The Noise is about using acts and deeds of service to communicate the heart of the good news. It's a practical way to reach out to the community that everyone can get into.

Typically, it can involve a group of people getting together and deciding to clean up the local shopping parade. This might include litter picking, scrubbing off graffiti or even repainting a wall. It only takes a couple of hours but makes a significant albeit short term impact on the shop owners' lives and their customers while the local people that happen to be out and about raise their eyebrows and quietly take it all in.

These short term projects are effective for a number of reasons. Firstly, they are very inclusive. Anyone that can pick up litter, wash a car or scrub a wall gets to take part, whether a toddler or older. Secondly, they're a lot of fun. Assuming you don't bite off more than you can chew. Just get all your mates together and have a laugh in the process! Thirdly, there are visible results. Problems that local residents have been looking at for months, such as an alleyway filled with rotting mattresses, kitchen sinks and other rubbish, can be cleaned up in a couple of afternoons. Finally, they're effective because there's integrity in walking the talk.

This is what the Noise is all about. Sharing the gospel with our actions. Meeting a need or simply blessing people and just being a neighbour (in the Good Samaritan sense of the word… see Luke 10v25 for more). The Noise is about churches and youth groups doing small scale projects in their communities, being salt and light, serving and loving through actions.

Back to top...

Literally. Over the past few years Noise projects all over the place have seen churches and youth groups spend a weekend clearing rubbish from local streets, tidying gardens and parks, doing make over’s of people’s houses, holding community fun days and all sorts of other stuff too. Join with churches all over the country for a weekend of servant hearted action in the local community (1-3 May 2010).

Back to top...

Why should we bother doing the Noise? It's a good question and one which we reckon Jesus has a good answer for...

...see what you reckon.

In response to the question ‘what is the greatest commandment?’ Jesus responds: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it:  ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39)

Jesus illustrates what the Old Testament prophets had harked on about for centuries; loving God and loving others are two sides of the same coin. We can’t profess our love and commitment to Jesus without that love impacting the lives of those around us.

Over 2500 years ago the same point was being made by Amos and Isaiah, both of whom gave radical critiques of Israel for their hypocrisy in understanding and undertaking worship. For these writers Israel’s life of worship had become ritualised, routine and focused around key festivals, actions and days. Through Amos, God rejects Israel’s worship because the poor were being abused and denied justice, whilst the rich got richer and richer (Amos 5:11-27). Isaiah redefines our understanding of fasting or devotion to God by addressing similar issues, highlighting that the kind of fasting God desires, is a life committed to ending injustice, feeding the poor and helping those who need assistance (Isaiah 58).
 
More recently the idea of ‘integral mission’ has emerged to help put form to the outliving of our faith in words and actions. Integral mission means that our faith in the transforming grace of Jesus has social consequences as well as spiritual ones. We can’t simply focus on our own spirituality and relationship with God without loving others, standing up for justice and serving the poor.

In short if we’re not caring for others or serving our communities, yet are still singing about how great God’s love is, we’ve seriously missed the point. And that's what the Noise is all about... acting out of love, compassion and with a heart to bless those in our local communities!

Back to top...

Jesus revealed God to the people around him. He performed miraculous signs, healed the sick and was a great teacher too. On top of all this he dealt with real people and did down to earth things for them. By not judging the woman caught in adultery, or by speaking with a Samaritan woman, or just through inviting tax collectors into his home, Jesus broke social conventions to show God to others. In these small acts and gestures he was illustrating some of God’s love, grace and compassion for His creation whether or not he expressed that with words.

In simple terms the Noise is really just a way of doing what Jesus did, expressing God’s love to our neighbours. The Noise gives us a chance to do small acts of service - things that go beyond the normal societal expectations, because we love God and want people to know that.

Back to top...