Finding Faith Afresh Songs of Praise

The idea of Sunday being a day of rest isn't really the norm any more.

A lot of the things done during the week can be done on a Sunday, too.

Yet there are still lots of churches using initiative and imagination

to invite people into church in this 24/7 world.

And this week, I'll be finding out about some of those initiatives

and also meeting some of the people who've accepted that invitation.

This week - the newest Methodist church in the country.

I meet the man running one of the biggest initiatives

for getting people into church.

How a summer festival inspired a fresh expression of church

and lively praise and worship songs from around the UK.

Later on, we'll be marking International Day of Peace

with a special prayer from the newly-appointed Archbishop

and Bishop of Liverpool.

And the Bishop of Liverpool is also leading a new church

initiative beginning this month.

The Season of Invitation,

when Christians invite their friends to church.

Ten years ago, we had this simple idea called Back To Church Sunday,

where church people were asked to invite someone they know

to something they love.

And many tens of thousands of people have invited their friends.

We've moved that on now and we call it the Season of Invitation.

A season of five occasions.

End of September, Back to Church Sunday,

Harvest, October, Remembrance, November,

Christmas starts December and Christmas Day.

And research shows us that if people are invited a number of times,

there's more chance they'll stick with the church, make friends there

and maybe find out more for themselves what it's all about.

I came here through a friend

who I used to go to church with when I was small.

I've stayed because I've been made to feel so welcome

and involved in everything the church does.

I came to church because my wife started coming

and when I came, I wanted to learn more.

And I've stayed because it's helped me to live a better life

and be a better person.

We came to church to baptise our youngest child

and we never left.

And that was 32 years ago and this really is our home.

Whether you're walking into church for the first or the 1,000th time,

the redemption and welcome that's at the heart of Christianity

is open to everybody.

And that just happens to be the theme of tonight's first hymn.

A modern version of the 1904 Welsh Revival hymn,

Here is Love, Vast As The Ocean.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

In Warrington town centre,

the members of one congregation

have stumbled on a friendly way to invite newcomers.

The promise of coffee, cake and choruses.

# Hallelujah

# Hallelujah

# Hallelujah. #

5½ years ago, a group of people met together

with the premise of wanting to go

to a local coffee shop to start a church there.

That began a brand-new church community

which is now known as New Song Network Church.

What we didn't expect was for it to grow so quickly.

That so many people who have been un-churched or de-churched,

those that had walked away from church, come back.

We now have 190 people meeting for worship

and a brand-new church community was born.

The newest Methodist church in the country.

We are New Song Church!

CHEERING

Until six months ago,

new member Gill Clayton hadn't been to a church since childhood.

I always felt there was something missing.

That there was more to life

than striving for the bigger house, the bigger car.

But nothing ever fit the bill.

Nothing ever felt that I could say to myself,

"Phew! You've made it."

I was despondent.

I felt, "This is it. This is all there is to life."

Gill tried reading the Bible

and soon afterwards had an unexpected experience

early one Sunday morning.

I was woken

and there was a voice very clearly saying to me,

"Get up. Get up and go to church."

So I got ready and I went.

Gill was made welcome by Jackie, the minister,

who invited her to the next service of New Song Church.

I wouldn't have gone if she hadn't of made

such a personal invitation.

So important.

That greeting, that sense of belonging.

"Come on in, you're home."

God met me in the people that I met at New Song.

In the people who drew alongside me that night.

God...met me there.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Perhaps the most well-known initiative

bringing new people into church is the Alpha course.

And this is Holy Trinity Brompton, where it started 25 years ago.

It's a course that many people have been to, including me,

and I've come today to meet the man who's responsible for it.

Jesus was tempted in every way, just like us.

The Reverend Nicky Gumbel has been responsible for Alpha

since the late 1980s

and has seen it grow from a small Bible study group

to an international operation

in 169 countries and 70,000 churches.

Alpha is an introduction to Christianity.

It's designed for people who wouldn't normally go to church.

And it's a way they can explore that

in a really relaxed, unpressurised environment.

Nothing is off limits. No question is too difficult,

no question is too hostile,

no question is too simple.

Everybody can bring their questions. And that's what they do.

People come with their questions.

"Why does God allow suffering?"

"What about other religions?"

"How can you trust the Bible? Isn't it full of contradictions?"

And then we discuss together.

And most people come because a friend invited them

or a member of their family invited them along.

How important is it to have that personal invitation?

On average, we have about 1,000 people who come on the course here.

And they have all got lots of friends.

So when they've finished the course, they say to their friends,

"That was...I had a great time!"

