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3rd January: Ashdon
Minister: Rev. David W. Doonan
Give thanks with us for the successful year of
celebrations of our Bi-Centenary including the completion of our
kitchen and toilets refurbishment with generous contributions from
many EBA churches.
Give thanks for increasing numbers attending Sunday
worship and for a couple of new members who have joined the church
and for those who have not yet joined – pray that they will do so.
Also give thanks for the support of Saffron Walden Baptist Church
with preachers, and musicians.
Pray for increased interest within the village and
for conversions to Christ of our friends and neighbours. Pray for
the Senior Citizens Lunch Club and its evangelistic impact.
10th January:
Benfleet
Minister: Vacant
2009 was a
challenging year for us. Several of our congregation were ‘called
home’ and at the end of August our Minister, Rev David Keeble,
accepted a call from Saffron Walden Methodist Church.
We give thanks for
the visiting speakers who fill our pulpit week by week; increased
numbers in our Mother & Toddler Group and the monthly Art Day.
Please pray for our Deacons that they may know spiritual wisdom and
vision to discern the Lord’s will in the search for a new Minister
and the empowering of the Holy Spirit in leading the church forward.
17th January:
Billericay
Minister:
Rev. Alasdair Macleod (Senior Pastor); Gary Bott
(Youth Director)
GIVE THANKS with
us for the arrival of our new Senior Pastor and for God’s goodness
and faithfulness to us as a fellowship over the last four years of
interregnum.
GIVE THANKS for
those who brought the Word of God to us and for those who faithfully
continued to serve the Lord, His church and the community
steadfastly during this period.
PLEASE PRAY for
Alasdair & Alison and their children as they settle into their new
home, into their schools and into church life & responsibilities.
PLEASE PRAY for
our leadership team as, together, they seek the Lord’s direction and
the empowering of the Holy Spirit in leading the church forward & in
reaching the lost for Jesus.
24th January:
The Church in Great Notley
(This is a local Ecumenical Partnership of the Baptist Union, the
Church of England, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed
Church; in associate partnership with the Roman Catholic Church)
Minister:
Rev. Mike Shrubsole
Join with the
church in giving thanks for the starting of their building project
and the cutting of the first ceremonial turf on Monday 23rd
November. Pray for safety of workers on the building site and an
on-time delivery of the completed new church for the village of
Great Notley in July 2010. Pray for continued success of the
fundraising work as additional funds are still being sought to
furnish and equip the finished but empty building.
Please hold in
your prayers church members and the wide community who are eagerly
looking forward to using the building when it is finished. Pray for
new and meaningful links to be established with people who will be
attracted through the doors of the new church.
31st January:
Braintree
Minister:
Rev. Vilma Broadhurst
2009 has been a
good year for engaging with our community through Essence, Alpha,
the marriage preparation course and the marriage course. Our monthly
family services with our baked potato lunch that follows also
encourage us to invite friends and family to the service and lunch.
Please pray that these courses and our social events may encourage
people to learn how the good news of Christ is relevant in their
lives today and forever more.
Please pray for us
and all we look to do in 2010 to continue the work God has laid on
our hearts, which is to reach out into the community. This includes
continuing to do Essence, Alpha, and the marriage course. Please
join us in our prayer for new active Christian families to help with
this work. We will also need to address the issue of our buildings
that are old and in need of repairs.
Much prayer,
guidance and money are needed to address these issues.
7th February:
Brightlingsea
Minister: Senior Leader:
Peter Puttock
Please pray for us
on the following matters:
•
The
church has been without a minister for seven years and at the time
of writing is in consultation with regard to the Pastorate. Please
pray that we may know the Lord’s will and guidance concerning the
future ministry
•
The Ladies’ Craft
Group meets regularly and is an important outreach organisation
•
Although the church has no children or young people at the moment,
adults in our church are involved in ecumenical work with young
people in the town.
14 February:
Burnham-on-Crouch
Minister:
Rev. Tony Jones
We praise God for
the building alterations which are now finished and paid for, giving
us far better wheelchair access. We also thank Him for leading us to
set up "Café Extra," which replaces our morning service once a
month.
We would value
your prayers for several non-Christians who come in each month, and
for guidance regarding any improvements to the way we organise this;
also, for the appointment of new deacons and other office-holders at
next month's AGM.
7th March:
Chelmsford
– North Springfield
Moderator:
Rev. Rodney Sawtell
At present we are
engaged in the search for a new minister, and we ask for your
prayers in this matter that we may be guided to the person of God’s
choice.
We give thanks for
the continuing life of our church and the work of our Moderator
among us.
