Continuing to bring some news from across the apostolic spheres of Newfrontiers I would like to tell you of a recent time I had with some of the Commission leaders, the apostolic sphere within the Newfrontiers family that is led by Guy Miller in the UK.
I have had the privilege of knowing Guy for many years and, particularly due to my long-standing involvement in India, have got to know many of his leaders who have also been involved there over the past 12 years. Guy has generously extended an open invitation to me to join the leaders for prayer days etc which is a joy and a privilege. I have also been involved with his strategic task team for ministry with the poor (another of my passions!) led by Miles Jarvis.
Prayer Days
The two recent prayer days were a time of fellowship with over 100 leaders and Impact trainees. They comprised news updates from the various nations Guy is involved with in Asia, The Middle East, The Iberian Peninsular and South America, and two days of working prayer.
The prophetic is always an important part of such prayer days and in the first session Greg Haslam brought a helpful word about beautiful china not being for show in a display cabinet but for using. How important it is that we are all active in exercising the gifts that God has put within us!
Early in our time together Guy shared about the gathering he had recently attended with the other UK-based apostolic leaders. Over the last few years a transition has taken place with Newfrontiers which has moved from being a family of churches centred around Terry Virgo’s apostolic gift and ministry to a family/network of apostolic spheres. Each sphere has its own name (eg Commission) but all remain a part of the Newfrontiers family. Guy reported how their time together included reviewing how each sphere had developed and particularly expressing the desire to remain closely linked and supportive of one another; ‘preferring one another’ is a value that is deeply embedded in the culture of Newfrontiers, echoing an early prophetic word that we can achieve ‘more together than apart’.
Building on this sense of togetherness it was so helpful to be shown two videos during the days together. In one, David Holden, who leads the New Ground sphere, shared how they are seeking to plant a church in every major European city. He shared some challenging statistics showing how needy that continent is for the gospel. He also reported on a leadership training academy they have launched through the internet, with 15 satellites, and of their close partnership with Scott Marques’ sphere in Zimbabwe. How helpful it was to have seen this video and what a joy to be able to pray together into some of the matters he high-lighted.
On Day 2 we watched a similar contribution from David Devenish who leads the Catalyst sphere. David is always a provocation. His capacity and gifting are immense and it was faith-building to hear of some of the areas of the world in which he is involved. He and his teams travel extensively into some of the less attractive nations (certainly not on the tourist trail!) where he is equipping church leaders and those with apostolic gifting. He also shared about their preparations for the Catalyst Festival to be held at the end of May at Stoneleigh (some déjà vu there for many people who used to attend the Stoneleigh Bible Weeks 1991 – 2001!). Once again it was a privilege then to stand and pray in depth for David and his sphere, a demonstration of parts of the body supporting and affirming one another.
Next time I will report on some of Guy’s ministry into the nations.