer gatherings. I was asked to share something about IgniteHope. I chose Hebrews 11:1 as my introduction.

" Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." It was natural to share this as we could not humanly see how it would be done but God was in charge.

The next day during team prayers at 9am I was prompted to share the same verse but emphasised that the key to how much faith we had was related to the confidence & assurance that we have. As a result of this I declared that we would pay the marquee bill by Wednesday. Also a bill for the deposit for the ourdoor stage that had arrived would be paid by Friday. We all agreed on this and declared that we had faith that God would supply for all our needs! I decided to plot our journey on twitter and facebook so that friends could watch how God provided for us. It was at this point that Lois Seco was prompted to tell me that she had felt God tell her that the Exodus 36 scriptures were for IgniteHope.

So back to the marquee bill..... What I was unaware of was money had been trickling in and we were £240 pounds away from being able to pay the bill. The post arrived and there was an anonymous cheque for £240! By lunchtime I had signed the cheque. As we were busy praising God, I remembered to update my twitter followers and facebook friends. The news encouraged many but it also reminded one of our site managers that he had a bill that he had forgotten to submit for over £900. With this timely reminder he called the office.

We surround ourselves with great people. It is one of the joys of ministry to be labouring with special people. Now this particular guy, although he had forgotten to tell us about this important deposit was kind enough to offer to write a personal cheque for the bill as a loan. Honestly, my initial reaction was to accept this but I felt a check in my spirit that we should invite him to join our journey.

By Wednesday, God had provided enough income for us to pay the deposit for the stage (remember I had said it would be paid by Friday at the latest). Thursday saw me travel up to London. I met a couple of guys on the train both of whom were excited about what God was doing as they had heard through twitter. Later in the day the office called to tell me that the final deposit was on my desk waiting to be signed! We had seen Him meet every need. We had no money left but we also had no debts either!

The next day at team prayers, Chris who is only in on that day said that God had reminded her of a story from the bible. Although she could not remember where it was it was about the builders telling Moses they did not need any more gifts to build the temple. I was of course able to remindf her it was Exodus 36. The others in the team were excited, as I was, that this was God re-confirming His promise.I got a call from a friend who had heard the story. He was kindly offering a £1,000 donation & he was willing to get it to us that day. I was able to say that he could send it at his leisure as we had enough. (again reminiscent of Exodus 36).

As we continue this journey, each day there seems to be something that is challenging us. However  we are certain that we are on the right road and in all of our ways He will make our paths straight.

 

Below is a circular that was sent to me. I post it without comment but would be interested in yours!

 

 

From:

Confucius apparently said “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”  This famous chinese quotation certainly echoes with truth for me. I love my job. Occassionally, very ocassionally I am ill. There are few things that will get me back to work quicker than the output of daytime tv. The vacous and frankly sexist chat of "Loose Women" the odious manner of Jeremy Kyle & the premis of his misery glorifying programme, the endless torment of daytime soaps are all enough to get me back to my desk with all manner of petty illness banished to the recesses of my brain!

One day, I caught a bit of a programme where a group of detectives were trying to find the unknown heirs of  money left to them in wills of dead relatives. There were two requirements, they had to be found and then they have to claim the money but proving they are the rightful heirs. Without the involvement of the heirs the money simply goes to the government. Now let me add this. It's not a great programme, I only watched half of it & it encouraged me to get in the shower and get to my desk. However I did recall it as I sat down this morning to delve a little deeper into the book of Joshua.

In reminding Joshua the Moses was dead (v2) God then begins to share with him the plans He has for his life & the people of Israel. As I read the words again I find them inspirational. God tells him He will give him every place he sets his foot (v3) and that he will never leave him (v5). We too can experience this if we are walking in obedience in the will of God.

However, as we read on it becomes clear that Joshua has key part in ensuring that he can claim the land, the land of his inheritence. The victory that God will give him can 0nly take place if Joshua plays his part in leading the people in battle for the promised land. Indeed although God promises him victory he does NOT promise him an easy fight. From verse 6 we see the phrases "Be Strong & Courageous" then "Be strong and very courageous" (v7) Then again "Be strong & courageous" (v9) I think we can assume for God to day this 3 times within 4 verses then the fight will be hard and scary. The inheritence was not going to be willingly given, it would have to be fought for and taken.

