Outreach in Kempston
Outreach in Kempston: A Day of Treasure Hunting and Transforming Lives
Outreach is always a special time, but what made our outreach in Kempston particularly exciting was the powerful tool we used to connect with people and share the love of Jesus. This time, we used a unique approach known as Treasure Hunting, a method developed by Kevin Dedman. It’s a practice where we seek words of knowledge through prayer that guide us to the “treasure” – the people God is highlighting to us. These words become clues, and our mission is to find and bless those individuals. We had the privilege of partnering with the Revive School in Bedford to make this happen.
Equipping the Team
After lunch, we gathered the team for some hands-on training. The goal was simple: learn how to hear God’s voice and use the clues we received to find the people He was drawing us to. We wrote down words of knowledge in several categories—things like specific locations, physical conditions, colors, or even clothing—that would guide us as we ventured into Kempston. The whole experience was a step of faith, trusting that God would reveal the people He wanted us to encounter.
The Outreach in Kempston
By the afternoon, we were ready. We set up our outreach base in the middle of a large square in Kempston, UK. The team had a table filled with flowers, flyers, and other small items, but it wasn’t just about what was on the table; it was about the people we were looking for.
We divided into smaller teams, each armed with their specific words of knowledge. These clues guided us to people in need of prayer, encouragement, and God’s love. Some of these people were simply looking for an uplifting word, while others were longing for physical healing or a deeper connection with God.
Treasure Hunting in Action
As we spread out across the square, the Holy Spirit led us to some remarkable encounters. Some of the clues were incredibly specific, and it was amazing to see how the pieces came together.
For example, one clue was about someone with a sleeping problems. We were able to approach a lady who had been suffering from terrible sleep and pain in her back. After some prayer and encouragement, the pain in her back disappeared, and she was pain free. Another clue led us to a woman who was deeply moved by receiving a flower and a kind word, leaving her feeling encouraged and blessed in a coffee shop.
But perhaps the most dramatic encounter came when we approached a lady who had been practicing witchcraft and involved heavily in a coven. As we shared with her the message of Jesus and prayed for her, she was moved to tears and gave her life to Christ. It was a powerful moment of transformation, and we were all in awe of God’s work in that moment.
Testimonies
There were many powerful moments that day, and I’d like to share three testimonies that highlight how this outreach impacted both the team and those we encountered.
Jane’s Story – I was a bit anxious beforehand about doing this outreach - it’s outside my comfort zone! Once we got started, though, I felt surprisingly relaxed, and pleased that I had some good conversations and got to pray with people. Thank you, Matt and Charlene, for leading us so well and making it so unpressured and easy.
Three highlights:
I chatted to a man who stopped to see what we were doing. He had some history with churches locally, but was quite resistant to talking about Jesus or personal faith, just kept changing the subject! So not a “success” story in terms of results, but a step of obedience and courage for me.
I gave flowers to a lady (the flowers were a great idea!). We chatted, she was concerned about her swollen foot and agreed to me praying for her, so I did. She said it felt a little better, and she was really happy that I’d prayed for her. I saw her again later, she didn’t stop to talk, just smiled and waved, but she seemed to be walking more easily than when I’d first seen her.
Matt and I went into Costa. Matt chatted to a man waiting for his order, and prayed with him - he was a retired vicar. I felt drawn to a woman sitting on her own, so I went over and gave her my last flower and explained what we were doing… it turned out she was the wife of the man Matt was praying with! I’m sure they both felt blessed and encouraged.
Louise’s Story – So my teamate had the clue of someone seated in a car and I had someone with a sense of loss and lonliness- loss of spouse (by that I thought someone's spouse had died). We spoke to a lady who was sat in her car in the car park and she revealed to us that her marriage wasn't going well and they were trying to figure things out. She confirmed the feeling of loss and loneliness is something that she resonated with and we got to pray for her and her marriage and for her to have peace which she said she wanted and she said that we had made her day. So it turns out that the loss of spouse could have related to a separation/divorce not necessarily death which was interesting.
And I got to give her the nearest thing I could find to a peace Lily which I felt Holy Spirit tell me to buy for someone.
Then myself and Matt prayed with a lady who my teamate had already spoken too previously and given a flower. She revealed she had troubles sleeping and back pain (back pain and problems sleeping were on both Matts and Mike's lists which was so cool) so we prayed for her and she said she wouldn't be able to tell if her back was healed yet but that she felt an 'energy' go through her body. So Matt explained about the Holy Spirit and Jesus being the healer.
My Story – As I stepped out in faith with the team, I could feel God’s presence with us. It was incredible to witness the Lord’s hand guiding us directly to people or in this instance people being guided to us who needed prayer and encouragement. Seeing people healed and set free in front of my eyes was deeply humbling.
On the way to the outreach my brother in law had pain in his neck that was moving around and thought hmmm this might be a word of knowledge. As we set up the table with flowers this lady approached us. I got chatting to her. And eventually found out she had neck pain. So I called him over to pray for her. She said after the first prayer her pain went from a level 20 in agony to level 8. She then said the pain had moved to the other side. I asked her if she was involved in any mediumship or tarot readings. She said she had done everything and was involved heavily with the local witches coven, and had released several curses over several people.
I then began to explain to her that one day we’d be judged for every bad thing we have done against God and others. She actually didn’t quite realise that cursing people was actually bad as it was such a normal part of her world. I pushed into this and explained the need for repentance and why we needed Jesus to die on the cross for all people.
We decided to pray again and the pain went from 8 to about a 2. Another student joined us at some point and began to share how God loved her so much and how good God was. I got a word of knowledge that she had a pretty terrible father in her life at wich point she teared up. I shared how God wanted to become her new father and adopt her and continued to share His love. I felt there was some resistance as she kept saying how good she was and all the witches she worked with were great people.
I felt we were dealing with a Spirit of witchcraft and asked Holy Spirit how to overcome it. He said I should overcome by the power of the Gospel so I continued to share more about the Good News at which point she teared up and said she wanted to follow Jesus. We prayed with her as she accepted Christ but made it clear this was just the first step as we tried to set her up for follow-up. Praise Jesus for His saving Grace! We gave her a follow-up plan and all the details to church. Let’s keep praying for her as she walks this out.
Then another student said they met her at the other side of the square and she said she was completely healed! Woohoo Praise Jesus! 🙌
A Day of Blessing
Throughout the day, many others were encouraged through the giving of flowers, words of encouragement, and simple acts of kindness. People who were hurting left feeling uplifted, and others were introduced to the transformative power of Jesus for the first time.
The day in Kempston was an overwhelming success—not only because of the number of people we reached but because of the deep work God did in each of us. We saw firsthand that when we step out in faith, trust God, and rely on His leading, lives are changed.
We are excited for the continued growth of our evangelism team and the many more outreaches to come with different churches and groups. We look forward to seeing what God will do next as we continue to train and equip others to step into their calling to bring the good news to those around them.
