Friday, 30 January 2009
The door swings off its hinges
Last year I prayed for the door to open into Mainland Europe and the last couple of weeks it feels like it has swung off its hinges! I was unable to travel to Africa this week due to a problem I have had with my back since the New Year. First Class on British Airways and the Marriott Hotel may have been OK but nine hours on Kenya Airways Economy well have finished me off! I took the opportunity to visit Normandy for two days with day crossings that gave me valuable space to seek God for this year and do some preparation. We visited a site in Ouistreham, the port town near Caen, where I think we will launch the work of the Mainstage in Europe on the 65th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings. The site is 100 metres from the British Beachhead. In two weeks time I go to Brussels for the day to meet with one of the guys from the Pentecostal European head office who wants to talk about partnership. We also heard that the Baptist Union of France are interested in linking up with us in 2010. We are in serious discussions about taking the Mainstage to seven cities in four different nations in 2009. In a couple of week’s time we are launching our appeal to raise the £60 to £70,000 that we will need this year in additional to our regular donations to make these plans a reality. Please continue to pray for me as these exciting plans to take the Gospel to the cities of Europe unfold.
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Mainstage Festivals in 5 European cities
Yesterday I was in Berlin for the second time in four weeks to spend the day with Werner Nachtigal who leads No Limit a powerful evangelisitc ministry that reaches across Germany, Europe an other parts of the world. Through this growing partnership we are laying down plans together to run Mainstage Festivals in Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart as part of No Limit's Summer2Go event that draws hundreds of Christian young people together from across Germany to present the Gospel on the streets. We are also looking at possibilities together in Nuremberg, Vienna and Amsterdam. Normandy remains the key focus for the launch of the Mainstage in Europe and several possibilities exist for June and July.
In the next few weeks we will be launching our annual appeal that many faithfully gave into last year to refit the Mainstage and Mobilestage. 2009's appeal will be focused on Mainland Europe and our plan to reach many thousands of people in several of Europe's biggest cites.