Why do you think that something that basically started

in a Central London dinner party,

why do you think that's had such an attraction,

why it's affected so many people throughout the globe?

I think it works because ultimately, it's about Jesus.

It's not about Alpha.

If it was about Alpha, it wouldn't work anywhere.

But it's about Jesus. And I think the gospel is the same everywhere.

Is Alpha the only way people can find God?

I didn't go on an Alpha course.

I met Jesus through reading the New Testament.

There are many, many different ways that people can encounter Jesus.

And we run Alpha here because we haven't found a better way.

If we find a better way, we'll drop Alpha and run the better way.

Lots of things have changed over the years.

Because things that people found really easy a few years ago,

they find really hard now.

We used to have the talk on the Bible before the one on prayer.

Because people didn't find the Bible hard 25 years ago.

There was a sort of respect for the Bible.

Now that's completely gone.

People used to think, "Prayer? That's really boring. That's church."

Now most people are interested in prayer.

It's kind of like...it's almost a trendy thing to do, to pray.

The Holy Spirit, people used to...

That used to be really hard for people.

The idea of an experience of the Holy Spirit.

Now people are very open to experience.

Looking back over these nearly 25 years,

what would you say you're most thankful for in regard of

how Alpha's helped the church to grow?

It's had a huge impact on our own church.

We've had literally thousands and thousands of people

who have come to faith on Alpha and have joined the church.

And then I've watched that in so many churches around the world.

Catholic churches, Anglican, Baptist,

Methodist, Salvation Army, Pentecostal.

And that's an amazing thing to see, all the variety.

I've been enriched by my experience of all those different churches.

And I've learnt so much from them.

It's just been a wonderful adventure.

But what makes me most thankful about Alpha

is watching people's lives being transformed by Jesus Christ.

# The sun comes up it's a new day dawning

# It's time to sing your song again

# Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me

# Let me be singing when the evening comes

# Bless the Lord, oh, my soul

# Oh, my soul

# Worship his holy name

# Sing like never before

# Oh, my soul

# I'll worship your holy name

# You're rich in love and you're slow to anger

# Your name is great and your heart is kind

# For all your goodness I will keep on singing

# 10,000 reasons for my heart to find

# Bless the Lord, oh, my soul

# Oh, my soul

# Worship his holy name

# Sing like never before

# Oh, my soul

# I'll worship your holy name

# And on that day when my strength is failing

# The end draws near and my time has come

# Still my soul will sing your praise unending

# 10,000 years and then forevermore

# Forevermore

# Bless the Lord, oh, my soul

# Oh, my soul

# Worship his holy name

# Sing like never before, oh, my soul

# I'll worship your holy name

# Yes, I will worship your holy name

# Lord, I'll worship your holy name. #

Five years ago, with a tiny congregation

and a building in disrepair,

St Peter's Brighton was threatened with closure.

Then, in a church-planting initiative,

a fresh team led by new vicar Archie Coates

began to invite people in.

About 30 of us moved from central London

to see whether we could keep the church open

and reinvigorate and grow it

and maybe fix up the building at the same time.

What we found is this great sort of spiritual hunger.

And as we've gone to get to know people in Brighton

and people have started to come,

then they've got friends or family members to invite.

Today, with its city-centre location,

St Peter's attracts people from all walks of life.

I was in addiction for 35 years, in and out of prison.

I was just a real... Not a very nice person, to be honest.

And I started coming to the services

because I got a place just over the road.

And it's not like that today.

God has just so transformed me.

A lot of my behaviours have changed.

I actually do care for people now and love people.

Why is this church special to you?

It's just full of life and full of the Holy Spirit.

What more can I say, really?

Our next song is performed by a member of this church.

He's also a pioneer of contemporary Christian music.

It's Martin Smith, who, 20 years ago,

wrote a song that is now a firm classic.

It's, I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever.

# Over the mountains and the sea

# Your river runs with love for me

# And I will open up my heart

# And let the healer set me free

# I'm happy to be in the truth

# And I will daily lift my hands

# For I will always sing

# Of when your love came down

# I could sing of your love forever

# I could sing of your love forever

# I could sing of your love forever

# I could sing of your love forever

# Oh, I feel like dancing

# It's foolishness, I know

# But when the world has seen the light

# They will dance with joy

# Like we're dancing now

# I could sing of your love forever

# I could sing of your love forever

# I could sing of your love forever

# I could sing of your love forever

# La-la-la-la-la-la-la

# La-la. #

Going back to church isn't just about worshipping on a Sunday.

It's a whole complete change of lifestyle.

Retired magician, Des Hawkins,

is one of a growing number of people returning to church in later life.

I'm afraid I only attended church for Christmas, Easter,

big occasions like that.

