Getting Stuck In…..

24th February 2024. Three months on from our invitation by Church Leaders – under the Direction of God – we are settling into our ministries in John Bunyan (English) Baptist Church and the Burmese (Baptist) Mission Church. Already I have preached six times at the latter, and twice at the former – the second of these being a Healing Service where people came forward for Prayer-Ministry.

A particular need is being filled with the Burmese congregation, as Gin (the male Pastor) suffered a heart attack while the couple were ministering in Australia over the New Year period. He has made a good recovery, but it will take time to get back to full strength. And for me – having had scarce opportunity for the last few years – it is a joy to be ministering the Word of Life again. As I write, Canadian evangelist Scott Dalton is returning to preach, prophesy and minister – he who in a different church setting prophesied to us a year ago that we would be joining a Healing team. He was with us a few weeks ago for the Church’s Anniversary, and we have started joining his online Prayer meetings with Gin and Man.

I had the opportunity to pray with the John Bunyan Church Pastor’s eldest son, who had a painful condition in his chest. Although there was no immediate healing (in fact, his headache got much worse!), he presented himself at Outpatients shortly after for an examination, to be told the welcome news that, while bruising was observable in the area, the important place was now fully healed. I should mention that he had been told the condition would heal with medicine, but I’ve observed before that prayer can speed the healing process. As I write he is about to be baptised as a Believer, as a public confession of his faith. Hallelujah!

Shortly I will be sharing with the pastor’s wife in leading a Lent Study course, and in March I will be leading the musical and sung Worship at three of the English church’s Services leading up to Easter. That will be a joy and a privilege after a long period of not being able to do that.

We had no idea when we set out on our visiting churches tour in Oxford nearly eighteen months ago that we would now be in our unique situation. But we have a vision – shared by other leaders – that this church building, so long known for its hosting of a well-known Arts Centre, can become a central place for Healing in Jesus’ Name! Bring it on!