Earlier this year, Helen started a youth group at Hope Centre in Macclesfield, and has been using Little Book of Faith with the young people who attend.
Previously a Wesley Own Christian bookshop, the Hope Centre features a Cafe, Bookshop, Prayer Room and Upper Room,which often serves as a welcoming gathering place for various events including support groups, study sessions, and community meetings. Hope Centre seek to create a safe and welcoming space, demonstrating God's love to the community through nourishment of mind, body, and spirit.
The name of the group is what the sessions are all about: ‘Finding Jesus’. A group of teenagers, some who are familiar with church and some who are not, meet together every 5-6 weeks and learn about Jesus, through reading or listening to the Bible, through TV and film and through resources like those produced by Lifewords or by Helen herself.
She shared: “Originally in February I did a one off Finding Jesus workshop which included a free lunch. At the end the young people that came asked if we could meet again and of course I was very happy to keep the group going. At the end of each session I give them a booklet to take away and initially. I often use the resources that I create, but for the most recent session, we explored what ‘faith’ means, reading and discussing the Little Book of Faith.”
Helen was involved in fundraising for a prayer room and in helping make the prayer room inviting, accessible and creative. She has placed a Little Brick of Little Books there to give people the opportunity to engage with Lifewords’ Little Book resources. A number of Lifewords pastoral resources have proved useful in this context too.
Helen shared: “One thing that often draws people to prayer is loss and bereavement. I often keep a copy of Living with Loss at the bottom of my bag. You never know when you might meet someone who would fight great comfort in this resource. The great thing about giving a booklet is that whenever the person finds themselves on their own, they have something they can hold in their hands – support and hope.”
Sharing Faith with the community
Morag volunteers at two local food banks in Kirkintilloch, Glasgow and has also been using Little Book of Faith, along with other Lifewords resources, to bring encouragement to those she meets and to provide them with an opportunity to engage with the words of the Bible.
With a congregation of around 400 people, Kirkintilloch Baptist Church run a variety of services and activities to support and reach out to the local community, including a food bank, a community café, a debt centre (through Christians Against Poverty), a job club, and a 3pm café church that is structured to prioritise the needs of those recovering from addiction.
Free Church Lennoxtown run another food bank in the area, and also host a community lunch, where anyone is welcome to join, and which Morag attends regularly. 
There is a prevalence of poor social conditions, poverty and drug misuse in this area, and many individuals who these churches interact with are facing a variety of difficult circumstances.
Morag shared: “Little Book of Faith is very good for people whose concentration is limited, whether that’s due to addiction, mental illness or something else. The large lettering means that the message is very immediate and that the resource can be easily accessed by those with lower literacy levels too. A lot of people really love these books, and I trust God that he will use these resources to impact those who receive them.
"I’ve also had opportunities to share Little Book of Chaos, Little Book of Jesus, Little Book of Prayer, Little Book of Help and Daily Strength with a number of individuals that I met whilst volunteering at these food banks. I seek to always be supportive, to never be condemning and to continue showing unconditional acceptance, and there is nothing God likes to hear more than the name Jesus.”
Head to our online shop to order our Little Books, including our brand new Little Book of Advent.
You can also order a Little Brick of little Books, our boxed collection of our Little Books, or gift a Little Brick to someone like Morag or Helen, and help people and ministries to share the Bible's words of life in their community.