-Hi, Simon.

-Hi, Des.

-How are you?

-Good. How are you?

-Great, excellent.

Des found faith afresh after a very simple initiative.

A party invitation from his Christian neighbour, Simon.

We invited all of our neighbours

so that somehow we might have an opportunity to talk with them

about encountering God through Jesus.

I went to some of their meetings

and asked lots of questions and got interested

and I was totally convinced.

It was... As far as I was concerned, there was no question.

That was the way to live your life.

And you didn't have to pass a test or do anything special.

God was there wanting to be in your life.

You just have to open the door.

And thanks to Jesus, we're all... Everything is forgiven.

We're... Even for me, it was wiped clean.

So I decided I wanted to become a Christian

and started attending church.

And then, two years later, I was baptised.

Des now puts his faith into action as a volunteer,

entertaining local school kids

at the Launch Pad Breakfast Club in West Sussex.

Children come along and they have a good time.

And actually, I have a good time.

All of this, the Breakfast Club and all of this stuff

all came about because my neighbour Simon

put that invitation through my door.

And that was the beginning of everything.

Since 1989, the New Wine summer conference

has been inspiring Christians

to make a difference in their communities.

In 2012, it moved one group of friends from Halifax

to start a new initiative for people struggling on the edge of society.

There were three of us who were here.

We'd been working with our local food bank.

We felt God was saying to us that we needed to provide something more.

Not just meet the practical needs of these guys.

But we had a real heart for ministering to them spiritually.

The friends discovered they were each being inspired

with similar ideas, which they believed came from God.

God gave each one of us three little bits.

When we put those little bits together, they became the picture.

So the three leaders, myself, Linda and Cath

decided to put an evening on every Saturday

and call it the Saturday Gathering.

There's a real sense of community and a real sense of family.

We love each other dearly

and we call ourselves a fresh expression of church.

The Saturday Gathering for me is amazing.

I feel really connected there to God.

Saturday Gathering literally saved my life.

If it weren't for them, I'd be six feet under by now.

And now the story's come full circle,

with the members of Saturday Gathering coming to New Wine.

It's just amazing. I'm moved on. I'm a recovering addict.

It's cleansed me of so much baggage I've carried for so long.

It's like a miracle, really.

This is my first time at New Wine. I think it's great.

It's overwhelming.

We're moving forward with the help of Jesus.

Even if you're struggling with your whole faith,

by the time you leave here,

it's like you've had your eyes opened to who God really is.

And it's just an amazing thing to be part of.

Seeing these guys come out and give their lives to Christ,

or go and ask for...praying for each other or ask for healing,

you know, it's incredibly humbling.

I'm just so thankful God has given us somewhere like New Wine

where we can come, spend time with other Christians.

And I guess it wasn't for New Wine,

none of what you see with our community

would really have happened.

# What a friend we have in Jesus

# All our sins and grief to bear

# What a privilege to carry

# Everything to God in prayer

# Oh, what peace we often forfeit

# Oh, what needless pain we bear

# All because we do not carry

# Everything to God in prayer

# What a friend we have in Jesus

# What a friend we have in him

# For he knows us and he holds us in his hands

# And his grace is never failing

# And his love without an end

# What a friend we have in Jesus

# What a friend we have in him

# Oh

# Oh-oh

# Blessed Saviour, you have promised

# You will all our burdens bear

# May we ever, Lord, be bringing

# All to you in earnest prayer

# Soon in glory bright, unclouded

# There will be no need for prayer

# Rapture, praise and endless worship

# Will be our sweet portion there

# What a friend we have in Jesus

# What a friend we have in him

# For he knows us and he holds us in his hands

# And his praise is never failing

# And his love without an end

# What a friend we have in Jesus

# What a friend we have in him

# Oh

# Oh-oh

# What a friend

# Oh

# Oh-oh. #

APPLAUSE

Before our last hymn, we couldn't end without marking today

as International Day of Peace.

And so we've asked the Anglican Bishop

and Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool,

both new to their jobs, to lead us in prayer for peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers who say no to war as a means to peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers

who offer hope and healing, care and comfort.

Blessed are the peacemakers who help find answers,

who welcome, encourage and inspire.

Blessed are the peacemakers who see the good in others.

Blessed are the peacemakers who never give up.

Blessed are the peacemakers...

-Who give...

-And give.

-..and give.

BOTH: Amen.

Next week, we celebrate the glorious sound of gospel music.

David is at the Hackney Empire,

where six of the best amateur choirs in the country

sing with all their heart and soul

in the first of two special programmes

to find the Songs of Praise Gospel Choir of the Year.