Although the work
of the children and young people has been up and down over the last
year, and our numbers have been small, we have seen some
encouragements in recent weeks. Please pray for our membership and
congregation at this time. We ask for your prayers for the elderly
and unwell in the congregation who find attendance at Church
increasingly difficult.
7th March:
Chelmsford –
Springfield Park
Minister:
Rev. Roger Stark
Praise:
•
For a greater spirit of unity, and a willingness to work together in
all departments of the work of the church.
•
For a number of new folk who are worshipping with us.
•
For
opportunities of fellowship with our partner church in Middelkerke,
Belgium.
Prayer:
•
For spiritual growth for us all, through the preaching of the Word
each Sunday, the ministry of our house groups, and the working out
in the 'ups and downs' of our daily lives.
•
For our
groups which provide service to the community in Christ's name - Wet
your Whistle Drop-in - Springboard Preschool - Little Sparks for
mums and tots.
•
For a
number of our older members with on-going health problems.
21st March:
Colchester – Orchard
Minister:
Vacant
Following the
great success of our Family Fun Week during the October half term
which saw over 80 parents and children from thelocal community
attend one or more of the days, we are planning to run a similar
event at the beginning of the Christmas holidays culminating in a
short carol service for all those involved. In the New Year we will
be preparing as a fellowship for the departure of our pastor, who
has accepted a call to full time military chaplaincy, and we will
begin the process of searching for God's replacement for him at
Orchard.
28th March:
Colchester - Wycliffe
Minister:
Rev. Dr Steve Rudge
We have so much to
thank the Lord for; our Minister Rev .Steve Rudge and his wife
Laurinda are fully settled into their new home.
Steve is just
finishing a preaching series on Ezra which is impacting the church;
the Lord is speaking strongly to us through this book.
We see the church
growing spiritually and slowly but surely, numerically.
We are forging
links with Samaritans Purse through the "Turn on the Tap" appeal and
Operation Christmas Child; we hope that this will progress next year
into an even deeper partnership.
The Father has
also blessed us with a Home Mission Grant that we believed would not
be forthcoming. Who is there like Him?
We give thanks for
•
Our Minister
•
Spiritual growth.
•
Our mission with
Samaritans Purse.
•
The grant.
Pray for
•
Wisdom regarding
the church fabric
•
The children’s work.
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3rd January: Basildon,
Kingswood
Minister: Rev. Stuart Woodward
We thank God for continued growth, another good Alpha
Course and several baptisms. We continue to be in conversation with
an architect about redeveloping our building to create more room for
people. Please pray for us as we consider the practicalities of
moving to two morning services, as we continue to wrestle with the
best ways of discipling both new Christians and long standing
Christians and as we seek to make progress on the buildings front.
We continue our focus on being a Kingdom people and
celebrate God’s great goodness.
10th January: Basildon–Laindon
Minister: Rev. Eric Baldwin
We would like to praise the Lord for 100 years of
worship that has taken place in this church, for the Centenary
celebrations and the people past and present that helped to
celebrate the life of this church. We also thank the Lord for our
new minister Rev Eric Baldwin and for the Induction service that was
attended by many.
May this be a new era for our church. For the things
that go on in our church we pray a blessing on - Noah's Ark
parent/carer and toddler group, for the newly formed coffee stop,
the Girl's Brigade.
We praise the Lord that Gilson obeyed your calling
and is now at Spurgeon’s college studying your word. We pray for the
Lord's continued love and blessings for the next 100 years. Amen
17th January: Bishop’s Stortford Minister:
Rev. John Walford
We have recently celebrated our 190th anniversary and
after 10 years of searching for the right site it appears that we
may soon be able to build our new church centre. We are so grateful
to God for all His blessings. We are grateful too for the school
that has been our meeting place since 2000. This may appear to be a
good time to take a step back and relax from the effort but please
pray that instead we will take a step up and be more effective in
our mission to this town and district.
24th January: Blackmore
Minister: Rev. Neil Blake
Blackmore is a village church established in the 19th
century, but exercising a vibrant outgoing ministry today under the
leadership of Neil Blake. The aim of the church is to allow God to
work through our lives in the real world today. This is undertaken
through the growing Sunday Service for young and old, and activities
for building bridges with the local area.
Please pray that the power and grace of God may be
seen in God’s family in Blackmore.
31st January: Brentwood
Minister: Rev. Peter Thomas
We thank God for the recent baptisms amongst our
young people, and ask you to pray for our continuing Young people’s
work after our Youth Worker Steve Tinning left in October to
commence studies with Spurgeon’s College, training for the Ministry.
We thank God for a number of members taking on this valuable work,
whilst we seek God’s will for future direction with our YP
leadership.