As a leader I can see the lesson here is that I must use all my God given talents, gifts and resources to bring about the purpose that He has called me to. God's plan to use people to bring about His kingdom might be a mystery to us but it is still His plan! It might be a fight, it might be a battle but we cannot assume that God will allow us to experience the prospering plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11) if we do not play our part.

Secondly, in order to claim the inheritence we must do it His way not our way. In promising Joshua success in the battle God was clear to ensure he knew this was conditional on him being obedient to the word of God. (7-8). The success & prosperity of the plan were only guaranteed if he followed God's guidance.

It is clear it is not sufficient to receive a vision from God, we also need to follow his strategy. As i reflect on this, I recall times when I have been given a vision from God & then proceeded to just get on with it using my experience, my gifts, my ideas. Sometimes it has worked, sometimes not but I do believe the results have not been as effective as they could have been if I had waited long enough to get a strategy from God.

Finally, one thing that God has been reminding me of a lot in the last few weeks. 

the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.

Depending on which translation you read the second part of this quote can be understood that it is forceful men that advance the kingdom of God or it is forceful men that oppose it advancement. Either way, it will require force to extend it not passivity or a people in retreat. So as for me and my team we are going for it. We are advancing, claiming the land and fighting the battle. Are you in?

Over the years I have found myself returning to the book of Joshua time and time again as I try to navigate life and ministry. I continue to find it challenging and inspiring. This time I thought rather than journal on it, I would blog!

We see from the very first mention of Joshua that this man is a leader. However he is also a servant. His introduction in Exodus 17:8-15 shows us as a man who is operating under the authority of Moses but is a formidable leader of men. This was a major test for the children of Israel. They were attacked by the Amalekites. The text would suggest already there existed a close relationship between Moses and Joshua as he instructed to "choose some of our men.." Although Moses is the key leader in history up until this point, he is not a lone ranger. He has his brother Aaron with him and Hur (a man filled with the spirit of God) as well as his aide and trusty general Joshua. There are a few of key things we learn from this. The first is:

1) Good leaders surround themselves with good people.

As the battle goes on we do not hear that Joshua is struggling but we know that Moses finding it difficult to hold up is arms. Aaron and Hur are key not only to the outcome but to ensuring that Moses delivers what he has promised.

As Joshua goes into battle Moses is aware that there is a link between their success and his relationship with God. The staff he carries has been key to how God has worked amongst his people. Moses declares that he will hold his staff aloft whilst the battle is taking place. The key to the battle is trusting in God AND taking action. Joshua still had to fight!

2) No Action without prayer. No prayer without action

It is not either or, it's both/and!

Although Joshua is clearly capable of not just leading men but leading the best men, at this point his primary role is to serve. My friend James Galloway calls this followship. Moses is God's man at this point in the history of his people. now we know that Joseph's moment will come but at this point he is called to serve the man of God. At this point God was not revealing vision directly to Joshua, he was speaking to Moses. I talk with a lot of people who are paralysed through inertia. They do not what what God wants them to do so they do nothing. So here is the next thing we need to learn.

3) If God hasn't given you a vision serve someone elses!

It's a simple principle. When God is on the move, don't be left behind. By being in the plans & purposes of God it will be much easier for you to hear His voice as and when he begins to speak vision & purpose into your life. Joshua's time in the spotlight was to come but until that point he just served.

One more point

4) God doesn't call everyone to primary leadership.

Earlier, I mentioned Aaron and Hur. Incredible men. Essential in the purposes of God but neither of them were designated as a number 1. All leaders must have followers. Not all followers will become leaders.

We also see from Exodus 17:14 that Joshua wasn't just called by Moses but had the blessing of the Lord. God is clear that He wants Joshua to be aware that He was with him. When we are fighting a battle on behalf of God we can be assured He is with us and will never forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)

Mark Driscoll is a great communicator.  A Poster of a US mega-church & beloved of the charismatic calvinist movement. He is not unaccustomed to being controversial. The sermon below must rank as his one of his most controversial statements. BUT WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

At Soul Survivor, I grabbed a coffee with my mate Andy Hawthorne. We talked about loads of kingdom stuff & also a key partnership we are developing in India. We also talked about the transforming nature of Jesus. I just watched his talk at this years National Prayer Breakfast. Take some time to watch ot for yourself, you will not be disappointed.