C7 Magazine | Volume 3 | September 2020

ENGAGE C7 MAG VOL. 3 | SEPTEMBER 2020

PLANNING ON PURPOSE

LEGACY 2020/21

CONNECT GROUP

A look at goal-setting in the five F's of life

Let's build God's Church in Scotland together

What community means to me

CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2020 | EDITION 3

06 WEDNESDAY NIGHT PRAYER Prayer is our greatest weapon in influencing what the future looks like.

07 PLANNING ON PURPOSE A look at goal-setting in the five F's of life

04

LEGACY 2020/21: LET'S BUILD GOD'S CHURCH IN SCOTLAND TOGETHER

12 CONNECT GROUPS WITH ASHLEY BENDORIS

'WHAT COMMUNITY MEANS TO ME' 14 A FRESH LOOK AT CHURCH ONLINE Behind the scenes with the C7 Production Team

18 C7 KIDS - MEET ABBY

22

27

KINGDOM ALIGNMENT

ACCELERATE YOUR LIFE

Ways to find work in a season of uncertainty

Living full of faith, life and excellence.

Meet the hot chocolate loving, theology student who leads our amazing C7 Kids

20 THE EARLY CHURCH What we can learn from the Church in Acts by Dermot Murphy

25 THE TNG CROSSWORD How well do you know the C7 TNG Connect Group Leaders?

29 IT'S TIME TO SING A NEW SONG

33

FAMILY LIFE: SCREEN TIME

What happens when we sing songs of praise to our God?

WWW.C7CHURCH.COM/MAG

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SENIOR PASTOR

Listen back to Pastor Jason's message 'Now That's A Plan' from Sunday 20th September at 6pm on our YouTube Channel

"When God establishes something it's everlasting" Listen back to Pastor Jason's series on 'The Last Days' - on the C7YouTube Channel

The Word of God is full of promise so we don't need to be fearful of what lies ahead because we know that as we anchor our hope in Him, He does not disappoint.

I've been really stirred of late studying the Children of Israel. For hundreds of years they lived as slaves in Egypt and when they were finally set free they were so conditioned to a mindset of slavery that it took 40 years and a whole generation to reset their thinking so they were able to walk into the Promised Land.

2020 has been a year unlike any other. Most of us have never walked through anything like it, where our whole lives have been locked down with new and ever changing regulations and restrictions, and while we need to walk in wisdom and obedience, we must make sure our lives stay in line with God's will and our spirit stays big and Kingdom-focused.

Joshua and Caleb were Children of Israel, they heard the same stories, they were part of the same lineage of slaves, they experienced the same things, but they had a different spirit. Will we in this season choose to people be of a different spirit?

Romans 12:2 is key to all of us in this season: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Let's continue to be a big-thinking, spirit-filled, on-fire Church who stands firm on the Rock, Jesus Christ, believing for our families, neighbourhoods and nation.

JASON CASK C7 SENIOR PASTOR

03 SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 03

"The distinction on God's people is His presence."

We are in significant days. Without a doubt we are in a season of uncertainty and of change. Is our life built on the solid rock that is Christ, or is it built on our jobs, our families, our finances?

Let's build God's Church in Scotland together.

Legacy 2020/21 At C7 we want to be people who make a difference to our families, communities and nation - to leave Scotland better than we found it, but with so much need surrounding us we often wonder where to start. It's easy to think 'can I, one person, actually make a difference?' This question can often leave us feeling a bit stuck...

The good news is God gives us clear direction on how we can be most effective - to be part of seeing His Kingdom come on earth. This happens through building His Church.

15 years ago, our Church started with God's vision in one man: 'To build a life-giving church in every city, every town and every village of Scotland.' Through partnership with many dedicated teams, C7 is now impacting hundreds and hundreds of people each week. We have the faith for even greater impact on the nation of Scotland.

Over the last 15 years we have seen many lives transformed through the Church in Scotland. Here's Carol's story: "C7 has given my family a real sense of belonging, especially throughout lockdown, I was able to join in a lot of things online, which made it a lot easier. It's highlighted the importance of having a relationship with God and has brought me closer to God. It's allowed me to bring the kids to know God as well.

Having seen what sowing into the church has done for my family and the difference it's made I would encourage people to get involved in Legacy to make a difference.

If we sow into other peoples lives our life will grow as well."

The need is great, the potential is huge and we believe that God has created each of us to make a difference in our world.

Legacy 2020/21 is the opportunity to put our faith into action.

Being part of Legacy 2020/21 will contribute to strengthening His life-giving Church, empower people to overcome limitations and give people the opportunity to flourish in Christ.

Through Legacy 2020/21 will be able grow and develop our life-giving teaching; providing more opportunities for more people to hear Biblical truths to move their lives forward. It will encourage communities through providing more activities and events that build into people and communities . It will also help us to grow our current community outreach programmes and develop new ones. Legacy will also go towards helping us to improve our church building to create a vibrant centre for church and the community and give us to opportunity to purchase our building giving us a secure church home for future generations.

Legacy 2020/21 is for everyone.

Our heart is to see every person in our church play their part, according to their faith and means.

Each one of us can make a difference, and together the difference will be huge.

So what's next? Firstly, pray about what part God would have you play this year. Secondly, visit our website at c7church.com/legacy to get your 'Be Part Of It' pack. Finally, make a plan to realise your commitment.

