Dear friends,

“Looking For The Wonder World”

Around a year ago I was invited to a meeting with a Christian funding group at the Macron stadium by a friend who was going. The funder encouraged everyone there  that  if we had any creative project ideas that we would like to deliver in Bolton to bring positive impact to the communities we serve, we could submit an A4 piece of paper with a description of the project idea and they might help to fund the project. The idea that came into my head as I sat there was how cool it would be to make a children’s worship CD with some of the children I work with in Farnworth and Kearsley.  So I went home that night and pondered a bit…

Soon though, the usual nagging thoughts crept into my head like “You won’t be able to pull that off” and “there’s loads of far more talented people doing that kind of thing already, why should you try?” and “It’s a waste of time and resource”.

But on the day of the deadline I remembered something I had seen on Facebook: “You will miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”…so I rushed a submission through and sent it off…

That was back in August last year, and now almost a year later, the funder agreed to fund part of the project, 10 new songs have been written and recorded, 7 classes from 6 local primary schools agreed to be involved, around 200 children have been learning the songs of faith and hope and engaging in the subject of a God that made the world and that loves them and has a plan for their life.

By the end of July, God willing, there will have been a CD launch at St John’s church with around 200 local primary school children singing their songs and a CD called “Looking For The Wonder World” will have been released.

I’m reminded that God wants to use anyone that is willing. I’m not a great singer, I’m an OK song writer, and a fairly decent guitar player, but the heart of the idea was to explain the amazing Good News about Jesus to children in a way they might be able to understand.

We never know what God is going to do, or how he will use us, if we only make ourselves available and take a risk when we feel he is prompting us.

All through the Bible, we see that God uses the most ordinary, and often times the most unqualified people to do ridiculous and amazing things, because it leaves everyone in no doubt that it was God’s idea all along, and His power at work in us, not our own ability. You might like to read 2 Corinthians 12, where St Paul speaks about how God’s power was perfected in the weakness of Paul.

With best wishes,

Paul Saxon, St John’s School Project Worker