Crash 2010

For the last three years, on the second week of August we serve our communities through an event called CRASH. We kicked it off in August 07 with about 20 people committed to serve for a week, thinking back on it now, these guys really worked hard. it wasn't pick a project or choose a place to serve according to your gifting and passion, it was all hands on deck, everyone did a kids club each day, everyone hit the streets and housing areas to give away free stuff. In the evening we would sit in the Vineyard telling stories of what God was doing and imagining what would happen if we created a servant culture within Vineyard Church Dungannon, what would that look like, what impact would it have?

I'd love to explain why we do CRASH each year from a conversation we had during that first CRASH in August 2007. It was a Thursday evening and about eight of us set around two sofa's and a coffee table in the corner of where we do Church and began a conversation:

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

1 Thess 1: 2 - 10

Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it..What is so exciting that it rings out into our community? We began to tell stories of what God was doing when we walked among our community but we also began to dream and paint stories of what could be, dreams exciting enough that the Message of the Kingdom would spread like God gossip from town to town, village to village, street to street. Here at Vineyard Church Dungannon we are still asking the question, exploring possibilities and serving opportunities; is there something exciting that rings out into our community that points to God?

Paul tells us this Church saw people who followed pagan gods become passionate followers of Christ. He describes them as the model Church so what was their program and what was their struture like? They had none, I've discoverd that we program what we don’t have in our culture, and as for the structure there was none but there is belief, a heart, soul, conviction, ethos, passion.

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Never has the Church today been better resourced, trained, deveolped, skill and informed and with all this we have embraced all sorts of ideas, implimented programs and written many, many books and enrolled in trainging and equipping events but what if we are ignoring what we need and more importantly what society around us groans for; a people who live by faith who are known by love and are givers of hope. Sounds very simplistic when you read but hey so does reading your bible and praying to grow in God.

On Sunday the 8th August we launch our fourth CRASH, this year we have over a hundred people crashing forward with faith, hope and love to see God's message ring out not only in Dungannon but throughout Ireland and beyond. We have our kids club every morning (you get to choose that one now) we paint homes, garden, giveaway free stuff, wash cars(FREE), pray for people on the streets, each evening we have a youth event from 8 - 10pm. Its all happening this year and it happens when a small group of people devote themselves, throw the servant towel over their arms and GO.