Our Life Together Vol. 3 Nr. 24 June 17, 1975

I thought the articles by Clay and Ken regarding the situation in England was quite interesting. I have mentioned before that Ken traveled quite a bit, but this particular trip was a major milestone. It was the biggest international trip that FBCCV had participated in. We had two teams traveling to England. I think that there were actually eight people in all. For a church our size this was a major undertaking.

Most of us, including Ken, had the sense that England was spiritually dead. They had a lot of churches and a lot of history, but no current life. This trip was eye opening. England may not have had the large crowds that we had in the US, but they did have a deep hunger for more of the Lord. They were ready to receive all that God had in pouring our His Holy Spirit upon them. The people were also open to life in community. This was a great blessing to our teams -- and a great surprise.

The article on the Oleander Non-residential household opens up a discussion of another part of our community life. Approximately 30% of the congregation of FBC lived in our residential households. Most of the rest of the people were involved in our not-residential households. These households were headed by some of our more mature leaders, several of whom were elders. They would generally have weekly meetings. They would eat together, have a teaching, a time of worship and prayer. They would also gather for special occasions such as the camping trip discussed in the article. It wasn't the same as living in a household, but it was the next best thing. Our family was a part of one of these households, led by Wallie and Louise Gray before we moved into Westby.