At Zion Community Church, St Ives, we are focusing on the OT Books Ezra and Nehemiah, this autumn. Considering how God led the return of his people from exile back to Jerusalem, how he led the rebuilding of the temple, and how he led the renewal of his people in their worship according to his word. As we consider the word, we are praying for God to build us up as a church, and that we might be renewed ourselves.

Discerning the challenge As we look to the Lord for our town and country, we are seeking to better understand the task ahead of us, we are also looking at John Stevens' book, Knowing our Times, and considering what lessons we can glean from it. It is sobering to learn that “The best statistics would suggest that little more than 3% of the population as a whole are born-again believers who are meaningfully associated with a local church”. We do indeed have a missionary task ahead of us!

Seeking renewal Once we have thought through the task ahead of us, we will be devoting our mid-week Bible studies to applying the lessons from Ezra & Nehemiah to see what God's word has to teach us, in our situation, in our day. We also have a visit from a representative from Elam, to learn about God's work in the Iran region, along with support from friends preaching for us.

Open house It has come to our attention that there are quite a few lonely people in our community, so following 1 Peter: 4 we want to love, pray, offer hospitality, serve and speak to them. Once a month, as a community church, we will be hosting local non-Christians for dinner in a gesture of love and friendship and inviting them to join us at our Christmas outreach services.