A Walk in the Business Park
The whole park!
Let me take you back to October 2001, five months before, to this life-changing encounter happened to me. I had just finished leading the Christian Life and Work (CLAW) course at my church, Above Bar, in Southampton. I was encouraged and also convicted to take its ideas and challenges into my workplace. I recommended the course to one of my Christian colleagues, Andy, and he ran it at his church, Life Spring, in Reading, during January and February 2002. It was just after he finished CLAW that he hit me with his statement - and at 8.00 am on a Monday morning, it sounded daunting. He didn't just limit the mission field to our workplace - he felt it was our calling to reach out to the entire spread of business parks where our offices are located, in Theale, south of Reading. There are almost 100 businesses on the parks, ranging from major international corporates to local service-based organisations. We committed ourselves to several weeks of prayer and discussion to arrive at the right outreach strategy. And so, '2 Plus' was born, taking its name from Jesus' words in Matthew, "...where two or more gather in my name, I will be with you". Our objective was to provide Christian fellowship for workers in Theale, and to reach out to explorers who would join us. We designed posters and leaflets, created a website, and wrote letters to CEOs, MDs and HR heads. Andy visited every business on the parks to put up the posters and distribute the leaflets, sticking many under the windscreen wipers of countless cars in company car parks. Our first meeting was scheduled for 8.00 am in a conference suite in a flashy block of serviced offices. Paul, a curious Christian, came along... It was rapidly decided between the three of us that breakfast should become lunch, and we leafleted and postered again... Since that first sunny breakfast meeting in early April 2002, 2 Plus has grown to an irregular membership of about 25 Anglicans, Free Evangelicals and Methodists, with a rotating core of 12-14 regulars getting together for an hour or so on Tuesdays. We have been hugely blessed with two people, Edward and Tom, coming to accept the Lord as their Saviour in the first six months of operation. We now have Jonathan and his wife Jan taking Christianity Explored, the introductory course designed by Rico Tice. Jonathan is a colleague of Edward, and Jan, though reluctant at first, is now enthusiastic. They are both being moved by the Lord. We meet for fellowship and to support each other as Christians in the working world. We bring sandwiches, have coffee, share the ups and downs of work, and we pray for each other, the businesses and workers on the parks. The website is currently being remodelled, and will include a prayer bulletin board for daily contact.
Training for the Task
We have run the CLAW course at work, and are just completing the stretching Facing the Challenge programme by David Couchman of Focus Radio. It's helping us all re-appraise our approach to taking the Good News as Christians to an "alright for you, but not for me" postmodern age. The group also ran a lunchtime Christmas Service at the local Anglican Church, attracting around 90 people from the business parks, and involving the senior choir from the local school to help with the carols. We hold the meetings in the boardroom at the Minolta offices, and have the timeslot booked throughout the year. Neither of our bosses, Paul and James, have problems with this. In fact, James and his secretary, Michelle, came along to the Christmas service. He commented afterwards, "That was really enjoyable, you are genuine and serious about all this, aren't you..." What an opportunity! Both Andy and I praise the Lord for guiding us to kick-start this fellowship. To be honest, when Jesus is with you and you have a passion and drive to make things happen, doors open and the difficulty scale diminishes. If you work on a business park, grasp the opportunity, make it happen. After all, the Lord may be telling you the same thing he told Andy and I.
When Jesus is with you and you have a passion and drive to make things happen, doors open...
Gregg Ramirez
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