Last night (Monday 29 November), Aveley Christian Centre hosted a prayer meeting for the Epicentre / Rock Thurrock project.
Members of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association met with the Epicentre Thurrock committee first where they discussed the project’s financial and faith challenges.
Edwin Hughes said, “The committee had a productive meeting with members of BGEA who are really enthusiastic about coming to work with us next year with their Rock Thurrock project. The members of the committee were also really excited about this.”
At the main prayer meeting Colin Baker gave a brief presentation about how Epicentre and the Rock Thurrock Program is shaping up:
- Launch Breakfast: Saturday 5 March 9-12am at Thurrock Hotel – tickets £10
- Ignite the Flame: Worship Prayer Event, Friday 1 April 8-10pm, venue tbc.
- Community Action Projects: April – June
- Equipping: FM419 Youth Sessions – Friday night & Saturday, early September (dynamic seminars, music, videos, teaching)
- Christian Life & Witness Course: Thursday/Friday Night + Saturday (5)6/7 or (12)13/14 May (for adults- cost £10, to go towards funding FM419)
- Bring a friend Initiative: for young people to pray about and invite friends to the Big ‘Rock Thurrock’ Event
- Youth Focused Community Event: mid-September – to maintain momentum between FM419 and the Big Event
- Rock Thurrock: The Big Event: 24 & 25 September, Civic Hall (music, worship & message from Will Graham, grandson of Billy Graham)
- Discipleship: Velocity Bible Studies, 6-7 weeks October to November (Making Disciples, connecting to local churches)
… and what happens next? Subject to God’s guidance, Epicentre Thurrock will be ongoing, of which a major part is UNITE 30/31.
“The dream is for a 5 year programme,” says Colin, “and 2012 will probably take care of itself,” he added, taking note of the Olympics and GSUS Live which returns to Thurrock in the autumn of that year. “It makes sense for Epicentre, UNITE 30/31 and the Olympic theme to come together at various points along the journey.”
After Colin’s presentation, everyone present then got together to pray about working with BGEA next year on Rock Thurrock and the future of Epicentre Thurrock for the next 5 years, and for united youth work and outreach, including the More Than Gold Olympics project in 2012, which Transformation Thurrock have already begun to roll out.
During this time the following word was then received by Caroline Smith of Fresh Hope Community:
Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered following the word of the Lord. (2 Chronicles 30:12 NIV)
In The Message, this verse is rendered: It was better in Judah—God worked powerfully among them to make it unanimous, responding to the orders sent out by the king and his officials, orders backed up by the word of God.
In the New Revised Standard version – which Colin had – the verse is written as: The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the officials commanded by the word of the Lord.
Tim Harrold also suggested that what we’re looking for is a generation of Josiahs. Josiah – whose coming was prophesied in 1 Kings 13:2 – was just 8 when he came to the throne. His story is told in 2 Kings 22:1-23:28 of how he came to realise that the nation had turned away from God when the old 
Book of the Law was rediscovered after years of neglect in some dusty forgotten corner of the temple. The nation had forgotten who they were – they’d lost sight of their destiny, their identity, their raison d’être. But the young boy king Josiah set his mind to restoring his nation to its First Love. 2 Chronicles 34:33 tells us,
Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the LORD their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
Epicentre Thurrock, Rock Thurrock, UNITE 30/31, the Prayer Spaces for Schools, More Than Gold, GSUS Live and all the other work with children and young people going on across the borough in churches and schools, are the tools God is using to awaken a generation of Josiahs to the state their nation is in – and change it! The future transformation of the land is close at hand. It is for the older generation to equip the younger generation into the imperative of their prophetic destiny. Papa has not finished with Thurrock and the UK yet!
Edwin echoes this, saying, “It requires unity of mind to carry out the Lord’s work. Hopefully we can see as many churches of Thurrock unite together behind this project and to see the Lord do mighty things for our Youth, our Churches and our Borough.”
Edwin continues, “Obviously to put on a big project and event like this will require a fair amount of finance to make a positive impact. BGEA are still in the process of obtaining quotes from various organisations so hopefully we will be in a position to bring that figure to the next meeting along with suggestions from the BGEA of how will be able to to raise it. On that subject this scripture jumped out at me: All the believers were one in heart and mind No-one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. (Acts 4:32 NIV)
“The more churches that unite to be a part this project the smaller any final figure will appear. By sharing financial resources we obtain great power as the next verse says: With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 4:33 NIV)”
Edwin will shortly be sending you an invitation to buy tickets for the Breakfast Launch Meeting being held on 5 March at Thurrock Hotel – not to be missed! See flyer below.
The next main meeting for Epicentre and Rock Thurrock will hopefully be held at a venue somewhere in the East of the Borough.
Epicentre Thurrock would like to thank Pastors Alan & Lydia Field, Annmarie Day and all the folk at Aveley Christian Centre for their warm welcome, hospitality, copious cups of tea, sarnies and cakes.
Photos by Tim except front photo by John Guest.
