Together for the Harvest

Together for the Harvest is a network of Christians leaders from a whole spectrum of Denominations in the wider Liverpool area - though members come from much further afield.

TFH is chaired by John and Marie Manwell and this was my second invitation to speak at this great event. Networking with those from other Movements and Streams is something that I always enjoy, but I was also especially glad to have the opportunity to be with the many of our own Elim leaders who attended.

United Christian Broadcasters

In my view UCB is one of the most important Christian organisations in the UK today. From time to time leaders around the country are invited to an event that is filmed in their TV studios. It was my privilege to be the speaker on this occasion and I thoroughly enjoyed being with them.

On the following morning I was invited to lead a session with members of the UCB Board and their Heads of Department. UCB now have a free iphone app on which you can get access to their various radio channels.

Crawley Elim Chuch

Phil and Elaine Johnston have been friends of ours for very many years and so it was a particularly good to be at their church in Crawley.

Though my appointment was arranged eighteen months earlier, it coincided with the 40th anniversary of he church and, during the morning, images that spanned those four decades were displayed.

Some years ago, the initial building was too small to house the growing congregation and so the church moved into a school. In a few months time the church will move into a larger church building vacated by another Denomination.

As I travel around week by week I sometimes ask myself if, had I not been a pastor, would I want to be part of the church that I visiting if I lived in the locality. In most places it is a resounding 'yes' and in Crawley's case it would certainly be so. Excellent leaders - both pastorally and in Eldership, great worship group and good people. An excellent church with a fine future.

Empowered21

There are now 650 million people in the world who would describe themselves as Pentecostal or Charismatics.

A couple of years ago a decision was made to form cabinets in every Continent of the world that would comprise of both Pentecostals and Charismatics. These cabinets would relate to the world Cabinet that is co-chaired by Jack Hayford and Billy Wilson

I had been invited to be a part of the eleven member cabinet for Europe whichheld their inaugural meeting in Germany. The initial agenda included enhancing fellowship between Pentecostals and Charismatics, accelerating the growth and influence of the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches and affirming the emergence of the next generation of young leaders.

Enable - Men's Conference

There is nothing quite like 650 men worshipping, laughing and learning together!

The venue was Birmingham Christian Centre and the event was the third Conference initiated by Regional leader Gordon Neale and incredibly well organised by Robin Baker, Duncan Clark and Iain Hesketh. Apart from myself the speakers were David Ritchie, Simon Jarvis and Dave Smith

Although most people came from the Midlands Region there were groups of men from as far north as Fraserburgh Scotland who had travelled eight hours to get there and those from the south of England.

Bude, Cornwall

What an amazing weekend at Bude Christian Fellowship. When Roger and Janice Rowland (pictured here with Heidi, one of their three daughters) came to Bude eight years ago they commenced with a small number of committed people. Today there is a large vibrant fellowship whose greatest hallmark is of serving their community with the whole spectrum of the Gospel that affects body soul and Spirit.

Someone once said, when comparing the disciples who were arguing about who was the greatest and the following action of Jesus in washing the feet of his disciples, that people are usually more willing to fight over thrones than towels - not so in Bude. The whole leadership models servanthood and it is consequently part of the DNA of the entire church.

The purpose of me being there on the Saturday was to open their "New Life Centre" together with the member of parliament for the area who is also a committed Christian. The building houses a cafe area, counselling suites, accommodation and shower area for the homeless, a food bank and special accommodation for couples on the brink of divorce who needed a neutral space to address their issues. This short report is inadequate to cover the scope of the ministry and a larger article will appear Direction in due course.

On Sunday morning Marilyn and I were with the local congregation that serves this beautiful coastal resort. On team is 'retired' minister John Smyth who with his wife Mary served the Movement for 45 years in many senior roles. As one might expect they are are huge asset to the church and are fully supportive of the vision that Roger and Janice have for the future.

Newcastle

There had been a huge transformation in the Newcastle Elim church since my previous visit two years ago. The church building had been extended to accommodate the growing congregation and a gallery had been added and rooms removed to create additional space on the ground floor. The church had also successfully transitioned to two morning services - both of which were comfortably filled.

Simon Lawton (pictured here with his wife Julia and his daughter Amy) is confident that these developments are simply an additional stage in the ongoing progress of this warm and vibrant congregation.

Our weekend commenced with an Aspire event organised on the Saturday morning by Julia Lawton and at which Marilyn spoke. In the evening I was invited to speak with thirty of the core leaders before speaking the following day at both of the morning services. Great leadership - excellent church.

Blackburn

There has been an Elim church in Blackburn for a very long time and the current building stands in a prominent position overlooking the local retail park

I have never ministered in this church in recent years without there being a capacity congregation and this visit to their Sunday morning service was no exception

The church is ably led by Bob Clark (pictured left) who with his wife Rita have worked faithfully for many years. Recently he has been joined by associate minister Simon Pastorello from Italy who is shortly to be married to his fiancee Valentina who will be coming from Florence to work in Blackburn - now that's the call of God!

Delancey, Guernsey

There are three Elim churches on the Island of Guernsey. Delancey, Eldad and Vazon. I had the pleasure of speaking at Delancey on the Sunday morning the senior pastor which is Martin O'Brien (pictured here with his wife Sally). It was an excellent service and it is great to see the growth in this fine church situated right on the beautiful coast of the Island.

