Report on the Love Nuneaton outreach day, February 19th 2019
This one-day mini outreach drew together around forty children, youth and parents from across Coventry and Warwickshire to love and bless the people of Nuneaton.
The day started out with praise, worship and prayer for the town. Some of the things we felt we heard from God were: that words of blessing would be important, coming in the opposite spirit to negative words that are often spoken about the town. We also felt we should encourage the shopkeepers and bless their businesses. There was something of a water theme, with some wanting to pray along the river that flows through the town.
We then split up into groups to prepare for different kinds of outreach. One team prepared the “Red Carpet” for shoppers, where they would invite passers-by to walk on a red carpet, under balloon arches, to rapturous applause, treats and VIP treatment. Another team used their artistic gifts as they prayed for pictures and prophetic words, which they then painted, ready to take out to the streets. A third team created cards with loving messages to give away to people. The “Choose a blessing” team wrote words like “hope”, “strength”, “joy” and “peace” on labels attached to chocolates, ready to offer with the question “What do you need in your life right now?” A fifth team prepared for a prayer walk, asking God where they should pray and key things to intercede for.
Then, after munching our packed lunches, we hit the streets!
The Red Carpet team raised the joy level on the precinct, blessing and encouraging those who dared to walk. There were a number of lingering conversations with some folks who appreciated the fact that young people and adults were creating so much fun together.
The “Choose a Blessing” team had some significant interactions with people and shop keepers they met. Two older gentlemen were extremely touched, agreeing for the small team to pray for them. Afterwards, they kissed their blessing words, saying their days had been made. Many others responded in similar ways, resulting in prayers offered for healing, wisdom, patience and much more.
The Prophetic Art team also had a great time inviting people to choose whichever picture they liked the most, then sharing the encouraging word associated with that picture. Many folks were amazed and encouraged at how relevant the message was to their circumstances, some receiving prayer.
The Random Acts of Kindness card-giving team had a great time asking the Lord which cards were for which people, then gathering courage to go and give them out. Many people were blessed.
The Prayer Walking team visited some significant parts of the town – the parish church, the Justice centre, the river, the Council offices etc. They prayed for the different spheres of society, particularly the prosperity of the town, and for rivers of living water to flow through and from Nuneaton.
After a couple of hours, we headed back to the King’s Lodge to share with each other what we had seen God do and to thank him. For several families, this was their first experience of doing mission together and they caught the bug! We were all so grateful to see the faithfulness of God as we stepped out to show love to Nuneaton. He certainly came and showed his love to many who were out and about on the streets that day.
