I don’t really know how to describe Saturday. It was certainly not anything I had imagined or designed myself!!

I was hoping that we could meet as a small team beforehand. But one guy was stuck in a meeting, one was stuck in traffic and another stuck with a diary engagement he couldn’t get out of. I felt fine though, but knew it was down to me to ‘create’ the atmosphere!!

I spent the first half an hour praying favour from God over the place and going as near as I dared to the surprisingly huge numbers of Police in the square, to pray that they would not stop us or move us on. (We had no license to perform) Then the team of Canadians gathered to do their street drama. I gave them all some salt and sent them off all over the gardens. They sprinkled it all over the ground as a symbol of purity and of God preserving and marking out the city for His plans and purposes.

One of the people who said he wasn’t coming, then arrived (YAY!) and we planted some scriptures in the ground.

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it…

They shall be a planting for the Lord’s splendour…

We also prayed that we would be heard about the deafening group of native American Indians who were playing nearby!

As we were talking and getting ready, a young girl of about 15 came up to me and asked what we were doing. She wanted to know if we were part of the ‘christian camp’ that believed that the end of the world was going to happen that day. I said I did not believe that and ended up sharing part of my testimony with her and her best friend. ( I was amazed that God gave me that opportunity before we had said or done ANYTHING!)

The drama began. As soon as they did so, the Indian band appeared to get hungry and went off for lunch. Perfect! The drama gathered a small crowd, some of whom filmed the entire thing on their phones or camcorders. It was simple and worked well in the open air. The costumes were clear and as there were no words, it was universally understood. The team had brought a speaker with them so that the accompanying music could be heard.

About 60 people gathered, most staying for five minutes or so, but some staying the full 25 minutes of the presentation. Two policeman watched the entire performance without commenting or complaint! The team chatted and prayed with a couple of people afterwards.

Then we sang ‘Amazing Grace’ as passers-by looked on.
Another couple arrived from church to pray and I gave them some salt to pray with too. At the end, God gave me some specific words for people on the team, which was encouraging for me and, I hope, for them.

It was certainly a very odd beginning to Encounter, but powerful none-the-less. I am excited by what God is doing and by how He worked in this situation to bring His light and hope to the streets of Manchester.

I wondered how long it would take me to bring 60 guests to our church. I worked out that it would be about half a year. How lovely that that many people got to see at least part of a powerful gospel presentation.

We will see what Encounter leads to over the next few months!