Evangelism Archives - King's Arms Church

Our vision for our youth at Kings Arms is, simply put, Jesus.

In everything, we want to create a space for young people to become wholehearted disciples of Jesus who make disciples wherever they go.

As a team, we have structured everything around, firstly, being disciples who love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind. Secondly, we aim to make disciples as we commit to the Great Commission and to the presence of Jesus in our lives.

Read on to find out a bit more about what has been going on at Youth recently:

Learning to Become Disciples

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8–9

Since last September, we have been focusing on the lifestyle and teaching of Jesus by reading the Gospels together and learning to pray. We have adjusted our rhythm on both Wednesdays and Sundays to serve our vision. As part of this change, we have been giving fewer talks from the front and have instead begun reading the Bible in smaller groups, learning to hear God for ourselves.

Several dads have also been leading us in encountering Jesus through worship and we have been equipping the young people to boldly share their faith. We have seen many young people give their lives to Jesus, gain greater freedom and grow in their understanding of grace.

Recently, during worship on Sundays, we have been able to witness how the young people gather in a circle when we take communion and pray over one another.

On some Wednesday nights, we have been studying the Bible together and the young people have shared revelations they have received from Scripture with the others. At times, some have shared prophetic words from the front or prayed for the entire group. These are only a few stories of what we have been seeing God do in this generation.

Making Disciples and sharing the Gospel

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10

Lucas, our intern from Spain, has been practically equipping the young people to share their faith with others in simple ways. As a result, we have heard from some parents that their young people said to one another while spending time together, “We learned at youth to share our faith with others, let’s do it.” They then went out together and shared the Gospel with people on the streets!

United with Other Disciples

God commands a blessing when we come together in unity (Psalm 133:1). We have seen this to be true as we attended our first Hope Youth event together with six other churches in Bedford. We gathered to have fun, eat pizza, worship, listen to a talk and respond to Jesus.

During that evening, two young people from our church gave their lives to Jesus and encountered His love for the first time in a tangible way!

We are truly witnessing the hunger of this generation to follow Jesus according to what they read in the Bible, rather than following the culture they are confronted with. It is such a joy to be a part of their journey and we are excited for God to continue to move in powerful ways.

Much love,
Johnny Diermann and the eFocus team

P.S. If you are passionate about discipling our young people to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and you have a desire to be part in the move of God in this generation, we would love to hear from you! Simply fill out this form, or email us at youth@kingsarms.org.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.” Luke 6:38

At Re-Track, our social action project, we’re all about bringing good news to life right here in our town! Through different projects, we offer practical help and genuine care to support people as they get back on track and move forward with renewed purpose. You can find out more about us at re-track.org

Love in Every Bag

This Christmas, we were overwhelmed by the generosity and love shown through Re-Track’s ‘Love Christmas’ initiative. Together, we were able to bless our community with 271 gift bags, shared with families, people experiencing homelessness, the elderly and vulnerable women!

This incredible impact wouldn’t have been possible without everyone who so generously donated and thoughtfully filled each bag with beautiful goodies. The care, love and effort poured into every single bag was so evident.

A heartfelt ‘thank you’ as well to our amazing Re-Track volunteers who helped sort, pack and deliver the bags. It was a true privilege to come together as a church family and bless those in need in our town this Christmas season.

Building Community this Christmas

In December, we hosted a wonderful Christmas Family Fun Day at church, led by our amazing King’s Kids team, and it was such a joyful afternoon! We were delighted to welcome some Re-Track families along with local families from F4YP (Fun 4 Young People), creating a space full of laughter, connection and community.

The event was packed with fun activities for the children, bouncy castles and…candy floss! We enjoyed time together and loved connecting with the families.

One of my highlights was seeing a Re-track family who we have supported a lot with emergency food parcels arrive with four of their children. From past conversations with the mum they have felt quite disconnected from friends and family since moving to Bedford. As the event went on, I noticed the family were really connecting with another family from church. They were getting on so well that I assumed they had met before, but I later discovered it was their first time meeting. It was wonderful to see not just our volunteers but church families really welcoming others into the space.

