ACTS Open Mic Church Yeadon

It's stupid 0'clock, and I can't sleep, mainly because I'm processing what happened at ACTS Open Mic Church in Yeadon a few hours ago. This may not be entirely coherent but what follows is a description of what happened tonight. I'm happy to report that I'm not thinking of tonight in terms of success or failure, but instead of how people enjoyed it, and how God spoke to them. These two, especially the latter, are fundamental aspects of open mic church and if either are missing then there are problems.


There were around fifty present, with ages ranging from ten to eighty-odd, and the evening was divided into two halves, both roughly one hour long. Local support was very good, especially in terms of who performed or shared. We had musicians, singers, puppets, drama, stories, poetry and a preach. There was even some dancing, although this didn't happen at the mic! No rap then, unlike the Sheffield event where that was the most popular genre. Most acts came up for a second go, as the amount of people signing up wasn't overwhelming but was nontheless encouraging, as was the warmth with which those returning to the mic were welcomed back. I believe everyone enjoyed at least one aspect of the evening, and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Photos will appear on the Myspace within the next two weeks, as will a min-review of the night.


In terms of the postcard questionnaires that were laid out ('Is this church and why?' 'What did you enjoy or not enjoy tonight?' etc) the responses were incredibly positive. If anyone wishes to hear how people responded I'd happily email you their comments if you give me your email address. Only one respondent said that it wasn't church but there was no reason given as to why. Perhaps it just lacked certain elements of church that person was accustomed to. But God spoke tonight, some were evidently encouraged in their faith, one guy wandered in unaware of what was going on but stayed behind and had a good spiritual conversation with the preacher, and one person even said they intend to come on an Alpha course happening soon. I'd appreciate your prayers regarding this vision as it unfolds, and though things will be revised as time progresses, I'm really enocuraged by tonight and excited about the future of ACTS OMC. I thank God for both and for those who came, and pray He will have His way in their lives in Jesus name, and that ACTS OMC will happen and grow how/when He wants it to. Several people including the bar staff said they would like the event to happen again, and some others suggested that more would be likely to perform/share in future as the surroundings, event and people become more familiar. I couldn't agree more. So let's do it again, and with more people next time. Amen:)
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