Let's build God's Church in Scotland together.

FAITH IN ACTION

SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 03

05

WEDNESDAY NIGHT PRAYER IN THE MIDST OF ALL THAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD RIGHT NOW AND ALL THE UNCERTAINTY WE ARE FACING, PRAYER IS OUR GREATEST WEAPON IN INFLUENCING WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE. Years from now when we come out of this season stronger and flourishing, many of us will look back and be confident that our prayers are what made all the difference.

We have all read or heard of stories of how during major moments in history eg. WWII and the Holocaust, there were men and women of God who prayed and saw a shift in the tide.

Wednesday Night Prayer, is part of our Church's strategy on how we do that.

If you join in online on Zoom for one of the 30min slots from 6pm - 9pm, you will find yourself in an atmosphere full of faith and ready to take ground and shut the enemy's plans down.

One of our great team has been joining in on Wednesday Night Prayer throughout lockdown and fasts all day prior to coming online because "it helps him build his faith to have a confidence and belief to know that God hears His prayers and is going to answer."

There are so many other people for whom Wednesday Nights have become a marker point. Here is what one of our Wednesday Night Prayer Warriors, Vanessa, had to say: "For me prayer is the most powerful weapon we have. It allows us to bring God's power on earth. A we communicate with Him and entrust all life's circumstances to Him in prayer, He moves. I love Wednesday Night Prayer as there is nothing better than standing with our Church community in faith to see breakthroughs in all areas of life. It sets a midpoint in our week to refocus, give thanks and believe for God to move in a big way!"Â

HERE ARE SOME OF THE PRAYERS WHICH HAVE BEEN ANSWERED FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT PRAYER: Jobs Cancer scans coming back clear University Placements Someone woke up from a coma Eating disorders healed Depression and anxiety reducing Family relationships restored

CAN ANYONE JOIN? Yes absolutely! You don't even have to pray out loud if you feel too nervous. Just by coming and adding your faith to ours and standing in agreement, God will move.

The night is broken up into 30min prayer sessions.

To join us: 1. Download Zoom on your phone, tablet or laptop 2. Click "join meeting" 3. Put in the following details when prompted: Meeting ID: 223 268 1030 Password: 7247

SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 03

PAGE 7

PLANNING WITH PURPOSE

BY PASTOR HEATHER POMPHRETT

I've heard lots of teaching about plans and goal-setting over the years and yet, if I'm perfectly honest, I've not always been the best at putting this teaching into practice.

For years (unintentionally) I operated in a 'shoot first, then draw the target round where the arrow lands' mentality, rather than carefully and thoughtfully planning out my goals, dreams and desires. I've certainly not arrived at becoming a goalsetting and planning mastermind, but I can now say I'm at least moving in the right direction... and more importantly, I've got a plan on how to get there!

Pastor Jason has delivered some really insightful teaching on planning and goals over the last 15 years, whether that's through Sunday services, i:Lead or other courses, or even through one-to-one discipleship and mentoring, and his new series on 'Now That's A Plan' is no exception!

Recently he challenged our Church to look at what our goals are for the five F's: - Faith - Family - Finances - Fitness - Future Do you have goals for these five areas of your life?

I'm getting there, but planning and goal-setting takes time, and we've got to be committed to it.

I've set hundreds of goals over my life and not hit them because I forgot all about them or I just stopped working towards them. I've learnt that a moment of inspiration isn't enough for us to stay committed to goal-setting and planning. We need more.

man to become our sacrifice. He even had a plan for you before He even pieced you together in the womb,

So what will is the more that will help us stay committed to our goals and to our plans?

This is becoming my 'why' when it comes to my goals and my planning. I'm going to choose to be into planning because God is. I'm created in His image and called to become more like Christ.

I believe knowledge is vastly important - we must know the importance of goals and planning, and that's why teaching like this series are so key, but it needs to go deeper. That knowledge has got to shift from the head to the heart and become revelation. We've got to have such a strong 'WHY' if we want to stick at it.

I'm realising more and more, and hope you are too, that God is into planning. Even before the world was created He had a plan. He had a plan for His Son to come to earth in the form of a

"God is into planning. Even before the world was created, He had a plan."

This revelation has been key, however, for me, there's still more. One of the other reasons I'm seeing a change in this area is because more and more I'm realising not only who I am in Christ but what I am all about. God is revealing to me on a daily basis more about His plan for me.

My personal vision for my life and what God is asking me to do is making goal-setting and planning a non-negotiable.

S1 8 EPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 03

PAGE 09

I love this verse: "A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him." - 2 Timothy 2:4 For me, this is what planning is about. I, like you, have a job to do... we've got a nation to see set free, souls to be won, a gospel to be preached. And while my call will be different from yours, as the Church , we are called an army, which means we are all soldiers.

Soldiers don't get 'entangled in civilian affairs' - we don't get distracted or swayed off-course, we stay 'on mission' and our goals and our plans helps us to do this. Why? Because we want to please the one who enlisted us; our God, our Father in Heaven.

"We've got a nation to see set free, souls to be won, a gospel to be preached."

