Evangelism Popups , other Kingdom Popups,John Stevens, Pete Goddard, Chris Welch

John Stevens on Roffey , (see the film Clip below)
It’s a longish time ago now but does make one reminisce about Roffey days on mission in teams. In one church we got so fed up with people falling over before they heard the word we replaced ‘catchers’ with ‘standeruppers’ - once they’d heard whatever word we had we’d let them fall. The important thing to reminisce is that we were working sort of apostolically, part of an apostolic band…or the closest I’ve seen to that. It was more than evangelistic, or prophetic, or teachery. But there was a redefining of what is ‘normal’. What became normal was hearing from God & a heightened sense of faith…along with eating whatever food was provided, sharing bedrooms in a range of households, long days out on the streets then evening meetings…but greater sense of reaping what we were sowing.

I didn’t have a great deal to do with Pete but ‘twas good to read that he designed the interiors to the coaches. Nothing naff. High quality furnishings, the art work was provocative and arresting, good conversation starters. Upstairs for a cup of coffee & a chat. I got used to a ratio of faith. 100 conversations would yield 10 that would lead to some form of receiving from God and 1 would be salvation. So in a typical week long mission I’d see a few come to Christ. Had greatest ‘success’ with nominal Anglicans/ Catholics but not exclusively. 

We didn’t carry tracts but believed that God would open up those He wanted to us. Sometimes through good quality sketches/mimes/songs performed on the street. 

My faith went from half a mustard seed to not quite African standards. More that could be said but that faith is latent in all of us…I’m realising more and more now that it’s not as simple as differentiating between MY faith and Christ’s but His faith is my faith. 

Pete Goddard's Blogpage on the Kings Coach Dr Bob Gordon
Excerpt. Many more pics and details on Pete's page , plus his life story

Dr. Bob Gordon was a Scottish internationally evangelist, Bible teacher and ordained minister in the United Reformed Church. Kerygma Trust, the charity under which he operated, was dedicated to spreading the Word of God in the Holy Spirit power. He was a graduate of Bible Study School in Manchester University, and had a Postgraduate degree in Theology and Religious Education. Before becoming director of Old Testament studies in London Bible College, he was chaplain in Durham University for nine years. He wrote a number of books, including an extensive study on discipleship. A great man of faith, he was at heart a Revivalist Preacher, whose encounter with the Holy Spirit and the Charismatic Revival dramatically changed the course of his ministry. Believing that God could provide every need, he had a particular gift of faith for finance, frequently seeing miraculous and often large financial provision as a result of prayer, (but often at the last minute!) Those who joined him on his ‘team’ were expected to exercise the same faith for their own provision. In 1986 he was the Director of Roffey Place Christian Training Centre, and was extremely charismatic, both in his faith and his personality. The college had been bought for £600,000, the finance for which had been provided without fundraising or advertising, but through answer to prayer by both Bob and his ministerial colleague, Colin Urquhart. His passion and enthusiasm for the Kingdom of God, along with a superb ability to communicate Bible teaching was very infectious. His vision of ‘taking the Gospel to the heart of the nation’ would involve the conversion of five double decker buses, each with a team of evangelists that would tour the country with the aim of not just explaining the gospel, but praying for people in the streets and seeing miraculous results. Here is Bob speaking in 1988 (unscripted!) about his vision for the buses. I made this video on a VHS tape with extremely limited editing facilities. Sadly it was never really used, due to lack of funds. (No surprise!)

The Body of Christ has Apps!

Update 20th September:I've added a bit to this post.It's blue! This picture is nicked from Apple, so in return I've left a hyperlink to their iphone app page!

The Body of Christ has Apps.

I was talking to a sister in the Body of Christ today. Her marriage is rocky. There are various issues that in this case the husband, and it is the husband, has to work through. Every couple has to work through differences , but if the Bible said it was wrong to dress up as a giraffe with purple spots, and that is what your husband did....repeatedly...causing trouble for the whole family...then further action would be called for. You understand the issues are a good deal more serious than dressing up as a giraffe!

What came out though is there is a lack of infrastructure in the sister's locality. (This was not the UK by the way). In Derby in England the couple who took our wedding, have been used to set up "Celebrate Recovery". This works through gritty situations of hurt and addictions, and is one answer in the Body of Christ today. It is so successful it is also being rolled out into UK prisons for those who want it.

In the UK we also have Ellel Ministries that specialise in demonic deliverance issues. Also, right now Mark Stibbe has it on his heart to set up a centre in the middle of nowhere, out of the public eye, to be a safe place for pastors and leaders to get freed up before they get exposed and take a lot of hurt people with them.

This week on Dan's site we have been discussing the pros and cons of "Covenant Eyes". And like the above situations, there is not a hard and fast answer. Just to say God can use these "Apps" in the Body of Christ as vehicles of freedom. But readers of my blog will know that there is a side of me, like Julie and Lydia, that freak out at some of these things. We are convinced that a lot of the problems are caused because in bringing people to the Lord nearly no one "explains the grace of God in truth", so from the word go people are building their Christian life like the Tower of Pisa.....SQUIFFY!

