Creating Community in the Park - A Story by Scot Bower

Published: July 31st, 2008

There are  plenty of places where I've seen prayer and community meet or where prayer has inspired mission or even mission that's birthed community, but its not often I witness the convergence of all three. Today has been one of those occasions.

Today I packed the kids into the car and we headed 'round the M25 to Sidcup for a day at Lark In The Park (LITP) a summer community event hosted by the local churches.

'Lark in the Park is about creating community' says Paul Weston one of the leaders of New Generation Church Sidcup and a guy who has been a part of 24-7 prayer ever since it began. To be hones,t when I heard that I thought it a bold claim. How can a two week outreach programme 'create community'? Then I spent the afternoon with Paul and heard stories and met people where lives had been impacted and in some cases radically changed through LITP.

What I had expected from LITP was a typical 'outreach event' where a church puts on an entertainment programme for the town. But LITP didn't feel like that, this really was community.  As I walked across the impressively large site i saw community: at the Womens group discussing pre-natal care in the chapel tent, in the Older Persons venue where bingo was being called, jazz played, and hand massages offered. In the double-decker busses (they have two) where the youth hung out. And especially in the kids venues where hundreds of children played, listened to Bible stories and got creative. Everywhere I looked people were talking, smiling, relaxing. This was an event that was owned by the whole community and one in which the church played a central role doing what it does best; serving and caring.

But then I'm reminded that this has grown over time. Twelve years gives you credibility in the eyes of the community. People trust you when you show up year after year for them. And so, over time, LITP has grown. When they began a summer kids club they had seventy children (which is pretty darn good!). Now they take in more than two thousand kids each week and turn away hundreds more due to a lack of capacity. Residents schedule their holidays around LITP, and its not just to take advantage of a great free event. More and more unchurched people are volunteering to help, giving their time to put something back into the community they are part of.

LITP may only take place for a few weeks in the summer but it has an impact all year round. “It gives you a credibility”, says Paul, “It gives you a profile and injects life”. In this commuter town that has been rocked by three stabbings of young people in the last year, people are crying out for something different. LITP offers a space for that something to be explored and for the love of Jesus to be shown.

Later, I chatted over a well deserved ice-cream with Debbie Shearing. Debbie leads the LITP prayer team and is a 24-7 Ibiza veteran. As we talked about the importance of prayer, she told me that this year they were feeling challenged to become bolder in their prayer and in their offers of prayer. Paul had already told me that the message to the whole team was: “We haven't started until we've prayed for somebody”. Everyone was encouraged to ask the visitors if they can pray with/for them.

Prayer is moving from its behind the scenes role into the spotlight. "Park Pastors" are equipped with prayer cards and sent out to chat with visitors about their prayer needs. As well as these teams, there are two prayer areas available for the public to use. One is in the middle of the adult creative craft marquee and bears the sign 'Pray – Think – Rest'. The other is a Chapel Tent in the centre of the site and makes for a lovely retreat. They still have the behind the scenes 24-7esque prayer tent but this year they close it regularly to make room for the praying people to pray with people!

I could write much more about the Action Teams, the South African Dancers, the music, the evenings, and the open days... but it would be far better if you paid them a visit.

LITP is on until the 10th August in Sidcup then transfers to Ramsgate and runs from the 12th until the 25th August. Its free to get in, but you may need to register for some of the events. Check the website for more details.

If you cant make it to the event itself please pray for them. Please pray especially for:

• Boldness for the prayer teams.
• The Chapel. Please pray that people encounter God here.
• Protection for all involved.
• A break out of the Holy Spirit, people to come into a relationship with Jesus, to be set free, to be healed... 

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