Last weekend I visited Jubilee Church in London, UK. I was determined to visit the Saturday morning prayer meeting—Adrian had told me that it was the power house behind the growth of the church. (I blogged about the church two years ago: http://chri.st/jubilee-church-enfield and there has been remarkable growth since then.)
We arrived in time for the 8:00am start. The first 20 mins were a time for coffee and fellowship and as more and more people arrived I wondered how we were going to fit into the meeting hall. (I counted over a hundred—more people than chairs.)
We began with Tope Koleoso talking about current prayer needs—the baptisms and dedications on the following day, the upcoming youth event, and a few other things. I was asked to talk briefly about Newlife church, Toronto and a prophetic word was given which was amazingly appropriate to our situation.
Then the main prayer time began which was loud and passionate. From time to time someone would begin a song and we would all join in. I felt a very strong sense of the presence of God as a warm and powerful sweetness. I would say that there have been very few occasions where I have felt it more strongly.
As the meeting progressed, prayer began to be focused on particular issues. In the picture below, all those going to be baptized the next day are being prayed for.
The meeting drew to a close around 9:30am. What a way to start the day! I could understand now why so many people were willing to get up early on a Saturday morning. It was time for a good English breakfast at a local cafe.
Sunday Morning
Jubilee meets in a Cineworld cinema in the central hub of Enfield, a multicultural urban area on the edge of north London.
Our hosts, Adrian and Andree made sure we arrived early enough for us to get seats in the main "screen" which seats around 500 because the children would be in the meeting for the baptisms and the overflow room would be needed. The church is one of the most multicultural that I have ever been in, and that was one of the reasons for our visit. I want to see something like this in Toronto.
Tope gave a short address on "thankfulness" from the story of the ten lepers. I noticed how attentive people were. He has a unique style, using unexpected turns of phrase that catch your attention and make you think about the truth, rather than letting it slip by through over familiarity.
Two babies were dedicated and the mothers both described the extraordinary way that God had preserved the lives of these "miracle babies" while the church family prayed for them.
Following the dedications, there were eight people baptised. Before each baptism, a pre-videoed testimony was shown on the big screen. This was very effective (and really uplifting) and the pre-videoing made it possible to smoothly pack so much into the morning meeting.
It really does the heart good to see with your own eyes such an example of the power of God and the building of his Kingdom. I wanted to sing for the rest of the day!
