Yesterday at Amplify we had a great time of worship and prayer. Over 40 of us came together to sing praises to God and pray out loud as a corporate body. Toyin led us in worship and Melissa played the guitar on songs like I Love You Lord, You Are Good, and Alpha and Omega.

Toyin really encouraged us to vocalise our praises and prayers, to hear from God and to respond to his word that comes through another person. It was a really practical time of learning to praise God by opening our mouths and declaring His goodness.

We also heard testimonies on how God provided jobs and restored a father and son’s relationship. Reuben brought the word that God’s heart is for His people to be well and complete, referring to the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4. He called us to pray in groups of 6-8 people, and so we prayed for the city of Manchester specifically – for God to break the bondages of loneliness, depression, illness, violence, and to restore broken families and the economy of the city.

We also prayed and thanked God for the authorities of Manchester – the police force, the City Council and law-makers so that God’s anointing, wisdom and grace will be upon these people to do their jobs. We thanked God for the Kid’s Club vision that he has put into the hearts of the elders, and that he continues to reveal specific details.

God is indeed good and everything we prayed that night will surely come to pass. We serve an awesome King, and I was really encouraged by everyone there that night.

This Friday at 7.30pm we have Nathan and Laura Whillans, coming to talk to us about the role of men and women in the church. See you there!

Wan Phing

Last Friday at Amplify, we had Gavin White, one of the elders in King’s Church, talk to us about Politics and the Church. It was a really fun and interactive session that got us thinking about our roles as Christian in the society that we live in.

We started off with a quiz, with questions like ‘Who is the manager of Manchester City FC?’ and ‘Who is the lead singer of U2?’

The purpose of the quiz was to show that knowing the world around us and keeping up to date with current affairs is important in order for us to change it. We were encouraged to be like the men of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32 who ‘understood the times, and knew what Israel should do‘.

Gavin referred to the Parable of the Yeast in Matthew 13. As Christians, we are called to be like yeast that has an pervasive impact on our world (the dough/bread).

He also encouraged us with the fact that to make an impact on the world around us, we have to make contact. To reap the harvest, we have to be close enough to touch it. Therefore we are not to be taken out of the world (John 17:15) but we are to permeate it, infiltrate it, and change it.

We got into groups and talked about issues we are passionate about, how the church can address it and what we can practically do now to work towards it.

Many talked about child poverty, education, restoring families and immigration. We were encouraged to follow Jesus’s example of relating to the world, which is living a life of integrity and honesty, changing the hearts and minds of people around us and influencing society with truth and grace.

There was plenty of insight on what ‘right’ and ‘left’ means in politics, and Gavin also gave us a Politics 101 on what the three main British political parties represent. There was also a mock election where no one was allowed to abstain from voting.

I came away from the night learning that the gospel of Jesus Christ demands that we get involved in the life of society. We are to engage and change the world around us, not escape into our holy huddles, as prayer should fuel us into action.

Being radical is not the same as social rebellion, rather, it is to present a heavenly alternative to the world around us. Practical examples include washing the tea cups in the office, or not gossiping about the boss when everyone else is.

I was totally blessed by what Gavin shared, and encourage you to radically influence the area and culture God has placed you in.

Wan Phing Lim

Amplify in Acts is a meeting held monthly on a Friday at 7.30pm. We gather to look into the book of Acts and learn what God has to say to us as individuals and a group. Acts speaks about the power of the Holy Spirit made manifest in the lives of believers and how it transform others’ lives.

This week (9 Oct) we looked at Acts 3 and 4. After reading a chapter, the floor was open for people to chip in their insights and share what God revealed to them through the verses.

Ant Myers shared about the importance of placing ourselves in the ideal position to receive, as demonstrated by the lame man at the gate of the temple called Beautiful to ask for alms (Acts 3:2).

