Wishing you a very Happy Easter!

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

Hello and welcome to the April 2012 Edition of WhatsLauraUpTo! I

hope that you are able to take the time to grab a cup of tea and a

biscuit and have a little read of what’s been going on.

It’s been a fairly busy few months with events and family birthdays!

On 3rd February, my nephew Billy turned 2, then March saw my

brother Russell’s birthday, my mum’s birthday and my brother-in-

law Matt’s birthday!

I have managed to squeeze in a

few trips back to Braintree and

some days out with my sister

and her children, Maddie, Emi

and Billy which is always lots of

fun.

I have recently re-taken up tap dancing on a Monday night! I used

to dance when I was younger but stopped about 7 years ago so am

a bit rusty! It’s lots of fun and I’m really enjoying it.

I’m really looking forward to some time off over Easter to relax with

family. We are heading up to Selby for a few days to spend time

with Andy’s parents which I am really looking forward to! We will

also get to catch up with some great friends while we are away.

Then the busyness really starts when we come back!!

I hope you have a lovely Easter, whatever you are up to and have

the opportunity to reflect on what it really is all about.

Take Care,

Family/

Friends

Billy and Andy

Things have been going really well at Arise

Ministries HQ! On 29th February, Ed (my boss!)

and his wife Emma welcomed baby Ella Grace

into the world. She is very tiny and very cute!!

As well as all the events we have been taking

part in, we have been doing some updates to

our website—if you get a chance go to

www.ariseministries.org.uk/latestnews to have a look!

We have 11 confirmed dates for 2012 Just a ‘child’?

Regional Equipping Events and are beginning to book

in our 2013 tour.

We also have a new promotional video for Just a

‘child’? - view that on our website.

We have been very excited to hear how our Easter

resource ‘The Great Hot Cross Bun Hunt’ has been used

across the country—in assemblies, after school clubs,

family services and special events. It’s awesome to think

of the impact that is being had on children and families

at Easter time.

Andy Keel has joined us for a few events in the past months which has

been very helpful! It also means that for the first time on 21st April,

Arise Ministries will be in 2 places at once! Andy and I are heading to

Worcester for an exhibition, while Ed heads to Eastbourne for a Just a

‘child’? Equipping Event.

We’re very excited for all that the future hold for Arise Ministries!

Ministry

20th-22nd January: Worship Rally at Trinity Baptist Church, West Norwood

Arise Ministries were invited to London to lead Trinity Baptist’s Children’s

Worship Rally. We spent the Saturday afternoon looking at the story of The

Good Samaritan, who our neighbours are and how we can practically help

them – but also how we can take hold of the truths in the Bible and not just

hear it as a story. We had about 60 children from the church and a great time

learning, craft-making and singing with Big Fish Little Fish who came along with

us. On the Sunday Ed spoke at both morning

services about the challenge before us when

it comes to Children’s Ministry. It was a great

weekend with a church we have worked with

before on several occasions (although the

first time I have been there) and they were

great hosts – we were fed extremely well!

3rd-5th February: Children’s and Families Ministries Conference, Eastbourne

We spent the weekend at the national conference giving away free

Hot Cross Buns in promotion of our Easter resource ‘The Great Hot

Cross Bun Hunt’. We had lots of great conversations and a chance

to share with people the vision and passion of Arise Ministries. The

snow came on Saturday night which meant a few people left early,

but it didn’t cause us any problems – well until Ed got stuck in the

office car park when we came to unload!

17th February: SOLID Remix, Chelmsford Cathedral

I was involved in helping out technically at this SOLID event. It was a great

evening with just over 200 young people attending. We had a variety of

activities including a pamper area, inflatable assault course and games

consoles. Jon Keel (Andy’s brother) led worship and there were a series of

testimony videos on the theme ‘I am second’.