A huge ‘thank you’ to the incredible King’s Kids team and volunteers who gave their time and energy to make this day possible. It was a beautiful reminder of how powerful it is when we come together as a church family to serve and bless our community.

Sometimes Showing Up is Enough

We wouldn’t be able to do all that we do without our faithful Re-Track volunteers, who jump in to help with one-off projects whenever the need arises. Pam is one of our fantastic volunteers, and she recently shared this story with us:

“Another Re-Track volunteer and I were asked to visit a lady to help her de-clutter her home. As soon as we arrived, we saw she had a real need. We immediately wanted to jump in, but our suggestions weren’t helping and her attempts to start decluttering weren’t working either.

After a while, her daughter joined us, and we realised that what she needed most was simply for us to be there, to listen and chat. By the end of our visit, she had managed to get through a large amount of paperwork that she hadn’t been able to face before. She said having us there made all the difference.

It turns out, we didn’t do what we initially thought we were there to do. Instead, we represented Jesus to this precious lady, which had a far greater impact and empowered her to tackle some of the jobs herself!”

If you, or someone you know, is in need of help, please email re-track@kingsarms.org

Looking for Volunteer Opportunities with us?

If you’d love to be part of helping with our one-off community projects, or our ongoing initiative such as ‘Love Christmas’, please fill out this form or email us. You’ll be able to choose how much you’re able to contribute based on your availability and capacity.

Opportunities with our Affiliated Social Action Project: Azalea

Azalea is an amazing, local charity supporting vulnerable women affected by sexual exploitation, abuse, homelessness and addiction. They offer practical support and care, and are currently looking for help and support in the following areas:

– Drivers
– Storage space providers
– Cake bakers
– Hat and glove knitters

If you’re able to help in any way, please email re-track@kingsarms.org

Thank you!

We are so looking forward to serving our town in the year ahead and are excited to see all that God has in store. In the coming months, we’ll be hosting another community litter pick, and before long, Love Easter will be just around the corner! Let’s roll up our sleeves and keep making an impact on our town!

Thank you for helping us share love in practical, generous ways.

Much love,
Charlotte Knapp and the eFocus team

Meet Joy Summers, the author of today’s eFocus! Joy currently works as an ESOL tutor at HopeWorks and has been a part of King’s Arms for 20 years. She’s passionate about travel, literature and wildlife.

Let’s be honest, it’s hard to muster the enthusiasm to keep praying for situations that are far from us or don’t impact our day-to-day. I don’t say this to make us feel bad about ourselves. We are in the company of the disciples in Gethsemane and Moses at the battle of the Amalekites. We need those who will keep us awake in Gethsemane and who will hold up our arms at Rephidim (Exodus 17:12). He knows we are dust but that is a reason for our weakness, not a justification for giving up.

Not surprisingly, I want to encourage you to pray for places beyond where you are likely to go or know. My ideas are not exclusive to praying cross-culturally but as you read on, please leave a space in your heart for the places most people aren’t spending much time for in prayer.

Here are a number of practical ways in which we can stay awake and prop up our arms in prayer:

1. PRAY FOR A WILLING HEART

Pray for a willing heart and to avoid compassion fatigue. He is our Father who loves to give good gifts and if we lack anything we can ask for it. There is no shame in telling God that you want to pray more but struggle because of disinterest. Think about that song, “break my heart for what breaks Yours” (Hosanna, Hillsong UNITED) and ask Him to lay someone or somewhere on your heart so that you can pray from love not duty.

His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Prayer is a discipline and takes hard work but if you are bashing out prayers about something without having a heart connection it may be that God wants to give you a yoke that will be a delight to carry. You can’t carry the whole world but you can find what God wants you to care about and be faithful to that while always leaving room for new things to spark in your spirit.

2. SET YOURSELF SHORT-TERM GOALS

Set yourself multiple short-term prayer commitments. There will always be life-long prayers for situations that touch our heart deeply but to avoid becoming overly focused on just the immediate and near, why not set yourself some short-term prayer goals? They can broaden your horizons for a season without you feeling that you are failing when you move on to other areas in your prayer life.

