Baptist prayer and fasting gatherings on 26 September
Prayer and fasting gatherings with a mission focus are being hosted by Baptist churches across England and Wales on 26 September
The days have been instigated by word and spirt network Fresh Streams, and are taking place in partnership with Everyone Everywhere.
Thirteen events are taking place across 11 Associations, including one on Zoom. People are invited to join their Association gathering to 'spend time together in prayer as we intentionally pray for our Baptist movement, specifically in its mission, including the Everyone Everywhere initiative, the churches in our Association and each other.'
Specific details are below.
It's the second time this year Fresh Streams has facilitated prayer and fasting days, having previously done so in March.
Andy Glover, Team Leader of Fresh Streams and HBC Chester said, 'In 2023 we sensed the Lord leading us to make a fresh call for Fresh Streams to facilitate opportunities across Baptists Together to gather to pray and fast, intentionally crying out to God together.
'To express our hunger for God, coming together with a focus on the Kingdom of God, with a “Word and Spirit” encounter with God that would lead to an empowered engagement with the world.
'We reached out to the 13 Associations with our vision and hopes and in March 2024 held gatherings across 11 of the 13, hosted by leaders carrying the vision and values of Fresh Streams.'
This time the prayer and fasting gatherings are linked to the Everyone Everywhere initiative. Everyone Everywhere is the new Baptist-wide collaboration which seeks to to equip Baptists to share Jesus fully, which launched at the Baptist Assembly and is hosting its first national conference on 8 October. It is steered by a working group of Alex Harris, Pam Davies, Andy, Isabella Senior, Simon Goddard, Kwame Adzam and Paul O’Neil.
Andy added, 'If you have read On this Rock by Chrissy Remsberg and Alex Harris, you will have read and reflected on some simple lessons and achievable habits from Baptist churches that have grown healthily and numerically over the past few years.
'Interestingly the first principle they reflect on is prayer and fasting. I was personally encouraged by how much of an overlap this focus on prayer and fasting had with our journey here at HBC Chester.'
The participating Associations on 26 September are:
Click on the Associations to access the specific details, and look out for more information on the Fresh Streams website.
Alex and Chrissy joined Jon Vaughan-Davies, host of the prayer and fasting day in Wales, for a conversation ahead of 26 September. The chat provides food for thought and possible fuel for prayer. Access it here or below.
The first ever national Everyone Everywhere conference takes place on 8 October. Find out more here
The Fresh Streams 2025 National Leadership Conference is on the theme of Everyone Everywhere and bookings are open here
Baptist Times, 10/09/2024