DECEMBER 2018
ISSUE 20
K I NGFI S H E R FAMILY Staying blessable 25 years on What a year 2018 has been! It has been a year of unprecedented uncertainty, dominated by Brexit negotiations. It has been a year of two royal weddings, of a betterthan-expected World Cup for England, of a record-breaking heatwave in the summer… 2018 is a year that will not be forgotten in a hurry. It is a year that is note-able for Kingfisher because it marks our 25th anniversary. Kingfisher was launched back in 1993 by a small group of people with a big dream to be part of a church that would be effective at reaching spiritually lost people, that would see genuine transformation as people came into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and that would be the place where fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ were raised up. A church that would be radially different to what many of us had experienced in the past. A church that focussed, not on the already convinced, but on the sceptical, yetto-be-convinced majority, who had lost faith in church to be the place where anything meaningful happened.
beginning to get the sense that His plans were bigger than our own! Back in January of this year, we had a Vision morning, where we looked ahead to what we believed were the challenges and opportunities that God was laying before us for the year ahead. Just a few weeks ago, we looked back on that Vision morning to assess the impact of that vision over the year. We began, back in January, to talk about three particular areas of challenge that God is setting before us:
“Let your Kingdom come; let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, NIV) We have been presented with the opportunity to experience all three of these areas of challenge this year, and will increasingly be in evidence as we head into 2019.
It strikes me that God has been presenting us with a real loving challenge this year - to come back to Him, to begin to raise our game and say, ‘Enough! Enough with accepting and expecting the • AUTHORITY minimum. Enough with living lives • JUBILEE that are really not blessable. We can • SPIRITUAL WARFARE. do better. We can live blessable lives. This year has shown we can be Authority comes out of a blessable church and what that IDENTITY. If we know who we are, feels like. we know what we are. If I now that • It feels like you can pray and see answers happen. my identity is found in Jesus Christ, • It feels like you can be honest then I know that I have authority to about brokenness and experience say, “Your Kingdom come; your will healing. be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” • It feels like you can dare to live life God’s way and discover that’s Jubilee is about release from the best way. bondage; restoration to a previous We follow a ‘more than’, not a ‘less state; rejoicing at new-found than’ God. And here at Kingfisher, freedom 25 years later, and we are still whether that is here at Tredworth, discovering the magnitude of that or at Westgate, or the Social Spiritual Warfare is about dream! Now active in eleven Enterprise, or the wider putting our spiritual authority into countries, with thousands of lost International family, we are action, understanding where the people int he process of being battle really lies: beyond the conflict experiencing more and more of that transformed into fully devoted we can see and fought with different ‘more than’ God. The God who followers of Jesus Christ, with nearly weapons than the world uses. Not longs to bless. Here’s what I think one thousand people signed up to He says: throwing insults at people over Support at the Cavern (a Treasure social media, not just getting angry Seekers Social Enterprise service) and shouting, or moaning about the Let me bless you. Live the alone, and with both the Police and problem, but understanding the life…be the church…that the NHS acknowledging that lives opens the door to the blessing authority that we actually have, have literally been saved, we are that only I can give. understanding what Jesus meant when He taught us to pray:
News from Kingfisher Church Christmas at Kingfisher Tredworth Christmas 2018 is almost upon us and with it comes the excitement and celebration of all the different parties and services that are held at Kingfisher Tredworth. On Sunday December 2nd at 10am we start our Christmas series, ‘A Thrill of Hope’. This theme that will take us through the Christmas season is a lyric taken from the well known carol, Oh Holy Night. A thrill is a sudden feeling of excitement and pleasure. and Christian Hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised. At Christmas we celebrate the advent, and the fulfilment, of God’s greatest promise, the sending of His one and only Son to earth, bringing salvation to our souls, restoration to our lives and devastation to the powers of darkness. In a world that is lacking hope and seeking thrills this series will remind us of the hope that we can have, as well as the excitement and pleasure that comes, from encountering Jesus and living life with Him! “And his name will be the hope of all the world.” Matthew 12:21 NLT. Who do you know who needs a thrill of hope right now? Who needs to experience God’s love and His peace and joy? Why not invite them to ‘come and see’?
If you have any time to come and volunteer your help at any of our Christmas parties or services then please email the church office. Please note: the pre-school parties are ticketed events.
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Another successful curry night *
Our annual curry night was held on 3rd November and it was a great success! Around 100 people came together to enjoy some great food and good company and over £600 was raised for Cancer Research and Macmillan Nurses. Thank you to Steve, Elaine and their team for putting on a fantastic evening for a great cause.
News from Kingfisher Treasure Seekers Chuckaboos is officially open! Treasure Seeklers were delighted that the Mayor of Gloucester, Joanne Brown, came to officially open Chuckaboos Tea Shop on Tuesday 30th October. Chuckaboos is a safe community space for older people to come and enjoy refreshments, good company, board games and sing-a-longs and is open every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10am until 4pm.
Kingfisher Treasure Seekers are partnering with The Wiggly Worm in their beautiful new community kitchen to help vulnerable and disadvantaged people to learn new cooking skills and to think about healthier options when it comes to food. Keep an eye on the Treasure Seekers website and Facebook page for details of some upcoming cooking sessions and courses.
Tea Room Communit� space for older people
10am - 4pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays Sing-along on Wednesdays 10am-11am Access through Treasure Seekers Hub 52 Westgate St�eet, Gloucester, GL1 2NF 01452 228489
Kingfisher Treasure Seekers Ltd
Treasure Seekers welcomes The Wiggly Worm
www.kftseekers.org.uk
/KFTreasureSeekers @kſtseekers
News from Kingfisher Treasure Seekers Treasure Seekers Gift Shop pops-up in Cheltenham! From the 10th to the 22nd of December, Treasure Seekers will have a pop-up shop in the Cheltenham Market, 252 Bath Road. The shop will be open between 10am and 6pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am to 3pm on a Sunday. Come in and check out our ethically sourced gifts and Christmas stock.