How you plan and how you outwork your goals is a personal thing, so you've got to find something that works for you but to at least get you started and keep it in front of you on the next page is a 5-F's Plan, print it off or download it on your phone and set some goals for your 5 F's this week.

Let's get good at goal-setting, planning and winning in the Kingdom of God! - Pastor Heather Pomphrett

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C7 EXTREME YOUTH We are so excited to be able to gather together in person and we are praising God that the youth are able to be part of it.

Some of our youth have stepped up in the last season to make this transition possible. Check out some of our youth on the production team making Sundays happen!Â

Our youth continue to gather online where we have the best laughs in community with one another through our Connect Groups and Friday Nights.

As an age group, we are so excited to announce that we are doing an Extreme Online Car Boot Sale. It's such an amazing opportunity to be able to be a part of Legacy 2020/21 and we have creative ideas on how we are going to fundraise.

Watch this space!

"Through lockdown I've been able discover so much more about God, who he says I am and who I'm called to be. This has also been made more clear to me through Connect Group as we discuss the way God wants to impact our own lives, what he's currently doing and what we are believing for as well as encouraging each other to pursue the call of God on our lives."

THANDO MAPHALALA

11 SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 03

What's been great to see in is the great resilience and strength C7 Youth have shown throughout the last season. We may have been in lockdown, but this hasn’t stopped the youth from living a life of purpose and moving forward!

CONNECT GROUPS

CONNECT GROUPS WHAT COMMUNITY MEANS TO ME

By Ashley Bendoris C7 Connect Group Leader

I love my Connect Group. I actually wrote this introduction at the end of writing this piece as while I’ve been writing I’ve got so emotional thinking about how incredible this group of women that I get to do life with are.

I am so thankful for each of them, and leading my group constantly reminds me of the importance of Connect Groups and how powerful being part of

a community of believers is in our walk of faith with the Lord.

Our group is not just a ‘weekly gathering’. We’ve all realised that this is not a networking event or a mandatory meeting: it’s a group of people who are committed to do life together and walk out our faith, encouraging each other. We keep in touch with each other almost daily; sharing prayer requests, praise reports, Bible verses

FEATURES

I started my Connect Group about two years ago and began by inviting some women I was friends with. Then over time it grew as we invited more women, some from Church and others who had never been to Church before. One of the important things I realised was that it was never about ‘getting people to come to the group’, it was about valuing each and every individual person and caring about them. As we’ve done this, people then are desperate to come to the group and to Church! They feel they’re a part of it before they’ve even attended!

Before lockdown a big thing we did was social lunches and get-togethers. Some of the girls have partners and husbands who don’t know God yet and suddenly their partners being in Church was a bit of a head-spinner for them. So to make it easy for them we would get together for lunch - they then met people and found out more about C7 and now are super supportive.

The girls also love reading the Word together - we’ve dug into the weekly messages from Ps Jason and the group studies and also read through different books of the Bible and have even completed Purpose Driven Life together.

My favourite thing has been seeing how everyone has grown and moved forward in their faith and walk with God. Some of my group didn’t know how to pray and over time they’ve started praying themselves and seeing answered prayers! They’ve also realised that you don’t need to have a Church leader do

prayers! They’ve also realised that you don’t need to have a Church leader do the praying for you - we can ALL pray!

Prayer has been a huge part of the group: we have a list of things we are praying for and people we are believing for. We’ve seen answered prayer in the area of finances, marriages and friendships. Every time we see a prayer answered it’s such a huge deal!

I remember feeling nervous as a leader about some things - like sharing about tithes and giving. Then I got a revelation of how this was something that was VITAL for my group to hear - they had to have the opportunity to understand the promise of God over their finances.

As we’ve talked about it some of them have seen breakthroughs in their finances as they’ve started tithing and giving and I love talking about this now it’s so important for everyone to get this!

"THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO THE APOSTLES’ TEACHING AND TO FELLOWSHIP, TO THE BREAKING OF BREAD AND TO PRAYER." ACTS 2:42 As a leader, I pray for my group daily. My prayer is nearly always the same as I pray Acts 2:42-47 over the group, that they will be devoted to the things of God every single day.

Ashley Bendoris C7 Connect Group Leader

13 SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 03

verses and even funny memes and videos. This encouragement has meant SO much, especially over the last season while we’ve been physically apart. The group carries each other's burdens and stands with each other in tough times.

SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 03

PAGE 14

A FRESH LOOK AT CHURCH ONLINE WITH THE C7 PRODUCTION TEAM

In our last magazine we took a sneak peek behind the scenes of Church Online, since then our experience of “going to” Church and producing Church Online has changed again!

Since the beginning of August we've been able to meet together for our Sunday services, which has been so encouraging - nothing beats the gathering of His Church. While numbers continue to be restricted, our team have had to get creative, get learning and get growing to be able to continue to bring our Church to homes across the country and beyond!

We caught up with Adam, one of our awesome production team, who's been involved in helping to bring our Church online in this season and here's what he had to say about it all: "I love how the Church body has adapted and grown, and how there have been great opportunities to learn and develop our skillsets in areas that maybe weren’t immediately on the horizon, or even further beyond!

Over lockdown the Production Team has been preparing and planning for the time that we would be able to gather in person for our services.

