A Gathering at Holmsted

Christy and myself, along with another couple here at Holmsted, had the privilege of organising and hosting a DTS (Discipleship Training School) Gathering here at Holmsted in February.

A DTS Gathering is were we gather a number of DTS’s from around the country gather together in one location for a week of teaching and actively going out and sharing the love of Jesus in the local area. The weeks teaching normally focuses on this and what is mission. We had over 50 people come from all over the country to be apart of what was going on.

I always really enjoy these weeks as it both challenges and encourages people to think about why mission is important and why sharing the love of Jesus with other’s is important. For some of the trainees it is the first time they have actually been asked to go out on the streets and share some of who they know God to be with the people they meet, which can be both scary and exciting.

Over the week we had some great teachers, including Lynn Green who helped to establish YWAM (Youth With A Mission) England back in the 70’s. Talking about why mission is an integral part of the Christian life, both at home in the places we live, as well as in other cultures. I really loved to hear some of the stories of what God has done and be encouraged to chase after him and ask him for my own stories.

We split those who came into 4 different groups, sending them to 4 different locations during the week. We went to Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, Crawley, and Brighton, all places close to where we are based. We asked people to listen to what God was saying and to go and do that in the places where they went. Our theme for the week was ‘celebrating real love’ as the last day of the gathering was valentines day, so all the groups used this as a basis for what they were doing while out.

                           

I know that a lot of conversations happened with people on the street, with a lot of people being prayed for and at least 3 people made a firm commitment to follow Jesus. I had a great week, I love to be able to encourage people to share their faith and also be able to go out and do the same, and I know that God did a lot with all who came.