CAP

Dear Oaks,

At Monday evenings ACC we agreed unanimously to go to the next stage of the
process towards becoming a Christians Against Poverty Centre. I do hope
that by now you have had a chance to watch the promotional DVD (we have
shown it at church twice). If you do want more information please do ask
myself, Katy Willis or one of the ACC members.

The next stage is for me to travel to the CAP HQ in Bradford and to meet the
team there. They need to be convinced that we have what it takes to be a
CAP centre and this is a decision that they most certainly do not take
lightly. They cannot afford to do so and neither can we. I travel up for
this meeting on 16th June and will greatly appreciate your prayers.

Assuming that all goes well there are still further stages in the process
and realistically we are not likely to start for at least 12 months.

One of the keys pieces of the jigsaw will be the appointment (which has to
be from amongst our own church members) of a CAP Centre manager. This person
will be need to have good administrative skills but even more importantly be
able to demonstrate to both us and CAP that they have a proven evangelistic
track record.

CAP is both an exciting possibility and huge challenge of faith. The
financial challenge is daunting and it will require the efforts of us all in
one way or another.

But let our legacy be about what God did in and through us and not what we
did by our own efforts.

The first thing Jesus said after the anointing of the Holy Spirit was that
“The Spirit of the Lord was upon him to preach good news to the poor.” (Luke
4:18). His last full sermon is found in Matthew 25 when he talks about the
sheep and the goats (verses 31-46). Again his theme is the care of the poor
and the needy. Our response to them speaks volumes about the reality or
otherwise of the faith we declare.

Our decision to press on with the CAP vision is one of courage and faith. It
makes me proud, I hope rightly, of friends in Christ who want to live
dangerously for the sake of the King and His kingdom.

It has been so good to be challenged by some members who have asked good and
hard questions. It has helped us to grapple with God and one another. Let
us all continue to play our part in making Jesus known to the poor, needy,
hungry and thirsty of Acton and beyond.

Every blessing,

Mark

We are hoping soon to have the first set of plans for 216! Once we have
them we shall open up the building and have an evening for you all to come
down and explore it, ask questions and dream dreams. We anticipate this may
be as early as the first week of June. I will keep you informed.

It will not be this week as some have thought. Sorry for any confusion.