Message from Rev Carl Roberts

All parents who love their children want their children to take the right path in life and are concerned that they don’t get led astray. Children on the other hand think that they know best. On the one hand they want to be different from the crowd, but on the other hand they want to be the same as their peers.

Mark Twain said of his dad, “When I was a boy of fourteen years, my father was so ignorant, I could hardly stand to have the old man around, but when I got to twenty one, I was astonished at how much the old man learned in seven years.”

There can only be one truth. There is only one way that leads to life to the full, Jesus said,

I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life; no person cometh to the Father, but by Me. John 14:6.

There are times when you come to the crossroads of life, Jeremiah the Old Testament prophet gave advice and direction in which way to go.

This is what the Lord says, stand you in the ways, and see, and ask for the old ways, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16.

Life is full of choices, no one can make the right way to go for you, don’t follow the crowd; follow Jesus. Have you ever been in a crowd and got swept off your feet and taken away in the opposite direction to where you want to go? It seems like it is out of your control.

Jesus said to look to Him, He is the way that leads to life.

Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:13-14

God sent His only begotten Son into the world, not to condemn mankind, but that mankind would not perish, and have life to the full.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16.

If you are at the crossroads of life choose the right way in Christ Jesus.

The Step by Step Christian Centre

The Step by Step Christian Centre is located at 29 St. Helen's Rd in the City of Swansea. It was dedicated to the Work of God on Friday 7th April 2023, with its doors immediately open to everyone and anyone who might feel that they need a helping hand. Nine months later it is fair to say that the Centre is very much a work in progress as there is still building renovation work to be carried out. Many organisations and indeed private homes manage and continue to function whilst renovation work is being carried out and the Step by Step Ministry Centre is no exception, opening our doors to visitors on Wednesday and Friday afternoons between 1pm & 3pm.

On a Friday afternoon we have a Bible Study to which all are welcome though during the past Summer months with the weather permitting we spent a great deal of our time together on the streets of the city meeting the people offering them a ‘tract’ ( a tract is a small leaflet of two or more pages containing a Christian message within it ) or perhaps engaging in conversation with anyone who was so minded. In one such conversation on the corner of a street a man opened his very soul saying that he had done too many bad things for God to forgive him. We Prayed with him and for him and he went on his way. We will no doubt continue with this outreach practice during the coming Spring and Summer seasons on a Wednesday and a Friday.

During the past nine months we have met and been able to help a number of individuals who live on the streets of Swansea. The Ministry has a personal link with Swansea Prison Fellowship and a few months ago we were able to help a man to find accommodation on his release from HMP Swansea.

At present The Centre has limited Catering facilities which are able to offer a visitor light refreshment in the form of a cup of tea or coffee and when the needs of an individual dictate we can offer a hot snack meal. Yet even with limited facilities a few weeks ago on Christmas Eve The Ministry was able to provide a Christmas Dinner at The Centre which ten people attended.

In recent months The Ministry received a sizable financial donation which facilitated the installation of new UPVc Double Glazed windows in the main Hall and New UPVc rainwater drainage to the main Hall exterior.

To conclude this first update of The Genesis ( Beginnings) of The Step by Step Christian Centre I am reminded of a passage in The Bible which says “For precept must be upon precept,precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line, here a little, and there a little” ( Isaiah 28:10)

In other words Step by Step!

Len Lewis

Dedication Service at St Helens Road

Exodus 37:9

And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.

Thank you to everyone who came along last Saturday for the dedication of the building and the work which is commencing at St Helens Road Swansea.

We apologise for the short notice of the event, that made it difficult for those who would have liked to have attended.

It was wonderful to see our good friends Tim and Nelly Sullivan who came all the way from America and a special thanks to Rev Tim Sullivan for the message which he shared with us.

The message he shared on the mercy seat, was appropriate not only for the building and the work of the ministry, but also for the times in which we live.

It could be said that ministry work is like Welsh weather, you don’t know what you are going to get next, but what we do know is that the sun is always there. Maybe we cannot see it all the time, because it can be hidden by the clouds; but the sun is always in the sky; that we can be assured of.