In our house we almost always have worship music or church services playing on our TV in the background, so I had a good understanding of what was involved in live-streaming church services. Couple this with my deeply-rooted love of all things worship, music and production, my creativity going into overdrive and I was so excited about the possibility of what we could do as we began to move from worship at home to broadcasting our services live!

Our incredible Production Team has such diverse experiences, skillsets and creativity which all contributed to preparing to re-open the building.

This process was about so much more than just plugging cables in and making sure everything worked!

Taking all these questions and more into consideration we came up with a plan, and spent the next few weeks setting equipment up, trying it out, making changes and testing

some more until we felt we were able to produce an online experience that helped our church engage in and worship God where in the building or online.

One thing that I’ve always loved is how we as a church will pioneer in lots of areas, and production is no exception!

The standard of what we have been able to produce in such a short period of time is, while being incredibly biased, excellent. Our team are learning and growing on a weekly basis. It's amazing seeing people do new things, and seeing how much fun we are all having doing it! - Adam

The C7 Production Team is constantly evolving, and new opportunities are available all the time!

You might be reading this just now and thinking 'I don't think I could operate a lights desk or be good on camera' but the truth is that many of our current team said the same thing and now that's exactly what they are doing!

All it takes is a willing heart and a passion to play your part.

If you're interested in becoming part of the C7 Production Team speak to us on a Sunday or email our team at:

comms@c7church.com

15 SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 03

Key considerations for us were: • Are we making a way for others to worship God? • Are we making a way for the gospel to be heard?

• Are we doing it in a way that glorifies God, and presents a sweet-smelling sacrifice like Paul spoke of in his letters to the church of Philippi?

• How do we make sure that church online doesn’t become a “spectator event”, where we are left feeling detached from the worship or the word that is being preached?

BRINGING OUR BEST TO GOD I've learnt so many new skills in the last season by being part of the Production Team! I've learnt how to edit videos for Church News and Church Online and how to use brand new equipment to broadcast our Sunday services. I didn't know I could do any of these things but now I can!

I love being part of team who always give their best to God in such a creative way!

- Emma

A TEAM WHO CARES FOR EACH OTHER

| 03

I love working on the production team!

I’m part of a team who cares for each other, who teach me new skills and who always remain kind and stay calm when it gets a bit stressful!!! Working as part of the team has brought some lovely new friends into my life and it’s my absolute pleasure to serve God alongside them."

- Claire

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BOOK YOUR SPOT AT SUNDAYS AT C

C7CHURCH.COM/SUNDAYS

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PROFILE

MEET 'ABBY' C7 KIDS LEADER C7 Kids happens every single week in our Sunday services, plus C7 Kids Online and our online Kids Connect Groups.

Abby Frett is our awesome Kids Leader and she and the C7 Kids team absolutely love delivering an empowering, fun and lively programme to serve our amazing 0-11s every single week. We thought it would be great to meet Abby and find out more about her and her heart for kids.

Q: Hi Abby! Can you tell us a bit more about yourself?

Abby: Thank you! So exciting to do this!

Well I am Abby, I am 22 years old and I am a 4th year theology student at the University of Glasgow. I lead C7 Kids which I absolutely love! Oh…. Also I adore hot chocolate, like obsessively.

It’s just the best.

Q: What led you to getting involved in the Kids Team?

Abby: I’ve been involved in working with children for a long time, from helping out at Sunday School in the Church I grew up in to being involved in kids camps. I really felt God put this generation on my heart and I absolutely love hanging out with them and seeing their lives move forward.

I personally learn so much as Jesus teaches us that we should come to him like a child (Mark 10:15) so I have learnt from kids how they see God and understand their faith in him and personally been inspired to apply this to my faith and walk with God. I love seeing them go for God and get on fire about knowing Him!

"I really felt God put this generation on my heart and I absolutely seeing their lives move forward."

We also have C7 Kids live during our 12pm for children to join our programme online from home.

C7 Kids Connect Groups happen on Zoom each week.

For more info and to get your child involved in C7 Kids email kids@ c7church.com

Q: What’s your favourite thing about C7 Kids?

Abby: It has to be the kids themselves. They are just the best.

There is literally NEVER a dull moment. They’re funny, creative, silly, caring, fun, thoughtful, kind, crazy, smart, inventive… you name it and they’ve got it!

We have so much fun and love talking to them and listening to their thoughts and questions. The greatest privilege is having the opportunity to sow into a child's life with the Word of God, even more amazing than this is when you see them starting to apply it personally and see breakthrough.

The other day one of our kids was sharing how he was doing a school project and had a challenge and he remembered what we had talked about the previous week and prayed over it. That just summarises what is amazing about

getting to teach and encourage children. God's word is for EVERY one - from the oldest to the youngest!

Q: What are you excited about for the future of C7 Kids?

Abby: The vision of C7 is to build a life-giving Church in every city, town and village of Scotland - this is including kids! I can’t wait for this! I’m excited about seeing C7 Kids grow and reach more children and see our current kids grow up in the things of God and become the men and women of God they are called to be.

Q: Finally, how would you encourage parents thinking about getting their child involved in C7 Kids?

Abby: Do it! It’s amazing! Every one of our team fully believes in every single child. Every child has a future and has huge potential.

We’re here to share the Word with them in a way they can understand, to help them learn to pray and grow with their walk with God, and they can bring this back to the home and share this with you.

