Why Plant - anniverasyr

I shared a few of these statistics at our prayer meeting a couple of months ago, but they’re worth thinking about again.

The last survey done by the C of E found that less than 6% of the country attend church.

Of that 6% less than half read their bibles, pray or even actually attend church regularily.

That’s down then to 2.5%

In mission terms we’d almost call the British an unreached people group!

When mission agencies asses whether a people group has received the gospel or not - they use the term unreached to mean that less than 2% of the population are evangelical, and as such tey are unlikely to be able to spread the gospel by themselves without mission help and support.

Britain is seems is barely above 2%

For reasons known to God alone, we are starting again with the Gospel in the UK.

while

almost every single church denomination sees year on year decline in attendance.

- the bible believing evangelicals are seeing growth year on year.

That means 2 things - we praise God that people are seeing the futility and darkness of liberal churches who have cast away the Lordship of Jesus - in exchange for the gods of this age.

And we hold onto the reality that the gospel is still powerfully at work when it is declared - and is the only relevant truth of interest to our nation.

Paul’s words are as wonderful for us today as they where in his time.

2 Corinthians 4:4–10 NIV 2011

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

We have had 13 years at GCWP of highs and lows but Jesus has kept us faithful to his Gospel.

We have represented both Jesus’ death and his resurection.

His gospel is glorious - even though we are fragile jars of clay that seem vulnerable and weak.

This year ahead is going to be wonderfully exciting as we look to church plant - changing those statistics we heard earlier - so that unbelievers - who have been blinded by the god of this age

can see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ.

We may be hard pressed - but in Christ we will not be crushed,

we may be perplexed - but in Christ we will not despair.

We may even be persecuted - but in Christ we will not be abandoned

And even if we are struck down (which I trust is unlikely in Stoneleigh if that is where we plant) - in Christ and his gospel - we can never be destroyed.

Tonight is a celebration on all God has done over 13years at GC -

And it is a prayer - that he will keep these promises in 2 Corinthians for us,

and He will do his work in this corner of London for another 13 years and beyond.

Pray -

I’m going to hand over to Jeab to speak more about our history and our future...

Jeab

For those of us who stay here at GC and don’t go with plant - we too have both excitement and work ahead of us.

We are spreading ourselevs thinly so that there is room for more to hear the gospel and to fill us out again as we honour Christ in this way.

We too must pray - we have a great gospel to take out to the streets - let’s see God fill our seats of those who leave.

And we too must step up and serve - there will be painful gaps to fill,

peoples shoes who cannot be filled - but can perhaps can be done by someone else differently.

There is exiting work to be done for the Lord.

But He is worth it.

2 Corinthians 4:8–9 NIV 2011

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:10 NIV 2011

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

Pray