They can also be catalysts for discovering new passions that enrich your life. Why not spin a globe and pray for the country your finger lands on for the next month? Or, commit to pray once a week, for a month, for people in prison around the globe? You will have opened the door to God broadening your compassion and intercession.

3. CHANGE THINGS UP, TRY SOMETHING NEW

It’s the new year so why not resolve to pray when you meet up with your believing friends at the end of a catch up? Come to the prayer meetings. Be brave and pray out loud in your life groups. Ask someone at the end of a church service if you can pray with them briefly.

Small efforts can have big effects. You may discover some courage you didn’t think you had. New practices can remind your heart of its purpose.

If you have kids at home why not create three jars for prayer labelled ‘country’, ‘demographic’ and one containing scripture verses. It will take some prep but each dinner time you can pull out three slips of paper and find yourself praying psalms and scriptures over the women of Afghanistan, the children of Brazil, the police officers of Algeria or the elderly in Estonia.

4. IMAGINE YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES

When I was much younger, I remember asking my Dad why he wanted to listen to the news so regularly when none of it was good news. I’ll never forget his response: “So I know how to pray.”

You can use also use the news and conduct the following thought experiment: What on the news moves you? How can you turn it into prayer? Take a few moments to mentally sit in the place of those in the middle of that news item. What are their emotions? What action would you want to take in their situation? What would your anger / fear / sense of injustice in that situation make you ask God for? Can you do that on their behalf?

A two-minute reflection as you imagine yourself experiencing that headline can invite the Holy Spirit to stir something in your heart for those in conflicts that are not your own.

5. BECOME A DETECTIVE IN YOUR COMMUNITY

Look around. Remember those eye-spy books you had as a kid? Next time you’re in town take notice of how many different languages you can see or hear and thank God that Bedford has become a home for so many. When you pass a shop with Arabic script, pray that they would meet believers who will share truth with them. When you see an Indian restaurant, ask God to send more workers into His harvest field in the Asian sub-continent.

What a privilege and responsibility we have since God has brought the world to our doorstep.

6. BE PROACTIVE, GET INFORMED

Find people in the church who are working in areas you don’t know much about and ask for their prayer points. Sign up for a newsletter of someone who works overseas. Send Paula in Mexico an email asking how you can pray for her this week. Learn what Catalyst is doing in the nations. Download the Joshua Project app to be given short daily prayer points for places in the world that may be new to you.

7. FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO PRAY

I love having something visible and tangible to prompt me to pray. Get creative and do what it takes to remind you to pray for people and places beyond your regular list. Fill a notebook with places, people and issues written in the centre of each page then circle it each time you pray. Link your prayers for a new topic with a daily activity as an aide-memoir such as remembering those involved in trafficking on your drive to work, praying for the unreached in the Muslim world when you brush your teeth and asking God to speed Bible translation when you do the dishes.

8. TRY TAXI EVANGELISM!

Become a ‘taxi anthropologist’ and ask God for opportunities to meet people outside of your normal routine – you may be surprised at the paths you cross! Notice the flag or prayer beads in the taxi you’re in and show an interest. If you hear another language being spoken, it’s natural to pass a comment, most people won’t be offended by you asking with a smile what language they are speaking and if they will teach you how to say ‘have a nice day’.

Ramadan starts in February and your Muslim taxi driver, neighbour or shop worker will not be offended if you ask how you can pray for them during their holy month.

We have just celebrated the greatest cross-cultural mission event in history: Christmas. When Immortal became mortal, Perfect became sin and the Worshipped became despised. To what end, but that we might become like Him: having a future glory and a present humility.

Go and use your prayer as service to the Lord and remember that you are sowing into a kingdom that will last for eternity.

Much love,
Joy Summers

A few weeks ago, I returned from an incredible time serving churches across East Africa at their apostolic conference and, as I’ve been processing and reflecting, I want to share some lessons these remarkable leaders taught me:

1. God is Working in the Most Unexpected Places

Imagine sitting in a room, hearing report after report of God’s movement across East Africa. Salvations and healings weren’t just occasional testimonies — they were pouring in from every nation represented. Churches are being planted by the hundreds (including in some nations I can’t name for security reasons). The Gospel is even reaching pygmy communities who had never heard of Jesus before.

