The Net: Newsletter 22nd June 2008

The Net is close to my heart as I am convinced that it is something that God has had His hand in. We have seen new people come into St. Martin’s through The Net and I have seen members of the church play their part as evangelists. We should thank God for this. However, over the past months we have seen numbers decline and it has been difficult to justify all the hard work and effort put in by the leaders to see only 2 or 3 families come and join us. It had come to the stage where we had to consider letting this ministry of St. Martin’s be ‘pruned’ out of the life of the church.

I must admit that I could not see how we could make The Net the area of growth that we hoped for, I had no more ideas, nothing to suggest and I was completely frustrated by what was happening. Despite the prayers and sometimes tears, it was if God had gone very silent over this issue, just when we needed direction the most. The prayers were still being said, time and time again we pleaded with Him to show us the way forward, but nothing came. With no direction, no idea of how to overcome the problem and feeling totally inadequate, I could not see a future for The Net and I was ready to see it disappear.

Last Sunday’s Net service was going to influence our decision on the future. We did not expect many people as it was also Father’s Day and I was certainly expecting that we would have a great service but not be able to share it with many people. I fully expected that at the next leader meeting, we would see The Net close and hopefully see something else take its place.

To my amazement and joy we had over 30 people come, including at least 2 new families and we had a great time together. We even had more Dads last Sunday than I can remember!

What this episode has taught me is the importance of prayer and my thanks go out to all of you who have prayed for the Net over the past months, even years. I would like to think that we will see The Net grow and last Sunday was not just a one off. Whether that happens, is in God’s hands. I am certain, however, that the church needs to continue to hold The Net and it’s leaders Sue, Kath, Ann, Karen and Mick, together with all of the helpers that we have, in prayer as they use their gifts and ministry, to bring families living in our community to a place where they can meet the living Christ.

Yours in Christ

Martin