By Chris Buck
At the beginning of August, we spent a very positive time in Burnley.
Paul and Sue Standley and the many Churches, that they work with, came together in Burnley to put on a week of outreach to the community. There is a strong unity amongst the Churches and a real desire to share the Gospel with the communities they are in. They all see the benefit of uniting and working closely together to share the truth of the Gospel.
The main part of our week was to support Paul and Sue in crewing their boat, Ten Thousand Reasons (TTR), on a 45min trip along one of the wonders of the canal world. The embankment, which is nearly 1 mile in length, takes the canal across the valley that Burnley is in. It is an amazing feat of engineering, on a parr with Telford/Jessops Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. When you see it and stand at the bottom of the embankment you realise the engineering skill that went into building it.
On the boat trips there were opportunities to talk with the passengers and to teach them how to pilot the boat. The story of the name of Ten Thousand Reasons was shared with many. People were prayed for, blessed with new testaments and had a trip that will last long in their memories.
The churches put a Pie and Pea night on, where a local band led worship and did some ‘Assembly Bangers” that went down extremely well. A chance for people to invite friends to something where they may experience God in an informal setting. On the Saturday afternoon a fun day for families was put on, a bouncy slide was brought in, stalls with craft activities on were set up, face painting and some games such as blow boat races and hoop toss. Crowds came and enjoyed. We did some shorter 20 min boat trips and some short Gospel messages were delivered from the front or roof of TTR.
Burnley week was a fantastic time working as a team together alongside local Churches to share God’s love on the waterways and in the town. Our prayer is that lives are changed by the acts of kindness that were shown and the Gospel that was shared.
