22Oct 2014 by Nigel Ring

Moving on – some reflections. Part 4 – Holy Spirit activity and conferences

Newfrontiers, News, Terry Virgo
Prayer One key element of the growth we were experiencing can be attributed to prayer. I mentioned in the last posting that Clarendon Church had dynamic prayer meetings. The same was true for Newfrontiers where regularly, on a Thursday morning, leaders from Newfrontiers churches in given geographical regions would gather to pray together. There were also two days of prayer and fasting three times per year to which Terry invited all church leaders. At these days substantial time was given to worship, seeking God through intercession and listening to his voice through prophecy. Indeed, much of the development of the family of churches came through prophetic revelation, which was carefully weighed in a biblical fashion. John Wimber In the mid-80s we started to have regular visits by John Wimber from…
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15Oct 2014 by Nigel Ring

Moving on – some reflections. Part 3 – Growth

Clarendon Church, Newfrontiers, News, Terry Virgo
Multiple congregations The 1980s were years of steady growth of Clarendon Church. In 1984 we ran out of space and multiplied onto two congregations; a further three were added two years later. But we then realised that we had effectively created five churches. This ran counter to a prophetic word we had received in the early days that we would be like a substantial tree whose branches would reach over Brighton and Hove, a tree that would have visibility across the town. And so we started to meet again as one congregation in the local cinema complex with its six halls, allowing us to carry on the children’s ministry in parallel with the main meetings. New building There was an urgent need for us to have our own larger building.…
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08Oct 2014 by Nigel Ring

Moving on – some reflections. Part 2 – Entering Full time ministry

Clarendon Church, Downs Bible Week, News, Terry Virgo
I believe that full time ministry is more a function of practicalities than a calling. It is not a status or promotion, but a necessity when it is not possible to carry out what God has called us to without devoting more time than is possible while pursuing a secular job. Twice God had spoken to me about being in ‘full time ministry’; once when I was 9 years old and again in 1974 while leading a research team in a paediatric hospital. I mentioned this to Terry in 1978 in a crowded context. He did not respond so I assumed that he had not heard and I did not repeat myself. However, I was later to discover that it had registered, as we shall see! Downs Bible Week  In 1979…
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01Oct 2014 by Nigel Ring

Moving on – some reflections. Part 1 – Meeting with Terry Virgo

News, Uncategorized
33 years ago I and my family moved to Hove and joined Clarendon Church, now Church of Christ the King. Now the time has come to move on and embrace fresh adventures and opportunities. The trigger has been the need for us to ‘down size’ our home (our children are now all adult and living independently) and God has led us to live near one of our daughters with her family in Bath and join the young Newfrontiers church in that city. Times of change give opportunity for reflection and to thank God for all that he has allowed us to be involved in over the last 3 decades. Since my mind is increasingly focused on packing cases I thought I would share some of these reflections with you; I will…
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24Sep 2014 by Nigel Ring

Help in Iraq

Iraq, News, Relief and Development
I am sure the situation in Iraq is concerning us all and we feel 'What can I do?' Here is an opportunity to read a personal story. It was sent to me recently by a friend from those on the ground and will tell you one way in which you can help. The help is not a Newfrontiers initiative as such, but all donations are channelled through Newfrontiers churches. I am sure there are some who would like to contribute to bringing relief to some of those whom we read about daily. Walls of Nineveh Photo Credit: james_gordon_losangeles via Compfight cc Grace says: A few days ago I had the honor of interviewing a Christian couple from Iraq currently living as refugees. As the news fills up with opinions and the most gory report gets the headlines, there’s…
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16Jul 2014 by Nigel Ring

Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

Equipping, Poor, Poverty Reduction
A new Index For many years one basis on which poverty is assessed has been people living on less than $1.25 or $2 per day. But this is a very ‘blunt’ way of measuring poverty as the value of $2 varies from one economy to another and also finance is not the only measure of real poverty. Recently I joined a live-stream seminar organised by the Overseas Development Institute in the UK which launched a new Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI). This does not replace the economic one with which we are familiar but complements it. To me this made a lot of sense since it is far more indicative of the life issues that really define poverty. It has been developed in the Oxford Department of International Development, part of Oxford…
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