Annual Report 08-09

Roughly twice a year we gather everyone at Mosaic to look together at some of the highlights of our community life then talk about our hopes and challenges for the coming year. This church wide meeting is a crucial communication point for the church. Anyone can ask anything (and usually do) about the running of the church.

Last Sunday we held this meeting and if you missed it, here is the annual report which summarises all that we presented. Enjoy!
Download the Annual Report 08-09

Bonjour tout le monde! Greetings from sunny Paris!

We have been having an amazing time here with our friends from Le Chemin, la Verite et La Vie church. The gospel has been shared with people of many different nationalities and from different walks of life, we have seen healings and salvation and the church in Paris has been strengthened and encouraged, God is really at work in this city and it has been a privilege to share in all that He is doing here.

Each day we have been joined by members of the church to go out ‘treasure hunting’ on the streets of Paris. Before going out together we have prayed that God would give us pictures and clues about the places he wants us to go and the people he wants us to meet. We have been led on some amazing adventures and have found some exciting treasures!

Here are a few stories to whet your appetite:

We have spent a couple of days in an area called La Defense which is an important centre for business and commerce. Before setting out one team compared their clues and found that they had ‘dreadlocks’, ‘blade’, ‘right arm’, ‘video games’ and the name ‘Emily’. They headed to a ‘video games’ shop as that seemed like the most obvious place to be and when they arrived they saw a giant cardboard cut out of Jack Sparrow who has ‘dreadlocks’! They stood by Jack wondering where to go next and then noticed a dvd of the film ‘Blade’ that had been put back in the wrong place. It seemed like their clues were coming together so they thought they’d speak to the next person they saw and see if they matched up with any of their other clues. When they approached the lady at the cash desk and explained to her that they were on a treasure hunt and their clues had led them to her she was really excited and was keen to hear more about what they were doing and why. She said that the lady that worked in the shop next door was called ‘Emily’ so the team headed next door to meet her. On speaking to Emily they discovered that she had pain in her ‘right arm’ so they were able to pray that it would be healed. Emily’s boss arrived back at that point and she was anxious that the team leave the shop but they returned to the video games shop and shared more with the lady they had met there - she’s hopefully coming out for a drink with us this Saturday night!
On the same day some members of the team had found an area where they could play and sing worship music in the open. Many people stopped to listen and a couple of team members had a conversation with a man called Francois who had always believed in God but had been disillusioned and confused by his experience of religion. Francois was really keen to speak with them and gave His life to Jesus right there and then! Members of the church will be meeting up with him and he is hoping to come to the church, please pray for him.
Today we have spent time in an area called Issy which is where the church is located. A team set out with the clues ‘metal post’ (but not a lamppost), ‘manhole cover’, ‘digital clock’, ‘metal railings’, ‘nail varnish’, ‘something around the neck’, ‘infection’ and unknown to them another team had the clue ‘encouragement in evangelism’. They arrived at the square where the band were playing worship songs and found a metal lamp-post with no lamp on, by some railings and a manhole cover opposite the pharmacy which had a digital clock in the window. They thought they were probably in the right place so they waited to see if any treasure would come along! They soon spotted two ladies who were singing along to the music so they approached and asked if they were christians. The ladies were sisters, Naomi and Joy. Joy was wearing a neck scarf and nail varnish. The team explained what they were doing and asked if there was anything that they could pray for them. Joy said that she had a scalp infection that was often really itchy and irritable so the team prayed for her. Naomi said that she was fearful of sharing the gospel with people and would like prayer for that - as the team prayed she got down on her knees on the street. Joy and Naomi both go to a church in another part of the city, please pray that they and their church are encouraged and given new vision to see God’s kingdom come in Paris.

Tonight we are heading to a café called ‘Chez Benjamin’ to meet up with some of the people we have met this week.

We would love you to join us in prayer for:
1. Friends and contacts made this week to make it to the café tonight.
2. Friends and contacts made this week to come to church tomorrow.
3. God’s word to lead us through the next 24hours as we continue to share the good news of His son.