We love hearing stories of parents and children reading the Bible and praying together at home. For kids, faith starts best in the home. Kids is a great and healthy environment for your child to explore faith. If you have questions please get in touch, we would love to hear from you!

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C7 Kids happens every Sunday at each of our services.

THE EARLY CHURCH

FULL OF FAITH FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT READY TO CHANGE THE WORLD...

BY DERMOT MURPHY Studying the Book of Acts I find it fascinating to see how the early church grew and functioned. Reading Acts we often tended to focus on the lives of Peter and Paul, but what I really love is the incredible impact of other, less well known people. While some of these are mentioned by name, many remain unnamed. Their serving, giving and praying all played a huge part in the early church.

One of these early church builders is Barnabas. We initially meet him in Acts 4 when he brought a generous offering and then in Acts 9 when he vouched for Paul following his conversion. However, he is best known as Paul’s travelling companion on his first missionary trip.

In Acts 11 we learn much about Barnabas. He is presented as an encourager of the people, teaching and training them for ministry. He is described as being ‘a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith’, with a similar description given to these other ordinary believers.

Being full of the Holy Spirit and faith is important for us to understand as it wasn't just for Barnabas or the early church, it's also meant for us.

'To be full of' is the Greek word 'plḗrēs' which means to fill until overflowing and then to continue filling.

It means to be so full of something that nothing is lacking, to be complete.

'Plḗrēs' speaks of people on fire for God. These people were not just the apostles, but ordinary people like you and me. That same filling is available to us.

In Acts we also see that Barnabas is described as ‘a good man’. 'Good' in the Greek is 'agathós' which speaks of one’s character. It means to be excellent, agreeable to all, of solid character, to be good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy.

I absolutely love this! Barnabas is described as being a good man, a Godly man, a man of character.

He was someone who did what was right, who stood up for truth, and who lived his life righteously.

When I look at Barnabas what comes to mind is someone who is so full of the things of God and so in tune with the Holy Spirit that the fruits of the Holy Spirit are evident in all they do and say.

It speaks of a life built on ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control’.

"IT SPEAKS OF A LIFE BUILT ON ‘LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, GENTLENESS, FAITHFULNESS AND SELF CONTROL’."

As Barnabas was someone just like us, this too is the life we are called to live as ‘good people, full of the Holy Spirit and faith’, people who do all they can to help build the church and spread the gospel.

I wonder if we all caught this revelation what impact we could have in our church, in our communities and in our nation?

Dermot Murphy C7 Teaching Team

SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 03

21

KINGDOM ALIGNMENT WAYS TO FIND WORK IN THIS SEASON - BY PASTOR JOHN RATCLIFFE

If you're reading the news at all right now it can be easy to feel weighed down by negative report after negative report about job losses, economic challenges and furlough coming to an end.

For many, 2020 has brought a significant sense of uncertainty with people's employment and finances. Maybe as you read this you are experiencing this, but the way the media and the world is portraying this season is not the way we need to experience it.

John 15:19 says "If you were to give your allegiance to the world, they would love and welcome you as one of their own. But because you won’t align yourself with the values of this world, they will hate you. I have chosen you and taken you out of the world to be mine."

(TPT) This is a great standard to remember - we don't need to align with the values this world holds even in this current season.

If you are currently needing employment, work or trying to start a business then remember you are not operating under worldly standards - you are operating by Kingdom standards. So as you apply, network or write up business plans, you can do these things knowing you have ALL the promise of the Kingdom of God on your side.

Be confident, be bold and be brave and choose to live with a different value system at this time.

Remember, we are called to live with faith plus action - so stir your faith and get active and get smart with your action. If we’re not meant to be living by the world standards then let’s get moving on how we stand out when applying for roles.

On the following page are some great insights on how to put some clever action in place while applying for positions:

1. All experience is valuable experience.

Whether it is serving on the C7 Dream Team, volunteering in your community or small projects you’ve been a part of, you are always learning something. Think outside the box of paid work experience and find the positives in all of your experiences.

2. Put yourself out there.

There are so many online platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, plus recruitment sites you can upload your C.V. to so there's no reason to wait for jobs to come to you, put yourself on people’s radar.

3. During an interview, really focus on what your key skills are.

Showcasing your abilities is crucial. What value do you bring to the table? Be creative in this. Employers want to know that you will add value to their organisation, so tell them how. Many skills are transferable. Be you, but the best version.

4. Step out and start a business.

Some of the most successful businesses were started in times of economic downturn, and often with friends partnering together.

Here are a few of them to encourage you: • Disney (1929 Great Depression) - brothers Walt and Roy formed a production company and created cartoons that brought people happiness who were suffering financially.

• Hewlett Packard (1937-1939 depression) - William Hewlett and Dave Packard decided to start an electric company from their garage.

• Microsoft (mid-1970s oil crisis) - two childhood friends and computer software engineers Bill Gates and Paul Allen set up a technology company during a 16-month recession.

• FedEx (end of the 1970 depression) - Fred Smith developed the idea of fast and reliable delivery as part of a project at university.

• Air BnB (2007-2008 financial crisis) - two friends had the idea of renting out an air mattress in their living room.

• Groupon (2007-2008 financial crisis) - young Chicago entrepreneur set up a website that helped local businesses promote their products and services offering discounts.

