From Scaynes Hill to Turkey...Global 2012

GLOBAL 2012

I won't be at The King's Church Mid-Sussex this coming Sunday (14 October). Instead I,  Dominique and Joseph, along with Steve and Carol Cornford will be travelling to Turkey. Yep, Turkey!

We'll be missing a great morning at TKC as Kieran Dunne will be preaching the next installment from Mark's gospel, however, we will be on our way to meet with about 500 other leaders from across the globe.

Recently we have heard a lot about our roots as a church, how we began in someone's home and grew to our current location at The King's Centre. As Terry Virgo travelled from Seaford to meet with a small gathering in Scaynes Hill no-one would have dreamt what God would do over the next 40 years.

Initially Terry served a few church in Sussex but that then grew to the South East of England, then wider in the UK and then internationally.

Newfrontiers, as it is now known, may have begun with a few people in Sussex (our church included) but is now a collection of over 900 churches across more than 60 nations.  Kenya, Ukraine, Brazil, Phillipines, France, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany......the list goes on on and on.

For many years there has been an international leaders conference in Brighton. We have been very fortunate to be only a 10 minute train journey away to benefit from this superb global gathering. Many others travelled thousands of miles to be there.

However, Newfrontiers is changing and how we gather as a family of churches is also changing. Rather than one man leading Newfrontiers, we now have many teams leading Newfrontiers across the world. Today, there are far more Newfrontiers churches outside the UK then within it.  In many ways, we are no longer a family of churches, but a family of families.

So Steve and I, with Carol and Dominique, will not be at TKC on Sunday - instead we will be at Global 2012.  A leadership conference that is gathering 500 leaders involved in Newfrontiers from across the world to a hotel in Turkey.  It feels like an immense privilege to have been invited. 

We would value your prayers as this conference comes at a key time for Newfrontiers. We, as a family of churches are changing, it is an exciting season but there are certainly many unworn paths ahead of us.

At Global 2012, we will benefit from apostolic teaching from guys like PJ Smythe, Edward Buria and Dave Devenish as well as having lots of opportunity to catch up with what God is doing across the nations of the earth and celebrate what he has done from small beginnings in a home in Scaynes Hill.

If you are on Twitter look out for daily updates and I will post a full report here when we get back.

Why a prayer meeting is always more than a prayer meeting

Experiencing the 'heating plant'

There is a story that has been told about five young college students who were spending a Sunday in London, so they went to hear the famed C.H. Spurgeon preach. While waiting for the doors to open, the students were greeted by a man who asked, "Gentlemen, let me show you around. Would you like to see the heating plant of this church?" They were not particularly interested, for it was a hot day in July. But they didn't want to offend the stranger, so they consented. The young men were taken down a stairway, a door was quietly opened, and their guide whispered, "This is our heating plant." Surprised, the students saw 700 people bowed in prayer, seeking a blessing on the service that was soon to begin in the auditorium above. Softly closing the door, the gentleman then introduced himself. It was none other than Charles Spurgeon.

Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers our nation has ever heard. Thousands gathered week after week to hear him preach at The Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. But behind the scenes, in the basement, hundreds were praying for the meetings.

 

Hundreds.

Behind every strong and growing church lies a strong corporate prayer life.

Prayer at TKC

 

Life is exciting at TKC right now, moving into the King's Centre has given us fresh momentum and increased profile. There are lots of people asking about and visiting the church. It is an encouraging time.

However, we must never become reliant on ourselves or on a building. We must always demonstrate our reliance on God by gathering together in prayer.

When we gather to pray we remember again who we are and who God is. When we gather to pray we surrender ourselves again to God's greater plans. When we gather to pray we call in the Kingdom of God. When we gather to pray our hearts are changed for eternity. 

A prayer meeting is never just a prayer meeting.

We are meeting to pray this Sunday (07 October 12) at 6.30pm at The King's Centre. We will pray for God's Kingdom to come in Mid-Sussex, we will pray for other local churches and their leaders and we will pray for the upcoming trips to Bulgaria and Kenya.

I really want to encourage people to come along to pray. If we are to be known for anything as a church, let it not be for the big blue building, but let it be for our passion to gather together and pray.