17th July 2017 

STEPS
WOW!  We started this month with the news that we have already raised over £270,000 from pledges through the STEPS process!  This is amazing, and actually the figure continues to grow, as people catch-up with sending in their pledge forms. This figure is likely to rise beyond £300,000, as we know of several pledges which have yet to be submitted.  If you haven’t quite managed to submit your own pledge, you can still do so by emailing Anne, or as most people have, by filling in the forms available from either Headingley Methodist on a Sunday morning, or from the church office through the week.
 

• Pray that we will hear God’s prompting and His voice, that we will continue to give generously, and that we will all feel a sense of being able to contribute, according to our own circumstances, to this amazing project and opportunity.

 

Building
Nothing seems to happen very quickly when dealing with the purchase of a large, commercial building like this!  We are still in ongoing discussions with various organisations/engineers/architects regarding the structural survey and further development/renovation works for the building.
 

• Continue to pray for patience, wisdom and guidance as we proceed.

 
Big Rocks
As we consider the building and its potential uses for serving this community and extending the very real impact of God’s kingdom throughout Headingley and beyond, we are developing a clearer sense of the ‘Big Rocks’ which would form the core of these various projects and ministries:
 

• 24/7 Prayer Room
• A space for young people to meet and hear the gospel
• Hosting events and conferences
• Providing resources and services to support families
• Facilitating training of various types
• Providing office space for our own church, and possibly other local businesses as well
• Creating a safe place for people of all ages and life situations to find refuge
• Housing services, possibly including some sort of sheltered housing.

Over the coming weeks, through this blog, I will be describing these Big Rocks in more detail to further explore what we can expect to see in the new building, and just what that could look like.
 

• Pray that, as a community, we will continue to seek God’s inspiration at this time, and that we won’t be constrained by our preconceptions of what can or can’t be done.  Pray that we would engage with the movements and leading of the Holy Spirit to recognise the ways that we can effectively serve the people of Headingley.
• Ask God to reveal to you the particular ways that you may be able to get involved once the new building is established.  Has God placed an idea for a ‘Big Rock’ or even a ‘Small Rock’ on your own heart?  Firstly, we would encourage you to share this idea with someone close to you, but to also get in touch, and share it with us, so that we can consider all possibilities!

Ideas
I have been blessed by a great many contributions already - If you have your own dreams/visions/prophecies for this project, then please contact the Leeds Vineyard office, so that we can continue to gather inspiration and understand better what God may have planned for us in the coming months/years, as we tread with excitement and anticipation down this new path.


Phil Hicks