Thanks for you prayers, see you soon

Adventure Parisienne: Premiere Partie

Paris is a beautiful, bustling city where people of all nationalities mingle together to live, work and play. On Friday 10th April fifteen people from Mosaic Church arrived here in Paris amidst throngs of holidaymakers to celebrate Easter with Le Chemin la Verite et la Vie Church and spend a week on mission together.

Le Chemin la Verite et la Vie (the way the truth and the life) Church was planted in the summer of 2008 after God spoke to it’s leaders about unblocking wells of living water that exist in the city of Paris. The vision of the church is to build a community of believers that remain in the presence of God and live in His freedom and grace.

In the two days that we have spent with the church we feel as though we have been welcomed into a big family.  Today, Sunday, we joined the church for their Easter morning service, shared a delicious bring and share lunch and took communion with our new found Parisian brothers and sisters.

We are so excited about all that God is going to do in us, the church, the city and the nation this week as a result of His desire to see a church established here in Paris.

Tomorrow we will be joining with members of Le Chemin la Verite et le Vie Church to go into the city in teams of 3 or 4, asking God to lead us to people with whom we can share the truth about Jesus. Most of us feel that our language skills are being stretched and are aware of the challenges that face us as we seek to connect and communicate with the people that we meet, your prayers for this would be very much appreciated - it is only with God’s help that we can do it!

We are praying that we can be completely obedient to God’s leading and guidance as we search the streets of Paris for His lost coins.

Easter Saturday Reflections

I watched BBC's "The Passion' on IPlayer yesterday to connect again with the build up to Christ's death on Good Friday. However I'm never sure how to engage with the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

This morning I came across this quote from an ancient homily that proved a helpful launchpad into the following readings.  Isaiah 54:5-14; Psalm 30:1-4; Job 14:1-14; Psalm 18:4-6; Ezekiel 37:1,11-14; Psalm 143:7-10; John 2:18-22; Psalm 30:8-12. 

Here’s the quote
Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness.  The whole earth keep silence because the king is asleep.  The earth trembles and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began.  God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear…

John 2:18-22
18 Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

I hope you find it helpful.

Church in the Big Apple

For the last two days, we’ve been meeting with staff members from Redeemer church in New York. The church was started in 1989 with a dozen people and now gathers around 5000 each weekend in several different locations around the city. It has helped plant over 100 churches and last year invested nearly $2 million into social action projects.

Every person we’ve met speaks with excitement over the vision to impact the city with the gospel.  However impressive this is, Pip and I have been challenged by one thing in particular.  Redeemer believes God wants the local Church to go into the city and bless it, change it, redeem it and by doing so influence the culture of all of the United states.

Practically, their ministry goals are three-fold:
Equip individuals to fully apply the gospel to their lives and develop a Christian worldview of their profession or industry.
Connect professionals within a field in ways that inspire and challenge gospel-centered behavior.
Mobilize their leaders to become agents of change for the common good inside existing institutions and by creating new ones.

Personally I’ve realised how little we focus on this crucial area.  So often we create a culture that values church ministry over and above workplace mission.  We have over emphasised the secular/sacred divide to leave people thinking their job is simply a means to an end.

Excitingly, our mission group structure provides a brilliant framework to bring together people in the marketplace to support and encourage each other.  Perhaps our training in MTS and FP Impact needs to include a more focussed approach to faith and work? Surely our workers need to be trained to the same degree as our church planters!

Apart from our meetings, we’ve managed to view a beautiful sunset from the Empire State building and walk around Times Square (see photo). We would value your prayers though as we leave for Chicago today and are meeting with Steve Nicholson who heads up church planting for the Vineyard group of churches.

Giving it all

Giving doesn't come easy to me, and if we're honest, many of us. Don't get me wrong, I/we give, but sometimes it is with a sense of duty, that we must because we're Christians, or a feeling that somehow we can buy our way into heaven. Sometimes to be honest, I/we miss God's freeing grace for us in our giving through a misunderstanding of what He wants from us.

This coming weekend, 1st March, is the first of two ‘Special Offering’ Sundays, the second being on the 8th March.  What better opportunity to take a quick look at what God has to say about our giving.

