lovethecoppocks

Follow our family in Kampala as we live extraordinary lives for God.

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Help Eve. A letter from our leader.

Hello friends, and fellow lovers of the Coppocks!

The Coppock family have been doing a sterling job in Freedom Kampala, currently our second largest location in the Freedom Movement. They have seen over 1500 people attend the church events they have put on just in September 2012. Compare this to a year ago where they saw just over a 1000 between August and December! And those are just the numbers, the stories of individual testimony and life change, salvation and baptism, are incredible. 

The Coppock family are leading the charge in Freedom Kampala and are doing us incredibly proud and seeing the kingdom of God expanding and going forward on a daily basis. 

And of course its not just Naomi and Kris, but their 2 beautiful girls too, Eve and Abi. These girls are such an asset to the team! They might not be able to help with equipment or run the kids work, but they bring BOOM! and lightness to all they do and are so ready to engage with the other children in the church. We love these girls.

Eve started school last month and is going to the Kampala International School - you can see a picture below.

Obviously it would be free to start school back in the UK, but for Eve to go to a quality school in Uganda, it is expensive. And the Coppocks have stepped out in faith paying her first term and believing that God will provide. A big reason for Eve going to this school is her wellbeing and safety too, this school understands security and how to protect the children that go there. Financially, on paper, this doesn't make sense - but they had limited options and they believe that's where they were led to sign Eve up for school, and she has already fallen in love with it! Making friends and getting involved in the school activities gets Eve excited to get out of bed every day!

The Coppocks need about £200 ($320) a month - and this is where you come in. If you can afford a monthly payment, whether its £5, £10, £20, £50 or more to sponsor Eve, it would be incredibly appreciated. This girl is going to be a world changer and we want to give her the best start in life and bless her with this amazing school as she is part of planting church in Kampala.

My wife and I have made the first pledge to support Eve, so already the total needed has reduced. If you can support Eve, please email [email protected] with how much you would like to pledge and set up a standing order to the below details:

Account Name:Freedom Church Sort Code: 405240 Account: 00021486 Use the reference: Eve Coppock

Freedom Church will forward this money on a monthly basis to the Coppocks.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and for supporting the mighty Eve Coppock and partnering with the Coppock family - it is so appreciated!

Josh Snowzell

Hereford Campus Pastor 

Freedom Church

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Visit Original Link

It's been a year since we arrived in Kampala. Here's a podcast update of what has been happening since we got here. If you've supported us, please take the time to have a listen - none of this would have happened without your help.

Or to view a PDF of this update, click here. 

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Are you sleeping comfortably? | Part 1

I recently had a dream that I would like to share with you.

Its backdrop was a dilapidated shack. An anonymous and crumbling wooden building with broken glass windows, suggesting that nothing of value could be kept inside.

Out the front of the building was a tin canopy. Although it was tired and rusty, it provided sufficient shelter from the weather to the piles of disguarded rubbish that littered the ground below.

Right in the middle, I noticed that some space had been cleared, a dusty, dirty opening, just enough room for the small makeshift bed. Lay on the ground was some tatty sponge, a pillow, and a plastic sheet.

Who could sleep here I wondered? There was no one for me to speak to, and no hint of the heartbreak that was to come.

And then it happened. Into this urban ghetto wandered someone very precious to me. I don’t know where she came from, but right in front of me was my three-year-old daughter, Eve.

Something wasn’t right. She was alone, playing around, talking to herself like she does at home, but her toys were gone and she was surrounded by junk. The protective walls of our home and the care of our family had been stripped away.

Eve stopped playing and wandered over to the bed. This isn’t right I thought, as she lifted the plastic sheet. Just hours earlier, I had kissed her goodnight. I had tucked her in beneath a handmade quilt; she should have been in her bedroom, snuggling in her warm and comfortable bed.

As she started to climb beneath the sheet, she fixed me in her gaze. There was no bedtime story, no Bible and prayers, in fact for this beautiful child alive in my dream, there was no hint this bedtime of any love or care.

And then I heard it, the voice that called out to me in my dream: ‘That’s what life can be like for children with no parents.”

As she disappeared beneath her cover, I woke up. Moments later, Eve came into our bedroom and climbed into our bed for a cuddle.

That’s what life can be like for children with no parents. I’d never thought about it before, until it was my girl, living on the streets, homeless in my dream.

All over Kampala tonight, children are climbing into makeshift beds. Just because they’re not my child, or yours, doesn’t mean they matter any less.

