Brief overview of Witness Part 1: Last time, we explored what it means to make Jesus known through both our words and our actions. Evangelism, or witnessing is not simply about getting people to become Christians, but about inviting them to encounter Jesus, respond to his love and grow as his followers. We are […]
Edition #39 | October 2026
“Look Up”
Welcome to our newsletter! Here you’ll find news from across our church community, along with some encouragement and details of what’s coming up. We’ll keep this page updated throughout the month, so do check back e.g. for any new notices you hear about on a Sunday. Well done to Tash (again!) for winning this month’s photo challenge. Scroll through above to see all the entries.
Good News!
You may recall that back in August an advert went out for the vacant role of Children & Youth Worker. We’re delighted that David has been appointed to this role, after a very successful interview. David started his new role on 1st of October and will be combining this role with his current one of ‘Schools Worker’. Please pray for David and his family as he begins his new job.
On Saturday 3rd October, Ed will be running a 50 mile trail race for Known Valued Loved. He has now reached his £500 target for fundraising and wants to pass on his thanks for your support. If you want to support Ed, you can do so here: https://www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/50miles4KVL
Food for Thought
Could my transformation change more than just me?
David’s article on last month’s Food for Thought:
Notices
- Open Space – Gordon and Luke would love to invite you to Open Space, an evening of worship and prayer that we’ll be hosting monthly, the Wednesday following a Sanctuary. Inspired by Housefires’ song ‘Open Space’, we want to create space to encounter God, draw near to Him, and give Him room to move in our lives. Our desire is to come together with open hearts, listen to His voice, and respond to wherever He leads us, without rushing or distraction. Open Space will include prayer stations following on from Sanctuary’s theme, opportunities for prophetic drawing, time to sing together, and space to share what we feel God may be saying or showing us. Everyone is welcome to come along. Our first gathering will be on Wednesday 28th October, 7:30–9pm at the Dronfield building. Then we will alternate between the Lighthouse and the Dronfield building from then on. We’d love for you to join us!
- Singers still needed! – Every Second Tuesday, from 10.15am to 11am, Mary and Sharon faithfully lead a service for the residents of April Park Care Home in Eckington. It includes 4 songs, planned by Mary, and they need more singers to join in. This is a powerful and important ministry. Do you feel called to love and bless the elderly residents in our community? Even if you can’t commit to every month, any help would be appreciated. Get in touch if you can help.
- Could you be part of something new in Eckington? – We’ve been really encouraged by the growth we’ve seen in Eckington recently, especially with lots of new families becoming part of our congregation. As we look to the year ahead, we want to build a team of people who love Eckington, love our congregation and want to see Jesus made known in our community. The team will meet once a month to pray, seek God’s heart for Eckington and explore together how we can best see our community touched and transformed by the love of God. This isn’t about having all the answers or coming up with lots of new programmes. It’s about listening to God, dreaming together and asking: “What is God already doing in Eckington, and how can we join in?”. We’ll be putting the team together in the new year. If you think this is something you’d love to be involved in, get in touch with the Core Team via our contact us form. We’d love to have a chat and see if it’s a good fit for you.
Photo Challenge
October’s Theme:
“After the Rain” – Think raindrops on leaves, reflections in puddles, rainbows, glistening spiderwebs, dramatic skies or sunlight breaking through the clouds.
Theologians in the past have referred to the natural world as “God’s second book”. Like the Bible, it reveals something about God in a way nothing else does! Each month, we would like to encourage you to get out into God’s amazing creation and take some photos of what you see! Get involved this month…
Submit your best photo to Emma on WhatsApp before 23/10/26. There will be a small prize involving a bean from South America for the photo our independent judge decides most captures this month’s theme! Happy snapping!
Podcast Recommendation
Check out this episode of Simon Guillebaud’s Inspired podcast:
Verse of the Month
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” – 1 Corinthians 12:27
Prayer
For some, the shorter days of this season, meaning darker mornings and nights and colder weather, can lead to low mood and increased social isolation. Let’s pray for those affected this Autumn.
Children & Youth Corner
What parents do at home matters more than almost anything else. Sociologist Christian Smith and his team measured the influence of parents against every other factor – peers, media, teachers, pastors, youth groups – and found that parents are, by far, the single most powerful influence on whether a child embraces faith into adulthood. Not the most convenient influence. Not the most visible. The most powerful.
Parents who regularly talk with their children about faith – what it means, why it matters, why they care – during ordinary days and ordinary moments see the greatest long-term impact on their children’s spiritual lives. But there’s an important nuance: the research shows that the most effective faith conversations are not parent-led lectures. They’re child-centred. The parent creates a safe, normal environment for talking about God, and then lets the child ask the questions, do most of the talking, and explore at their own pace. The parent listens, follows up, and offers honest wisdom when the moment is right.
There’s another finding in the research that deserves attention – one that may surprise you. Vern Bengtson’s Longitudinal Study of Generations is one of the largest and longest-running studies of religion and family ever conducted. Over 35 years, Bengtson and his colleagues followed more than 350 families – over 3,500 individuals spanning four generations – to understand how faith is passed down from one generation to the next.
One of his most striking findings was the outsized role of grandparents. Bengtson discovered that grandparental warmth – emotional closeness between grandparent and grandchild – was the single highest predictor of whether faith would be successfully transmitted across generations. Not church attendance. Not doctrinal instruction. Warmth. And perhaps even more remarkably, Bengtson found that in families where a parent was absent, disengaged, or had drifted from faith, a faithful grandparent could step into the gap and become the bridge that kept the chain of faith intact. The presence of a loving, faith-filled grandparent could, in effect, replace the spiritual influence of a missing or distant parent.
Sunday Gatherings
Here’s a reminder of what’s happening across our Sunday gatherings this month (starting at 10.30am unless otherwise stated):
- 4th October — Celebration (Dronfield)
- 11th October — Healing Room (Dronfield) / Family Breakfast (Eckington, 9.30am)
- 18th October — Equipping (Dronfield & Eckington)
- 25th October — Sanctuary (Dronfield) – remember the clocks change on this day!!
See the calendar for more details.
Recent Midweek Musings
What does healing look like? And how did Jesus, his disciples and the early church pray for people who were sick? | The Healing Room #2 At our second Healing Room gathering, we explored how healing runs throughout the Bible. From the very beginning, we see a God who moves […]
Our Sunday meeting this week was a Celebration and a time for both our congregations to meet together. This week was a time of sharing to encourage each other. Listening to people sharing is both encouraging and empowering, hearing how God is working amongst us all. People talked about how […]
Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God. In Jesus we are put right with God, and have been made holy, and have been set free from sin. – 1 Corinthians 1:30 Now I am right with God, not because I followed […]
Our Mission Charities
Every month, as a church, we give to the following charities (click on the name to visit their sites):
Preschool Project in Sachibondu
Betel (specifically the Nottingham house)
Get Involved
There are lots of ways to get involved at the Oaks, whether that’s helping at an event, serving on a Sunday, or simply getting to know people in our community. If you’d like to find out more about serving or volunteering, please get in touch.
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