1. Building for God - Vision Nehemiah Chapter 2:11-20

2. Matthew 5:14 ‘You are the light of the world
Matthew 5:14 ‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’
2Corinthians 2:15 ‘For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.’

3. 11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. 13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through;

4. 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall
15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and re-entered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. 17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.

6. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

7. Nehemiah 1:3 ‘They said to me, ‘Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.’

8. Nehemiah 2:13 ‘By night I went out through the Valley Gate towards the Jackal Well and Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.’

9. Demography Ipswich is growing at 1.4% year on year
Ipswich has a high number of children under 5 compared to the national average, nearly 40% of them live in areas categorised as being in the poorest 20% of the country
42% of Ipswich’s households fall into the poorest 20% of the country
Nearly 10% of Ipswich’s population find their daily activities limited by ill health and disease.

10. Diversity
Ipswich is a highly diverse multicultural town with over 17% being of the community being non- white British.
There are over 70 languages spoken in Ipswich, the commonest include English; Polish; Portuguese; Lithuanian; Bengali Kurdish; Russian; Tagalog/Filipino; Turkish; Latvian
Nearly 6% of households in Ipswich don’t speak English as their main language; the national average is 4.4%.

11. Skills & Education
Less than 63.3% of students reach Key stage 4 (GCSE) level 1 (5 C – A* grades) which is 12% lower than the national average.

12. Economy
Around 18% of the population don’t work and of those 26% are actively job seeking
Pay is lower than the national average, for a man by £30/week and a woman £90/week
11 out of 16 wards in Ipswich fall in the top 10% deprived wards nationally
Over 15% of the population of Ipswich claim benefits compared to less than 13% nationally

13. Health
Life expectancy is reduced by about 8 years in our most deprived wards
Over 5600 child in Ipswich live in poverty
18-19% of adults in Ipswich are depressed the most deprived wards having upward of 29%, Suffolk average is less than 13%

14. Crime Around 30% of all Suffolk Crime occurs in Ipswich
60% of all robberies in Suffolk occur in Ipswich

15. Nehemiah 2:17 – 18 ‘Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in –Identifies with the people of Jerusalem: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire – he outlines the problem. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem – offers an invitation, and we will no longer be in disgrace – offers a solution. I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding’ – the response. So they began this good work.

16. To be a community of people who passionately love Jesus, enjoy friendship with one another and desire to reach out in love and kindness to those around us. Based on the truth of the Bible and the transforming power of God, we aim to gather people into the Kingdom of God; to grow and train disciples and leaders; to make a difference to our local community and to plant churches.
‘To be a community of people who show the love of God to the people of Ipswich’