2007 Archived News
December 2007
Baptism in Brora
Saturday 1st December was an a very special evening in Brora Christian Fellowship. The community centre was packed with people who had come to witness 10 believers getting baptised. The evening began with Pastor Ian Ross welcoming everyone and explaining what 'believers baptism' is. There then followed a wonderful time of praise before Donald Buchanan shared the good news of the Gospel. Then the congregation listened to Angus, Helen, Helen, Evie, Catherine, Heather, Gillian, Kerry, Rowzi, and Andrea share what Jesus had done for them. We heard how Jesus had brought joy into lives, taken away the desire to drink, changed behaviours, and set people free! The 10 candidates were then baptised in the swimming pool adjacent to the community centre. It is believed that this service may well have been the first of its kind in Brora. There will not have been many baptised in this way in Brora before, if any at all. But we are confident that this is just the beginning, and that there will be many more people coming to know Jesus and being baptised!
November 2007
A fantastic time was had on Sat 10th Nov when we did a Walk Thru of the New Testament. Held in the superb facilities of Kingsview Christian Centre, we all stood, remembered and put to action the 77 key phrases that took us chronologically through what happened between Malachi and Matthew, the life of Jesus and the Acts of the Apostles.
Archie (our Walk Thru instructor) had us going through our paces again and again until finally we managed all 77 steps: 400 years - Silence; Malachi - Matthew; Powers; Greece - Language; Israel - Hopes; Rome - Roads; Politics; Sanhedrin - Scribes; Sadduces - Pharisees; Publicans - Zealots; 4 distinct views; 1 good news; Bethlehem - Birth; Nazareth - Carpenter; Jordan - Baptism by John; Wilderness - Tempation by Satan; Jerusalem - 2nd Birth; Sychar - Woman at the well; Nazareth - Rejection; Capernaum; Selection of the Twelve; Sermon on the Mount; Power over Satan; Parables Start; A storm stilled; A crowd filled; Testimony of Peter; Transfiguration;
Jerusalem; Stones Threw (no); Jesus withdrew; Perea; Counting the Cost; Seeking the Lost; Judea; Lazarus Raised; Zacchaeus Praised; Jerusalem; Triumphal Entry; Temple Cleansing; Last Supper; Prayed; Betrayed; Tried; Denied; Crucified; Ressurected; Ascends; Spirit; Cure; Embezzlement; Night Release; Deacons; Stephen; Persecution; Philip's Preaching; Paul's conversion; Peter's Vision; 1st Missionary Journey; 2 years; Galatia; Jerusalem - Council; Law? - No!; 2nd missionary journey; 3 years; Macedonia - Achaia; Greece; 3rd missionary journey; 4 years; Asia; Trials; Felix; Festus; Agrippa; 1st imprisonment; Freedom; 2nd imprisonment; Expansion.
A terrific day and enjoyed by all.
October 2007
Brora Life Changes
During October a total of 16 (sixteen) people gave their lives to Jesus Christ. Donald & Shirley Buchanan have been ministering in Brora during the month and under their ministry the fruits of the seeds sown in prayer and witnessing in the town of Brora over the last 12 months have been harvested.
It all started when an outreach event was held on Sat 13th in the Brora Co-op car park. Face painting, Bag-packing, giving out of candles with tracts inviting them to come to Brora Christian Fellowship that evening all added to the event. In addition, young people from Lewis (who came over with the Buchanans) danced and provided some drama. At first the car park was deserted - at 2pm that was highly unusual!! Soon the some teenagers turned up to mock and jeer but the young people from Lewis were undaunted and showed love, spoke to them and invited them to come to BCF for some tea at 5.30pm. They turned up and although some left, the majority stayed to join in singing and some dancing.
On Sunday 14th, the outreach travelled to Lairg and one of the teenage girls from Brora wanted to come. After the gospel was preached she didn't hesitate in coming forward wanting to accept Christ. The same evening in Brora, Michael Stewart gave his testimony which of course mentioned the fact that he had been bullied at school for being a Christian (by the very ones that were in the hall that night!!). After the service those same teenagers asked to be led to the Lord.
On Monday they came round to the home of Gina Stewart and spoke for hours about the Lord and answered questions about the bible. Some children came into the back garden, looking for trouble, however some of the new believers went out and spoke to them - they were taunted for being Christians however they saw a change in these teenagers.
