God in the Park A Crusade Report from Pontypool, South Wales, UK  The clouded sky hung as a canopy above a beautiful 150 acre public park in Pontypool, South Wales, as a small group of faithful Christians gathered for the opening ceremony of a three day Christian mission called “God in the Park”. The local mayor had been invited to officially open the mission, and as he did so, those present felt the enormity of what was being attempted.For in fact, it seemed impossible for the mission to succeed. Sharon Full Gospel Church, a small church of 15 members (mostly senior citizens), and the only Pentecostal church in Pontypool (a town of 40,000 inhabitants), had organised this crusade in a hired marquee built to hold 200. They had walked many miles to deliver 15,000 printed leaflets to local residents, and placed adverts in all the local newspapers, reaching out to a combined readership of over 250,000 people. But from the moment that the mayor’s opening finished, and the praise and preaching began, everyone present knew that God’s hand was on this event and that it would exceed all expectations.  On the first night 150 people came to hear evangelist Roz Day preach the gospel. Only one lady responded to the call of Jesus Christ that night, but it was a promising beginning. On each night following, the tent was filled almost to capacity, and by the end of three days, more than 500 people had attended and 8 had committed their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. In some parts of the world, eight souls would not appear to be a great victory. But here in South Wales, where any Pastor would be overjoyed to see a single convert in a year, eight in three days is truly remarkable! Could this be the beginning of a breakthrough in South Wales? The event was remarkable in another way, as it attracted Christians from a large geographic area, and from more than 30 different churches of all denominations. Some came 40 miles to hear the word of God, and the powerful anointing in worship and preaching grew day by day, with waves of the Holy Spirit tangibly flowing over the congregation in the morning sessions, where Pastor Mathew Bartlett preached on “evangelism by fire”, and Evangelist Roz day exhorted the people to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.  A big bonus for the mission was the Saturday afternoon family event as almost 200 people descended on the Park. Volunteers from five churches painted children's faces, juggled fire, performed magic and puppet shows and played games, leaving smiles on many children’s faces and a good impression on the hearts of parents, many of whom returned for the evening service.Next year, this “little church” plan to use a bigger tent, and increase publicity to build on the success of this year. How big will the little church be by this time next year? Watch this space! Watch the video of this event COMING SOON on Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/user/sharonfgchurch |
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CategoriesBBC Radio 2Bible Study Christian Christian Devotional Concerts Crusade Current Affairs Entertainment Evangelism Gospel Manfred Mann Music Paul Jones Pontypool Jazz Festival Rythm & Blues Sixties Music South Wales |
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