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Riots at Makerere

Success during missions and crusades can give the false sense that it’s easy to build church here in Uganda. Laying firm foundations, growing a committed core and establishing a strong church culture takes a lot of work.

With this in mind, we put a lot of effort into evangelism and discipleship, and have so far established two Campuses in Kampala – one in the City and one in Makerere University (MUK). Although they are small and young, we’ve seen strong and genuine connections develop, witnessed new salvation and heard profound testimonies of lives changed forever by God.

Yesterday violent riots broke out at Makerere and we spotted the following Facebook post from a Student who is part of our MUK Church Campus. He’s a great man and he's one of a dozen people due to be baptized on Sunday:

'Today, a friend of mine was beaten badly, by the police… I got to know too late and I have been so mad about the police from then. But now I remember that yesterday in Bootcamp [Church small-group] we were talking about anger being overcome by forgiveness. I choose to forgive you police, and sorry to my friend.'

It’s a small and personal anecdote, but in light of yesterday’s violence, it’s a profound symbol of how God is moving and impacting lives.

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

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Measuring impact

Christmas Day was our last Sunday event in Theatre La Bonita. From 8th January 2012 we're relocating to Cineplex in Garden City Mall.

Since launching Freedom Church Kampala in Theatre La Bonita, we've had over 1,200 people through the doors and more than 70 commit their lives to Jesus.

We've given away 55,000 invites, 600 personalised bananas, 200 Freedom water bottles and 150 packs of noodles.

We've hosted 17 events in the Theatre, and started a second Sunday Campus at Makerere. This Campus is now busily accruing it's own set of statistics.

Numbers are one measure of impact, but they can be misleading.

We celebrate numbers, but they are not our focus. We're passionate about individuals. The ones and twos. Each unique, valued immeasurably by God and loved by our Church.

When we look behind the figures we find what makes us really excited. Astounding testimonies of lives impacted by God's love and power. Yes, in Theatre La Bonita. The place, we've been told so often since arriving here, that should never be a church.

Apparently it's not holy enough...

Theatre La Bonita is the home of Comedy Night, Drama and other events that some fiercely Religious folk have branded immoral.

Maybe it's the trouble-maker in me, but I love that Jesus appears not to care. I love that for seventeen weeks, Theatre La Bonita has been a place of salvation, forgiveness and restoration. A place of prayer, worship and celebration. A place where people have met Jesus, and have been set free.

We came here, and started meeting here, in obedience to God. And we have seen Him move in Theatre La Bonita.

The Apostle Paul writes in the Bible 'Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!' (Ephesians 3:20-21)

And the best is yet to come.

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Three of the greatest gifts I've ever received. I love my girls so much. Can't wait to spend  Christmas in Kampala with them.

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Heroes on this front line.

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Happy Christmas everyone! Today we're posting our eChristmas card, courtesy of Michael, an amazing & talented young man who comes along to church.

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Being a Dad

The other day we were waiting with one of the core members of our church, for a meeting. Whilst we were waiting the girls were running and crawling around on the grass, giggling and playing. Eve was dancing around and making everyone imaginary cups of tea.

The member of our church looked at Kris and told him how he has already learned a lot from watching him. He went on to say that he loved watching Kris play with Eve and Abi, seeing how much he loves them and that this is the type of father he wants to be.

"Children here are taught to fear their parents, they are controlled by fear, my father never told me he loved me. Not once."

"This is why so many young people go crazy when they get to university. Especially the girls, they look for love anywhere and if a guy tells her he loves her, this is the first time she will have heard this and she will do anything."

This broke my heart. Dads: tell your little girls that you love them and how beautiful they are - before a spotty teenager, or an another older man comes along and tells them it instead.

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Abundantly

One of my favorite Bible verses is John 10:10, where Jesus says, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Abundantly. Does that describe your life? If you're a Christian, I really hope it does. Remember, we're hope in this world, an anti-virus, a steward of the future, God's perfect plan. Abundantly. It jumps off the page and out of a perfectly typeset book. It creates havoc. It causes an Almighty mess. It overflows, spreads around. It contaminates. Everywhere we set our feet, we take goodness, love, mercy, glory, power, majesty, peace... ...living abundantly causes us to stand out: You know who you've become because of your relationship with Jesus. Forgiven. Valued. Set free. You are consistent, genuine and credible, open and honest. You don't switch on holiness for church, and switch it off when you leave. You are an influencer, a leader. You create change through God's overflow into your life and out of your life, impacting family, friends, people you meet and know. And you are Swept up in God's adventure, called to arms by a carpenter from Nazareth who spoke two simple words: 'follow me'. Abundantly. If this word is missing from your life today, an inaccurate description of who you are, create some change. Take steps to follow Jesus. Steward in your generation and choose an abundant life. Abundant opportunity, abundant character, abundant provision, abundant vision. Abundance in eternity. That's what God has for each of us. Abundant lives stand out. They are a force to be reckoned with, full of world-shaping, transforming power. As Paul puts it: "Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night" (Philippians 2:15 MSG)

