St. Thomas' Church
Barrowford

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New Year – time to reflect on the year ahead; a time for resolutions. Church life is no different.

We can start by counting our blessings – the quality of our church life; the many people who come into our building each week for a variety of uses; the people who use their gifts and time to build up our fellowship. Thank God for them and pray for them.

We can also think about renewing our energy as members of the church. The word GROW can help us work out how.


G is for God
God is the centre of all we do and all we are. And for us Christians it is a relationship of love. We start not with our love for God, but God’s love for us – each one of us is a special person whom God loves unconditionally. So make time for God – moments during the day to thank Him, refer things to Him, remind yourself that He cares about what you are up to, and quietly to enjoy His presence.


R is for Reading Reflectively
As Christians we are on a bit of a learning curve – trying to get our heads around a God who loves us, who sent his Son to die for us, who gives us eternal life.

One important way to grow in understanding is through reading – reading the Bible and praying about what you read; reading books by other Christians (you can borrow them from the church library); alternatively there are videos and church discussion groups through the year.


O is for Offering Ourselves
The church belongs to us. Ultimately its character depends on us and what we put into it. There are two main ways we can do this:

Offering our time. We depend on people exercising ministry, whether it is behind the scenes, or leading worship, or ministering to people outside the church. Think what you could do – not simply what you may be good at, but prayerfully ask what God might be calling you to do.

Offering our money. Thanks to your generosity we more or less break even on our budget. But our weekly giving is equivalent to less than the cost of half-way decent bottle of wine per adult! Think about what the church is worth to you; think about making church giving part of your monthly/weekly budget; think about increasing your giving; and use standing orders and gift-aid to maximise your generosity.


W is for Worship
Worship is the lifeblood of our church life. It is a time to focus on God and put things into perspective; to relax and be blessed; to be fed spiritually through prayer, hearing the Word of God, and enjoying union with God through bread and wine.

Sundays can be a difficult time for family with other pressures that can knock church attendance. Think about making coming to church top priority and aim for weekly worship. Use the other opportunities like the mid-week quiet communions or the Taizé service. Worship really does you good. There is research to prove it!


God bless you


John Hallows

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