It’s humbling to realise that while we sometimes wonder if God can change the seemingly Gospel-resistant people around us, He’s doing extraordinary things in some of the toughest places on earth.

2. Lack of Resources is No Excuse for Disobedience

This hit me hard. In some regions, every single worker is a volunteer. No salaries. No support structures. Yet, these leaders are faithfully planting churches and reaching the lost with whatever they have.

It made me question how often I’ve allowed “lack of resources” to become my excuse for not stepping out in faith.

3. The Gospel Challenges Every Culture

We often talk about our cultural battles in the West, but my eyes were opened to very different challenges these churches face:

FGM (Female G Mutilation) – a heartbreaking reality where young girls are brutally harmed in the name of cultural “purity”
Polygamy – imagine the complexity of discipling community leaders who have three or four wives when they come to faith

What struck me most was this truth: while every culture tempts us to compromise, God’s Word provides wisdom and grace for standing firm — no matter how difficult the situation.

4. Courage Grows Best in Team

The stories of persecution were sobering. They shared about imprisonments and street beatings. One leader shared how most of his pastors have machete scars on their faces and bodies where they have been chased by tribesman driving them out of their villages.

But, here’s what amazed me: they weren’t facing it alone. These teams stood together, drawing strength from each other in ways that reminded me of the early church in Acts.

It made me want to stir up some fresh courage buddies for the mission that I’m on.

5. The Future Belongs to Entrepreneurial Ministry

So many leaders I met were also entrepreneurs by necessity. They’re running fruit tree farms, pig businesses, and taxi services — not just to survive, but to support their church and the local community.

It confirmed my conviction that “tent-making” is going to be the future of church leadership if we want to raise enough leaders to reach our nations.

6. The Power of Praying Together

There’s something profound about praying in the same room with people you’ve only prayed for from a distance. It reminded me that we truly are one family in Christ, regardless of our nationalities or circumstances.

I’ve added several leaders to my prayer calendar so that I can continue to stand with them.

As I continue to process these lessons, I’m asking myself (and now you):

Which of these lessons challenges you the most?
How might God be calling you to step out in faith, even with limited resources?
What would it look like for you to stand firm in your cultural context?

Much love,
Simon Holley and the eFocus team

Wherever we are in life, we are building communities of some sort, be it family, a church life group or a whole congregation. In my role leading our new 3pm Blunham location, I’ve had the opportunity to learn quite a bit about building community and I’ve boiled down to these top five things I’ve been learning:

1. SMALL TALK, BIG TALK

Building community, small or large, requires people to connect and form relationships by talking to one another. To this end, we should always be asking ourselves, how am I making it easy to talk to each other in this community?

We have to make space for small talk: the weather or the football. We also have to make space for big talk, or else our community becomes just a social club. For us at Blunham, we love catching up over a coffee after services and prayer meetings, and we also love building time into our meetings to talk about the bigger things in life.

Small talk by itself won’t grow a community. Big talk only can become intense. In your community, are you building in time for both?

2. BUILDING COMMUNITY TAKES TIME

There is no replacement for time spent in one another’s company. There is no shortcut for this.

To truly know one another, we need time in each other’s company and time to develop trust to be vulnerable. Have you ever tried being vulnerable with someone you’ve only just met? Me neither. These things take time.

Communication is more about listening than talking, and so in your community, are you taking the time to listen well?

3. THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL

The rewards of building community are huge. One of my favourite weeks as a Sunday location was in March when we met as a community to have lunch. The overwhelming majority of the community came along and we had a great time of connection over some delicious home-cooked food. They had wanted to be part of it. This would never have been possible without having put the time in first.

