Video Blog

Video Blog

Video Blog

Der Anfang meines Weges mit Gott

Als ich vor ein paar Jahren mein erstes Jahr bei Pais:Deutschland begann, hätte ich nie gedacht wie sehr mich Pais prägen und was ich bei Pais alles lernen würde. Selbst als ich mein zweites Jahr begann, verstand ich nicht die Tragweite des Gedankens, Teil einer Bewegung zu sein. Erst als ich drei Jahre lang nicht mehr bei Pais war und eine Ausbildung machte, begann ich zu begreifen, was es bedeutete Bewegung mit zu steuern, indem ich anfing Gott in vielen Dingen mehr zu vertrauen.

Mit Gott wieder auf Fahrt

In meiner Ausbildungszeit hatte ich lange Zeit das Gefühl, nichts wirklich bewegen zu können. Ich saugte viel Wissen auf, bemerkte aber bald, dass Wissen allein nichts bewirkte. Ich fühlte mich wie eine Lok auf dem Abstellgleis. Doch langsam ging mir ein Licht auf. Auch hier konnte ich Gott dienen – wenn ich ihn nur fragte und hinhörte. So ging ich mit Gott wieder auf Fahrt. Ich verstand, dass es nicht darauf ankam mit welcher Organisation ich zusammenarbeitete oder an welchem Ort, sondern mit wem ich meine Entscheidungen traf.

Weil ich ihn suchte

Jedes Jahr fragte ich Gott: „Wo kannst du mich gebrauchen?“, und so kam es, dass ich mich wieder bei Pais bewarb. Ich hatte nur eine vage Vorstellung, was mich in Greifswald erwartete, aber ich war mir sicher, dass ich bei Pais richig bin. Schließlich traf ich meine Entscheidung mit Gott. Wenn ich eines bei Pais gelernt habe, dann ist es die Bedeutung einer persönlichen Gottesbeziehung. Gott lässt sich weder in hochstilisierte Aufsätze pressen. Er lässt sich nicht in kirchlichen Atmosphären einatmen. Ich kann Gott auch nicht in modernen christlichen Events aufleben lassen. Nein, Gott macht sich selbst sichtbar und wir können nur einladen – in eine Beziehung mit ihm. Mit ihm ganz persönlich. Ich konnte und kann es jetzt erleben – weil ich ihn finden kann. Weil ich ihn suchte. Und das tue ich noch. Tag für Tag.

My Granddaughter Loves And Follows God

“I was so surprised when I first heard that my Granddaughter, Annette was going to involve herself into missionary work and join the Pais Project. I was at the same time very happy and encouraged to realise it means she knows God to the extent that she can follow his direction and make a difference.
If I look at the world as it is today with all the challenges it holds, especially for the young people I am grateful to God that my granddaughter hasn’t involved herself in the negative worldly things but has instead given her life to the hands of God and his direction.

The First In Our Family To Be A Missionary

Annette is the first person in our family to have ever made such a decision as this; to make a difference to communities, to spread the love of God and to teach his word. She has made history in our family and it is a wonderful thing and I hope it will continue down the generations.
Initially I did not want Annette to be involved in such work as the Pais Project and told her it wouldn’t take her anywhere in life. I realise now how ignorant I was. I had heard some stories about what being a missionary is and I had a prejudice against any such organisation, but I was wrong to do so.

So Continue To Spread God’s Love

I can see such a vast difference in her since she started. I have seen great spiritual growth and confidence and I put it down to the power of God and the organisation she is a part of, namely Pais.
Continue my granddaughter! Spread the word and love of God across the nations because if we, the elderly couldn’t catch this vision then God in His own way has turned to you to be one whom He has chosen. Who am I to say no? God bless you!”


Nanayaa Adiidi II
Queen Mother of Apriede – Adukrom

Junior’s Calling

January 2012 was a very exciting time for Pais as it launched Pais: Brazil. We thought you may like to meet the man who will be pioneering this work; our National Director, Junior Faisbanchs. Read on to learn a little more about him and discover what his hope and vision is for the future of Pais in Brazil.

Junior is 25 and from Recife, Brazil. He was brought up in the Catholic Church as many Brazilians are. It was at the age of 12, when he was due to be confirmed that he started to question what church, God and faith were all about. Out of this questioning a journey of true faith began and even in his early teenage life Junior had a knowledge, given by God that he would one day work for Him in full time Christian ministry.

