Friends Newsletter - December 2011
Dear Friends of Magdalen Road Church,
The second half of 2011 has been a very positive one, but not without its strains.
New Assistant - Dan Steel
The arrival of Dan Steel as Assistant Pastor has made an enormous difference, particularly for me personally. I don't think I had realised how tired I was until he arrived to share the burden. Indeed that tiredness resulted in me developing mild stress symptoms in September when I returned from our holidays. In response we agreed that Dan should immediately take on a large proportion of the managerial leadership which he has done admirably. 
Dan has brought a sense of calm organisation to the heart of the church which has been enormously helpful. Perhaps partly as a result of this we have seen a number of fine new people arrive in the church over the autumn and a general sense that our core is stronger.
International students
I mentioned in our last newsletter that we were hoping to launch a new outreach to international students called iConnect. This was launched by Richard and Catherine Weston in October and has slowly established itself. The regular group is presently small but the one-off events have gathered over twenty students at times. We are optimistic that this will grow in size and usefulness as we persevere.
"A Bold Gospel Plan"
Perhaps more significantly our elders' retreat in July was extremely fruitful. Out of it came a paper which we have presented to the church under the heading of "a bold gospel plan." Initially the plan involves a greater emphasis on the enormous number of young adults in the area. We have renewed our evening service, added a meal beforehand, and it has rapidly become a much more vibrant and useful part of our life.
However the main element of the plan is longer term. We are proposing firstly that we should actively seek a building in inner East Oxford which will be an appropriate and useful centre for long term mission and ministry. We are currently exploring a couple of options which I will update you on in the next few months. Please be in prayer for this. Alongside this we feel we must also explore the possibility of a church plant of some kind in the next three years. Discussions are at a very early stage but I will keep you informed.
Further developments
Beyond these things we are presently involved in several active discussions about training on a wider basis. A couple of years ago we launched a "trainee fund" to which a number of Friends of Magdalen Road generously contributed. However we have been disappointed that no suitable candidates for a trainee post have so far come forward, so the money is still waiting to be used. However, that may be about to change. I am hoping that I will have more to say in the spring.
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I am deeply grateful for your interest in Magdalen Road Church and for your prayers. There is hardly a day which goes by when I am not reminded of my personal weakness and our weakness as a church. But I am greatly encouraged that we have praying friends, and that weakness is no bar to gospel usefulness.
My power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
I wish you a happy and fruitful Christmas.
Peter Comont.
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Peter Comont, 08/12/2011 |
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