It also can be said of the Sun of righteousness, He is always there, and for those that fear His name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings.

Likewise the Son of righteousness is always there, and when the heart shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.

The Lord has continued to bless this ministry over the years, and we are very thankful for the way the Lord has sent many brothers and sisters in Christ who have supported the work through prayers contributions and labours of love, we thank you and thank God for you.

Our prayer at Grace and Truth Church and Step by Step (Wales) is that St Helens Road will be a refuge and a sound place of Christian encouragement and fellowship for all who want to join us.

Psalm 91:4

He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Prayer Focus - August 2021

Newsletter - Prayer Focus

We have now moved our church services from Penlan Methodist Church to Bethel Mission, Brynhyfryd. We would like to thank Rev Howard Long and the Methodist Church for the use of the building which was a great blessing. We would also like to thank all at Bethel Mission for welcoming our church and making us feel so much at home.

After prayerful consideration, this newsletter / Prayer Focus is a bit different in that we will not be mentioning people by name to protect privacy. The Lord knows who they are and your prayers will still be much appreciated.

The biggest challenge that Step by Step has at the moment is the fight against drug misuse and abuse. Many of the people on the project are fighting this addiction and it feels like we are in the midst of a battle. We need people to pray against the drug scene in Swansea, Llanelli and surrounding areas. We have had some good success with overcoming addictions in the past and pray that we will see some positive results again. We fully understand the work that we have been given and are seeing steady progress with certain individuals on the project and are seeing attitudes changing too. We are really praying for a breakthrough. We also acknowledge the this cannot be done in our own strength but we will only see success as we stand against the wiles of the devil.

Ephesians 6:10-12

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. We realise that the work is a heavy work and our prayer is for God to send more labourers to the harvest. We need prayer, we need people and we need more training to be made available.

We have recognised three areas in the project that we need more of:

1. Prayer We apologise that we haven’t been able to send more updates to you, our supporters, There is certainly a lot to pray for. If you would like to be included in Carl’s prayer warrior group please text him on 07788 122089 and he will send out messages for immediate concerns and needs.

2. Resources People are our most precious resource. We would like to see some of the workers on the project grow up into leadership roles but until then we are lacking in people to lead certain areas of the project.

3. Training We have always seen the importance of training but this is one of the areas that we have fallen short. To progress and take the next steps we need to develop a better training strategy. Every aspect of the project needs training.

Gardening and Clearance Work

The need in this area of the project is to find someone who is a Christian and has a heart for the work and the skills to teach and lead the gardening project. This area is growing and has the potential to be a good income source for the project but without people to run it, it is limited.

Phoenix Way

We will be vacating the premises in Phoenix way in the next couple of months, so our work there will be coming to an end. We have a large Unit in Caerphiily where we are able to store some of the items that were in Phoenix Way.

Clydach Workshop

Over the years we have been blessed with donations of tools and machinery as well as materials to set up a workshop. We are praying for the right people to run this area of the project so that people can be trained up.

Shops

We have two shops open in Llanelli. For the last year and a half we have managed to keep the project running while the shops closed down because of COVID 19. Most shops are continuing to see a shortfall in takings due to the pandemic. Please pray that the shops can do well. We continue to receive very generous donations in the shops.

The shop in Pontarddulais has been the centre for EBay sales. We were able to continue the online sales through out the lockdowns.

We may also have the opportunity to open a shop in Port Talbot. Please keep this in your prayers.

Van and Van Driver

Our blue van has finally been consigned to the scrap yard in the sky. We are thankful to have had so much good use out of it and especially to see the wonderful messages written on it. We now need to get another van to do all the deliveries and collections. We are looking to employ a Van Driver who is a Christian and has a heart for the work of the project.

St Helen’s Road

Carl has been meeting up with people on Friday mornings for prayer and counselling. Swansea Prison Fellowship have used the Upper Room on a couple of occasions for meetings. The work in the lower ground floor has been suspended until we have the funds to progress it.

The building has so much potential, and we pray that we will have the opportunity to use it and make it available for others to use for the Lord’s work.

We really appreciate the prayers and support we have had for the project. We couldn’t do it without you.

God Bless you

Carl and Vivienne