Paul's Story

Our church is really small
We're a house fellowship
Our focus, in terms of encouraging people to share Jesus, is really by praying for one another, and I would say recently, we've got an increased burden for that
To be actually praying for each other where we are, in the context that God is giving us
So we focus on real life, but we want to do that with the intention of sharing the gospel
We don't do programmes for evangelism, but we want to bring people into relationship with the group, where possible, but we also want to resource the individuals in the group to be where they are, in work, in their neighbourhoods and family, sharing Christ"
I wish I could say that prayer was absolutely foundational to our outreach, but it should be, and I think we've been learning that more recently"
I'm trying to learn that it shouldn't be about me saying, "Lord, look here's what I'm doing, "and please bless it and use it
But I want to be saying, "Lord, what are you doing and how can I follow that
Because I think the Lord is at work in people's lives, and when we encounter them, we realise he's already been speaking to them, and it's being sensitive to how his Spirit is leading us to say, how do we speak into what he's already doing
So prayer for me is about seeking God's heart, both in terms of how we see other people, to see them as he sees them, with compassion and with love, but also then, to have the sensitivity to his leading to know how do we be his voice, and speak in, and be his instruments in their lives