Rocking Baptism Service - 23rd May 2010

A great celebration of how God has transformed lives! Husband and wife Philip and Emma went first! Baby Jack cheered them on.

Up next was Gordon. Cheers echoes around the building as he proclaimed his new life! Carolyn was next.

Jonah and Sarah were up last as "My Redeemer Lives" echoed around the building.

Boys night out!

And so the night finally arrived! 20+ guys from Thriving Life converged on the bowling alleys at the Ice Bowl, Dundonald. The money was paid, the 'cool' shoes were adorned (various comments were made about the size of Mark's feet) and the lanes were assigned. It was down to business.

Gareth laid down the challenge with the claim that he was the one to beat, which in fact proved correct but we won't mention that!

Overall a great night was had by all. We laughed alot, we chatted and we bowled like we wanted to win. The golden arches provided a suitable end to a great night. Well done to Gareth for finishing top of the pile and to everyone else who finished somewhere beneath.

The aim of these nights is just to provide a opportunity for guys to spend time together and develop some friendships. If you are intertested in attending evenings similiar to this one, tick "Chill" on the SYNC card and leave us your details.

15 revolution stories

In the weeks leading up to Easter, Pastor Gareth challenged us to start a revolution! From Paul Scanlon's book '15 revlolution' he challenged us to be neighbours to those aorund us and inconvenience ourselves for the sake of the kingdom!

Here are some of the stories we've recieved so far:-

Keep the stories coming in at info@thrivinglifechurch.org and let's be the revolution!

Go on inconvenience yourself!

A Christmas Tale

4 nights:4 performances: over 700 tickets: God is good!What a honour to be able to host "A Christmas Tale" in the week running up to Christmas! For those of us who took part we really appreciated our minds being focussed on the true meaning of the season and enjoyed the experience of serving and worshiping together! See the website for more photos www.thrivinglifechurch.org/photos/

Celebration Sunday

Celebration Sunday was the culmination of our '40 days of Purpose' campaign. We broke open the chocolates, partied with balloons and enjoyed a real sense of God's presence with us.

We celebrated with those who had moved steps closer to understanding who God really is, with those whose lives have been transformed through a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and with those who were baptised declaring publically their desire for God to be their leader and forgiver.

And to echo the words of one of the songs, "O what a glorious , glorious day" it was.

40 days of Purpose!

Thriving Life Church have been talking about the '40 days of purpose' campaign for a long time! For so long it seemed to be something in the distance, but it is finally here!

Our pre-launch weekend was a special time in the life of the church. A chance for some of us to experience the power of prayer and fasting as we thought about our friends, family and neighbours that we have asked to join us in this experience. We broke fast with a meal together and enjoyed a non-service (as Gareth and Philip kept referring to it) of praise, prayer and the practical instructions for the next 40 days.

Notice the smiling faces after the food! The idea of doing a project like this or even all of us fasting on the same day, has given us a shared sense of 'purpose' and has had a unifying impact on many.

Day One - Sunday 18th Ocotber 2009

What on earth am I here for?

Day one of the campaign coincided with the launch of two services 10am and 11.30am. This was a huge operation for the teams that serve on a Sunday but as ever the servant hearts of the Thrivers showed up and both services went very well with many of you bringing the important people in your lives with you.

The idea of finding out your purpose in life in a fortune cookie, (pictured above) added a light hearted introduction to Gareth's message, when he reminded us that "Everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him" Colossians 1:16

There are 46 host homes running throughout the week where people from TLC are reading 'The Purpose Driven Life' and watching a short DVD together with their friends and family. Please remember to pray for those groups and share stories of how your group went. Feel free to email them to 40days@thrivinglifechurch.org

The 40 days of purpose is not a campaign sorely for the adults of the church, but the children and youth ministry teams have also done a fantastic job in preparing the campaign for 'Thriving Kids' and D4Y. As the adults read one chapter a day, the children and youth complete their journals and memorise verses from the bible. The opportunities for whole families to be impacted by God and find their purpose in life are there, and we have got to take them as they arise.

40 days of prayer for 40 days of purpose

Be encouraged church - God is already moving in the lives of our families and friends, but we must continue to underpin the campaign with prayer. Each weekday morning between 7.00 and 8.00am there are people at the church praying for you and your group! There has been a real sense of God's power at these meetings and we encourage you all to attend at least one a week and be involved in the power house behind the campaign.

Prayer is happening on Saturday mornings between 7.30 and 8.30am and on Sunday mornings at 9am. One of the values of our church is that full dependence on God is normal , so let us make a decision to depend on Him in prayer in the coming days!

Hope you can make Sunday as we think about the first purpose "You were planned for God's pleasure". Remember to keep reading one chapter a day, so on Sunday you will be beginning to read chapter 8.

International Ministry Team part 2 - MEXICO!