Over lunch I enjoyed meeting up with the leaders of all threee Elim Churches and in the evening we had a joint meeting at Delancey at which two important things took place. The first was the opening of the new youth suite and the second was a baptismal service at which several young people were baptised. Just great to hear the testimonies of changed lives and fresh starts..

The Gathering

Though this major event has been highlighted in detail already in our magazine, I could not possibly leave this out of my itinerary. It was a privilege to be invited by the Serious4God team, led by Mark Pugh, to speak on the final Sunday morning of the three day event.

Around 1700 of our young people were present. At the final meeting on the Sunday morning at which I spoke I gave one of the most challenging appeals for commitment I have given in over forty years as a minister. It was moving to witness the hundreds of young people who stood to their feet in positive response.

There has never been a time when the youth section of our Movement has been stronger than it is today and I cannot applaud to highly the calibre of young men and women who give leadership to this dynamic initiative within Elim.

NTCOG Conference

The New Testament Church of God is a classical Pentecostal Denomination the membership of which is primarily Afro-Caribbean. For the past number of years it has been led by Bishop Eric Brown. Though we have only known one another for a relatively short period of time we have become close friends and it was a privilege to be invited to speak to the hundreds of leaders that were present at their recent Conference. One of the current features of the Denomination is an initiative called 'The Big Move' which outlines the Bishop's powerful vision for the future. I spoke on the Friday and the Saturday before going to speak at The Gathering on the following Sunday morning.

Clacton on Sea

Three things remain in my memory of my visit to Clacton. The first was the leader's prayer time that preceded the morning service. It was a far from perfunctory occasion and very much set the scene for the day. The second was the noticeable growth in the congregation since my last visit three years ago. Finally it was pleasure to spend an extended lunch with the Smith family before return home later in the afternoon. (Left to right Stephen and Elizabeth Smith, Annie, Sarah and Mark)

Regents Theological College

One of the great advantages of the move to Malvern was the combining on one 32 acre site of our International offices and our theological college

During this month I had the pleasure of speaking to the entire student body at their weekly Devotions - the largest in our 96 year history as a Movement - and then to a small group (pictured) for an informal 'Question and Answer' time. Dr Keith Warrington (far left) chaired the discussion.

Malaga, Spain

Howard and Sue Coley (second and third from right) planted the church in Malaga around six years ago. Their two daughters (Naomi, far left and Lucy third from left) and son Sam (far right) are all involved in the life of the church which is situated right in the centre of the local shopping Mall. Dave Hodgson (second from left), who is married to Naomi joined the ministry team two years ago.

I was there to speak at leadership seminars on the Saturday and to preach at the church on the Sunday.

Through sacrificial commitment the church has grown to the point that their building is the only thing that limits their growth. I greatly enjoyed my time with them. It is always a pleasure to spend time with those who so clearly carry the DNA of our Movement whether in this country or abroad.

Letchworth Elim

Westcliffe Elim Community Church, Scunthorpe

Karl and Susan Jones (pictured here with Regional leader Gordon Neale) came to Scunthorpe two years ago. At that time their small, but faithful, congregation met in one of the worst buildings in the city

The reason for my visit was to speak at the opening of their new facility. The ribbon was cut by the deputy mayor of Scunthorpe and the service was attended by a number of local ministers.

When describing the journey of the past two years Karl publicly thanked Regional Leader, Gordon Neale, for the wisdom and input that he had brought to the process. I have no doubt that Karl and Susan will see steady and consistent growth in the days that lie ahead.

Onechurch, Gloucster

Virtually all of my speaking engagements during the year I restrict to our own Denomination. There are however a few exceptions and OneChurch in Gloucester is one of them due to the relationship that Marilyn and I have had over recent years with their senior leaders, Simon and Ally Jarvis.

Onechurch is a phenomenal church by any standards. When Simon jarvis was invited to pastor the church four years ago it had around 150 people in attendance. Today, due to the creative and visionary leadership that Simon has brought, that figure is nearer 600.

On the morning I was there I spoke the same message at three successive morning services. Those who attend cover a wide spectrum though my guess would be that the overall average would be around 30 - 35. Growth of this nature does not occur without strong and intentional culture shift. Anyone wanting to create a dynamic contemporary congregation that engages with community should seriously consider the model that Onechurch is developing.

Ealing Christian Centre

One of the most exciting Saturdays I have spent so far this year was with the ninety leaders of Ealing Christian Centre - the average age of which was around thirty. This great 1300 strong congregation led by Richard and Rajindark Buxton (pictured) is one of three Elim Church in the Ealing area.

The morning began with vibrant worship and it was a total joy to spend time with this engaging and dynamic group. Given the quality and acumen of its leadership base, ECC has a huge future.

Elim & Pioneer

One of the exciting developments in Elim over the past few years has been the relational links that our Movement has established with other Christian groups and Streams across the UK.

Over a recent twenty four hour period the leadership of Pioneer met with some key leaders from Elim at our International Centre in Malvern. It was a memorable time together and a great opportunity for both groups to get to know one another. Pioneer is experiencing great times and renewed vision under their new primary leader Billy Kennedy (third from right). We trust that this first meeting will prove to be the beginning of an ongoing and developing relationship between our two groups.

Romford Elim

The first time that I visited Romford Elim the c ongregation worshiped in a church building. On the last two occasions however the venue has been at their new location that has been hired to accommodate the growing congregation. Glen and Gill Podd have given great leadership to the church during the years that they have been there and, apart from his work as pastor of the church, Glen is the longest serving member on the Serious4God team - Elim's youth department led by Mark Pugh.