All of us in the Ignite Offices were delighted to receive the following news from Pastor Daniel Bona, Ignite Sierra Leone Co-ordinator. We haven't had any news of him for a very long time so were extremely concerned for his safety. However he's obviously been very busy during the period we've been out of touch.
 
For Thanksgiving

1. In May he was able to purchase a new Bajaj motorbike and 2 crash helmets, thanks to kind donations from UK Ignite Supporters.
2. Thanks to the improved mobility the bike provides he, Moses and Edna have been able to visit 18 schools in the western area. They have been allowed to teach the Bible, conduct devotions and hold sessions for those interested in Ignite
3. 15 churches, mainly in Freetown, have also been visited meeting with Pastors and Youth Groups, using Ignite materials for their teaching
4. 8 Ignite Centres have been set up in towns as far away as 295 miles. (Gary says that's a long way to go on a motorbike on their roads!)
5. The Sierra Leone team designated the 24th April as a day of prayer and fasting for all Ignite Centres, they prayed for the work there, in Liberia, Kenya, Sierra and the UK.
6. Daniel and his family have been able to secure an apartment which allows them to use part of it as the Ignite Office
7. The team also organised a school feeding programm for a community nursery and primary school. About 90 children benefitted and 10 teachers were given Bibles, all of whom signed the Ignite declaration
8. Emmanuel Jonah, Ignite Liberia Director visited and an encouraging time was had together sharing updates from the various centres, as well as holding a youth event
9. A retreat was held for all 13 Centre Managers in June, allowing them time for encouragement, spiritual cleansing, and restoration. In addition they looked at their commitment to Church & Youth ministry and evangelism.
10. Tracts were distributed in various locations reaching out into areas and lives previously untouched. This is dangerous work in Sierra Leone so the team are thankful for God's protection
11. Tracts were also given out in the market to women and marginalised youth who are out of Church. They were invited to the Ignite Office and to the team's joy 25 came along and made commitments

For Prayer

1. For youths who have made commitments to overcome peer pressure
2. For the challenge to the team of reaching youths who leave the ghettos and need essentials for survival
3. Funds to allow Children's Camps in the school holidays run by Ignite. These are needed to protect young children from bloodletting activities which their parents do secretly (these include female genital mutilations)
4. For parents of other faiths who have prevented their children from attending Ignite acitivites
5. For a laptop to help with administration and communication

Now you've got your A level results, you may be wondering what to do next year. The Ignite internship is about developing christ centred servant hearted men and women of God, who are passionate about evangelism and discipleship. We are inviting young people aged 18+ to join us for a year to get stuck into the ministry life of Ignite, as well as receiving teaching and mentoring. 

If you are interested please contact Ruth Doey: ruth.doey@igniteme.org

In 2004, The South Wales Police Authority started a set of awards to acknowledge and thank the countless number of people who help out in the community and keep it safe. The Authority is an independent body that monitors performance of the Police who work with numerous communities in South Wales to ensure that they get a first class policing service. 

There were 45 nominations  last year and there are 3 categories:

• Community Safety Volunteer  (1 per Local Authority)
• Young Volunteer (under 21)
• Volunteer Team.

Last year Cardiff, Bridgend and Swansea Street Pastors were nominated for the awards with Street Pastors Cardiff being again nominated for best Volunteer Team again this time around. We'll let you know how we do when the results are in.

Work with Ignite Liberia is progressing and we have recently had an update from Stephen, Emmanuel's co-worker there. He gave thanks that in July at the national conference of the Christ Victory International Ministry 23 youths and young adults signed the Ignite declaration.

Also we join Stephen in praising God that his wife Florence successfully completed her fourth semester of study. You may remember both Stephen and Florence (right) were badly injured in a motorbike accident some months ago. We are delighted she has made such a good recovery. Finally we thank the Lord that their new home (see below) is sufficiently finished for them to move in.

Please pray for:

• the work of Ignite to continue to prosper so that many more young people become committed followers of Jesus
• Stephen's brother Moses as he recovers from a motorbike accident
• funds for a ceiling & plaster for Stephen & Florence's home, tuition monies and for the Liberia Christian Ministries Internal Church foundation project
• a means of transport to enable a church plant in Gbarnga

So long farewell, auf weidersehen good-bye… it has been a pleasure, as ever but after 10 months at this wonderful organisation, it is my leaving day. So I just wanted to say  a big thankyou to all the guys at Ignite for being the looniest, quirkiest but Godly bunch of folks that I have worked with. I am certain that God has massive plans for the future that will grow Ignite to be an even greater powerhouse for the Kingdom.

