January to June 2017
This newsletter will be regularly updated as time permits.
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What a troubled world as we enter 2017! Uncertainty and fear of the future grows stronger month by month. Politics has not provided the answer. Military might does not change hearts from hatred to peace. The internet has become a dangerous place. Pornography's tentacles reaching deeper and darker into the souls of men and women, identity theft, viruses and scams, false news and cyber attacks. Drug addiction and street violence on the increase. More broken families than ever. Mental heath problems on the increase. Moral boundaries almost non-existent. Gender confusion. Thank God for Jesus!! He is the LIGHT in darkness and we have been born for such a time as this! Because He dwells within us we are to His LIGHT in the darkness. We are to be living letters from Christ. Examples of what life lived under the Lordship of Jesus looks like. Look around at society. The fields are white unto harvest. |
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| Green Pastures Church Ballymena |
I have been involved with this amazing church since its beginning ten years ago and have been on the Presbyter board since 2014. This 1000 strong church is currently building a unique Christian village on a nearby 96 acre site and it will be ready in around two years time. In January this year I was appointed as non-executive director in the Compassion Ministry and this has initially involved many visits (an 87 mile round trip from home) and many hours of meetings. I also taught at their Green Pastures College on January 24th and 25th.
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| Training church ministry team |
Karmel Church Belfast asked us to assist the in building up a strong prayer ministry team within their church and this currently involves a series of Saturday training sessions followed by regular workshops with the CRi team members. As I, and some of our team reach three score years and ten we are keen to do more of this so that others can gain from our twenty years of experience.
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| Ellel Pierrepont, Frensham, Surrey, February 14th - 17th |
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| I have been an associate teacher with Ellel Ministries International for two decades now, and this visit marked my 18th year teaching Ellel Pierrepont NETS students in this magnificent internationally known Christian discipleship training school set in a stunning 35 acre estate in Surrey. On Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th I taught Term two students on 'The Father heart of God'. During this eight session course an unusual feature is devoting one session to taking the students on an hour and a quarter walk through the estate's woodland, stopping at various points to bring Romans 1:20 alive: 'For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse' On Thursday 16th I taught Term four students on 'Hearing the Voice of God', 'The dark night of the soul' and 'God's testings'. Then on Friday morning I gave the weekly NETS sermon titled 'The one word that changed my life' [also on YOUTUBE] |
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Teaching term 2 students from many nations including South Africa, Hong Kong, Thailand, Scotland, England, Malaysia, Australia ... |
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Teaching term 4 students - and giving the weekly NETS sermon. |
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| March 23rd - April 3rd |
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| The Father heart of God day in Oslo was held at the Frikirken Lutheran Church which is also the Oslo base for Ellel Ministries in Norway. It was very encouraging to see a full church, most people having come for the first time. I had only three sessions of an hour each, which in reality is then cut in two due to the need to have every sentence translated, yet with such a short time (normally a 12 hour course in English) the Presence of God was very real as was the response of the people. |
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This was also the introduction of my book Loved Like Never Before, translated into Norwegian. During the breaks some 4o copies were sold, and it was a privieldge to sign many books during the lunch break.
On Sunday morning we attended the church service there and was well blessed by the visiting speakers. Sunday afternoon we spent sightseeing again, and also on the Monday, - where we went to the top of the mighty olympic ski jump construction, before setting off on Tuesday for a 7 hour drive across Norway to the beautiful Grosas area - a few miles from the beautiful town of Kistiansands.
On the Wednesday we were treated to a guided tour of the area by a local historian who is part of the Ellel Team, and found Norway to be beautiful and also prohibitively expensive for shopping!! |
Book signings |
Grosas Centre, western Norway |
Team training at Grosas centre
On Thursday March 30th I did a day training day for Ellel team members from several areas.
The subject was 'deliverance'
It is always a joy to teach people who are hungry
for teaching and training |
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| March 31st - April 2nd |
The main event of the visit was the weekend course on 'The Father Heart of God' It was encouraging to see a full house and the numbers would have been more if the centre had more beds available. Facilities are excellent, as was the food. The centre is currently being expanded which is excellent news. There were many lives touched by God. We received this email a day after we returned.
"I have been so thankful for the weekend at Grosås. I have been waiting for this for 27 years….
I have finally found my DAD !!!!! At an age of 13, I realised that I had to turn my back on my father,
because he hurt me too much inside. Since than I`ve been looking for God the father.
I love him and I hope it will last forever and not past away."
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We have begun a fortnightly prayer ministry training programme for Green Pastures church
in Ballymena.
All staff - including senior pastor Jeff Wright - are taking part in the programme so that prayer ministry will be expanded from a department to a culture within the church.
This unique and dynamic church now has around a 1000 members after only 10 years from start up.
