by Tim Harrold

RCCG logoLast Sunday, 15 June, the 2014 Transformation Thurrock Tour stopped at the House Of The Lord (HOTL), South Ockendon, a branch of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, which meets in the Belhus Park sports’ centre just off the Aveley by-pass.

Vera and I received a very warm welcome and we were more than blessed by the hospitality and generosity of our hosts. The fellowship is led by Pastor Richard Oluwawo.

As it was Fathers’ Day, I was asked to give a brief talk to all the dads there, and to everyone else about their dads. I used the following scripture:

Ephesians 6:4 NKJV
“… fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”

… which in the NIV is translated:

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

I merely made the point that it’s hard being a dad sometimes, but we can learn from our mistakes, and must always keep love, grace and forgiveness at the heart of our relationships with our children, or risk driving them away from us and our Father in heaven. I recalled the time one of my sons told me that I was exasperating him! The cheek of it!

TTT HOTL 15614Then onto the TT Tour talk. Because of the particular hall that HOTL use, I was unable to use the TT Tour PowerPoint presentation, but I used much of the content from it. I gave brief history of TT; talked about unity and the TT vision for mission, intercession, and education ; and the things which I believe God is saying to the church right now about every member ministry and the kind of discipleship that makes disciple-making disciples.

I feel that HOTL was impacted by the fact that Thurrock means ‘a place where filthy water collects’, but that in the mid-1800s, aquefers of fresh water were discovered in the chalk quarries – water under such pressure that when the aquefers were opened, they sprung up with power; water so pure, it was bottled and sold. Spititually, the followers of Jesus are the aquefers that God is opening up across the borough, pouring out fresh water onto a land that has been told it is dirty. We are the ones to change the mindset and transform Thurrock!

The 40 or so folk who were present split into groups around tables to discuss the three questions I’ve been asking everyone:

  • what is God saying?
  • what are you going to do about?
  • who are you going to tell?

I encouraged everyone by reaffirming thier identity in God and the fact that each has the mind of Christ at his or her disposal. The feedback after 10 minutes of discussion was incredible! Please see the photo of the feedback sheet, which Vera drew up as spokespersons from each table gave a precis of what had been discussed.

The vision statement of RCCG HOTL is:

  • striving for excellence
  • raising leaders
  • empowering generations
  • impacting communities

From the feedback, it can be seen that HOTL is fullfilling this vision through:

  • hearing and obeying God
  • getting everyone involved
  • having a heart for young people
  • wanting to transform Thurrock

We were blessed to leave HOTL with a bag full of Fathers’ Day goodies and another bag full of food!

The TT Tour’s next stop is at the Socketts Heath Baptist Church, who meet in their building in Premier Avenue, oppostie The Parade on Lodge Lane, on Sunday 22 June.

Where has the TT Tour gone and where is it going?

The 2014 TT Tour:

  • 16 February – Fresh Hope Community (St Margarets’ Fresh Expression), Stanford le Hope – DONE!
  • 2 March – Grays Methodist Church – DONE!
  • 16 March – St Cedd’s, Stifford Clays – DONE!
  • 23 March – St Mary’s, North Stifford – DONE!
  • 30 March – Seabrooke-All Saints Mission Shaped Community (Thurrock Christian Fellowship), All Saints Centre, Grays – DONE!
  • 6 April – Grays Baptist Church – DONE!
  • 13 April – New Covenant Church, Grays – DONE!
  • 4 May – St Margaret’s, Stanford le Hope – DONE!
  • 18 May – St Mary the Virgin, Little Thurrock – DONE!
  • 18 May – Stanford le Hope Salvation Army – East Thurrock United Service – DONE!
  • 25 May – Grays United Reformed Church (part 1) – DONE!
  • 8 June – Grays United Reformed Church (part 2) – DONE!
  • 15 June – RCCG House of the Lord, South Ockendon– DONE!
  • 22 June – Socketts Heath Baptist Church
  • 29 June – Destiny Chapel, South Ockendon
  • 13 July – Tilbury Pride Mission Shaped Community (Thurrock Christian Fellowship)
  • 9/10 August – RCCG House of Praise, Grays – details tbc

All dates in between these (apart from Easter Sunday, 20 April) and after up to and including 20 July are currently available.

The content is suitable for any fellowship Sunday service or prayer meeting no matter what your style or where you’re ‘at’.

If you’d like to book Tim and the TT Tour, please call 07929 878 089 or email him on tim@transformationthurrock.com.

The presentation – which is adaptable – is made up of three sections and lasts about 45 minutes. It follows this simple structure:

  • Logo for printInformation – Powerpoint presentation
    • where we’ve been
    • where we’re at
    • where we’re going
  • Interaction – small groups
    • what is God saying?
    • what are you going to do about it?
    • who are you going to tell?
  • Intercession – for Thurrock and the UK
    • proclamations of blessing
    • prayers of protection