Christchurch: May Return Trip
Charley returned to Christchurch for three conferences in mid-May. The first was the Te Raranga hosted churchwide unity gathering, “Together ’19”, at the new Christchurch Town Hall. Second was the “Movement Day” conference, a two day conference in the capital, Wellington, hosted by City by City Ministry, a church unity ministry. Finally, the quarterly “Christchurch Business Forum” breakfast hosted by a committee of Christchurch business persons. Interspersed with these meetings Charley had several key one on one meetings with various leaders of the city.
Te Raranga, “Together ’19”, Gathering - Christchurch
This was a citywide church meeting that was launched post Mosque attack in which 50 Muslims were murdered and 50 wounded in March in Christchurch. This terrorist act was the first of its kind in NZ and the most traumatic day in New Zealand notwithstanding the Christchurch earthquake of 2011. Post attack it initially appeared that the greater church had come together and was ready to gather as one. Unfortunately, the gathering was postponed and is to be rescheduled at a later date to be determined. This was the second church wide gathering cancelled/postponed in the last year. This was a disappointment but also an encouragement for many leaders to embrace the need for the Body of Christ to persevere in joining together whether in large gatherings or new directions of unity.
Movement Day - Wellington,
This inaugural two-day annual event hosted by City by City Ministries and New Zealand Christian Network was well attended with teams/participants from every major and some smaller cities in NZ. Each representative team gave a report on the health of unity in their respective city. From Christchurch, there was a contingent of seven in attendance including Charley. Four of that group gave a report of the status of Christchurch. All the cities' presentations were quite positive with the exception of Christchurch which transparently shared its difficulty in the face of the two major traumatic events, earthquake and terrorist attack. (This does not include the devastating fires and flooding having also taken place.) Their openness was so moving that the entire conference at the dinner meeting stood and prayed for Christchurch while laying on of hands on those representing the city. It was powerfully moving and brought a spark of encouragement! Those attending the conference had a good debrief meeting after returning to Christchurch to discuss the what’s next which continues to be a work in progress. Charley refers to this group as the “Together Team” which continued to get together to seek God's will and pray over the city unity movement.
The Christchurch Biz Forum
Finally, the last of Charley’s three meetings was held at the Riccarton Racetrack in Christchurch. It was the fourth such gathering and it was very encouraging to see approximately 65 business persons show up, have a great breakfast, and enjoy an excellent keynote speaker. There was great engagement through table discussions and many questions post speaker’s message. This is a great start for a strong marketplace movement of business leaders coming together in Christchurch. Stay tuned for what the Lord does in bringing His church together through the marketplace!
Additional Ministry Meetings and Opportunities
As mentioned earlier, Charley had several one on one meetings and continuing meetings from the earlier 3 month deployment this year. A couple of highlight continuing meetings were with the Latimer Church pastor, Tim Capill, and community prayer with Grace Vineyard Church leadership. One on one meetings included an important meeting with Pastor Ken Shelley, Lead Pastor at King’s Church and the leader of Te Raranga unity ministry. Charley also updated Sarah Jane Peez, the Executive Pastor of Grace Vineyard , one of the largest and fastest growing churches in Christchurch, on the Movement Day experience. All of these meetings were very beneficial and helpful in regards to the needs of Christchurch and how Ambassador Trust may help.
The Big Idea
One of Charley’s special meetings was with marketplace leaders George and Kay Scrimshaw, lifetime residents of Sumner Beach. Sumner is a relatively small bedroom community to the city of Christchurch. We like to refer to Sumner as our home away from home. Encouragingly, it has had multiple individuals prophesy that a great move of God would come and sweep over it and subsequently Christchurch. During and after our meeting, we were/are in agreement that no great move of God (revival) has historically occurred without persistent heartfelt prayer. In Sumner, there is a small underutilized Anglican Chapel in the center of the residential area which we have discussed becoming a Sumner Community Prayer Center. It is our hope that AT can be supportive in bringing a flood of prayers into this community 24/7. Charley sent a summary proposal for the “Center” to George to review. (Above pic: moon rise at Sumner Beach- also a big surfing community.)
Now that Charley has returned, we have been patiently waiting on the Lord. We feel we have received the green light to return to Christchurch for our next deployment no later than January 2020 to be an encouragement in strengthening the Body in Christchurch. Together and with Jesus’ help all things are possible.