Firstly a huge thank you must be said for the support of the church, the farewell we received and the warm reception on our return was a real blessing. The fact that we knew that TLC held the team up in Prayer everyday made us all feel safe in the knowledge that although we were far away the hands and hearts of our brothers and sisters were right with us. THANK YOU!
Anyone writing about a trip to distant lands knows that the first hurdle to get over is the hours and hours of travel, whether it is by air, sea or land it is both tiring and at times life-sapping. Happily however the team spirits were very high and this buzz of excitement was like a wave which we rode out all the way to sunny Irapuato, Mexico. I must briefly mention the awesome view from Newark airport of the New York skyline, and the rather incredible donut breakfast that was shared (mostly between Johnny & Nathan) at Houston airport. After a rejuvenating stay at the Sheraton Hotel in Houston on we went to our destination, taking in the wonderful scenery of the Texas coast and the mountains of North Eastern Mexico.
Upon our arrival at Guanajuato International Airport we met our hosts Bill & Lydia Allshouse, along with their son Luke and daughter Ariel. The first test was in getting everyone through customs past a very suspicious official, fortunately Bill was able to intervene when two of the party were held up and their bags searched, twenty minutes later ‘honest’ Merv and Olwyn made it through, unfortunately after surrendering any medical equipment without a best before date on it. However we were soon on the road to Irapuato and all gazed excitedly out of the window at the sights and sounds of the real Mexico, which for the lads was the number of ‘cool’ trucks and automobiles unique to this part of the Americas.

Our first look at the Lazaro church was on the first Sunday when we arrived for the service. Initial impressions were that their worship band was amazing! Nathan immediately felt humbled by the outstanding quality of drumming, although he later discovered that the guy had been specially drafted in for our arrival. The whole team enjoyed listening (and playing along for Catherine) to the Spanish songs and the welcome we received really made us feel like we were at a home from home. Paul and Hannah shared their testimonies and the congregation listened intently.

The following day we began our work at Lazaro, which was mostly varied apart from the first two days which were spent solidly chiselling away at walls in order to prepare them for the wooden infrastructure needed to lay the concrete floor. Although it was very hot and tough work the mood among the workers was kept high by the trusty iPod blasting out the best worship hits! Much fun was had over the 7 days we worked on the site, and to see all the work that was carried out and the appreciation shown by people from the church really gave us a sense that we were making a difference.

Late on in the first week, Bill decided that we should see the area where the children came from for the kids club, and the community that the church had to reach out to. It affected everybody in the Van that day. Dusty streets, wild goats, one room homes and old men sat as children played football in the street. For many it was an eye opener and certainly spurred us all on to do our very best, during the time we had, to make a difference in these people’s lives. It was amazing to think that the wonderful 70 or 80 children that we had met at the Kids club in the first week had come from such poor homes as they were polite, respectful, well presented and very loving.

Over the middle weekend we ventured south of Irapuato into the state of Michoacán, the volcanic region of Mexico, taking in the beautiful scenery and the traditional industries of guitar making and copper production. Mervyn and Chris were especially excited about the possibility of picking up a handmade guitar and a lasting memory will be Bill escorting Mervyn from one shop to another trying to find ‘the one’, which he eventually did and proudly displayed it on the bonnet of the Van to whistles and coos from the rest of the team. Rachel also convinced her dad to buy her a violin so take note Melissa!! The trip was a great opportunity to recharge the batteries, one which Nathan gladly took by sleeping for twelve hours straight!

Our next Church visit was to the first church plant by the mission; Transformación in Irapuato. Again the service was very enjoyable, we had become well practiced at singing well known songs, but in Spanish and once again we felt a very warm and friendly welcome. We had the chance to sing for the congregation and Jim preached a message which one church member described as like a dagger to his heart, such is the descriptive passion of the Mexican people. The youth at Transformacion very quickly embraced the young people within our team and gained a lot from sharing their experiences of living as a Christian in a different culture from our own. Stewart and Paul especially were warmly welcomed by the ladies!

Finishing off at the project church at Lazaro brought mixed emotions; relief that the work was done, sadness that we wouldn’t be back to see the finished job and joy that we had managed to do so much, in such little time, that none of us had done before. It must be said that the Mexican master architect and his two assistants were absolutely amazing! They would have started before we arrived in the morning and worked all through the day, only stopping for food at around 2pm and then carrying on after we had left. If it wasn’t for their hard work and guidance then our efforts would have been useless, I hope that we remember them in our prayers and that God used the time we had alongside them to open their hearts to him.

I must give a paragraph to the great experience we all had at the Orphanage in Irapuato. We were welcomed by the manager of the organisation who was very pleased that we could spare some time to play with the children, but as it turned out nowhere near as excited as the children themselves! These kids were amazing; at first quiet and shy, within about 30 seconds they had us running all over the place to swings, slides and strangely enough several requests to just pick them up and let them hang from the gazebo bars. It really was an uplifting experience being able to have a manic two hours with some of the happiest and lively children many of us had ever met. The harsh reality however was that these children had little to look forward to and each of us felt a tinge of sadness at that thought. I’m sure if given the chance we’d have happily brought one or two home with us!

The last night of our adventure was, culinarily, the best; a huge BBQ at Raymondo the butcher’s house with 30+ people in attendance, birthday cakes for Stu and Johnny and good craic had by all! Keep er lit!

TLC Mexico Team 2009