Some brief notes by Tim Harrold, recorded as they speak to the whole church of Thurrock as well as to COHP
Over the weekend of 10-12 February 2017, veteran American ministers Carter Wood (right) and Steve Wilson (below right) were guest speakers at COHP’s Outpouring conference.
Host pastor Niyi Olujobi (below right) first met Carter and Steve while on mission with Randy Clarke’s Global Awakening ministry in Brazil last year. The church premises – in the basement of the former Co-op building in Grays, later the Pazzazz night club and part of the Queensgate Centre – were packed out for the three days of teaching and ministry.
On Friday night, Steve told how that at start of 2016 God gave him a word for 2017 – that the church will finally realise its identity. He said, “the impossible is getting closer” and heaven’s “normal is within reach”.
On Saturday evening, Carter said, “The church is going to be transfigured. The face of the church is going to change. There is a baptism of love coming.”
On Sunday morning, Steve talked about the Ark of the Covenant being also the Ark of the Presence – and the Ark of Testimony, a testimony that repeats itself and never stops repeating itself (this it what testimony means). The testimony reproduces itself in generation after generation after generation… The giving of testimonies is in direct correlation with the presence of God – so to sustain the presence (and accompanying healings and miracles), remember to testify! “Testimony is the foundation of repetition of what God’s going to do.”
There’s no answer to a shared testimony! Steve urged us to lay the foundation of what people have been created to do, which is share the story of what God has done: the act of giving testimony and saying thank you increases glory ‘in the house’ – testimony not only gives glory but becomes the glory, and so spreads outside the church. “No atheist nor cessationist can argue with your testimony of healing.”
The more testimony you release, the more glory you walk in. Testimony releases the presence for the power for healing to work in. Become a church of his presence in the market place because of testimony – it is the irrefutable evidence of goodness of God.
In the second service on Sunday afternoon, Carter spoke about Convergence. He exhorted that we should pray, “Give me what I do not have so I can do what I cannot do.”
Talking about the story of Zechariah & Elizabeth and Mary & Jospeh from Luke 1, Carter said that:
- the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, to old barren Old Covenant people and the birth of Jesus to a young virgin New Covenant woman, represents the two generations working in convergence – the old generation and young generation coming together to give birth to a NOW generation
- the generations will work together around the world to birth something new that otherwise could not be achieved
- the younger generation is waiting for fathers and mothers of the older generation to teach and guide them
Zechariah’s petition throughout his barren life was for a child – this is a prophetic picture of the church, discouraged at the lack of answers from God. Zechariah’s religious observances were suddenly surprised by the appearance of Gabriel!
This is a picture of revival. Not a denominational revival – but one that will encompass all of the body of Christ. It will come as a huge surprise to many!
John the Baptist – the Forerunner who, with Jesus, would literally change the course of history for all mankind – was to be born, a miracle of impregnation. Some of us have lost dreams and we’re way past our prime, but God wants to resurrect old dreams – he’s going to impregnate us, barren no longer!
Carter gave a word for COHP, that, like the Baptist, it is a transitional and forerunner church – people will be attracted to what they’re doing and that what they do will become increasingly common. (All the way through the service, a number 4 was on the floor in front of the platform – at this point, someone gave this piece of confetti or whatever it was to Niyi as a sign of COHP being a “4”runner… see photo on right.)
>>> Somewhere in the vicinity of the Queensgate Centre once stood the original Grays Pentecostal Church, a tin hut erected at the back of Salmon’s Hardware Store in Clarence Road in the 1920s. In the early 2000s, there was regular prayer for that very basement to become what was at the time going to be the East London 24-7 Prayer Boiler Room… This din’t happen, but eventually COHP took possession of the venue… One wonders if a well of salvation and healing is not being reopened by the Lord…
