Worship Works

03Nov 2023 by Mel Lewis

Darkness – it’s just the absence of light!

The room was pitch-black. I was blindly led into the middle of this foreign space and left on my own. My first instinct was to try and make sense of my environment. When I raised my hand in front of my face I couldn’t see it, which kicked my other senses into overdrive! The unfamiliar noises appeared to be boosted on surround sound. But without vision I couldn’t make out my surroundings, which meant I had no clue who or what was around me and I wasn’t able to map out an exit route to safety, should I need it. I had zero ability to control my environment or look after myself, and that’s when the darkness started to feel thick and tangible. At times, I felt like the dark…

08Sep 2023 by Mel Lewis

Congratulations to Our Outgoing (& Outstanding!) W.W Graduates 2022

#workisworship, career

It’s surreal to think that this time last year, three young women were preparing themselves for their first day of the Worship.Works Christian Graduate Programme: Figuring out what time they’d leave home to make it to the office early. Picking the perfect outfit for the first day at the new job. Packing lunch and triple-checking that their morning alarm is set. Squeezing in a few last-minute texts to family and friends to help calm the nerves as they walk in the front door of the building. (We’ve all been there before!) Now, 12 months later, these same three women are contributing to meetings, organising presentations, facilitating the morning pray-up and creating research that’s making an impact for clients and media. They are confident, skilled, and highly-valued colleagues amongst the wider…

17Mar 2023 by Mel Lewis

Discovering the Father’s Heart

career, Uncategorized

I am about 2 years into the journey of fatherhood. (And I recently became a father for the second time!) But when I first came to know that my wife was pregnant with our firstborn, it felt like my soul left my body, to be honest. I mean, I knew I wanted kids, just not at that moment. My wife fully embraced the news but it took me about three days to wrap my head around it because I was overcome with fear. The fear of wondering how I am going to be able to love, raise, and lead this kid in a world that seems to devour us whole. I carried that fear around for the whole 9 months we were pregnant. It slowly made a home in my…

15Feb 2023 by Mel Lewis

Trusting God in the Waiting

#workisworship, teaching

Love it or hate it, waiting is a part of the human experience. It shows up in every area of our lives - (our work life is not exempt!) It can be frustrating; it can be painful; and it is definitely uncertain. But as Christians, how can we live well in the waiting? Tomi, a Worship.Works Graduate (2021), shares some personal reflections on how she handles times of waiting by bringing God into the process with her. I started this year with God impressing the word ‘trust’ on my heart. When we think of trust, we think of a ‘firm belief’. Trust means ‘to be confident in the truth or ability of someone or something’. For a Christian, that ‘someone’ is God, and He wants us to be reliant on…

13Jan 2023 by Mel Lewis

The Power of IGNITE! to Spark a Light

#workisworship, teaching

The pizza had been ordered. A reminder email sent out to attendees. The benches were wiped clean and the glasses neatly set out in rows. As a team, we prayed and committed the evening to God and our volunteers made their way to the front door, prepared to greet people with a smile as they arrived. We were ready! But there is always an element to an event like IGNITE! that you just can’t prepare for, organise meticulously or control. And that is: In what way is the LORD going to show up? As a new team member of Worship.Works, this was my first IGNITE! Meetup. From flicking through archives of photographs and listening to people share their previous experiences, I had some idea of what to expect. But it’s…

28Nov 2022 by worship

Daily Revival

#workisworship

I don't know about you but when I hear the word REVIVAL, I tend to think of an unprecedented, epic and tangible, yet a very rare move of the Holy Spirit, which only very few of us Christians seem to be fortunate enough to ever experience in our lifetime. And while this powerful and rare spiritual occurrence is indeed associated with REVIVAL, I believe God intended for it to be a reality for EVERY Christian, DAILY. The Christian definition of the word REVIVAL is "the awakening or quickening", in other words "the stimulating of God's people to their true nature and purpose". That for me paints perhaps a much less 'epic' or 'dramatic', yet a much more truthful and real picture of what REVIVAL looks like. The Bible says in…

28Oct 2022 by worship

Mustard Seed Faith

#workisworship, teaching

So often our perspectives are shaped by the circumstances or the people around us. We can lose sight of the unique gifts that God has given us, which can have an impact on the lives of others. A seemingly small act of kindness, saying a faith-filled prayer for someone, or whatever faith-motivated act we take, no matter how small, can have an eternal and mountain-moving impact on another’s life. What is Faith? The solid ground that makes life easier to live on is Faith. It is essential for us to have faith in our life; it is on par with breathing. Faith nourishes the heart and spirit in the same way that oxygen in the air nourishes the body. Do we make the most of what we have, or have…

07Sep 2022 by Chawanzi Chintu

Learning to wear our original ‘clothes’

#workisworship

When you meet someone, a first impression is often formed based on the clothes you, and they are wearing. Clothing can identify someone with a certain job, activity, or interest, and can create an expectation of what they are doing or their role. You can as easily identify a police officer, as you can a Deliveroo employee or someone in a wedding dress and assume what they are doing. If I were to meet you, and wear one of the many Liverpool FC shirts I own, it would likely trigger a view in your mind about the type of person I am, or at least my interests. Your response could range from enthusiasm and a sense of kinship, to plain disgust! Clothes can also determine access and the ability to…

27Jul 2022 by Mark Sullivan

Transformed people transform nations

#workisworship

Growing up I often heard the phrase “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life”, sage advice from not only Mark Twain, but also my Dad, who liked to enlighten me on the charm of finding an enjoyable role. It was an exciting premise and I especially took a shine to the part of never having to work a day in my life - something I probably took all too literally. With this in mind and dreams of becoming the next Steven Gerrard, it was quite the blow when I fell short (well short) of my lofty goal of becoming a professional footballer. I went back to the proverbial drawing board and set my sights on becoming what I felt…

20May 2022 by Chawanzi Chintu

Why be data-driven when you can be insight-driven?

#workisworship, career, In practice

As Christians, we are firstly followers of Christ. Our Lord is meant to be the biggest element of our life. We are to keep Him at the forefront of every aspect of our lives, we are to keep Him at the centre of our thoughts, conversations and interactions. In short, as bearers of His light and word to the world, we are called to dedicate our entire being to Jesus Christ, as an act of Worship. ‘“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”.’ – Isaiah 55:8-9I recently read an article about being “data-driven” vs “analytics-driven”. The article claimed that…