We learnt that we are a people called to be extraordinary and supernatural even though we may seem ordinary in the world’s eyes (Acts 4:13). As we operate in the gifts of the Spirit and possess faith that can move mountains, we are able to see miracles unfold and change lives. Another interesting point was that this miracle was accompanied by salvation. As the lame man was healed and started praising God, 5,000 men were added into the kingdom (Acts 4:4).

Judith Ude spoke about the rewards of sowing a seed into someone’s life. While Peter and John were imprisoned, the work of salvation continued to flourish and many came into the kingdom. She invited us to exemplify the church in Acts by being united in one mind and spirit, reporting any significant event to the church, be it a miracle or a need so that we can pray together (Acts 4:23).

So much more insight was gleaned from the scriptures that evening and it was truly a blessing to come together to study the Word.

On the whole, it was an exciting evening as God spoke through His Word and ignited the passion in us to actively pursue the mission He has set out for us, knowing that we are equipped with the power and authority of the Holy Spirit.

Janice Tan

The Gathering is a meeting for students from across Manchester to worship God together and reach out to our campuses with the Gospel. Last Friday the 2nd of Oct, students from King’s Church, Ivy Manchester, Life Church, Reach, Hope, Audacious Church and other churches from across the city were present.

It felt wonderful being in the presence of other young women and men of God that are hungry for more of Jesus, and also hungry for making Jesus famous throughout Manchester and beyond. It showed me that the power of God truly works within many students today.

Worship

With over a hundred students at the gathering, the praise and worship was very powerful. I felt God move through me and it was awesome.

Testimonies

The testimonies gave us all another reason to give God thanks. I was really encouraged by the young man who testified about going out onto the streets and praying for others. Also the testimony of the man with vocal paralysis, doctors said he would never talk again, but through prayer and the grace of God he got completely healed.

Prayer and Encouragement

The different prayers that we made were also very powerful. There were different stations set up for prayer. The first was ‘Seed of Hope’ – a prayer about the area of your life that you want to grow in. ‘Bucket of Love’ was another station, where we wrote an encouraging note to someone. ‘You’ve Got Mail’ was the station where we wrote a letter to ourselves about the areas of our lives that you want to improve in and open it on the 2nd June 2010. We then did business with God at the ‘Sin Bin’ shredding station. The ‘University Prayers’ was the station where we prayed for different universities to receive a blessing from God. Lastly there was ‘Rewrite the Night’, where we prophetically declared over clubs and different students’ nights.

I believe that God has a huge purpose for the students of Manchester and will use them to see His kingdom increase in Manchester.

Ruth-Anne Burgher

WorldWatch was held at All Nations Centre in Cardiff this year and, as always, the Spirit spoke powerfully through his servants. I only managed to get to the Saturday part but it was still an incredible time of testimony and edification. It’s so encouraging to hear how Christian brothers and sisters are advancing the gospel in the nations, even in the face of persecution.

We heard how Jesus was being made famous in the Philippines, Cuba, Vietnam, and Bhutan among others, through ordinary people trusting in the extraordinary Holy Spirit. That same Spirit lives in us!

We read in Acts 2:47 “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” This is exactly what is happening across the globe: multitudes giving their lives to the Lord and the good news preached, backed up by signs, wonders and miracles.

It inspires me to make a reality of what I hear about in other nations. Multitudes saved, miracles and people being raised from the dead: we should expect God to do those things in the UK, in Manchester and on our streets, just as he is doing across the world. Let’s be expectant that God will do mighty things here, today and though us!

Matthew Harkness

Last week the 18s-30s in King’s Church ran a student café over two afternoons. The doors of Seminar Room 1 were opened onto Sidney Street for people to pop in, have some refreshments and chill out on our comfy sofas.

The purpose was to reach out to the hundreds of students attending the fresher’s fair at Sugden Sports Centre opposite our building. What a strategic location God has placed us in!

The Amplify team were out inviting the masses of students going in and out of the fair. Many came in for free-flowing tea and coffee, non-alcoholic cocktails as well as yummy muffins and cupcakes.

