Am spending this week in Sheffield at a most interesting church. The church is called St Thomas’ and is really two congregations on two separate campuses in the city here. One is called St Thomas Crookes and the other St Thomas Philadelphia. What makes it more interesting is that these are joint Anglican/ Baptist churches and have staff from both streams in both churches.
Each year these churches have what they call a visitors week where they welcome guests from all over the world to see their ministry up close. I was encouraged to come by Eddie Gibbs, Professor of Church Growth at Fuller Seminary in LA after having had a conversation with him about some of the issues I am thinking about to do with Ballynahinch. Today is the end of day one so these are some early reflections. There are about 120 delegates her from Uk, USA, Norway and Australia, from all sorts of churches and denominations. The interaction with other leaders is stimulating in itself.
One of the features of each day is time given over to prayer. The staff at St Thoms meet to pray every weekday morning and then at twelve and at three each day. The foundation of prayer is clear and its benefits obvious. This is the largest church in the north of England with 2000 connected to it, 80% under forty. Amazing!! The theme of every Monday morning is thanksgiving and we shared this morning what we are thankful for and prayed for a spirit of thankfulness to be released in each other. At the prayer time this afternoon there was prayer for healing and two people were healed. It was a remarkable move of God. The churches here have been experiencing a healing work of God in recent weeks. There is a tremendous sense of expectancy in this place. I find it building my faith.creating in me a new expectation.
The sessions today were many and varied. We began with Mike Breen, the former pastor of the church here but now living and working in Arizona and teaching at Fuller. His opening session was entitled Covenant and Kingdom. The whole of Gods word, he shared, can be summed up in those two themes. God is a God of covenant who created us and redeems us to be his covenant people. The Bible is full of covenants. And the kingdom theme runs with it, the reign and rule of God and the establishment of that rule in his world. So for us, its about being and doing, who we are by means of covenant and our commission to be involved in the work of his kingdom. Being and doing. And the challenge for us is to be and to make disciples first and foremost who are then equipped to be about kingdom business.
This session led in into another called Lifeshapes, a creative approach to discipleship teaching truth through shapes. Today was the circle and we will look at a different one each day. I will journal as I go, to keep you up to date.
I have a sense this is a significant week for me and for the church. Through the week we are to look at prophecy, healing and prayer, they also place a huge emphasis on smaller groups, particularly middle sized missional communities they call clusters, the real engines behind the astonishing growth of these churches in recent years. More to come as I wrestle with it over the week. Would really value your prayers.
Gordon
Gordon McDade
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