The Knots in the Net

Becky Burr (pictured right), Associate Missionary in the UK, shares how one woman's faith is transforming a village — and beyond.

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It has been an absolute joy to come alongside Nicky for the last two years. We met her on our very first week of being Associate Missionaries with Dignity. We were on holiday in the beautiful village of Littlebeck, outside Whitby.

We had been encouraged to visit the small Methodist chapel in the village and thoroughly enjoyed the community soup lunch that week. Whilst washing up with a couple of ladies I was able to share the vision of Dignity and the idea of helping everyone, everywhere share Jesus and create community. Nicky (pictured left) was very animated and became quite excited that this could be something they could see in Littlebeck.

As a vision formed, over the next year she demonstrated great faith and perseverance trusting God for opportunities to see that vision come to life. Over a year after meeting her, Nicky text me out of the blue, her Life Group was starting the next day! We were delighted!

Life Groups are a tool that provide a way to gather people around the Bible, create community and allow non-Christians to explore faith.

We knew this step for Nicky represented much prayer, sharing, making connections and taking opportunities.

Since then, the Life Group has met each week in Littlebeck.

A desire has grown in them to include more people from the local community. They have mapped out the 40 properties in the village and pray for each of them by name, discussing how they could reach out to them. They have begun a monthly social gathering to draw others in; they plan to do some prayer walks and are starting a baby & toddler group from seeing the need for community for isolated young mums in the village.

One of the members of the group felt prompted to begin his own group in Whitby, which he is hoping will include people who don’t currently attend church.

Nicky is supporting a weekly Bible study in a neighbouring village, with the hope of using the Life Group model to support the group to grow closer together, deepen their relationship with God and reach out to members of their neighbourhood.

We have the joy of checking in with Nicky regularly and she joins our UK Pioneers calls. Walking with Nicky has been inspiring, she is committed to following Jesus, she perseveres and she is making a difference!

Nicky remarked that two years ago she was very content with making the teas and coffees at church and serving in this way. But since connecting with Dignity, she has had her eyes opened to so much more that God is calling her into, she has had the confidence to step into that and you can tell she has come alive doing it!

Nicky recently attended a training day, and I was able to interview her. I asked what she would like to see in the future and she shared a picture that God had given her of a fishing net over North Yorkshire. Each knot represented a Life Group and the strings connecting them represented the relationships and the network between each one of them in order to make a big catch over the area.

There was a very special moment recently when Tim and I had arranged an online prayer call for North Wales and Nicky came to pray for this area. John from Wales shared that on three separate occasions, he had been given a picture of a fishing net over North Wales. Nicky was almost in tears as she heard this, knowing God had given her the same image for North Yorkshire.

The Lord is speaking and doing new things in the UK!

We have been Associate Missionaries of Dignity for two years now and have been greatly encouraged by all God has been doing. We had thought that our conversations with people would be persuading and convincing them to see the church differently, but the people we have connected to have already heard from God and our conversations with them have been confirmation of what He is already saying.

Our job is to encourage, encourage, encourage. God is already leading people and speaking to people, we want to help them follow that. Whether we do that by providing training and resources, mentoring or connection to others doing the same thing.

Over the last two years Tim and I have had 170 pioneering conversations, helped run 3 training days and distributed 282 pioneering and discipleship resources.

This has led to 13 Life Groups in the UK and 20 people pioneering mission in their areas.

We look forward to seeing all God does in the years to come!

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