When Jesus speaks to His disciples about the heart of a giver He tells the story of a poor widow.  When Jesus speaks to us, His disciples, He uses the same story found in Mark 12.  It reads:

”...Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.  Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.  Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury more than all the others.  They gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on.’”

What an awe inspiring story. The profound hidden reality of this story is two fold:

1.    Jesus has given everything so that we might have everything.

The blood that Jesus shed on the cross has paid the wages of my sin, meaning I have no debt to pay to God - it is already paid!  I cannot buy my way into heaven with my cash - He has already paid for it.  The story teaches us that whatever I choose to give to God and His church has no bearing on whether or not He forgives me, blesses or loves me.  This means I am free to give without guilt, pressure or duty.  I am free to give with joy, without a hidden agenda of settling a debt.

2.    Jesus has given everything so that we might give everything.

Our only response, given the price paid for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is to give our everything.  The widow didn’t give what she could afford, the surface scraps of her lifestyle, she “put in everything - all she had to live on”.  Does this mean I have to put all my wages and bank balance into the offering bowl?  No!  It means that God wants my heart to be trusting in Him, not my bank manager.  He wants me to trust Him for my rent, my food, my spending money and even my giving.  Ultimately, Jesus is asking His disciples to trust in Him, and give Him everything.

So, how much should I give this weekend?
The short answer, for some of us rather uncomfortably, is everything - my whole life!  The old hymn writer put it like this: “Take my life, let it be, consecrated Lord to Thee”.  I pray this week that God would be receiving our whole lives.  That we would trust Him with everything including our wallets and bank balances and that He would impart faith in us to pray for money we don’t have and give everything we do have, remembering that it’s about us joyfully giving ourselves to God of which our finances are only a part!

Special Offering Thoughts

In 2 Corinthians 6:3, the Apostle Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah and says “…I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.” I believe God wants to remind us of this promised blessing in this season of church life. So, as we start Alpha (which had over 100 in attendance on Wednesday) and as we ask God for £70,000, we need to experience God’s favour financially and trust God to bring salvation today!

Personally I’m sensing faith to pray for money for my family to give away.  And I’m trusting God to give all of us the grace we need for giving away generously and sacrificially.

Last week at Mosaic we handed out a letter giving the details of our special offering this year that begins on Sunday 1st March and runs over to the following week, Sunday 8th March.  This is the summary of the letter:

Over the last 4 years we have seen God form and shape us into a church now gathering over 300 people each week in two services.  We are just as committed to loving God, each other, our city, the underprivileged and the nations just as much as when we first began.  Our hope is that this special offering will give us the opportunity to deepen our impact on the city, enlarge our investment in people and engage those needing to hear about the love of Christ.

The Goal is £70,000
The Focus is People and Projects.

Part of our offering will be to invest in People, especially children.  We want to create the best kids ministry we can offer to families, and support our outreach work with young people in Holbeck and Cottingley. 

Our other focus is Projects.  We are looking to support our counselling ministry and facilities, finalise phase three of the building (includes replacing our borrowed PA system) and invest in church planting; initially in Paris but hopefully in many other cities across the globe.

So, we are asking you to pray now about what God would have you give, over and above your regular giving, to this special offering.  Each year we seek God together for His provision and each year he has been faithful, in fact we believe he “…is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”(Eph 3:20-21).

With love and thanks,

Matt Hatch
Lead Elder

On behalf of the Mosaic Eldership team
(Steve Vaughan and Chris Mason)

Mosaic Multiplication

What a Sunday we had last week: two services, 350 in attendance, Jesus Christ worshipped and adored, people befriended, councillors amazed - and all in one week!

Many thanks to everyone who worked hard to make the multiplication into two services go so smoothly.  Especially Dave and Claire Sorely and Suzie Brown who spent most of Saturday painting kids rooms and creating the best church creche I’ve ever seen!  I’m not sure how well we do formal services at Mosaic but it was brilliant to officially thank our builders for their hard work and have the Lord Mayor of Leeds officially open the building.  As he cut the ribbon he seemed genuinely surprised and impressed at what God is doing through our church community.  If you missed his speech and my short history of Mosaic Church then go to the podcasts page to listen.