Prophecy being fulfilled!

“Build a barn and I will fill it – Call for reinforcements – I will have my mountain (large visible church) in that multicultural community - Build something ten times bigger – You will be a City of Hope – Increase – People will be drawn to you as you gather to Jesus – Suddenly, penetration, breakthrough” (Dave Devenish - Stoneleigh 1997).

It’s exciting when God speaks to you isn’t it? God has been giving us words like these at Living Hope over the past 12 years since we were sent out from Dartford. In this time he has blessed us and we have seen people saved but others have moved on or been actively sent to other places. Consequently we have stayed around about the same size numerically – about 80 adults and children.

So believing those words about God doing big things has required us to grow in faith and learn to persevere when fruit has been hard to come by. Like many other churches we have been ready to change and embrace new initiatives such as Cell groups, Alpha, Kidz Club and working among adults with learning difficulties (what we call our 3.16 group). At the same time we have always sought to make disciples and raise up new leaders.

Other words have encouraged us a long the way too. They have often been ones that have spoken of difficulties and battles. One notable example in the early days pictured Gravesend as a “field of rotting vegetation” that we were to plough up with God’s truth. A more recent word at prayer and fasting identified us as a “ battalion of soldiers bravely fighting on the frontline that was about to be reinforced by a larger army.”

Never in our wildest dreams would we have anticipated God fulfilling prophecy in the way that He has by bringing Livinghope and NKCC together. To us this seems so clearly about being reinforced, about being ten times bigger, and it has happened suddenly and has all the potential for future penetration and breakthrough for the gospel. We also know there is more to come. Together we will be 400 strong but that doesn’t mean we have arrived. We are together to build something much bigger, a large visible area church that can truly be a city of hope.

I have always been excited and encouraged when we have received prophecy from God, it’s even more exciting when you see him fulfilling it.

We are very enthusiastic about the future and are looking forward to all that God will do among us.