I’d love you to join with the Pastors and Elders for 24 hours of fasting and praying (8:00 am Friday 03 Nov – 8:00 am Sat 04 Nov) for a very delicate and tricky situation at RBC. We are praying for a breakthrough in the purchase of a new manse for the church. I use the word ‘breakthrough’ because this process has been rumbling on for the last 16 months and yet whenever we are progressing with a possible purchase we hit a wall; the vendor withdraws or an untenable problem with the property is revealed.
The last occasion this happened was just over a week before we moved to Redhill at the end of August, when thanks to some super speedy work and negotiations by the manse team, our temporary home in Reigate Road was found and we were able to move in on September 1st. If you haven’t visited us at our Reigate Road address yet, then we look forward to seeing you at one of our Sunday afternoon sessions in the next few months.
This is just a temporary situation; renting this house is expensive and it is not an ideal ministry base because access is limited due to the steep stairs from the road.
As I say, this is tricky for me because I’m thinking of the manse as a home that will serve the ministry of the church for now and in the future. The manse needs to be a good future investment for the church and an example of good stewardship of the church’s resource that other ministers and ministries in the future will benefit from. The manse will also be our family home and needs to be a place that we can live in.
While we pray and fast together over Friday and into Saturday it will be good to reflect on what God is saying to us:
- Are we looking in the wrong or right area- some people think the manse should be in walking distance of the church- others don’t!
- Do we need to review the budget- is it realistic or overly optimistic?
- Does someone already have the house God wants for the church?
- Is there a different approach we could take – do we need to change our strategy?
Our 24 hours of prayer and fasting concludes on Saturday morning at 8:00 am at the church building when we will break our fast together with food (provided by the church), celebration and reflection on what God has been saying to us. Whether you have been praying and fasting for 24 hours or just 24 minutes, come and join us as we eat, sing, pray, laugh, reflect and respond together.
See you Saturday at 8:00
Redhill Letter Day 