Their mission statement "I was a stranger and you took me in" (Matthew 25:35b) is something they take very seriously. |
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Flame international
is a UK based charity that takes teams of volunteers into war-torn and suffering communities with God's love and compassion for the broken. It adds to the valuable work of traditional aid agencies by bringing healing of the emotional and spiritual damage caused by bloodshed, conflict, poverty and oppression. It was founded in 2003 by Lieut.Colonel (Ret'd) Jan Ransom MBE |
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Ken, Jan and Linda |
There are two ladies I regard as heroines in God's Kingdom. One of them is Jan Ransom, the founder and director of Flame International. I first encountered her while I was teaching on the Ellel Ministries NETS discipleship school in the early 2000's. Then in November 2003 - the year she founded Flame International - she invited me to teach The Father Heart of God on a weekend course in a hotel for Christian Army officers wives. I remember the weekend well as the England and Australia rugby world cup final was being shown on TV in a nearby room. When the course finished I dashed to the room just in time to see England's Jonny Wilkinson unleash his famous drop kick in the final minutes to clinch victory. A memorable weekend on many fronts! As Flame International grew in stature and impact, I signed up to receive their regular News booklet called Burning Issues, and then finally, last year, to sign on as Flame 1000 supporter.
On Wednesday April 12th Jan flew into Belfast to spend the afternoon with us, and asked if I would be agreeable to providing pastoral and spiritual oversight on an advisory basis. As you may guess, I will be honoured to be able to help in any way I can!
Please take a moment to look them up on the internet. They are inspiringly courageous for Jesus. Perhaps read the book 'Lighting Fires In The Dark' telling the remarkable story of their work in such places as Sudan, Pakistan, Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Armenia etc. |
“Flame International are one of the most extraordinary kingdom ministries I know. They fearlessly carry the torch of Christ’s love and power into some of the world’s darkest places bringing transformation, healing and deliverance.”
- Reverend Simon Ponsonby
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Great news!
In these days of Kindle and all other forms of e-books, few printed books need a second print run.
I am delighted to hear that publisher Sovereign World are now doing a third run on 'Loved Like Never Before'
They have also anounced that it can be viewed on na new app called Book2Read giving readers the chance to sample the early pages, plus other information.
You can try it here. |
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| Sunday evening Life applications at Green Pastures |
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Green Pastures Church offers a large range of 40 minute Life Application seminars before the 11am morning service and the 6pm evening service. Subjects available cover such issues as Parenting God's Way, Finding Grace In Grief, Financial Stewardship, Strong Start, Be-Planted, Meet The Holy Spirit, Keep The Love Alive etc. These mini-seminars are held in various rooms throughout the large church premises. |
| The main auditorium hosts the weekly 'Headline App' and I took the morning headline Life app. in November and have taken the evening life app. during April. The subject during April was 'Moving on with God' [above photo from November morning app] |
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I have always loved walking climbing and camping in the mountains, but due to my (severe) heart condition and increasing age - 70 later this year - I have been hesitant to go there. However in May I chose to return and have been several times walking and camping, going further and higher each time. It has amazed me how well I have done and I am loving it! God is good and God is faithful! |
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| Weekend mission at Portroe, County Tipperary 2-4 June |
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This was our 28th visit to 'God's Garage' since it opened ten years ago. Founded by Anne-Marie Mulrooney it remains one of our teams most loved destinations. On Friday evening Anne-Marie spoke briefly but powerfully (pictutred above) on the blessings that have come through her choosing to fully submit to God's will. It was clearly an anointed message reflecting God's heart for that evening so I continued on with that theme speaking on 'The authority released through choosing to fully submit to God's will' relating many stories from my own journey as illustrations. On the Saturday morning's first session I taught on how unhealed wounds can hinder your Kingdom growth, and in the second session, healing the wounds that come from rejection. On the Saturday afternoon the six strong team ministered to a substantial number of people from 2pm - 8pm. This is always a well booked up afternoon as there are few opportunities to get personal prayer ministry. The cars parked outside Anne-Marie's home on the Saturday afternoon illustrate this! One young lady gave her life to Jesus during one of these afternoon ministry sessions. |
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| Holiday in Switzerland June 6th - 13th |
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| Linda and I get to travel extensively throughout the world on teaching missions and get to spend memorable days off with many special friends in those countries, but rarely do we get a 'pure us-time holiday' Thanks to the generosity of friends we were able to fly to Switzerland for a week, hire a car and drive 100 miles to the village of Wengen in the alps to spend a week's holiday in a beautiful alpine hotel run by a Christian couple. It turned out to be a major blessing, especially for Linda who had been very ill for the previous two months. She was so unwell that I considered cancelling the holiday, but in the end, believing this was a gift from God, chose to trust Him and travel. The day we arrived at the Edelweiss Hotel in Wengen, Linda's health immediately improved and we were able to explore the mountains, lakes and rivers with the energy of people half our age. We give thanks to God, and thanks to those who made this holiday possible. Not only could we enjoy relaxing evening walks, but also the alpine heights. At 11,716 feet above sea level, the Jungfrau 'Sphinx' atronomical observatory is the highest-altitude construction in the entire continent, and I was unsure how my heart would cope with the very thin air. Many others around me were getting medical treatment for such, but praise God, it did not trouble me at all! |
We will be travelling to Australia at the end of June where I will be teaching at Melbourne and near Sydney
The July - December 2017 Newsletter should begin in September
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