Themed discos We’ve recently had some fantastic themed discos and have a couple more to come this year but we need your help! What themes would you like to see at the discos next year? Let the disco team know.
News from the Kingfisher Family Introducing... Pastor John Kangethe from Kenya Pastor John has begun to be trained by Charles Mithowa, our National Director in Malawi, using Kingfisher leadership materials. He is the Pastor of Successful Christian Living Center in Nairobi, Kenya, and has recently travelled to the Kingfisher centre in Limbe, Malawi to undergo
some leadership training with Charles. Charles and John met through their shared interest in water purification projects. In April, James will be meeting up with Pastor Kangethe, together with leaders from Rwanda and Zimbabwe
to lead a regional conference of church leaders in Malawi. Please be praying for the real challenge of people being able to travel to Malawi - for safety on the roads, for permission to enter the country, for the Holy Spirit to really bless our time together.
A new Senior Pastor is commissioned in Spain Around 18 years ago, a church planting initiative was launched along the southern coast of Spain by Leslie and Chris Thomas. Over the following 18 years, Leslie fulfilled the role of Senior Pastor of this group of churches called Fellowship of the King, until, following a call from the Lord, he and Chris played down that baton and relocated to Belfast, Northern Ireland to start a new ministry there. Since that time, the Senior Leadership team of FTK have been seeking the Lord for a new Senior Pastor and on November 4th, Tim Slegg was commissioned to take on that role. Tim, along with his wife, Mary, were set aside for ministry in a powerful and moving service held at Nerja. Iain Anderson and Peter Hornlein (members of the senior
leadership team) and James laid hands on them and anointed Tim for this role of Senior Pastor. The congregation formally welcomed him and undertook to pray for him in this role and for Mary too, to encourage them and to move forward together into all that the Lord has prepared in this new season. Tim and Mary live in Grenada and have a passion for evangelism, not only in Spain, but in North
Africa too. Tim is also passionate about discipleship and encouraging pastors and leaders. This looks set to be an exciting new era for Fellowship of the King.
News from the Kingfisher Family An update from the Philippines The first of the five living quarters being built for the children attending the school in Sibug is finished! The home is now ready for Eyyan, Monica and Eyyans parents to move in and the rest of the quarters are well on the way to being completed. The amazing news is that Dumagat’s are growing in faith in Jesus due to the support they have received from the DEP to build their houses at the bottom of the mountain. The donations that the DEP sponsors give each month are changing, and saving, lives! Mike and Anna Leal, a Filipino couple from the UK who are DEP sponsors, visited the Dumagats at the end of September. They took out flip flops, snacks, clothes and blankets for the people in the mountains. The Dumagat people chose their flip flops, clothes and snacks, were served a meal and listened to Pastor Noel share about Jesus.
The mission house that Norlie and Rowena are helping to fund in Rio Chico is now complete, despite having to stop building work during last months typhoon.
Far right: Mike and Anna Leal
News from the Kingfisher Family Resources My Child
I Am Who I Am God has many names in the Bible, and each on reveals an aspect of His character that will bless us and strengthen us. This resource takes 40 of those names, explains what each one means and how it can significantly bless us in our lives.
What does a loving Heavenly Father want to say to the child that He loves? This booklet takes us on a forty day journey: Learning to listen to the God who speaks; choosing to feed on what will build us up; growing in endurance; become a life- long learner; growing in trust; taking the risk.
The God of Promise There are literally thousands of promises made in the Bible; promises people make to each other, promises people make to God, and most importantly of all, promises that God makes to us. Every single promise that He makes is backed up by a particular guarantee: the honour of His name (Psalm 138:2) Kingfisher International Family stands as testimony to the truth that, when God makes a promise, He keeps it. The amazing growth and development of this Family of churches and ministries that stretches around the world is based on the outworking of a series of promises made to us by God. Coming to understand those promises and, more importantly, the promises He has made in your life is an adventure that leads to some life-changing discoveries. Are you on that adventure with the God of Promise yet?
High Impact Christians What does the world expect of Christians today? Very little would probably be the honest answer. The church is marginalised, largely disregarded by policy-makers and the public alike, with Christianity seen at best as a life-style choice, one among many. When it comes to Christianity, society’s expectations are often low. This book challenges us to expect more - to set our sights on becoming High Impact Christians, just as were the believers in the Early church - those ordinary people who were impacted by an extraordinary encounter with Jesus Christ and who, as a result, turned the world upside-down. With opportunities for group discussion, this book highlights seen strategic ways of becoming a High Impact Christian in a low expectation world.
Visit the Resources page at www.kingfisher.org.uk for more details
GET INVOLVED WITH THE NEWSLETTER! In order for this newsletter to grow and develop, we need your help! If you go to any Kingfisher event and have taken a great photo, then please post it on our Facebook page or email it to Kirsty at kirstydalley@kingfisher.org.uk. The copy deadline for the next issue (due out in March 2019) is 14th February. If you would like to get involved in the production of the next newsletter then email us with your particular area of interest. Hope you enjoy hearing all that is happening across the Kingfisher Family!
Kingfisher Church Moor Street Tredworth Gloucester GL1 4NJ www.kingfisher.org.uk info@kingfisher.org.uk +441452 304339 Š Kingfisher Church, 2013