• WhatsApp (end of 2007-2008 financial crisis) - two former executives created a messaging service that allowed people to send messages around the world for free.

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5. Be resilient.

Stick with it. You may feel personally rejected along the way but remember, let perseverance finish its work. James 1:2-4 says ‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.’

We caught up with Frankie Vanterpool, a faith-filled oversight leader in the 26-35s age group, to ask him how he got a new job during lockdown.

During lockdown, a lot changed for me when it came to work. I now had to work from home, and be uncomfortable.

With less of my time dedicated to commuting to and from work, I decided to invest more time in developing myself, taking some online courses centred around finances and looked into ways of creating wealth and not just depending on a job.

Meanwhile, it was becoming clear to me that I was not fulfilled in my then current role. That being said, I still worked hard and continued to lead in the role and be an encourager to my colleagues.

While I continued to honour that job, an opportunity presented itself to me so while being unsure about if that was a direction I wanted to go in, I decided to apply and could always make a decision once it came to that point.

During the application process, I was diligent in my preparation, reading up on the company values to see if these were things I also valued and the more I prepared, the more I realised this was a great opportunity for me.

I was successful in the interview stages because I showed interest in the people I spoke to and more importantly, I was completely genuine when asked questions about my strengths and weaknesses. Although I did not have the most experience in that field of work, I was able to demonstrate that I have a passion for learning which in the end, made a way for the job to be offered to me.

I accepted after speaking with my parents, Pastor and other people I look to for wisdom in these situations.

In summary, I believe I got a new job during lockdown because: 1. I honoured my previous role 2. I used lockdown as an opportunity to grow and learn 3. I recognised and opportunity and said yes 4. I prepared diligently for my interviews 5. I was genuine and transparent during the interviews 6. I asked people I trusted for advice and wisdom before making a decision

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE TNG CONNECT GROUP LEADERS?

Complete the TNG Crossword

ACROSS 1. This leader recently starred in a CBBC programme

5. This is our newest Connect Group Leader

DOWN 2. This leader was challenged to dye his hair pink during lockdown but chickened out

6. This leader also became 'TikTok famous; during lockdown

4. This leader also runs our fabulous social media pages

7. This Connect Group Leader got a distinction in his masters

6. This leader also became 'TikTok famous; during lockdown

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3. This leader became 'TikTok famous; during lockdown

FINDING COMMUNITY IN LOCKDOWN " I had been to C7 a year ago and met one of the leaders. I got a message from her during lockdown via instagram asking if i would like to join a connect group. Before this I had been praying for a community that loved Jesus. I started coming to Connect Group and loved it. I really felt that God was leading me towards C7 Church. I totally trusted Him through the whole process. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such amazing people and a great Church. I have now been coming to C7 for about 4 months and absolutely love it!"

- Abigail

FINDING FAITH IN LOCKDOWN

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"When I started coming to Connect Group during lockdown, my mum was in hospital but after Connect Group I had so much happiness and hope that my mum was going to be okay and that God wasn't going to leave me here.

My Connect Group Leader invited me to go to a Mega Prayer Night on Zoom one night.

During the night, I was praying for my mum. 2 days later I got a call from the doctors saying my mum could come home. Everyone in Connect Group is so encouraging and really helped me in this time."

- Goldaline

ACCELERATE YOUR LIFE living full of faith, life and excellence

Why do we have Accelerate?

The Bible is full of wisdom for every part of our lives. If we learn and then apply God's word, we will “be successful wherever we go” (Joshua 1:7).

Yet over their lifetime, most Christians remain limited in their understanding of the Bible and therefore don’t access the fullness of the knowledge and wisdom God has laid out for them. Accelerate is designed to therefore equip believers to fully access the powerful wisdom of the Word of God and see their lives and the world impacted through it.

What is Accelerate?

Accelerate is a purposefully designed course to invest biblical knowledge into your life in an accelerated time frame.

The knowledge you will acquire through the teaching you will receive would ordinarily take

years to independently gain, but through Accelerate you will learn this over weeks and months.

What will Accelerate do for me?

Through Accelerate, you will grow in your personal knowledge, theological understanding and ultimately wisdom that comes from the Bible. You will learn to apply the Bible and its principles to every aspect of your life - from family and relationships to business, leadership and the gifting and calling God has given you.Rather than growing in a ‘default’ way, Accelerate will set you up to grow in a purposeful direction through gaining the wisdom of God, using the tools you will learn to transfer this to your day-to-day life and achieving the success the Bible promises.

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C7 Accelerate

What does Accelerate look like?

Three Courses, Three Lectures: Accelerate is delivered through three online lectures per week. These lectures happen in “pre-work” hours to kick-off your day digging into the word of God. • Tuesday: 7.45am-8.30am • Wednesday 7am-8am • Friday 7am-8am Each day delivers a different course (details below) For those unable to watch these lectures live, catch up is available. We encourage as much as possible live-watching to allow ability for questions and participation but appreciate that some schedules won’t allow.

Three Semesters: With three independent semesters operating over 10 months, Accelerate is set up to be best gained over a year, however you can also sign up for one semester or one specific class.

