Together Active Praying
Our Priorities
We know that transformation has arrived when … the Presence of Father God is so evident by the Holy Spirit; so many people become followers of our Lord Jesus; they work out His ways in all areas of their lives that there are massive changes in the following:
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people’s attitudes and mindsets,
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the family,
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workplaces,
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the endemic problems of our borough,
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structures and institutions,
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so that every area of life is reshaped, and the land is touched and brought undeniably closer to its redemptive purposes under God.
This is a huge aim!
In 21st Century, technological and multi-everything Newham, how we get there is likely to be different to the ways that past revivals have arrived.
Meanwhile, we work towards interim goals and seek to meet real needs along the way, both socially and spiritually, seeking to be Good News.
No one church, model, ministry or group of individuals can possibly hope to reach and hold all of Newham, so we need different approaches.
We promote unity, by which we mean believers and churches working together in the family of faith, different, complementary, and connected.
Neighbouring
Jesus said that all the Commandments can be summed up in loving God and loving our neighbours. Do you think He really meant it?! If we did get to know the people who live right beside us, what might that look like?
Regeneration
Tens of thousands of new homes are coming to Newham along with new businesses and leisure activities and other iconic installations.
No one is planning to develop new church buildings in the ways that we have known them.
How do we being to reach new residents in ways that are relevant and not dependent on traditional building forms?
Prayer
This is clearly vital!
When praying together we are primarily seeking to cooperate with God our Father and Creator, and Jesus our Saviour in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Doing it together means we can seek to bring in more of the Kingdom and commonwealth, and participate in the process of breaking down barriers of separation and misunderstanding.
Poverty
Poverty has many causes and they impact very many people we know in painful ways. They prompt many kinds of response from Believers who follow the examples and instructions of Jesus.
Youth & Children
Newham is a borough with the youngest age structure in the capital (London Poverty Profile 2009), with around 30% of Newham’s population being children and young people aged under 20.
The under 15 population figure is predicted to increase substantially over the next ten years with an average annual increase of 3.3% (Newham Children & Young People’s Needs Assessment 2009/10).
Soon Newham will have a majority of its population under 25 years of age.
As the church in Newham we have a huge responsibility, not only to the young people and children in our churches, but also those in our schools and in our communities.
The Family
All people are made (among other things) with the need to belong to a group bigger than themselves, to be nurtured, to help others, to grow, and journey with God towards maturity in community.
The notion of Family is right throughout the Bible. It is an elastic term. We often use it today to mean two parents and their children, but we dare not reduce it to just that meaning lest we deify our own DNA.
The Workplace
Jesus said ‘Go into all the world …’ but not where you volunteer or where you get paid?
We may spend far more time in our work places than with our nuclear / home family. We dare not split off that part of our life from spiritual attention but need to be effective Christians there too, in many different ways.
