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November 2005
Freespirit Launch - Philadelphia
300-400 people came on Sunday morning.
The morning gathering was led by Anne Maclaurin and Dave Ducker who had courageously decided to take the whole church out into mission.
 After a short time of worship, Barry Johnston spoke about the ministry of Sidewalk and then Martin led a time to inspire and encourage all of these folk and to head out of the doors and onto the streets of Sheffield. He also challenged people to consider their partnership in mission.
Some 15 people came to the front offering a fantastic variety of options, including: a group of teenagers litter picking on the local estate; going on the trams of Sheffield to pray around the city; feeding the poor on the street; planting 2,000 bulbs on local community with a tenants association; giving out Christmas service invitations at the light switching on ceremony in the city; inviting the neighbours round for lunch; cleaning up a street where one of the leaders was resident, and more. It was great to see such commitment to being the light of the world.
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As people went out they each got an invitation to partner with the ministries of Freespirit and Sidewalk. Here are a couple of stories from the morning's mission activities:
One couple who live in an inner city community have been involved in reaching out over the last 6 months. On the Free Spirit launch day they decided to take out a group of people just to pick litter in the local community. However, they also know the secret weapon of just saying to God, "we are available, please use us as we walk the streets today."
As they were out and about, a woman came out to them. This was a lady who, with her partner, had been fairly standoffish to the couple. However, on this occasion, she came out in tears. She somehow connected our missionary friends with God. Her partner was going through a major crisis in his life. Events from his childhood had surfaced and he was just overwhelmed. This lady had come out onto the street to ask if the missionary couple would pray for them. They then spent an hour and a half listening and praying and have been invited to continue to help them process life issues.
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