20th March: Church of England Children’s Advisers Conference, Hoddesdon

Andy Keel and I headed to High Leigh Conference Centre to exhibit in the

Marketplace at the Anglican 2012 National Children’s Work Advisers’

Conference, attended primarily by the children’s work advisers from the

different Anglican diocese’ around the country. We were one of 14

Diary

organisations providing a

‘marketplace’ for day one of the conference. The

day was a great opportunity to share how Arise

Ministries can help equip parishes and churches

and also enable inter-denominational links to be

developed.

24th March: Just a ‘child’? Equipping Event at Sandy Baptist Church,

Bedfordshire

We had a great day with a group consisting of a variety of positions and roles.

We had those who describe themselves as

team members, we had paid children’s

workers, we had team leaders and even a

church minister. We were looking at 3 key

topics:

- Children – within our reach.

- Children – ready for release.

- Children – growing as disciples.

Some of the feedback already received from the day includes:

“It has helped me to see our ministry in a new way.”

“I have found the day relevant and helpful to our present day.”

“A stimulating day, well organised and run. I would commend the programme

to all involved in Children’s Ministry!”

31st March: ‘The Great Hot Cross Bun Hunt’ at Newbury Baptist

We are working closely with this church, having been there in January to

deliver some training for their holiday club and we are partnering with them

to run a Just a ‘child’? Equipping Event in June.

We had a great couple of hours with 12 children exploring the real meaning

of Easter with the help of a Hot Cross Bun! The children got stuck in to all the

activities and enthusiastically ‘dun, dun duh’ed

every time Ed said ‘The Great Hot Cross Bun

Hunt’! It was encouraging for both us and the

church as we discovered afterwards that the

children were about half and half in those that

attended the church and those that didn’t. In

particular there were two boys that they hadn’t

seen at the church for the past year.

Diary

Upcoming

Events

6th-15th April: Easter Holiday

21st April: Exhibition in Worcester

Just a ‘child’? Equipping Event in Eastbourne, East

Sussex

24th April: My 24th Birthday!

4th-6th May: Baptist Assembly, London —Running the Children's

Programme

12th May: SOLID Remix Sports Day, Romford—Stage led activities

19th May: Just a ‘child’? Equipping Event in Plymouth, Devon

26th May: Just a ‘child’? Equipping Event in Croxley Green,

Hertfordshire

2nd June: Just a ‘child’? Equipping Event in Southampton,

Hampshire

18th-22nd June: Holiday in Selby

21st June: Andy’s 22nd Birthday!

23rd June: Just a ‘child’? Equipping Event in Newbury Berkshire

• Finances:

• Personal: Please pray for my personal finances, and thank God

for His provision for me, enabling me to continue what I feel He

has called me to do.

• Arise Ministries: Please thank God and pray for those people

who are supporting the work of Arise Ministries, enabling us to

equip churches in reaching out to the children in their

communities.

• Health: Please pray that I keep healthy!

• Dad: Please pray for my dad who is still suffering from pain in his

spine despite having had injections.

• Andy: Please pray for my boyfriend Andy in all that he is involved in

at Viz-A-Viz Ministries and for us as a couple that we can switch off

from work talk when we need to!

• Opportunities for Arise: Please pray for new opportunities for Arise

Ministries to help equip and enthuse churches in their children’s

ministry.

For a day-by-day prayer diary please visit: www.whatslauraupto.com/pray

Finances

I believe that God has called me to do what I am doing, and part of that is

trusting him to provide the finances I need.

A massive thank you to everyone who supports me regularly. It’s so lovely

to know that people feel the work I am doing is valuable and wish to

support me financially in this.

If you feel you are able to support me financially please contact me or visit:

www.whatslauraupto.com/support

To support me with a one off gift online please visit:

www.everyclick.com/laurabayliss

Thank you very much.

Prayer

Points

Arise Ministries

Phoenix Court

Christopher Martin Road

Basildon

Essex

SS14 3EZ

01268 530531

laurabayliss@ariseministries.org.uk

Facebook: Laura Bayliss

Twitter: @bayliss206

Contact

Me