Holding on to this knowledge but with no idea how it may work out Junior carried on with life. He studied History at university in Brazil and spent some time in England improving his English. It was through a friend that he heard about the Pais Project. It was a work that excited him and in a country he loved (the UK). His pastor in Brazil was supportive of the step to join Pais and so in 2008 Junior moved to England and started a new chapter in his life with Pais.

Junior’s Training

Junior is what some may term as a ‘natural leader’. He showed this from the very start of his time on Pais and after 2 years training in schools work and developing his leadership skills he is now ready to pioneer the work in Brazil.

The past months before January were a time of establishing the foundations in Brazil so that everything was ready for the team to start in January. God has opened all the doors needed in Brazil to now begin. There is a great church in Natal who are hosting the team and Junior has been hard at work liaising with local schools, introducing the work of Pais and building relationships with the teachers. The team is complete with 2 from the States and a German and they started work in 4 schools in January.
 

Junior’s Training

Well, the best person to share the vision for Pais: Brazil is of course Junior himself. Here is what he has to say…

“Brazil is well known for the beautiful people, beaches and football but I believe that God wants to write a new story for this country that is about eternal joy. Drugs and crime are a big problem here and we want to be available to help the young people find what they are really looking for. There isn’t much schools work in Brazil so we have a great opportunity to ‘fill the gap’ and help contribute to the body of Christ.

I truly believe that when the local church and Pais join together, thousands of young people will be impacted all over South America, not just Brazil.”

Video Blog

A Hero Is The One Who Does What Jesus Did

We love the way that God uses great teachers who serve and give themselves to the young people of their nation. Jenny Garland is one such hero. She, as with so many others, comes alongside those with special needs and gives her time, energy and love away.

The Privilege We Have

Over the last couple of years Pais Northern Ireland has been working in one of the local ‘Special Needs’ schools and we therefore have the privilege of working alongside her.

What We Get To Do

The team often lead an assembly and spend some time afterwards to hang out with young people. They are always excited to hear about God, His love and Kingdom. The team have also been involved in serving the school in many other ways, such as involvement in their Christmas show. Our purpose in the school has been to offer assistance in any way we can, then, as we build trust, understanding and chemistry with the school we are also able to present and share our faith.

The Joy We See

We believe God has a special place in his heart for these great young people and it is always a pleasure to serve and get to know them. Their enthusiasm and energy for the teams ministry is inspiring and encouraging. It is a privilege to see how sharing the love we have first been shown by God is received with such joy. It is also brilliant to see the young people putting into action some of the principles we share and watching how they affect school life.

Twenty Years of Church Partnerships

Pais have worked with many churches over the past 20 years and it can be safely said that each is unique. Be it the size of the building or the congregation, the style of worship, the age range of the members or even the colour of the front door each church is different with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Starting From Scratch

Here is a story from Pais GB to encourage any church leader or member of a congregation. It is a story to show how God can build something from scratch! All he is looking for are people with an open heart and a willingness to act upon a vision given by Him, no matter how small or unclear that initial vision may be.
So let me take you to a relatively small church in the heart of Blackpool. ‘New Life Community Church’ started in November 2004 and has a lovely green door. It began its life with between 19 to 35 adults and no youth. As such the church had no youth work, no Sunday school and the building itself was in no way youth friendly.
Adult meetings were held mid week and those who attended were surprised when a few of the local student randomly started to come in off the streets and join them. With no current youth work in place the church looked to the possibility of hosting a Pais worker to help establish a vision and bring the necessary skills needed to work with children and young people. They realized there was a whole community around them with many young people who could be reached with God’s love.

How We Started

So it started. Five years ago Pais became a part of this church’s life. They began with setting up the student ministry, serving in the local school and spending time getting to know the local students. The Pais team built up relationships by joining in football games at the local park and they regularly would go and ‘hang out’ and chat with the young people and offer help if and where needed.
Today the church is reaching out to its community in a variety of ways and vision has grown. Many students now regularly attend the church and are involved in the various programs that are running and there have been many other initiatives started aimed at reaching whole families from the area.

Participation brings Success!

One thing the church has not done in the past five years is to sit back and let the Pais team carry the vision and the burden of all this work. A number of the congregation have been fully involved in working alongside and learning how to ‘do’ the work whilst on the job. Pais have had the honor and the privilege of kick starting a work within this church and community and the church has now taken on the vision itself.

Video Blog