Concluding a two-part series, Simon Hawking asks what makes our communities change

It feels like each day brings another daunting headline in the news. Wars and rumours of wars, the plight of refugees, rising costs, ecological disasters and disease. There is much to fuel our prayers these days. We desire to see an end to the suffering we see around us or read about and we bring our petitions to God, trusting he is good and is the answer.

Some of us feel compelled to do something, asking the question: ‘God, how can we play our part?’ In many circumstances, God’s answer is to use people to bring about change and to write new headlines. Yet, we can so often feel overwhelmed by what we see and hear and wonder, how could we even begin to make a difference? Where do we start?

Creating Good News stories has to begin with the acknowledgement that, actually, we can’t do it on our own. We need the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

Isaiah 61 says: ‘The Spirit of the Sovereign God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.’ This is a comfort to us – we don’t have to go it alone, God’s Spirit is upon us!..

Simon Hawking is the Chief Executive for Acts Trust. The 5D’s of Community Transformation is available to buy from www.sharejesusinternational.com/5d

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This is an extract from an article published in the December 2022 / January 2023 edition of Reform

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