4. BUILDING SOMETIMES MEANS BUILDING (FLATPACK)

One of my favourite moments in building the community at Blunham was the afternoon we literally spent doing some building! We had a delivery of flat-packed sofas and chairs to help refurbish the rear hall in the building. I made an appeal for helpers and was amazed at the number of people who showed up with their expertise, tools and time. What spurred us on was the fact that we were all working towards an endpoint we valued.

We wanted to see the room transformed, and what I learnt was that having a sense of common purpose bound us together.

5. ADVENTURE WITH PEOPLE YOU TRUST

Building a community of any sort is an adventure in itself, a step into the unknown. The future of your community might face unexpected challenges. The only way to approach this healthily is to go on this adventure with people you trust, people who you know will stand by you and fight for the community.

I have been so grateful for the community at Blunham who have been so trustworthy and dependable in all we have ventured in together, willing to help out in so many ways. I know that we can see through anything that comes our way.

Let’s continue building healthy, strong community around us as we become all that God has called us to be.

Much love,
John Wright and the eFocus team

If you’d like to see how building our Blunham community is progressing, or even considering joining us for a season as we seek to build and grow, we would love to have you! We meet on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month at 3pm.

Find out more at kingsarms.org/blunham

Have you heard the old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child’?

We are keenly aware that a parent needs as much support as they can get to raise a child, despite the claims of our individualistic society. We might mostly live in nuclear families but we desperately need those who live beyond the four walls of our home.

Yet, how often I find myself limited in how I can be part of the village for the people around me. I so often lack the time, finance or wisdom to really support them and make a difference.

In comes the concept of prayer…

*Click to download a PDF version. The calendar can also be find in the Devoted booklets/journals.*

The reason I’ve loved using the prayer calendar is because it prompts me where so often my human efforts fall down. I love my Auntie, but sometimes she slips to the back of my mind. Now, on the 13th of every month, my prayers turn to her again, often accompanied by a message asking her how she’s doing.

I’ve found many times that on the day that I’m praying for a certain neighbour I see them in the street, or it happens to be a day of a hospital appointment when I text the person I’m praying for. I have had one university friend call me on the very day I’d first written down her name, to tell me that she had started Alpha. And two others I was praying for are now walking in relationship with God again after some time away. Our prayers are powerful!

Now I have a list of 30 people who I am in the habit of bringing before God in prayer each month and I’m loving those people in one of the best ways I know how: by praying for them.

If you, like me, need help to not get overwhelmed with a whole list of things to pray, can I invite you to join me in using the prayer calendar and set a daily reminder? I leave a physical copy by the chair where I sit to drink my coffee and read my Bible, it could be by the kettle or the toothbrush — whatever works for you!

Let’s partner with God in praying for those in our village.

Much love,
Katy Ryland and the eFocus team

With it being Halloween next week, you might be busy making plans and working out what you’re going to do. Maybe you have children wanting to be taken trick or treating? Perhaps, you’re someone who has always turns off all the lights and hides in a back room? Or, you’re really excited about welcoming people to your door and you’re wondering how to best use this opportunity to share the love of Jesus? Personally, I feel like Halloween is a bit like marmite — you either dread it or you are really excited about it. Whichever you category you fall into, something we can all do is to prepare for it in one way or another.

So, what are you going to do this Halloween? I’d encourage you to take time to prayerfully decide on the best decision for you and your family, and to resist judging the choices of others. Remember, you don’t have to get involved in some of the darker elements of the day in order to make it memorable; even using it to point towards light, hope and healing. Something we teach our children at King’s Kids is to ask themselves, “How can we be more like Jesus?” That would be a great question to start with.

Whether you have children or not, here are some suggestions to spread hope instead of fear this Halloween; bringing peace into a situation that can normally be quite scary:

Get creative

Carve a pumpkin with positive or uplifting artwork to display outside of your home. (Scroll down for some ideas!) Or, put up some autumnal decorations to bring cheer to passers-by and convey a message of hope.

Check on your neighbours

Perhaps you have neighbours who might feel vulnerable during this season, why not invite them round for a coffee? Or, drop off some goodies and have a friendly doorstep chat?

Celebrate Jesus

We will be having a Light & Praise party for those at church and within our community with primary aged children. Bring the family, or come along and help us put on this event, and eat lots of sweet treats in the process!

