Ready for take-off

We have been really taking our time over the last two years to ensure that we get started on the right footing. Five months since our launch, and about three years since beginning the journey I believe we are really close now to launching our first missional communities. The obvious question would be why so slow!? It's a good question and one I have continually wrestled with as it's not my natural approach but the simply answer is it has been essential.

The way we are trying to do things does not come naturally to those of us who have grown up in and be trained by the UK church. It's second nature to us to try and build "church" and try and attract people to our events in the hope that they might meet Jesus. The problem is Jesus commissioned to "make disciples" and leave the building of church to Him. Grasping that and the huge mindset and cultural changes that flow out of that takes time. In fact it takes about 3 years!

We have had lots of great help from 3DM UK and we are about ready to go so watch this space and see how we get on, we'll let you know.


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Location:Melbourne, Australia

White Hot Centre

We have been taking our time recently to ensure we have two cultures in place. The first is an encounter culture. As Paul tells us in Ephesians when we gather as the church we are the living temple built on the foundations of the apostles and the prophets, with Jesus as the chief cornerstone. We host the presence of God. We worship Him and expect to encounter Him. The second is a culture of radical missional discipleship. We are setting ourselves up as a people on a mission, ready to carry the presence of God out into the world.

The last two weeks we have been richly blessed in our gatherings. You could say we have been longing for the white hot presence of God, and we haven't been disappointed. We have seen numerous healings and God dealing with deep issues that prevent us from knowing how to encounter Him. My experience has been that when we expose the issues in our lives that hold us back from entering His presence to the light, we give Him the opportunity to heal us.

There is more to come but it sure is getting hot!

Getting into our stride

Well CityChurch has now been going for 3 months and God has been good to us, as ever. We have been working out what it means to have a radical missional edge and a white hot centre at the same time. is it possible? How do you do it? We are convinced it is possible! A radical missional desire should always come from having consistently been in the presence of God. When we take time put loving God first we can't help but be influenced by who He is, and He is the Father who so loved the world He sent the Son and then the Spirit in order that none might perish! Being with God pushes us out! Mission born of anything else is in danger of being little more than good works done in human strength.

To help us remember this we have found Mike Breen's Lifeshapes really useful. you should check them out. The Triangle is a simple concept and yet astonishingly profound as it reminds us that our lives should be balanced up, in and out. We encounter the Father (up), then love the Body (in) and together we love this lost world (Out). If we remember that always we will stay on track.

We are encountering some wonderful opportunities at present which are a gift from God. They are not as a result of our hard work and we deserve no credit but I believe we will have some powerful stories soon about how the above works out in practice.

Love God first, let him speak, intentionally share that love with the lost and lives get changed!




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Exciting Times

Just returned from a trip to Uganda in time for the CityChurch commissioning service on Sunday. My team and I have seen God move powerfully with many healings and many people set free from demonic possession.

The woman pictured below was healed from a chronic bad leg and hip problem as a result of an accident. She was healed and delivered and danced for an hour. One of many stories.

I hope to see God move powerfully like that in Leicester in the coming years. Power encounters, the presence of God and a people committed to mission should hopefully make for a powerful combination.

Role on Sunday and the commissioning!

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Location:Riverside Rd,Derby,United Kingdom

Commissioning Service

Things are hotting up for CityChurch. We will be having a commissioning service at the Riverside Centre in Derby on 3rd July 2011. Check out the top link to the right for a video promo.

Following that the next step will be our launch celebration which will be on the evening of 25th September. Watch this space for more details about the venue and time.

We are close now to finalising our regular meeting place in the city centre of Leicester as well. I can't reveal where it is yet, but I will do soon! Oh, and the coffee will be great....

The purpose of a blog

A German friend of mine graciously observed recently that a blog is not much use if it is devoid of content. He was not the first to comment. Thus I am encouraged once again to continue 'blogging' on this site and sharing the journey of CityChurch with the masses.

In the 6 months since I last posted a lot has happened. The team has been strengthened and relationships within the city have been established. One of the reasons I have been slow to post is that I am a visionary type and I am aware that what I see happening one day can change fairly rapidly as I talk it out. I don't want to be forever giving the impression that things are changing every five minutes. Anyway here are a few things that have encouraged us deeply;

Firstly people have now been able to confirm that they will be joining us from all over the UK. Derby is the source of most of the team but then people have committed to joining us from Manchester, Oxford, Warwick, Lutterworth, Bristol and Leicester itself. There are still others who may get involved too.

Secondly we have been developing a relationship with a wonderful Baptist Church in the city that we are exploring some kind of partnership with. They are in a highly Asian part of the city and God may just be bringing us together. We shall see - watch this space!

At this time a number of our team are actively trying to sell homes and find new jobs in order to move. I honour them as this venture is a costly one and these are people who are prepared to pay the cost for the sake of the Gospel. They have seen something of God at work and it excites me greatly as I am certain God is about to take us on a wonderful missional adventure. Bring it on!

The countdown begins

First of apologies for the lack of updates recently.

I am pleased to tell you that things are continuing to take shape and develop with the plans to plant CityChurch. There is now a core group of 20+ adults committed to the plant and there is plenty of room for more. Houses are being put up for sale and job searches have begun. We may still be 12 months away from an official launch but it is getting very real.

In all of this the mission remains central. To see the Kingdom of God come on earth as it is in heaven. In the planning for CityChurch I am stirred by the word 'Go'. Jesus said 'Go' in the great commission but modelled it through his whole ministry and the discipleship he put into others. He sent out the 12, then the 72. For us going to Leicester is just the start of the going. When we get there we will not be building a big temple to hide in, rather we will continue to take the good news to the city. When we have gone, the going really begins!