 We were called to Peterborough in September 1988 and started the church with nine people in our home. Now, nearly 15 years on, with up to 500 people gathering on a Sunday, and cell groups meeting throughout the region, it has been exciting to see what God has done. A vital part of our journey has been a growing love for the lost.
1. FOUNDATIONS
Before we moved to the city we received a prophetic word, "Think big or you'll limit me." In response to this we sought God, and sensed faith to articulate a vision to see a church of 10,000-plus people. Such a vision has maintained our inspiration to continue moving forward in reaching and keeping lost people.
At a similar time, the Lord convicted my wife Karen and I about our lack of love for the city of Peterborough. Having moved from Oxford, and considerably away from our family homes, we realised that neither of us had a positive attitude about our new home. We repented, received God's heart for the city, and started speaking blessing over the place and the people.
In 1993 we started our first Alpha course, followed it up with a mission in the city, and held our first public Alpha supper (1994). I will never forget the joy at turning up to find 69 people at the supper, 50 of whom were guests!
A key turning point came in late 1997 with the realisation that we needed to re-emphasise the basic values of New Testament life, especially fellowship, discipleship and evangelism. We started to retrain the whole church using a simple, but fun, Contagious Christian course, encouraging people to build friendships with unbelievers, and to see them won to Christ. I felt I needed to lead by example and so joined a gym in order to make new friendships with people outside the Church. We retrained our cell leaders, emphasising values before structure, and by the beginning of 1999 started seeing our first true cell multiplications.
2. CELLS
In 1993-1994 we transitioned the church to a cell structure. However, we had little concept of the real values of cell and for the next three years, while continuing to enjoy growth, largely through celebration meetings, the cells themselves were struggling and had little life or evangelistic fervour. We faithfully did the 4Ws, drew up our oikos lists, and saw some people saved on Alpha, but evangelism was not part of the fabric of church life. In many ways, I think we were largely in a Christian ghetto, albeit a blessed one!
3. BREAKTHROUGH IN PRAYER
A further breakthrough in the Spirit, came in September 1999 on the final night of a three-day corporate fast. As the prayer meeting progressed, I observed more and more people in the church beginning to kneel or lie down in front of a particular banner which depicted lost souls being saved or going to hell. As we began to cry out to God, it was as if our heart for the lost was in the process of being expanded, as He supernaturally poured out His fresh compassion upon us. His heart has always been that "none should perish" but that all might be saved (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4); we were catching something afresh from Him. Since that time we have consistently called monthly three-day or one-day fasts, during many of which we have had corporate times of calling on God and praying over the names of specific unsaved friends and backsliders. I believe this prayer momentum has been one of the keys to what has happened since.
4. COMMUNITY CARE
This heart for the lost has been expressed through an increase in friendship evangelism, but also in a growing desire to reach the community through "acts of kindness." One of our most successful community care outreaches has been our 'share outs', whereby we give away good quality clothes, furniture and so on, that has been donated by church members. Individuals have come to the Lord through these share outs, and other social outreach projects designed to bless the elderly, and children. But, perhaps equally important, in acting out God's love, these acts of kindness have helped the church to further break out of any ghetto mentality, and we have begun to reap evangelistically on a broader front.
5. ALPHA INCREASE
One notable area of increase has been in Alpha. In 2000, concerned that only small sections of the church had caught the excitement and opportunity presented by Alpha, we as leaders went around the cells and spoke briefly about the course, shared the Holy Trinity Brompton video, and encouraged the cells to begin praying and inviting for the September Alpha supper. That autumn we saw a huge uptake, with about 180 people on the supper. Since that time we have consistently seen upwards of 150 on each supper, three times a year, about two-thirds of whom have been guests. The numbers on the actual courses have been similarly encouraging with an average of about 20-30 conversions each time. Not only has that resulted in fruit throughout the past couple of years, but also it has helped to increase the faith levels of the church for evangelism. Sunday by Sunday, no matter what else we are teaching on, there is always an opportunity for people to get saved.
7. GUEST SERVICES
Perhaps the most striking evidence of a change in the church culture and a growing heart for the lost has been in the numbers of people at our Easter and Christmas guest services. In the past five years the numbers at our Christmas guest services have almost trebled, with over 1200 in attendance at Christmas 2002. While not yet revival it represents, on average, every regular attender bringing at least one guest, and is an encouraging indication of a growing heart for the lost. At each of these services we invite people to the following Alpha supper, and so the harvest cycle continues.
6. ALTAR CALLS
We have also seen a significant turning in terms of conversion on Sunday mornings. In the autumn of 2000 we were privileged to have Lawrence Khong in Peterborough for a cell conference. Although there was much good input on cell church, perhaps the most significant moment for us was Lawrence's prayer and exhortation for all senior leaders to take up an altar call at every celebration meeting. I acted on this and people started getting saved! Several months later I was tempted to back off, with a period of a few weeks where it seemed as if there were no new people around or responding. But the Lord challenged me to keep going. Since then there has rarely been a Sunday when people have not given their lives to Jesus. A number have even got saved at our yearly goals presentation mornings (!), and recently at a Sunday healing meeting, there were five first-time conversions and five recommitments to Christ.
There is more!
We know that we have only begun to scratch the surface of reaching the tens of thousands of unreached people in our city and region. We are also currently addressing the need to be more effective in keeping, consolidating and discipling those whom we are reaching, and are exercised in continually raising up more and more cell leaders. But we are also thrilled at the privilege of partnering with the Holy Spirit in fulfilling the Great Commission. To see people whom we have individually and corporately befriended, being won to Christ, is such a joy. To see their lives dramatically changed, and for them in turn to start reaching their friends is tremendous: "Of the increase of his govemment and peace there shall be no end. . . "! (Isaiah 9:7).
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