Owen Benoy (right) and Joe Middleton (left)
Recently, Joe and I have had the opportunity to preach at Gleneagles, based on the Good Samaritan (See Luke 10:25-37). One of the points we drew to was the reality there should be no limitations or barriers when it comes to sharing the Good News. To be like the Samaritan, we have to be prepared to cross cultural boundaries, awkwardness and most importantly, our own comfort zones.
One way that Joe and I have been living this out is in our school. We go to a Church of England school in Kettering, which unfortunately is only C of E by name. We, along with a handful of other Christians in the sixth form, have been keen to see God back at the centre of this school, and see more people come to Him.
Since starting this year, the whole vibe about the Chapel has changed; many more people are interested and are coming in to ask about Jesus and get prayer. The Christian Unions used to struggle to get into double figures, yet recently there have been more than 40 people packed into the Chapel during a lunch hour (with a little help from a chocolate as an incentive) and have at least learned something more about who God is.
God has also given us a vision for us to minister to the teachers, and with the God-given support from our Headmistress, we recently set up a short reflection time for them, accompanied by our worship, preaching and prayer for them. I have received numerous comments from teachers and the Headmistress herself, showing their gratitude for our actions.
We will now extend this ‘event’ and create a longer time/ space to minister to students, with the hope that God might meet with them.
Not only have we seen God’s miracles in growth, but also in healing. A friend of mine suffered from a neurological disorder which is almost identical to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) (she was too young to fully diagnose). One afternoon, before she was about to go for a decisive MRI scan, we prayed for her. To our surprise and amazement, she said she felt that the constant buzzing in her brain had stopped. The next day she came in to school with joy racing through her; she was healed, which was confirmed by the MRI!
Coinciding with this, she and I have had the opportunity to speak to a large youth group in Corby where she shared this testimony to great response.
Ultimately, these opportunities and miracles haven’t been handed to us on a platter. The reason this year is so special stems from the many prayers for us, and commitment from previous generations. God has taken these and released them into action, blessing us with answers to these prayers particularly this year.
So please do go looking for and praying for answers into the ways in which God is calling you to minister to His people, as we are all definitely called to.
Owen Benoy
