Last Friday I had the great pleasure of attending a Jubilee+
meeting in Milton Keynes where leaders including Natalie Williams (King’s church Hastings) and Martin Charlesworth (Barnabus Community Church, Shrewsbury) who co-authored the excellent book “the Myth of the Undeserving Poor” gathered to consider the community development and social action work being
done by New Frontiers churches post multiplication. With a decidedly UK focus
and a rep or two from every New Frontiers Sphere (except for Regions Beyond who’s
focus is almost exclusively overseas) this was an opportunity to share stories,
consider prophetic promises and insights and to pray together. Natalie, who
heads up communications for New Ground and also works part-time for New Ground,
was my host – we’ve previously spent time talking about opportunities for church
engagement with social justice at the New Ground prayer & equipping days.
meeting in Milton Keynes where leaders including Natalie Williams (King’s church Hastings) and Martin Charlesworth (Barnabus Community Church, Shrewsbury) who co-authored the excellent book “the Myth of the Undeserving Poor” gathered to consider the community development and social action work being
done by New Frontiers churches post multiplication. With a decidedly UK focus
and a rep or two from every New Frontiers Sphere (except for Regions Beyond who’s
focus is almost exclusively overseas) this was an opportunity to share stories,
consider prophetic promises and insights and to pray together. Natalie, who
heads up communications for New Ground and also works part-time for New Ground,
was my host – we’ve previously spent time talking about opportunities for church
engagement with social justice at the New Ground prayer & equipping days.
This was my first exposure to Jubilee+ and I loved it; these
men and women are the real deal, authentic disciples with real riches of
experience and genuine passion to see justice overturned in the name of Jesus. What
looked like a pretty disparate group of people came together in a powerfully
single-minded, single-hearted meeting, and with a real humility and hunger for
the prophetic presence of God, there was a strong sense of leading from the
Holy Spirit.
men and women are the real deal, authentic disciples with real riches of
experience and genuine passion to see justice overturned in the name of Jesus. What
looked like a pretty disparate group of people came together in a powerfully
single-minded, single-hearted meeting, and with a real humility and hunger for
the prophetic presence of God, there was a strong sense of leading from the
Holy Spirit.
Headlines from the meeting
included:
included:
- ·
Reports back from the different New Frontiers
spheres, with Natalie & myself sharing stories from New Ground and Everyday
respectively. - ·
An overview of recent research which supports anecdotal awareness of the
hypothesis that a genuine commitment to social transformation and the poor generally
leads to church growth. Further detail suggests that this is an even more
powerful dynamic when the church leadership are committed and involved and
where prayer is seen as an essential aspect of social justice ministries. - ·
Prophetic insight which suggests that austerity
and financial difficulties are set to worsen in the UK, but that this will
herald a seismic change in the role and relevance of the local church to the
community. This is exactly what I’vebeen feeling for some time now and has certainly been a huge part of our experience over the past year and ahalf - ·
Consideration of a prophetic call for Jubilee+
to raise a movement of influencers and initiators across the UK who will help
to mobilise the church in this direction in these days and will catalyse a
unified kingdom response to poverty in the nation.
In a word… awesome 😀
For your own introduction to Jubilee+ head over to their
website www.jubilee-plus.org – it’s an
unparalleled resource particularly in the richness of its theological grounding and strong research base.
If you’re hungry for more then make sure you keep 17th October free
to attend the Jubilee+ conference “Churches that change communities” – book before September 18th for a reduced ticket price!
website www.jubilee-plus.org – it’s an
unparalleled resource particularly in the richness of its theological grounding and strong research base.
If you’re hungry for more then make sure you keep 17th October free
to attend the Jubilee+ conference “Churches that change communities” – book before September 18th for a reduced ticket price!