[This reflection by Dennis Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 06/Apr/2025]
I’ve been thinking a lot about reaching out into our community, and in particular the way Jesus touched so many lives.
A great example is found in the story of Jesus and the woman at the well (in John’s gospel Chapter 4), Jesus (1) strikes up a conversation, (2) does something amazing, and THEN (3) speaks life-changing words to her. He caught her attention in a personal conversation, ‘read her mail’, revealed his identity to her, and offered her eternal life (living water).
HOTS has it right, I think. Healing on the Streets began in Northern Ireland about 20 years ago. (You can read their story in a book entitled Stepping into the Impossible by Mark Marx, the pioneer of the phenomenon). All over the world now, teams of Christians from all sorts of churches set themselves up in town squares offering healing in the name of Jesus. Their boldness, their absolute trust in God, their faithfulness in getting out there week after week, come rain or shine, and the ASTONISHING HEALINGS that are soon being talked about all around the community are resulting in many, many people putting their trust in Jesus. First the surprise, THEN the clarification! People are interested!
Chris already does that consistently in the supermarket and on Court Lodge. She and I are taking inspiration from HOTS and Jesus, which is scary stuff, but I feel it is part and parcel of what Jesus has commanded us to do (Mark 16: 15 -18). Are any of you able to summon up the courage to step out of your comfort zone and try something similar? It’s a big ask, but most of the time that’s what’s necessary for us to experience those ‘greater things’ Jesus said we would do after he went to be with his Father (John 14:12).
Blessings …
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Last Sunday’s reflection: The Gift of Motherhood by Helen Ruffhead
Contributed by Dennis Ginter; © Dennis Ginter