Let the kids take charge

Encourage your children to pray and ask God for ideas. At King’s Kids we give our children lots of opportunities to grow in their ability to hear God’s voice. Maybe they want to make some cards with prophetic words to hand out to trick or treaters? Be bold in asking those visiting your door if there is anything you can pray for.

Need more ideas?

For additional resources and information, check out the following…

Parenting for Faith has some helpful articles on navigating Halloween
Bag of Hope (UCB) and Pumpkin Heroes (WorldVision) offer material you can order to hand out to trick or treaters as well as activity packs.

However Halloween will look for you this year, let’s use the occasion to celebrate Jesus, the Light of the World! He came to bring Hope and Peace to everyone, and we have the privilege of partnering with Him, not just in this season, but every day.

Much love,

Nicky Stanyard and the eFocus Team

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will He do, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12

God is on the move amongst us and we are witnessing an increase in healings during our gatherings. We recently launched our Healing Room which takes place on the first Sunday morning of each month at King’s House, and we’re hearing testimonies of people being healed or noticing improvements in their conditions. Previous prophetic words over us have declared that we would be a ‘house of miracles’. We want to be a church that continues to push for more breakthroughs and the miraculous.

Let’s hear from Claire and Gill, who are a part of our Healing Room Team, as they encourage us to keep believing for more than we have seen, and why we are called to go after Signs and Wonders:

Signs and Wonders point people to Jesus

In the early church, signs and wonders were a completely normal part of life. When Philip proclaimed Christ in Samaria, “They paid attention to what he said with one accord when they heard and saw the signs that he did. Unclean spirits came out with a loud voice and many who were paralysed, or lame were healed.” Acts 8:6-7

Paul said that his ministry was a combination of both message and miracles. Miracles were central to his gospel ministry. He said, “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling and my speech and my message were not in plausible words or wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:3-5

Signs and Wonders demonstrate His kingdom

Jesus told His disciples to proclaim and demonstrate His Kingdom wherever they went and this is still His commission for every believer today. He chooses to move through you and I as we walk in intimacy with Him.

Like Paul, we have been empowered to carry His miracle-working power with us into every environment and situation; not in our strength but because of His grace.

Signs and Wonders should be expected!

When we speak the name of Jesus we can expect signs and wonders to follow. In a coffee shop in our town, I (Claire) have seen God powerfully move when we’ve laid hands on the sick or invited His peace. I’ve seen how a sign and a wonder has opened a door for us to introduce someone to Jesus.

Signs and wonders are what we are made for; it’s the natural overflow and outcome of spending time with Jesus. As He fills us with His presence and power, we impact everyone that we come into contact with, making room for God to work.

Signs and Wonders are always available

When we allow faith and expectation to overshadow our doubt and cynicism, we suddenly can’t help but become aware that the Father is always working in our everyday lives (yes!) and in the people around us.

God is more passionate and eager to reveal Himself to people than we realise. He cannot help Himself! The question isn’t whether He will show up, but rather whether we are looking, listening and perceiving Him at work. I (Claire) have often found that when I’m in conversations with people, I start to sense the Holy Spirit’s presence, and sure enough the person I am speaking to shares how they are having a significant encounter with something supernatural; something they would never forget.

Signs and Wonders take us on amazing adventures!

Whilst interceding and worshipping on my (Gill’s) dog walks, I have sometimes found feathers and smelt a sweet fragrance. A patient told me (Gill) of an experience where a dove flew through their window and circled them, filling the room with peace! At work, we also had an abnormal ECG totally normalise on repeating it, which is impossible in the natural.

My (Gill’s) husband, Steve, once had a dream where he so clearly remembers sharing the Gospel with a Muslim lady, the same description of a woman I had prayed with for healing in A&E the evening before.

Our loving Father is so wonderful in leaving signs everywhere for us to delight in.

Let’s embark on this adventure of asking for more signs and wonders as we share His love and goodness with those around us.

Much love,
Claire Coggan, Gill Cronau and the eFocus Team