Joe Leach June 2024

Good News

Most of us can quickly call to mind what we consider to be some of the best gifts we have ever received* whether we received them recently or a long time ago. And when we receive these gifts, it is natural and intuitive to us to want to tell other people about them. Of course, for any Christian, the greatest gift we have ever received is the gospel – the gift of God himself, which means hope, purpose, eternal life, and a load more. In this case however, for many believers, the idea of telling other people about this greatest of gifts can seem anything but natural and intuitive.

Over the past few weeks, we have been preaching about the Christian mission to tell others the good news about Jesus and have been trying to clarify that it’s not bad news that Christians are commissioned by Jesus himself to spread the Good News. In fact, the more we enjoy the Good News, the more we will be led to tell other people about the Good News. If we are struggling in mission then, the answer is not just to suck it and try harder but to return to our delight in God and his gift of himself. Then, the more we enjoy him and his gospel, the more we will tell others about him and his gospel.

We haven’t just been preaching about the Christian mission though. It is, after all, one thing to talk about proclaiming the gospel to the world; and another thing all together to get on with doing it. Over the last few weeks we have done several events and activities to engage with the wider community around us. It’s been a fairly busy time and I have been so encouraged to see all of Grace Church, in all three sites step up to make it happen. Here’s a rundown with some pics below:

Bognor (18th May) and Havant (8th June) site both did a £1 car wash. While people are waiting, drinks, ice creams and cakes are given out which makes for a great chance to connect. And at only £1, it looks like a bargain. It gets even better when people come to pay their money after having their car washed and we refuse to accept their payment, but give them £1 instead. It’s a great demonstration of the gospel where God just gives and gives to us and we can never pay him back a thing. It was great to see how people react to this small act of kindness.

Both sites washed over 30 cars and made loads of good connections. Havant had been giving out flyers to the local community on the Thursday before the event. As a result, most of the cars washed were those who had received a flyer and who live very locally to where we meet at Warblington School.

In Chichester, we did a family fun day at Florence Park in partnership with Julie’s Kiosk. For a few hours on Saturday 25th May, we had bouncy castles, face paints, fair games, and more. Everything was free and it was a brilliant way to connect with the local community and demonstrate something of God’s love.

Then, on 15th June we had not one, but two, Curry and Quiz nights: one at the Grace Centre in Chichester, the other at Southway School in Bognor. Each event had around 70 guests who came in to the buildings we worship in and there was a great time had by all at both events. 

It has been great to see the church step up, step out, and respond to Christ’s call to go. Thank you to everyone who has made it all happen.

Let’s not stop now! Let’s go deeper into our enjoyment of the greatest gift we have ever received in the Good News of the gospel, leading us to going deeper into naturally and intuitively telling other people about this greatest of gifts.

*In case you are wondering: N64, table tennis table and Nespresso machine are some of my highlights.