MARCH 2018
ISSUE 26
K I NG F I S H E R FAMILY The 25 year journey The importance of the journey We have always been strong on vision What have we learned as a result of and on where God is calling us to, but 25 years of this journey? Amongst the we have come to understand that the many lessons, these three stand out: destination should never blind us to the lessons that God is wanting to You can rely on God’s teach us through designing the promises journey in the way that He has. He When God promises something He delivers. He promised us, 25 years ago uses the journey to grow us, to refine that we would have a national and an us, to encourage us, to challenge us; in international influence, that we would fact, He designs the journey specifically to transform us into the become a network of churches and ministries that would stretch around people He wants us to become. He does that individually, but we have the world. Whilst there was no come to see that He does it human way for this to happen, by corporately as well. There have been God’s grace it has increasingly times of great setback and loss, as become so. As Psalm 138:2 tells us, well as times of great breakthrough His promises are backed by all the and growth; none of these honour of His name. The journey of experiences is random and each one Kingfisher has been marked and directed by the promises of God, and is either planned or allowed by God if you want to learn more about how to grow us into the community He His promises have come to pass over dreams that we can become. We grow in faith not only as we look the past 25 years, you can read all forward at what is yet to be, but as about it in the book, ‘The God of we look back at the journey so far Promise’ that was published in 2017 Perhaps one of the biggest wonders and come to discern His hand in it all. of all as we look back over 25 years is and is available via the resources page that we are still here! We started out on our website. The power of prayer as just a tiny group of people with no We have seen so many seeminglyresources, plan of action or particular impossible situations turned around strategy, and have faced huge through the power of coming challenges along the way. It is only together in prayer - situations such as because of God’s grace that we have the closure of the church building, got this far. Only because of his potentially for months when asbestos unmerited love that we have survived was found in the ceiling space. Facing the onslaughts of satan, the challenges a huge bill and the impossible of pioneering something innovative situation of finding an alternative and challenging to the status quo, venue for over 1000 people, the always under-funded and generally congregation came together in prayer misunderstood. Only the grace of and God intervened giving us a way God. And yet… here we stand. Still ahead, plus the blessing of the loan of here. Still confounding the critics. Still a church building from the Church of trusting in God who said to us: England. Over the past 25 years, prayer has brought breakthroughs, “If you spend yourselves in behalf of the brought us together in common hungry and satisfy the needs of the purpose, brought us through dark oppressed, then your light will rise in the times - more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of! This is a landmark year for Kingfisher International family; we are 25 years old! We held a celebration event in Gloucester, UK, to mark this moment, with input from various people around the world. As we looked back over 25 years and heard from people who have, at some point in that time had their lives impacted by what God has been doing among us, we were left with a fresh sense of awe and gratitude. Hundreds of people in the UK and thousands around the world have come to faith in Christ, so many have been baptised and encouraged along the path of becoming fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. So many have experienced freedom from past hurts, from the consequences of their own sin and from situations beyond their control. 25 years is a long time, and many who were born into the Kingfisher Family are now grown up and serving God, either within Kingfisher or further afield.
darkness, and your night will become like the noonday” (Isaiah 58:10, NIV)
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