This Tuesday, something really special will happen, as 12 people travel 4,700 miles just to come and serve us – Tees Valley Community Church and all God has given us to do here in Teesside.
Quite a few years ago, we were connected with some friends ‘across the pond’ and God placed it in their hearts to bring a group of young adults to the North East of the UK, simply to expand their horizons and to give them a new context for journeying with Him and serving him with all their heart. Since then, we have benefitted from many teams coming over the years. Of course Covid put a stop too all that…but now, we are thrilled too be making plans once again to partner with this community of believers from America.
So who is coming?
We are thrilled to welcome back Ben and his wife Megan and this time they bring with them this team of 10 young adults that you can see in the video! The team is made up of 7 girls and 3 guys who are all Christians and are actually part of a larger team that are coming to serve 3 different churches in the UK. Not only have they all been saving and fundraising just so that they can come and serve us as a Church, but they have been spending time praying for us too!
When do they arrive?
The team will arrive at The Oakwood Centre at lunch time on Tuesday 7th March. They plan to spend a few days elsewhere in the UK before they come to us, so they won’t be too jet lagged – which is just as well because I’ve seen their itinerary and they will be busy! They will be with us until Sunday 12th March, when they will join us for our service and youth service.
What will they be up to?
Well we are a busy Church all week long and so they will be getting stuck in with pretty much all of our mid week activities and will be a blessing to the teams that are reaching out into our communities all week every week! From street evangelism to a community quiz, there will be plenty of opportunities to share testimony, pray, serve food or just sit and chat about why they have traveled all this way just to talk about Jesus.
Here is their itinerary…
| Morning | Afternoon | Evening | |
| Tue | Welcome Lunch TVC Church Staff Meeting Street Evangelism with Ragworth Eden Team | Team 1 – Open Well Team 2 – Easterside | |
| Wed | Team 1 – Mini Movers Team 2 – Activity at The Shack with pupils from St John’s Ragwoth | Team 1 – Activity at The Shack with pupils from St John’s Ragwoth Team 2 – Flourish | Social Evening/Beach Walk |
| Thur | Team 1 – 3 R.E lessons at Yarm School Team 2 – Lessons at River Tees Academy | Ask the Pastor session @ The Oakwood Planning and prep for Youth activities and ‘Texan Evening’ | Team 1 – Stockton Connect Team 2 – Ladies Bible Study in South Bank |
| Fri | Team 1 – Breakfast Club @The Shack Team 2 – Breakfast Club in Easterside | Planning and prep for Youth activities and ‘Texan Evening’ | Team 1 – Easterside Team 2 – The Shack Then all at Youth @The Oakwood Centre |
| Sat | Joint North East Texan Team event | Joint North East Texan Team event | Texan Evening @ The Oakwood Centre |
| Sun | Youth Service @The Oakwood Centre |
Will I get to meet them?
Yes of course! If you are at one of the activities that they are serving at, please take the time to say hi and to thank them for the sacrificial way that they have served us.
If you are not able to be at one of these activities, then put Saturday 11th March in your diary as they are also planning a really fun Texan themed evening just for us! From hot dogs to line dancing, you are invited to come and hang out with the team for a party – texan style! Tickets are free but you need to let us know you are coming by booking in here. Everyone is welcome and it will be great fun.
So join us this week as we pray for Ben, Megan and the team. Let’s pray that God blesses them, provides for their every need and calms any nerves as they prepare for this exciting time with us at TVC Church.
03 Mar 2023
