So What's Next???

As a visionary I am always looking forward - always looking for the next thing. As an overseer though I also see that attention to detail is need for any organisation to rule well. So guess there is always that tension in my life. I want to do things well with excellence to best of our ability but I also want things to grow and quick. I only have one life and I want to achieve as much as I can as quickly as possible. I want my life to count and I want to follow God and his will. How I see it though is that God's will is to transform the face of Morecambe which is where he has planted us (for now!) It is frustrating me right now that there is an empty property sat right next to our at West End Impact's building and what we could do with that building is immense. We would have more space for church on Sunday's which is soon going to be needed - We could have retail units for social enterprises!! this would bring money into the organisation, teach new skills and provide jobs for the unemployed. We could two flats to house people urgently until they can be rehoused and rehabilitated with the support they need. We would have a space for offices that we could work in and rent out. We would have space for life skills seminars, and training and Alpha courses, and activities for kids, youth club etc. We would have a music and arts studio!! We'd create employment for builders and semi-skilled handy men/women to do up Morecambes' run down properties and shops. Of course we would still have the old building so we could have the cafe open more, and drop-ins for the homeless would still remain. We'd have more storage for the food bank and maybe have some start up packs for people we re-house. Probably a whole lot more would be possible - with God all things are possible.

The thing is I know it takes time and there are certain structures and people and resources that need to put into place first. We need people with the know how and strength and willingness to carry the vision alongside us. We need to have time to mentor and train people, and write job descriptions and do volunteer training so people know where they are and what their role is. We need to have meetings to discuss how things can be improved and what teams can be put in place. We need to pray with people and pull them along sometimes when they are struggling!! We need to have the conversations that will show people they can do something rather than them feeling they can't do anything. We need make sure that all our policies, procedures, and structures are up-to-date and working - if they're not working they need changing. We also sometimes have to have the hard conversation of telling someone they aren't doing something well and perhaps they should think of another path. To keep the balance between the vision and the carrying out of the vision is sometimes difficult to take, and prayer is the key through it all. We also need to disciple people and teach God's word and spur each other on to good works and service. It's massive but God seems to think we can do it!!! I sometimes ask God why he can't make it easier, why everything has to be such an uphill struggle but as yet I haven't had many answers. I guess God has lessons for us to learn along the way. My prayer is that God will continue to use us to fulfill his vision in Morecambe and that he will open up the floodgates of heaven and Holy Spirit to enable us to do it!!

The Reality of the West End

Last Thursday I witnessed a tragedy that really moved me and I also heard some news that angered and disturbed me!! I saw a fight in the West End just outside the chemist across from IMPACT with a guy who had a metal bar and a Staffordshire terrier it was brutal. I also learnt that we had a 'Loan Shark' coming into IMPACT lending people money and then setting gangs on people when they didn't pay double and triple the amount back within a week or two!! It brought home to me the deprivation in the lives of the people living on our doorstep at MCC/IMPACT. To them this was just life, normal, and to be expected. To me it was shocking and it enraged me and I have been praying about every since. It has left me with a sense of helplessness of not being able to show these people that that is not what life is about - that its not normal its not how life is or should be. We are on the frontline here guys and we need some way of showing these people GOD and who he is. For those of us who live lifes where fear every day is not the norm, its hard to believe that people live like this on our doorstep, where fighting and people chasing you for money you owe is an everyday issue. A life of survival. For us where life is safe and secure and middle class God doesn't also make a radical difference to our lives - for them GOD would absolutely blow their worlds apart - so join me in prayer on how on earth we are going to reach them!!! THANKS

West End Impact 4-10 Heysham Road Morecambe