Working together - Sligo and Portadown

On Saturday, 2 May, a team of 20 people left Portadown to join the church in Sligo for a week of outreach. The team and church quickly bonded and all of us were looking forward to the events planned for the week. We enjoyed worshipping together on Sunday morning and spent the afternoon planning for the evening family night. Many people came into the church for the first time. Monday saw us out on the green opposite the church. We set up bouncy castles, face painting, games, a barbecue and lots more. We were expecting a few people to come over butGod blessed beyond our greatest expectations and, approximately, 200 people attended throughout the course of the day. We were able to talk to people from Cartron Village (the village the church is based in) and Kirk Poth (Pastor of Sligo Baptist Church) had some great conversations.

We had a mixture of activities planned for the remainder of the week including some practical work on the church building. We also offered our services to anyone in the community who needed help with DIY projects such as shed and fence painting. Our Three-day Bible Club (originally planned on the beach at Rosses Point had to be relocated back to the area outside the church building because of poor weather). We visited the Alzheimer's Day Centre, planned a night for the local children on the Thursday night (20 children turned up as opposed to the usual four) and made sure that there were plenty of opportunities for informal fellowship between the team and the church.

The week was a wonderful blessing for the team from Portadown and the church at Sligo. Since the team left God has continued to bless and encourage the fellowship in Sligo. The churches in Portadown and Sligo now have a strong relationship which we hope to build on.

We can do more when we work together. Trusting God will use our efforts for his glory.

John Kimber (Pastor, Portadown)