Members of the daytime fellowship helped with the café on Wednesday, and the media team were also out to vox pop students with a microphone and video camera, asking their views on God, Jesus and religion.

It is good to see the Church in the Homes and the church as a whole getting involved and responding to the preaching and prophetic word that is coming really clearly at the moment about mission and harvest.

Here’s what a few of us had to say about the Fresher’s Café:

“I’ve just had an amazing 2 days at the AMP cafe. Over 200 freshers came through our doors to drink tea, coffee & cocktails, many of them wanting to find out about the church” – Ant Myers.

“I’ve had an amazing day at the cafe today” – Zoe Lush.

Many thanks to those who came to help in any way they could; from setting up, making beverages, to welcoming the new students and cleaning up.

If you’re reading this and you’re a new student, we have more free food for you. Come and join us for a free student lunch after the meeting on Sunday the 4th, 11th or 18th of October at 2pm.

Wan Phing Lim

Last Friday evening was a great opportunity to hang out with awesome people over games and a cup of tea. I met some new friends and caught up with old ones. We brainstormed over poster proposals, acted out “embarrassing moments” and carried each other across Seminar Room 1 on bits of newspaper (don’t ask!).

It’s just so important for us to remember that our church family is not a group of people we see for two hours on a Sunday, but true brothers and sisters who share the same Father. We have something amazing in common, and so we can support and encourage each other in a powerful way.

Come ready to get to know each other. I am excited about the new faces I met yesterday, excited about spending more time with them over a meal, a movie or evangelising on the streets. I am excited to see what God does through our lives as His people this year.

P/S: There will be no Amplify this Fri 25th Sept as we are going to Worldwatch Conference in Cardiff. The next meeting is The Gathering on Fri 2nd Oct 7.30pm with other churches in Manchester, here in King’s House. See you there!

Shin Tiong

Amplify last week was an amazing time, which saw over 40 of us gather on a Friday night to worship God and hear from Him. God spoke to us through Reuben and He called us to press on and draw close to Him because He was there and ready to meet us. At that point I got really excited and just could not help but give Him praise.

Cathryn led us in a medley of worship songs, with Heather on the drums. We were encouraged to shout our praises out loud to Him and thank Him for everything He’s done in our lives – food on our table, roof above our heads, being our Father … (can we count them all?)

Later, Ant shared about what Richard talked about the previous Sunday, on how we are created by God to do good works. One of the ways of worshipping God is to do good works, as it says in James 2:17: “… faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” (NLT)

As a response to that, Amplify has begun an evangelism/outreach team called First Contact, where we will be spreading the Gospel by taking to the streets of Manchester and telling people about Jesus. We have some events lined up like the Amp Café, which are all part of the aim to spread the Gospel to strangers, acquaintances and friends alike.

That night’s message was recorded and we will soon post them up so you can listen to it on the website here. Don’t miss out on what God’s doing in your generation and in this city. Come and be blessed so you can bless others.

Wan Phing Lim

People met again at King’s House and conversed with one another over drinks and snacks. We then gathered together and began our series on the book of Acts. (Acts is a wonderful book and records for us the acts of the early church as they began to spread the good news of God’s Kingdom to the ends of the earth.)

The session began by everyone reading through the first chapter of Acts. Matthew Harkness then shared with us some of the key themes that are highlighted throughout the chapter. We learned how Jesus prepared his disciples to be his witnesses by teaching them about the Kingdom of God.

After an interval we continued the session by considering the first part of the second chapter – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. People were asked to read the passage and then feedback to the group anything they wanted to share. As we considered the story together we learned about God’s intention for His Spirit to be poured out upon all people and how this would ultimately result in a glory-filled earth.

It was a great time together – a time of being equipped and encouraged by the word of God and allowing His word to be more amplified in our lives.

Reuben Cole