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Wildfire

If salt looses its flavour, it's good for nothing. When a light is covered up, it's useless. That's what Jesus says in Matthew 5. He's being deliberately challenging. He causes me to ask questions like: Is the church super-salty and super-sharp right now, God's outstanding flavour in a broken world?

Is it an inextinguishable light that cannot be put out, set on a hill, shining for all to see? Taking a look around, I don't think it describes the church around the world right now. If the church was the super-salty and ultra-bright light Jesus describes, the pace of transformation in the world, UK or Uganda, would be more rapid than it is. Let's make it a little more personal: Is my life and your life super-salty, super-sharp right now? Are you and I an inextinguishable light that cannot be put out, set on a hill, shining for all to see? It may be different for you, but I'm not sure, if I'm honest, that this describes my life right now. This is not about turning up at church on Sunday, calling yourself Christian and saying prayers before you go to bed. It's about the temperature of your relationship with God. The radiant heat  in my life and your life that scorches the world around each of us. How close are you positioning yourself to him? If you're caught up in the Maker's furnace, your temperature will increase. His spirit shines out of you. The people you live with, the people you hang out with, are left in no doubt that God, described in the Bible as the Refining Fire, is burning brightly within you. In Freedom Church we call this Wildfire.

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History or horizon?

Let's not blend in to a broken world. The Bible puts it like this: 'Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:2 MSG)' God didn't make us and save us to fit in. He put us on His planet to fix it up. Stewarding the future requires a heart and mind that is set on what lies ahead. We're going to struggle to make a mark on the world if our focus is on the past. Don't get caught up hanging out with your history. God is calling you to answer this world's problems (that's different to being it's Savior - Luke 19:10).  That requires you to turn your attention to the horizon. It's to late to shape your history, so focus your creativity on what is ahead. One of my favorite verses from the Bible reads: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT) When we get caught up stewarding the future, we get caught up in something divine, an unimaginably awesome work of art. So don't get caught up in your history. Look to the horizon.

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This weekend we'll be running the Freedom Christmas Experience at our City and Makerere University Campuses here in Kampala. Please pray that the events go really well and that people are impacted by God's love and his perfect plan for their life. 

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Stewarding the future

Jesus nailed it in the Bible. He said we're called to be outstanding 'fixers', not fixtures that look at home and blend in. God has given each of us a job to do. We're his solution, his perfect plan, for a broken world. This is more than a compliment. It's an opportunity and a responsibility. My attitude to life changes when I realise I am tomorrow's hope. I start to steward the future. When we go out walking, the roads here can be dusty and dangerous. Eve will sometimes pull my fingers and say 'Daddy, picky me up'. With something so treasured staring into my eyes, it's only seconds before she flies over my head and onto my shoulders. Stewarding the future means we all get to carry something precious on our shoulders. It's a privilege, though we sometimes fail to see this. A mission we can choose to accept, or one we can deny. How are you getting on stewarding the future? Imagine if I were to gaze down at Eve and say 'no'. If I were to turn around and walk away. Imagine how she would feel alone and unhappy on the dusty, dangerous road. That's what happens when we turn our back on God or say 'no' to His plan.

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Sharp taste, outstanding flavour

Jesus said to his disciples two thousand years ago: "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-16 NKJV) Perhaps today, it would sound something like this: "I made you to be the Sharp Taste of God. Wherever you go and whatever you do, I made you to be My Outstanding Flavour. In your family, your community, world. How's it going turning the pitch black darkness all around you into bright and blinding light? You, yes, you, you're my solution. You're a charged filament, a runway light shining through the misty blackness. I heard a million spiritual 'maydays', and I came up with a perfect plan: I set you on my Earth so you could show the lost who I am" The 'sharp taste, outstanding flavour' series is taken from a message I shared with the Politics and Social Science students at Makerere University, Kampala in October 2011.

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A picture of, and taken by, outstandingly awesome people. Josh Cooke, Matthew Trotman, Scarlett O'Donnell, Naomi Marsh and Eve Coppock. Taken by Gitte Meeussen.