• Semester 1: September - December • Semester 2: January - March • Semester 3: April - June

YEAR 1

Course 1: Understanding The Kingdom

Course 2: Leadership

Course 3: The Bible

Semester 1

Who is the King?

Knowing God

The Covenant &The Holy Spirit

How to Study the Bible

Semester 2

What is the Kingdom?

Godly Leadership

The New Testament

Semester 3

Kingdom Authority

Living a Life Of Order

The Old Testament

YEAR 2

Course 1: How The Kingdom Works

Course 2: Leadership

Course 3: Stewardship

Semester 1

Prayer and Worship

Leading Your Mind

Resources

Semester 2

The Church

Spiritual Gifts

Relationships

Semester 3

Spiritual Warfare

Practical Ministry & Communication

Stewarding The Kingdom

For more information about accelerate@c7church.com or to c7church.com/accelerate

C7 apply

Accelerate please email for accelerate head to

SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 03

PAGE 29

IT'S TIME TO SING A NEW SONG

BY SUZIE MURPHY

“He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.” Psalm 40:3 Music has a way of piercing into the deep parts of our soul. When we sing, we feel things change.

Songs of celebration and praise stir our faith and can lead us to feel complete joy and the uncontrollable need to dance. Songs of worship and remembering what Jesus Christ has done for us have the power to bring us to our knees and lead us to tears. Singing causes us to feel a whole host of emotions, which helps us in our expression and response to God because it awakens things inside of us that we often forgot were even there.

But singing is more than just how it makes us feel... God actually commands us to sing too!

There are hundreds of references of singing within the Bible.

Jesus Himself sang songs of praise after the Last Supper. If we are called to replicate the character of Jesus, I’m confident that singing should always be involved. We recognise that God has given each of us different gifts, but at the end of the day, we are all called to sing and lift our voices in praise and in honour of who our Saviour is.

The season of lockdown meant we weren't able to sing to God corporately as one body, in one room, with one voice so as a Church we’ve had to get good at knowing how to worship and step into His presence with boldness and expectancy outside the four walls of the church building and without relying on 20 minutes of corporate worship on a Sunday to get our weekly fix of being in His presence.

We’ve not had the same atmospheric lighting, powerful, loud music and beautiful media graphics with 100s of other people in the room singing, jumping and raising their hands to make us feel ‘moved’ or ‘stirred’ enough to worship God. Our worship has got to be more than that; in fact, our goal should be to get to a place where our whole life represents a heart of worship.

Something we’ve all had to remind ourselves of over the last few months is how important it is to purposefully spend time lifting our voices and singing to God on our own in the secret place. In your bedroom, in the car, in your kitchen… moments where it’s just you and Him. Moments where you sing the new song He has put in your heart as the Psalmist teaches us (however embarrassing or out of tune it might be!)

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Let your love for Him be poured out in song. Your Father longs for you to sing to Him. Sing your thoughts to Him; sing scriptures of life and favour over your family, your neighbourhood, your workplace, your own life. Sing the truth of who He is back to Him, tell Him what He means to you!

HERE’S WHAT SOME OF OUR AMAZING WORSHIP TEAM HAD TO SAY...

Having that intimacy and communion with the Holy Spirit is something that cannot be compared to or substituted. We know that “in His presence is the fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11), and there is refreshing, freedom and peace found there that we cannot comprehend.

Over the last few month’s, we have all, at some time or another, needed the joy of the Lord.

We’ve needed His presence to refresh us and for His peace that surpasses all understanding to meet us in our moments of fear, worry or stress.

So, how do we access His presence? By praising!

In Psalm 22, David sings that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people. God meets us wherever we’re at when we worship Him; when we use the voice He has given us to sing songs of praise that glorify His name and exalt Him high above everything that we’re facing - that’s where His presence is found.

As a Creative team, we have been encouraging each other over the last few months in how we can build this more and more into our every day lives and why we can’t afford to just wait until the next time we’re all together to sing, raise our hands, declare the truth of God’s word, clap, or dance.

- Suzie Murphy C7 Worship Leader

“At the moment our corporate worship looks different, so I’ve started thinking about other ways that I can express my worship to God whilst in church.

The Bible speaks about so many other forms of worship; clapping our hands, raising our hands in surrender, dancing, offering up praise and thanksgiving, playing an instrument, bowing or kneeling in reverence amongst many others.

These are only some of the outer expressions of worship.

How amazing is it that our worship to God isn’t only limited to singing! I love the lyrics in the song ‘Heart of Worship’ by Matt Redman; “When the music fades and all is striped away and I simply come…I’ll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself is not what you have required.” Songs are important but worship is so much more.

- Amanda Vanterpool

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“In this season of uncertainty, worship is more important than ever because it lifts up our heads and enables us to fix our eyes on Jesus. As we praise Him, we remember just how mighty and majestic our God is.

“I’m continuing to praise and worship through this season by making sure everyday I say what I’m thankful for. By remembering that God is still in control it really helps me want to push into Him whether that be by praying, listening to worship music or reading the word. I make sure every day I’m spending a good amount of time with Him to know Him more. This helps me stay on fire because every time it’s fresh and I feel myself wanting to go deeper in his presence by lifting His name up.“ - Joel Cask “I love that worship instantly changes the atmosphere and turns my thoughts towards Him. There was a period during this season which was very quiet at home where I struggled to fully engage with God and I realised how important worship is for me to keep a soft heart so now we listen to praise and worship everyday. This has really lifted my thankfulness and kept me going strong during this season.”

