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Newday Report
By Joel Virgo
Bedford, UK
The week began with the news that bookings had gone past the 5,000 figure – an exact answer to prayer for our world-class management team (led by Matt Simmonds) who had plotted 5,000 as a target in autumn 2004. 5,000 delegates was a substantial hike from 2004s figure (under 3,500), so the place seemed well populated.
The atmosphere heightened as the young people squashed into our main campsite venue and Paul Oakley and the guys led us to God with great songs, old and new. Stef Liston (Bermondsey, UK) preached from the story of Elisha raising the Shunammite widow’s dead boy. What a start! Hundreds and hundreds responded as the Holy Spirit came, resurrecting promises made to young lives, applying His presence where the law can only pronounce death, getting rid of the sin which cannot cohabit with Him.
Preparing an army
The following morning Nick Sharp visited the campsite – like a field commander preparing the troops. He shared his heart for Nottingham and trained our thousands in sharing a quick 90-second version of the gospel. Over the week 5,000 spaces on city-based projects were filled and young people rode into the city to communicate the gospel through words and actions. As yet, the only significant disappointment I have heard about the week was from young people wanting to know why they only got to evangelise once in the week. I have heard accounts of three conversions on the streets of Nottingham during Newday, and this was only from the young people of one church.
P-J Smyth flew in and joined us for about 30 hours before flying back to Johannesburg, though for many the impact of his words will last more than 30 years. P-J led us through the story of Mary washing Jesus’ feet like all 5,000 of us were sitting in his front room. The following morning he explained the doctrine of heaven and hell, and left us with further motivation to give our lives to reaching the lost.
Paul, Simon Brading and Matt Redman repeatedly led us into God’s presence. There were some moments of wonderful encounter. As we sang ‘I’ll fall facedown, as your glory shines around...’ I got a bit forgetful. Stef had to come and remind me, ‘Do you reckon we should be leading this meeting?’ ‘Oh yeah…forgot the meeting.’ It seemed to me that we were surrounded by angels – I even thought I heard them.
Seminars were as diverse as theology of worship; social and political action; Islam; Kathryn Kuhlman; baptism in the Holy Spirit; William and Catherine Booth; and the problem of suffering. Among those who came to speak to us through the week were Henry Orombi (the Archbishop of Uganda), Adam Whitlock (a remarkably gifted young prophetic man from St Andrews, Chorleywood, UK), Sean Du Toit and Julian Adams (two dear friends from Cape Town). After lunch specialist seminars looked at guy/girl issues; the need to reach our universities; Newfrontiers training opportunities; and what to do with a call to the nations (this last was attended by over 300!). Meanwhile the skatepark, the cafés and the sports field were good hangout points for the afternoons – and the bookshop had a booming trade. In the evening, there were the gigs venue and Club Edge to choose from. Some people even went to bed!
The ‘Second Half’
It was pretty hard to get to sleep, however, after the first stadium night. By now we had been blessed with three days of worship and teaching at the camp, and it was time to take the whole thing to the next level. My wife Kate said it was like watching a massive army go off to war as 80 buses pulled out and drove to Notts County stadium carrying our thousands. Rain came down pretty violently for a while! Many began to fight in prayer and, amazingly, apart from a fairly brisk shower five minutes before kick off, there was not a further drop of rain throughout the worship or Adrian Holloway’s sermon that evening. The sun came right out as the thousands sang:
We are the people of God
We’ll sing Your song
Here on the earth
All over the world Your song will resound
All over the world Your praises ring out
We’re living to see Your name and renown
All over the world
Best words ever sung at the Notts County stadium?
The sky remained blue as Adrian began his talk by praying for the sick – commanding sickness to GO! Dozens immediately came forward to speak of healings – including Abby, troubled by an extremely serious allergy to nuts and fruit (and latex) which left her instantly. With her now redundant emergency medication in the one hand (which had to be carried everywhere), with the other she ate an apple for the first time in twelve years – an act that could have killed her an hour before. As she told us the story we knew we had witnessed a remarkable miracle. When Adrian preached the gospel about 300 people responded, well over half of which were clear first time commitments – including people from the city of Nottingham itself!
We all agreed that it wasn’t a bad way to spend an evening.
The following night, Mark Ritchie from The Christian Centre, Nottingham preached one of the most powerful (and funniest) gospel sermons I have heard. Again, many were healed and saved. David Stroud had reminded us in the morning that God had clearly spoken of us entering a new era as a family of churches. It certainly seems so.
Saturday was more of the same – but with the added last-night-buzz factor thrown in. Once again we had a battle with the weather. Through phone-texting I was able to get others to join us in prayer. What a joy to have texts from Rambabu, P-J Smyth (back in Africa by now), Lex Loizides and Steve van Rhyn down in Cape Town – all standing before God with us! Adrian mightily preached the cross with passion and drama, and once again the crowds responded in huge numbers. 57 first-time commitments were counted.
A new spirit of militancy
Back at the camp that morning, Reuben Lyons (Kings Church, Mid-Sussex) had sung a significant prophecy, which included the statement that the first three days of Newday had been like the last twenty years of Newfrontiers (good solid food from the Word, strong foundations, worship in God’s presence), while the next twenty years were to be characterised by what had been seen in the last three days (battling for towns and cities in prayer and seeing powerful breakthrough in soul-reaping and miracles). Certainly there is a new spirit of militancy and expectant faith amongst our young people. Here at Woodside, our teens have scheduled to get out regularly onto the streets of Bedford on Saturdays (with church T-shirts!) to nourish their new addiction of proclaiming Jesus to the multitudes who haven’t met Him.
Surely the crowning moment of the week was when we were able to announce the sum raised in our Newday offering. Stuart Gibbs had encouraged us that morning to give ourselves and our money sacrificially to our international church-planting mission. Matt Simmonds phoned me after lunch to pass on the result, ‘Are you sitting down?’ ‘Yep, go ahead.’ ‘OK. £95,575… Joel, are you still there…?’
Still haven’t got over it…
Perhaps it is just me, but it seems significant that God is doing something so fresh amongst His young people at a time when we are hearing of atrocities committed in our cities – by teenagers. As I write, more young men are being recruited as suicide bombers, following what began in London at the start of July. Within days we hear of a sickeningly brutal racist murder in Liverpool – one young man senselessly killing another.
What is God doing? 1 Samuel 2.21 reads ‘…meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD…’ God is winning the hearts of a multitude of young people who covet His presence, honour His Word, hate sin and burn with jealousy for His name. They have seen, and are seeing, something so captivating that they will gladly spend their lives chasing it: the pearl of great price – the King and His Kingdom. Such a generation carries the hope of the nations. |
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