News Archive

God-shaped summer

Posted by Sean Harris on July 29. Archived.

It's official... our youth activities have now stopped for the summer! Does this mean the youth worker gets to put his feet up? Will the youth team start sitting back and enjoying the sun whilst drinking smoothies and not caring about young people!? No!!! Never!!! In fact this summer couldn't be more God-shaped for our young people. Over the course of the summer holidays our young people are being encouraged to grab their suncream, shades and erm... Bibles... and join one of many exciting youth holidays being run across the region this summer. » more

Quenching the thirst

Posted by Sean Harris on July 25. Archived.

Despite a somewhat cloudy and bleak looking Sunday afternoon it was encouraging to see so many people turn out to view the magnificent tall ships currently lacing our vibrant quayside. It wasn't all sails and deck scrubbing though -- Christian band YFriday led many people in soul refreshing worship and prayer intercession just next door to the hundreds of people who were gazing along the quayside. Jenny Steiner of Pray for Tyneside had an amazing idea that the group of local churches known as Together in Christ should hand out hundreds of water bottles to passers-by as they soaked up the atmosphere of the tall ships event. Everyone was invited to attend our open air worship service, and many responded to the opportunity to make prayer requests or simply have a chat with one of us. In total we managed to quench the thirst of 840 people with water bottles labelled with the following words of scripture: "Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty. The water I give will become in them a well of life that lasts forever."

A big well done to Jenny for motivating us all to bless so many people at the tall ships event -- send an email to pray4tyneside@onetel.com to find out more about how you can support the work of Pray for Tyneside in blessing our city.

Food from the nations

Posted by Phil Lightbody on July 20. Archived.

Sunday's international meal at HBC was a gourmet affair. The main course was a combination of Mongolian, Georgian, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russian food prepared for us by friends from these countries. That was followed by a Brazilian dessert. Between 60 and 70 people were present, our largest number yet at one of these meals. The aim of these times is to welcome and to befriend people from overseas who are coming into contact with the church through word of mouth, the English speaking class and from attending a Sunday service. We also ask church members who are from this country to come along to help in that befriending process. After lunch we normally interview one or two people, sometimes have some musical entertainment and encourage others to indicate on our world map where they are from. Look out for the next one in the autumn and come along and be blessed.

Gift Day update

Posted by Phil Lightbody on July 12. Archived.

On Sunday we had a second gift day for our Building Project. The good news is that we raised a further £57,000. We now have a total of around £767,000 which is more than three quarters of the way towards the estimated total. We thank God for the generosity of everyone.

London calling

Posted by Ian Wylie on July 8. Archived.

My ride to work on the Tube yesterday was different. Commuters on London's Underground don't normally make eye contact, let alone speak to one another, but yesterday morning they were smiling and chatting as the front pages of their papers celebrated how London had scooped the Olympic prize.

But by the time I'd got to my desk, the tunnels beneath London had become the scene of a terrible tragedy.

Worry, fear and suspicion are now part and parcel of daily life in a major city like London. Most days Londoners conclude it's a price worth paying. But what must the families and friends of the 50 people killed yesterday be thinking today?

When I got back to Newcastle last night, Martha asked me why God had looked after me. I had to say I didn't know.

Praying together for each other

Posted by Andy Carlisle on July 4. Archived.

I have really appreciated people praying for me in times of difficulty, or when I have needed wisdom or healing. We are encouraged in the Bible to pray for one another.
Paul asked people to pray for him saying “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me”. A training evening has been arranged for those involved in praying for people after the services on 11th July at 7:45pm at church.

Praying for the persecuted

Posted by Sean Harris on July 1. Archived.

Evangelist and co-founder of the Message Trust Andy Hawthorne has lent his support to a prayer initiative aimed at our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted for their faith all over the world. Christian charity Open Doors is on a mission to sign up 100,000 willing people who will committ to praying for persecuted Christians around the globe. The initiative aims to not only raise people's awareness of the trials and troubles facing Christians overseas but also seeks to call on our Lord to intervene in thousands of situations where Christians are at risk because of their passion for the gospel. Andy Hawthorne was one of the first to get his name down, and he has encouraged every young person in the UK to sign this petiton and pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters.

The HBC Youth will also be putting their names down and hands together real soon. How about you? Can you committ to making sure that our brothers and sisters in Christ get the support and love they need in their mission? It is only through praying for such folk that the gospel will be taken to the furthest corners of the earth. For more info on getting your hands together for this prayer project, click here.