- Dave Hernandez

Recently, even though we have been physically confined, it’s so important to remember that God is not. Worship prevents our view of God being diminished, to match our circumstances.

I love that we have His promises to stand on, for He who promised is faithful. (Deuteronomy 31:6) God promises that He will never leave us or forsake us and in the closing line of Matthew, Jesus assures us that He is always with us until the very end of the age.

God is with us, He’s gone before us and He is our refuge and strength so keep worshipping!”

- Sheonagh Struthers;

FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU,” DECLARES THE LORD, “PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE." - JEREMIAH 29:11

FEATURE

Pastor Helen looks at the impact of screen time on our Kids in a season where it almost seems inevitable...

FAMILY LIFE: TO SCREEN OR NOT TO SCREEN...

So rather than beating down on if children should have access to screens (let’s face it they do, and never more so than the last 6 months) then it’s about how to responsibly manage and lead your child's access to information and use of devices.

The average British household now has 7.4 screens in a house, in some households it’s 3-4 per family member. In the UK the average child (age 5-16) spends 6.3 hours a day looking at a screen (including TV, phone, gaming and internet use). In Glasgow 96% of young people in S1 to S6 interviewed for the Health & Wellbeing Survey 2014, stated they spend between 1 to 16 hours a day in front of screens on a weekday.*

1. What are they watching?

For any parents that didn’t have phones etc growing up and for some (shock horror!) didn’t have the internet until you were an adult, the idea your child can access anything and everything at once can be inconceivable. But unfortunately it’s true. As much as there is great information and knowledge to be gained, plus fantastic content out there for all ages, there is also a horrendous amount of evil our kids can be exposed to. Unfortunately 56% of 11-16 years olds have seen explicit material online and one in eight children aged 8-11 who go online said they had seen something ‘nasty’.

There’s no two ways about it - screens are everywhere and they’re here to stay.

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Screentime. This is a term that really has only become part of the English language in the last decade. I don’t think my mum ever said “you’ve had too much screentime!” Apart from anything else we only had one screen when I was a kid.

Parents often don’t want to ‘alienate’ their child from their friends who are using the ‘latest’ app or game, but it’s important that we are aware of what our children are exposed to for their safety and protection. Matthew 6:22-23 says “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

Being aware of what our kids are watching / exposed to is taking an active interest in guarding their hearts and minds.

SOME IDEA FOR SCREEN-FREE TIME • Consider having phone-free times. E.g. dinner time, before bedtime, family time.

• Think through your example of using a device. It’s difficult to encourage your child to have less screen time when we are not!

• Schedule family time with no devices. Try taking a walk and leaving the phones at home.

• Watch stuff together. Think it through: if you and your family are all on devices at the same time, why not instead come together and watch a family movie or something the kids want to watch. Cuddle up and get some snacks.

• Do a social media fast as a family, if you’re all on it a lot, do some time away from it.

2. What is their reality?

I saw a heartbreaking interview with a parent whose teen had committed suicide following a period of cyber bullying. The tragedy was topped with the parents' sadness and guilt that they didn’t know their child had even been experiencing any of these issues; it had all been over their phone and their child had never told them.

For many of today's parents, our understanding of bullying when we were young was that it happened in the playground or on the walk from school, but when you got home your house and family was a safe place away from the bullies.

"THE EYE IS THE LAMP OF THE BODY. IF YOUR EYES ARE HEALTHY, YOUR WHOLE BODY WILL BE FULL OF LIGHT." MATTHEW 6:22 Today, however, young people have access to people 24/7 through social media and device usage. As much fun as online access can bring, it also removes this ‘safe space’ - whether they’re at school, at home or in their bedrooms in the middle of the night, they’re reachable.

As parents, we can teach our kids how to be present within the home without the device: helping them practice experiencing life whilst not attached to their phone - they can live and enjoy things without it. Whether it is play time, story time, conversations with a cuppa, or do an activity or task together (making the dinner etc) - put the phone down for a bit and be present in the activity you are doing.

It’s not going to solve the world's problems for our children but we can create our homes to be a place of safety and refuge, a place where family is and conversations are in the open and to your face, not through a screen - Pastor Helen Ratcliffe

Many young people have identified that low self-worth and anxiety they’ve experienced is enhanced by seeing so many seemingly ‘perfect’ social media posts by others. (let's be honest, many adults have experienced this too!)

To break down the unhealthy comparison habit, try out ‘Fact or Opinion’ (this technique we do in the Daughters Programme!)

When we (or our kids) see an Instagram or TikTok post of someone who looks “instagorgeous”, ask ourselves if what we think about this person is absolute fact; we 100% know it’s true, or if that’s our opinion?

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For example: “she’s living such an exciting life” = our opinion. We don’t know this; she could be in crazy debt or have terrible relationships - the camera isn’t showing you if she is genuinely happy or not, it’s just a photo of her posing. It helps us reflect that one ‘perfect’ photo doesn’t actually tell us anything. You can get a not-so-flattering shot of someone while in the middle of the happiest day of their life or a great shot of someone at a funeral - a photo doesn’t tell us anything about a person at all.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

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