Related blogs
Content linked below doesn't necessarily represent the views of the Jesus Army
friendship
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Living out the words of Jesus
Sue Withers reflects on Jesus’ command to love the poor.Published: 11th Jul 2013
1.35pm I’m working in Reception at the London Jesus Centre, and our Drop-In is closed.
Two men arrive. A regular bringing his friend.
“Can I have some clothes?”
“Sorry, the session is finished.”
The request is timid: “Any water please?”
I come into focus and realise the man is thin, inadequately dressed for a cold June day. Trousers held together by string. Maybe Algerian, possibly an asylum seeker.
“Yes, of course you can have some water.”
And we have clothes, donated in abundance.
They take red crosses, and I reflect how good it is that the poor of London are wearing our colours.
They take their leave...
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The student and volunteer
From conversation classes to Christian discipleship.Published: 18th Sep 2008
JIN SHIL Um comes from Korea. She started conversation classes in the London Jesus Centre in May, the following month began volunteering herself in the Word tea room, and now she’s moved in to the Battlecentre community house to start a Jesus Army Training Year.
“I had never seen Christian people living together, sharing all things. It looks very beautiful and I think it is very close to Jesus’ way. Many Christian people say they want to follow Jesus, but not really in action. I think the community house is a very good base. It’s like a greenhouse – more concentrated – where I can grow up more as a Christian.
“In conversation class we learn lifestyle and common expression. Every...
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A much needed welcome
Sue Withers has taught English for Speakers of Other Languages at Northampton Jesus Centre; she is currently doing the same in London Jesus Centre.Published: 12th Sep 2006
CAN YOU imagine yourself arriving, sometimes through difficulty, in a bewildering foreign environment where you can't speak the language?
"Can you imagine yourself grappling with incomprehensible forms, unable to understand the signs in a supermarket, baffled by the GP receptionist or dumb in the face of hostility?
"In my career as an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher my students have told me stories like these.
"In the Jesus Centre our aim is to teach immediate survival English to those at the lowest level of speaking and listening, but also improve the literacy, pronunciation and grammar of more advanced students.
"Classes can be a shock to those who expect to...
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