We praise God for the ongoing Alpha Courses running
at the church and new initiatives such as a Parenting and Christians
Against Poverty Money courses. Please pray for our Outreach Worker,
Michele Gibbins who leads these events as well as continuing with
her work in the community. We continue to pray for Lyn Cooke, a
member of our church, who is serving in Africa. We also ask for
prayer for ourselves that as a church we will be so filled with the
Holy Spirit that we will draw closer to God and radiate and reflect
His love in our own lives and those who we come into contact with.
7th February:
Brentwood – Pilgrim’s Hatch
Minister: Rev. James Pate
Please pray for our staff team - James Pate our
minister, Netty Packham our community worker and June Love our
minister's assistant. June is with us for 2 years and she hopes to
apply for Baptist ministry in 2011. James especially would ask for
prayer as he has just become chair of the Brentwood and District
Evangelical Fellowship. 2009 was an exciting year with our biggest
ever church weekend away, new work with young people, the expansion
of our work with parents and toddlers and 6 people baptised.
It has also been a challenging year, with financial
challenges as the recession bites and a number of our people facing
long term sickness.
Please pray for our leadership team as we meet
together in the New Year to seek God's guidance.
21st February: Canvey
–Leigh Beck
Minister: Vacant
Our minister, Jane Guest, left the church after 3
years in the pastorate, and we give thanks to God for her work among
us.
We are grateful to God for the guidance and help we
have received from Rev. Sheila Martin, as we prayerfully consider
the future life of the church.
We give thanks to God for
• A recently completed Alpha Course
•
Work among the young people, and we ask for
your continuing prayers for the Boys’ Brigade and ‘Pebbles’ (our
Girls’ Group)
21st February: Canvey
–Winter Gardens
Trainee Minister: Mark Davison
We give thanks to God for
• Adrian Tinning who has served us
faithfully as Moderator during our pastoral vacancy
• The settlement of our new Pastor last
September. Please pray for him as he studies two days a week at
Spurgeon’s College
• The steady growth we have seen in
recent months.
Please pray for our church as we enter into a new
chapter of ministry.
28th February: Chelmsford -
Central
Senior Minister:
Rev. Dr Paul Beasley-Murray
We have had a most encouraging start to the autumn.
Congregations were increasing and people were coming
into membership – and yet we are finding that we have to run very
hard just to stand still. In a town-centre church there is always a
good deal of coming and going. It has given us particular pleasure
to welcome Emma Maggs as our new part-time ‘community outreachworker’
(i.e. ‘evangelist’) as also Nicholas Tuohy, our new Australian
associate minister, and his wife Amanda. For the time being our
ministerial team is up to strength again. We are looking forward to
the build-up toward Easter, and then the Chelmsford Christian
Festival in June.
14th March: Clacton-on-Sea
– Pier Avenue
Minister: Sean Fountain
The members and friends at Pier Avenue Baptist Church
give thanks that the work on the next phase (the Atrium) of the
Welcome Centre building project is beginning. The church fellowship
continues to grow spiritually and numerically and there is great
commitment in the Church to serve Christ. As the vision continues to
take shape at Pier Avenue, we give thanks to God for His generosity
and His guiding.
Please pray that the building work progresses
smoothly and pray for our leadership that they may continue to seek
the mind of Christ for the future direction of the Church.
21st March: Colchester -
Eld Lane
Minister: Rev. Nick Lear
We are following the theme of 'Encouraging Missionary
Disciples'. As part of this process we will be running a 'Telling
our Story' course in January and February to encourage and equip us
to tell our Christian story. Pray that we will have the courage and
opportunities to put the training into practice as individuals and
as a church. |
New Year brings new challenges and resolutions.
Promises are made...but not always kept! It's good to remind
ourselves that God's promises never fail. It's on that basis we can
face the challenges ahead. Give thanks for the service of ministers,
elders, deacons & all other leaders in the churches. Pray for their
encouragement. Give thanks for the commitment and witness of all
God's people. Pray for all to know unity in mission and excitement
in being disciples of Christ in the year ahead.
Regional Ministry Team – Rev. Sheila Martin
Please pray for the 40+ churches and projects who
will be preparing to submit their Home Mission applications during
January.
In February please pray for David Martin as he
has a week in which to process these applications!
During March
please pray for those who will be Home Mission visitors to these 40+
situations. In your giving to Home Mission, your prayers for these
churches and projects and your prayers for the Grant application
process, you are being partners in mission with these churches and
projects who are seeking to make Jesus known in their locality.
Give thanks to God for this means of expressing our
partnership in the Gospel.
Editor:
Rev.
Michael Bell
prayerdiary@btinternet.com
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