However that being so, I still want to talk about Apps. And here, less about ministry systems and more about the genuine God birthed stuff in the Body of Christ. In the Power of Teams

I describe the power of God magnified through a group of believers who have set themselves a God-goal. A goal birthed in God, and needing God to carry it out, but en route following in obedience the practical steps that He directs. Bob Gordon in the above example believed for a fabulous kitted out bus to share the gospel in with teams committed to that purpose - believing the Holy Spirit for God appointments all the way.

Now, after decades of the Holy Spirit being poured out, there are "thin places" on the Earth. Groups of believers who "have stuff" in the spirit. If you go to Bill Johnson's church Bethel you are very likely to get healed. If you went to stay with Kenneth Hagin with a fever or some ailment, while you were in his house you would not have that ailment. This was the atmosphere in which he lived. You might get it back when you left, but that was up to you. The ailments did not like Kenneth Hagin's house.

In the 80s after being rigorously trained in pressing through in praise and worship and waiting on God through the ministries of both Edward Miller and Jorge Pradas, Emsworth was a "thin place" of God's Presence in the manifestation of both praise and worship. You go in some places and praise is like a lead weight, but in Emsworth it became easy. And probably for that reason, we became a little too blase about it.

In Romsey near Southampton UK a lady had ME(chronic fatigue syndrome). She was called Marion Daniels. After a fight she was healed. But thereafter she had a facility in bringing deliverance to other ME victims. She also has much experience in dramatic healings breaking through families after a senior member has renounced freemasonry and the freemason curses. Instantly, maybe a grandchild will be healed of deafness. And they may be in a completely different part of Britain.

Corrie Ten Boom's biography has been filmed in "No Hiding Place". Through the breaking experience of her hatred of the female commandant, God birthed a supernatural love seed, that meant thereafter she had an anointing to bring love into situations, and to lead other Christians into Christ's love.

Now here's the point! For years the Body has had these pockets of anointing, but people have been content to have their little bit of the Kingdom. Well now no more. These Thin Place anointings are for sharing! Everywhere in the Body. People running to and fro throughout the Church equipping the saints. Faceless people. No more Fred Smith Ministries Incorporated. Just plain ordinary old Chris Welch, Julie Morris,Dan Bowen...going around imparting "the stuff" they've got in God. Their Apps! For the Body of Christ.

As a prophetic sign of all this back in 1991, when I set up a company to handle my CD I registered No Name Ltd.

No Name meaning not some big ministry name. And also taken from Philippians when it says of Jesus, He was made of no name, no reputation.

Roll out the Apps!

So to sum up, I want to encourage believers who feel they are in holes! That which you may struggle with, may already be valid "faith currency" in some other portion of the Body of Christ. It was for this reason I guess we used to toddle off to hear Benny Hinn and Morris Cerullo. (Not to put off any who still do!) If someone has got something in the Spirit that is not available in your vicinity, why not learn from them, I say? This need not necessarily mean you are "Conference chasers". In the end only the Holy Spirit will make it clear what you've got to travel for and what you have to wait on God for in your home environment and workplace.You will find both examples in the Bible. Elisha had to travel past a whole load of naysayers to be at the place where Elijah was going to leave him and transfer the anointing in double measure. The disciples however were instructed to remain in one location in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit was poured out among them in Acts 2.

I think the Free Believers network (places like Facebook) can be quite Fascistic in this respect. Who gives them the right to determine who is to be listened to and at what distance? Freedom is operating as a Kingdom without walls.

Some Americans from revivals early in the century, (and therefore by the 1970's quite grounded in God,) came to little old Grimsdells Lane in Amersham,UK. The two phrases they used to use were "supernaturally natural". And "Pass the platter round, take what is for you and leave the rest!" By that they meant , in any gathering of old and young Christians, there were going to be some things the Holy Spirit was saying to one lot, that He wasn't saying to others. Just take what's yours and move the platter on!

For some of us it's quite a big thing to bring our children through to experience God for themselves. For others in the Body of Christ this is already the norm.

In Emsworth the Casa Biblica was made up of really cool (apart from me ofcourse) Argentinian Spanish French and English young men and women. It was very natural for the next generation to want to emulate their hunger for God.

In Rustington is a street evangelism group who ran the children's work (my son Ben's age group) in 2008 RIVERcamp. They had clear Holy Spirit anointing and gifting for the task. Ben was impressed.

This weekend some of our church were in Fareham for teaching on youth led by people from Bethel, California entitled No More Crumbs. Some of our young people were encouraged to prophesy over the parents. It was fantastic, we heard.

The thrust was that children ARE NOT secondclass citizens in the Kingdom of God. And the teachers had clear gifting in presenting this subject.

So what is not yet normal for you maybe just a plane ticket away. Or as in this last case, paying for their ticket to get them over here. But who has heard of these servants of God with these giftings? Nobody. Does it matter? No , not really. The Body is stacked full of such giftings now, waiting to be released from nation to nation, locality to locality. There are things inside you that nobody else but you can share into the Body. There are things that you have now, from the word go, that would be a blessing in the Holy Spirit this week to someone else in the Body.