God bless,

Ben x

All of us in Ignite are delighted to welcome Zoe Sirleaf as the first female Ignite Centre Manager in Liberia. She will be responsible for the work in Marqibi County and is based in the Harbel area. Please join us in praying for protection and God's blessing as she reaches out with the love of Jesus to young people.

Below are some photographs of Zoe with Emmanuel and his beautiful daughter Blessing receiving Ignite Africa cards and then with Wintee, Emmanuel's wife.

Wondering what to do come September? Why don't you join us for a year?  You can serve in different areas of Ignite's ministry, have training and teaching, have a massive laugh and grow much more in love with Jesus and the amazing mission we are called to!

Up for it??

Contact ruth.doey@igniteme.org for further details or to request an application form.

The BBC broadcasted “Week In Week Out” last night which related to binge drinking in Cardiff.  They wanted to have Street Pastors involved and did a bit of filming a couple of weeks ago.  Please see below the attached link which will enable you to watch the show if you haven’t seen it already.

http://bbc.co.uk/i/t69c9/

Best Wishes

Ruth

Nigel and Gary are currently in India. On Saturday they opened a new Ignite India in the village of Seethanargan about 90 minutes drive from Rajahmundry. This is the 15th Ignite church opened in partnership with Gateway ministries and was funded by fans attending the Third Day concert in London in 2009. The official opening was done by Gary Smith (Or Gary Smith as he he is called on the plaque outside!) Nigel James shared a message based on John 3:16

Also on Saturday Ignite India hosted an Ignite conference in the Ignite church in Kothapeta. Nigel and Gary were the guest speakers. The church was full with about 110 people and between 50 and 100 others sitting outside (numbers are not important here!). The Ignite India Director, Sagar did a great job organising not only the venue but lunch for everyone who attended.

New Ignite member signs up at the Ignite India Youth Conference 

Ignite india youth director V.V. Sagar with new declaration sign ups

Members listening to Nigel preaching

Ignite Directors Gary Smith and Nigel James leave for an 11 day visit to India tomorrow the 13th July. They will be visiting Pastor Prasad and seeing the amazing work that is being carried out under the banner of of Ignite. Included in the trip will be visits to many Ignite Churches, the Gateway School and to see the work on the 2 x Family Centres which are under construction. They are looking forward to meeting many Christians there to encourage them and to be encouraged. Please pray for their protection and safe-keeping, and for their families whilst they are away.

Stay up to date with their trip on Gary's Blog...

Ignite Liberia has been blessed with a new member, Pastor Christian Smith from New Kaymah Town. He has caught the Ignite vision to disciple young people to become committed followers of Jesus. He is pictured here with Emmanuel, praying, receiving Ignite declaration cards and with a group of young people. We thank God for this further encouragement of another Pastor joining the Ignite Liberia Team.

Please pray for Christian as he is due to go to South Africa on the 25th Aug, for a save trip and that he will be able to share the Ignite vision with young people there.

See more photos and more about this ministry on the Ignite Liberia page

The Be event this weekend has had to be postponed. We are very sad about this but we are still excited about future Be possibilities, so please watch this space!!

For those of you who have paid we are particularly disappointed, a refund will be arranged in the next few days.

We hope you have a great summer and look forward to seeing you @ Solus on the 12^th Sept for our next Ignite event.

Keep close to Jesus, love from the Be team

We recently had Jordan Cartwright here with us in the Ignite offices for a 2 week work experience, Jordan was kind enough to write about his time here and below is what he had to say.

An insiders view on Ignite – Jordan Cartwright

I have spent the last two weeks on work experience in the Ignite offices.  During these two weeks my view on Ignite and its ministries has totally changed.  I regularly attend Ignite events and have been involved in the IgniteHope initiatives they have done and really enjoy being involved in them.  However I have also been susceptible to being complacent about the events when I felt they have not gone as well as usual.

In these two weeks I have worked all over the office doing the database, videos, admin, street pastors, leadership academy, internships, finance and seeing the amazing impacts that IgniteHope 2010 has had on different communities across South Wales. I have also witnessed how the rest of the team work their socks off in the office (when they aren’t scaring Ruth!) to ensure Ignites ministries are growing and taking the direction that they are called in.

One thing I will take from my time at Ignite is the marriage of worship and productivity.  The acknowledgement that all of our work, however mundane or boring, is done in the name of Christ and is done for the addition and extension of His Kingdom. All work done in the Ignite office is an act of service to, and love for, Jesus.

On the Sunday of my first week there was an Ignite event in the Cardiff Student Union and I was “lucky” enough to help with the huge amount of setup work that needed doing. After doing that I don’t think I will ever take an event like that for granted again. Ever!

In conclusion I had a great time at the Ignite offices despite how much work there was to do! I felt challenged to include Jesus in my everyday work, either in school or not, and to focus all of my actions to be acts of worship to Him.