Pastor's letter in the latest issue of Majesty Magazine, February 2009

Greetings in the name of Christ,

Revival, revival, revival: it seems to be on the heart of many messages from the different preachers at Goldings at the moment.  God has been very gracious to us here at Goldings and has kept his Word central as we seek to go into 2009. He has raised up seven men among us who have a love for God’s Word and a desire to declare His Truth.  For the first time in over nine years, I am able to share the burden of the Ministry with others among us who are correctly handling the Word of God.  From these men, and from others, the message seems to be the same...get read... and be prepared for revival!

But what does revival really mean, and who is it really for?  Revival is a unusual visitation from God; it is an outpouring of His Spirit in a greater measure, and it is for Christians and those who have been called by God but yet have grown cold in their love for Him and become lukewarm; apathy has set in and the fire of God’s love has nearly got out in their lives. Revival sets them on fire again! 

But it does not end there—it reaches out into the community and gathers up men and women who are weighted down by the burden of sin and guilt.  People who are full of fear and worries.  Revival reaches them and brings them to repentance, because of the life and witness of those whom God has stirred and revived.

We are beginning to see this happen in greater and greater measure.  God has brought in an influx of children to the morning service and what a joy it is to see them—and   especially to hear them singing the praises of God along with the adults—I can’t tell you how much this thrills my heart!

God has challenged adults amongst us to obey him in baptism,  so we have our first         baptism of 2009 to look forward to very soon.  Do please join us to see young mum, Clare, and newly saved, Ricky being baptised.

God has brought about not only the burden to see men and women saved, but to see these people discipled and

Growing in the Lord. God brought about a women’s ministry where over 20 women from Goldings met together for teaching, prayer and to share fellowship with each other—women of all ages! Praise the Lord.  Those who attended this meeting have said that they felt that God was very present.

God is causing the men’s ministry to go from strength to strength as more men join and more men partake and are encouraged to walk with the Lord. Film evenings, men’s breakfasts, and men’s conferences are all part of the Spirit’s work to touch men at Goldings.  We also have two new meetings that have started up for men meeting twice a month.  Men’s Ministry—Godfellas, and Men’s Ministry 611 (named after 1 Tim 6: 11), both meetings are aimed at working with and training the men of Goldings and are all about the ‘Making of a Man of God.’

God has caused PRAYER to become a serious focal point for us at Goldings, which as you know is the most important part of the life of any church.  Remember what Jesus said, “My house will be a house of prayer for all nations.” Our One Body meetings are an absolute joy to attend, and it is wonderful to be able to pray with each other sharing the same heart and mind.  We have also started to take communion together within small groups, and this too has been a blessing to many.

God is doing something extraordinary among us, and the vision we had some years ago of building new rooms and facilities in the church is beginning to take shape—for the Lord to do this in the heart of a world financial crisis and from within a time of recession is something that only God can do!  I’ll say it again...only God can do this!

Revival, revival, revival!!  It seems to be taking place even now!  But this doesn’t mean we should drop our guard—we are still fighting on a  Spiritual Battle field, so not everything is going to go smoothly, but be encouraged Church...Jesus says, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it”.

As you look around and see all that God is doing please do the following:

• Search your heart.Ask the Lord to revive you; to revive and strengthen your walk during the coming days.
• Strengthen, help, and love others around you without favouritism or  impartiality. Get to know others you might not have spoken to before.
• Pray! Pray! Pray! Spend time in His presence on your own.
• Make an extra special effort to be at the One Body meeting, and try not to miss any   meetings because God is doing extraordinary things among us! God bless you,