Faith has been put into action and these new believers have painted the old fishermans hall, are attending bible study twice a week and are learning and performing praise dances. The mother of one of teenage girls is now saved as well.
The outreach period culminated in a Hallelujah party, which was great success. Mums and Grannies joined in the games with the children and heard the Gospel message. Mandy and Graham Nutt, who attend BCF, did the games and message saw yet more people come to know Christ.
On Sunday 3rd November the fruit of the harvest in Brora was seen when the new teenage believers attended ICF to do a praise dance and a drama/sculpture. Following the dramatic presentation, Ian Ross (pastor of ICF) felt led to give an opportunity for people to respond and 2 people came back to Christ...
Not unto us O Lord, but unto You be all praise and glory forever - Amen.
September 2007
Watoto children's choir
ICF is delighted to host the Watoto children's choir, who will visit Inverness in early January 2008. This event is sure to be very special.
This is what the Watoto web site (http://www.watoto.com/index.cfm) says about the choir
"The African drums resound and one by one the children come dancing down the aisles in their brilliant Ugandan costumes with radiant smiles on their faces! Throughout Watoto's concert of hope, you experience the energy and sense the joy and hope that these beautiful Ugandan orphans have found!
Watoto means "the children". since 1994, Watoto children's choir from Kampala, Uganda has regularly toured the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. Accompanied by a small team of adults, Watoto's performances are a soulful blend of native african rhythms, contemporary gospel music and ethnic dance. These children are among the more than 880,000* children in uganda that have had the tragic and life-altering experience of losing one or both of their parents to aids. Now, through their lively and inspiring performances, the Watoto children's choir shares their unique experiences as well as their newfound joy and hope, which thrill and dazzle audiences everywhere!
* unaids statistics"
Don't just take our word for it. Read what others have said about their experience with the watoto children's choir on their web site! Better yet, make plans to see the choir for yourself in January 2008!
August 2007
Kul Bal Visits ICF
July 2007
Jesus changes lives! Yes it's true.. and we believe it. Over the coming weeks and months ICF will be launching a series of on-line testimonies from ordinary people in ICF that will give a taste of the hope that Jesus Christ can bring to your life. A hope that exists because He is alive! In ICF, a church in Inverness, we are ordinary people who know and have a relationship with an extraordinary God. We are unashamed to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that He is the only way to receive forgiven sin, reconciliation with God and an eternal life with Him in heaven. We want to tell you our stories because we believe His story is for you...
Our stories can be accessed here.
Wet, Wet, Wet: But lots of fun! Despite it being very, very wet up here in the Highlands of Scotland nothing has dampened the mood of folk at ICF. Os Saturday 23rd there were more than 50 people present at Balloch Community Hall to participate in the Sunday School sports day. Three winners received medals and Fraser Halkett was awarded the supreme champion cup for 2007 having gained the most points through the afternoon. On Sunday 24th, with the rain still pouring down, ICFers and friends met for a church family service with special appearances from Stephen Spriggs and his right hand man, Tim (the puppet). We were also given the special treat of seeing the debut of what can only be described as a male voice choir led by David Fuller on his guitar. Most of the congregation were pleasantly surprised to hear such tuneful renditions of favourite and classic choruses being sung from a genuine cross-section of the male congregation. No doubt there will be more appearances in the coming months.... The culmination of the meeting was reached with the presentations of awards to the Sunday School children as they reached end-of-session and the Sunday School teachers pause for a well earned break. Thanks to Cath Fraser for presenting the awards and a very special thanks to Anna Williams and her team for their sterling and faithful work throughout the year.
May 2007
IF Inverness On Saturday 12th May International Friends (IF) Inverness took a group of 40 internationals to Cawdor Castle. It was wonderful to see members from local churches meeting together and mixing with internationals. There were a mix of nationalities represented including Polish, Czechs, Germans, Vietnamese, a Peruvian, and, of course, Scots and one or two English! We had a great day, although the weather let us down a little when we came to attempt a pic-nic and the rain began to fall. Ian apologised to one of our Polish guests for the weather and he shrugged his shoulders and said, "this is okay", and looking up to the sky said, "it is just Scottish normal!"