Men's Gadderies
by Robert Nicolson
 Over the past few months the Asta Golf Club House has been the venue for a gathering of Christian men, the like of which I have not seen before.
After being at Mandate 2006 in Belfast, John Anderson from Tingwall, had a heartfelt desire to hire a bus and take a group of Shetlanders to the Mandate Conference 2007, again in Belfast. In November that year, more than twenty men headed for Northern Ireland for an amazing weekend of worship, teaching and fellowship (www.themandate.net - if you are interested).
Upon heading home many of those men felt the need for the fellowship of that trip to continue, and a barbeque was arranged at the Asta Club House, where the combination of of good food, good fellowship, good fun, accompanied with a powerful time of worship, prayer and personal testimony soon made us realise that this had to continue.
A couple of "Men's Gadderies" have taken place over the winter months, but with the evidence that these gatherings are much needed, the decision has been made to hold one monthly on the second Friday evening of each month, again at the Asta Club House, an excellent venue, which is neutral and homely enough to safely invite pre-Christians along to.
The format of the night is simple, sharing a simple meal together, then a time of worship, which has been incredibly powerful and we have felt the presence of God on all occasions, this often leads to a time of prayer and thanksgiving. Personal testimony of Gods goodness, grace, healing and forgiveness, combined with a word of encouragement to all brothers, has made for some memorable times already. Men of all denominations have been united in one cause, praising Jesus.
Shetland has approximately 22,000 residents, I do not know how many Christian men there are on these islands, but God does. One thing I do know is that many of us can feel quite alone in our walk with God, the enemy does not want us to realise that we are all part of an army, which as a percentage of the total population of Shetland is huge! We all know the saying "Satan trembles when he sees, the weakest saint upon his knees", how can the future of our beloved Islands be changed, how can truly see the revival that we all long for?
Well, it starts with one soul at a time, can you imagine what would happen if 100 Shetland men gathered in one place to lift the name of Jesus; 500, 1000? Lets not limit what God can do, please pray and we'll see you at Da Sadderie . The next one is 7.pp pm on Friday, 20th February, 2009. Robert Nicolson, Trondra
Eric Peterson adds: "These gatherings are a great opportunity to meet old friends and make some new ones. Meeting brothers in Christ from various fellowships enriches our Christian fellowship and reminds us that we are 'all one in Christ Jesus our Lord.' We usually start with soup and bannocks and other snacks and then have a short time of worship followed by a brief message which can lead to an informal discussion / testimony time. But there is no fixed pattern. During the summer months we have had Bar-B-Qs.
As the Psalmist said "It is good when brothers dwell together in unity" (Ps 133:1)
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