January 2012

January has proved to be a great start to the year.

I have been amazed as Jesus has opened doors and brought opportunities to me without me needing to try too hard.
I’ll sum things up in brief and look towards February and then explain things in a bit more detail. That way if you are pressed for time you can at least get the synopsis in a couple of minutes. The full report is quite long!
Speaking and Teaching: I’ve been busy every weekend this month. Speaking at two discipleship schools, three Sunday mornings and a Saturday night. February looks similar.
Leadership Input and Governance: I am increasingly being given opportunities to speak into other leaders, both emerging leaders and established senior leaders with their own apostolic and national roles. I have been asked onto some key forums.
Event opportunities: I never want to become an event organiser, but I realise that over the years I have initiated and made a number of events happen that have a prophetic or impartational significance to them. I am exploring an event to empower the growing numbers involved in street work at the moment.
The School of Supranatural Life and Leadership: The multiplication of training/discipleship was something that the Lord spoke clearly about to me last year. A plan is emerging with a central resource in the heart of London that will become a resource to localised programmes similar to the Big Year.
Writing: Physical writing hasn’t really happened in January, however I’m increasingly teaching the material I have been working on and am finding it has a powerful impact on people. I have now settled on the title “The Supranatural Hope, the glory of Christ in you” for book two in my series. Some of you will notice the connection between that title and the first School of Supranatural Life and Leadership next month.
Looking forward to February and March: Some things to pray for. The first School of Supranatural Life and Leadership is scheduled with Georgian Banov; I’m taking an encounter weekend at All Nation’s Church in Leicester; and I’m taking part in a house party in East Anglia. Please pray for the flow of the Spirit and presence of Jesus in a big way at each. I am also convening a day on “What is the Spirit saying about Church Planting?” This looks back to my roots in the AD2000 movement, saturation church planting track, but I also see myself supporting more and more church planters in the years ahead.
Now for those who would like a bit more detail behind these headlines…
Teaching and speaking has taken me to Dorset and Manchester, with Deepcut and Wycombe in between. Occasional Elton John look-alike and prison worship leader Steve Abley joined me in Bridport, Dorset. It was a privilege to pray for one young lady who had a condition that produced fluid in her brain and then to be able to lead her in accepting Jesus. She had been brought by a work colleague who I had prayed for two years ago; this colleague had been healed then of 12 years of back pain. The healing had allowed her to return to work where she had met the young lady she brought along. (See Blog Item)
I was back at the Deepcut church plant this month. Things are developing, we prayed around the derelict school we are trying to get use of. Deepcut Community Church is being incorporated as a charity so that it can potentially take on a lease on the school, trustees have been identified, I am one. Please pray for this process and the opportunity. The school represents a big risk so the trustees will need both faith and wisdom as we edge forward with this.
Then I was teaching at a cross-church training event in Wycombe. I had two words of knowledge in the ministry time, one was for “glue ear”, the individual came straight forward and their ears cleared instantly. Other ears conditions also followed and what could be tested seemed to be improved. There where also a couple of minor deliverances and back issues healed.
Finally in this last week I have been up in Manchester. I had the great privilege of ministering to the training school and then the leadership team of Kings Church Manchester, a large resource church that was one of Bryn Jones’ flagship churches. In the last year they have gone through a profound inner reformation and are looking for input as they open up to the wider body of Christ. I believe this will be a significant relationship going forward.
The way I was honoured by the leadership in Manchester seems to be part of a promotion the Lord is giving me without me trying or looking for it. Last year I had a couple of prophetic words about being “promoted to government”. I treat these things lightly as I know you can’t force this type of word and to be honest I didn’t want to particularly. But on January 2nd I was at the Global Legacy leaders gathering and I was singled out and received some more prophetic words on this, I won’t share them here, it would take too long and seem very self-focussed, but...
... Jesus seems to be doing something for me. I have “chance” meetings with political and judicial influencers, and last month I was invited to a confidential briefing of national leaders. I have been invited into two new apostolic roundtables (in addition to the one I was already invited to), and in December I was asked to join the committee for the “Charismatic Leaders Conference”. The CLC is the UK longest standing and broadest forum for Spirit filled leaders whose influence is broader than a single stream, from Catholic healing and deliverance ministries based at the Vatican through to people like Mark Marx who started Healing On The Streets. Of course I don’t get paid for being part of these groups and I can only do them because some of you help support me financially, for which I want to say a huge “thank you”.
Anyway, moving on to events…
In January I started planning an event with Carlos Annacondia through a UK missionary from Argentina. The idea is to raise the expectation, effectiveness and spiritual authority of those that have been led by the Spirit into street work over the last few years. There are a lot of these involved in all sorts of outreaches: Healing on the Streets, Street Angels, Street Pastors and Treasure Hunting to name a few, without thinking about homeless works and old fashioned open-airs.
In case you’re not aware, Carlos Annacondia is the street evangelist who was the trigger in the 1980’s for the revival in Argentina (read more on this revival and Annacondia in this article by Peter Wagner). The plan is not for him to do all the evangelism but to spend a couple of days gathering those already out on the streets and involved in evangelism. We would look to encourage and impart breakthrough and then release them back to local “festivals”, events that take less planning than big missions and are more about going out to people than bringing them to an event. Carlos is being very flexible as he believes he should come to the UK. I am pulling together a group to explore this further.

I would hope you’ve seen information on this already. It is the first of the seminar style Saturday Schools I’m starting as a part of a bigger plan to multiply hands-on discipleship and ministry training across the region and the UK.
It is great to be able to start off this month with Georgian Banov as the guest speaker. 185 people have booked in at Christ Church in Fulham. Looking forward I am talking to the leadership at the Emmanuel Centre in Westministerand , it is likely that I can book one of their smaller halls (up to 400) every month. I am also building a small team to help facilitate this school which will give an opportunity to bring key ministries to a wider audience and which will include the participants on multiple local year out schools similar to the River Church Big Year. I have meetings scheduled in the next month with some locations that are looking to pilot these year out schools too.
In addition to the small team, I am gathering a fellowship of people in ministry who will look to grow together and resource the local training schools. We are going away together for 24 hours on March the 13, 13/3 creates a nice link with Psalm 133 the Psalm that pronounces blessing and anointing on togetherness.
So thank you Jesus for January, I'm looking forward to February and March.

If anything in this report has caught your imagination or you would like to find out more about getting involved yourself, please feel free to email me.

Christen Forster

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