ACTS2 began through two specific events. God revealed His heart for the children of Hereford through a scripture and a vision. He wanted His children back!
The scripture? John 11: the story of Lazarus, with a specific interpretation. As Jesus called for the stone to be removed for Lazarus both to hear His voice and come out, so the Lord was calling the Church to go into schools to tell children about Jesus: to be Christ-bearing and Christ-proclaiming. As a result children would hear the truths of the gospel, would be ‘unwrapped’ of the lies and misunderstandings about Jesus and the gospel of God’s love.
The result? As Lazarus in John 12, they too would “eat with Jesus” as in Revelation 3:20, be in relationship with Him.
The vision of children was focussed on the Old Bridge in Hereford. The heart and spiritual life of the children in the city is expressed in the terms of the old bridge across the River Wye. The bridge is broken. One of the spans has fallen into the river and there is a gap in the bridge. Children are rushing in droves on to the bridge in an effort to get to the other side and are falling headlong into the river only to be swallowed up be the water. This column of children is headed by very young children and the ages got older till there was a mixture of all ages at the rear – only there was no end to the column. Children just kept on coming, rushing headlong onto the bridge and into the river like lemmings rushing over the cliff. Then a cross is raised up at the break in the bridge and the column of children stops. Then it is as if another cross is now lying across the gap: it is the shadow of that cross and children are walking joyfully to the other side – walking by faith on the shadow of the cross!
The Lord was giving the Church three tasks: to proclaim, demonstrate and pray: to reach out to children where they were – in schools.
A small group of church leaders met first in January 2001 as the Council of Reference and plans were drawn up for what was to become ACTS2 – A Christian Team in Schools 200… (whatever the year was!)
ACTS2 was launched in April 2001 at the Christian Life Centre by the Patron Rt Rev John Oliver, Bishop of Hereford with some seventy one people from across the city and county of Hereford representing seventeen churches.
The first ACTS2 team led the first worship/assembly in October 2001 at a Hereford primary school. The team was made up of seven people drawn from four different churches/denominations. This has been a character of all the teams since then – a representation of ‘the Church’ in the city, working together in unity.
The ACTS2 symbol/logo is a footprint. This is taken from Romans 10:9–15 (with particular reference to verses 14 and 15). Team members have good news to bring and as such have ‘beautiful feet’! At their commissioning team members are presented with their ‘foot’ as a symbol of the task the Church is commissioning them into.
