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Glory In The House
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It was the last night of the conference and I was getting ready to close the meeting. We had been speaking about our theme “ Glory in the House” all week and each speaker had played their part. As the music was coming to a close I sensed something was happening and asked everyone just to stay quiet and be open to what God was doing. All of a sudden a tangible holy hush came over the room as everyone experienced the awesome presence of the Holy Spirit. For about 10 minutes nobody spoke or moved as the Holy Spirit ministered to each one. Eventually the sense of His presence lifted but everyone knew they had been touched by the glory of God.
We experienced all this at the annual FCF European Conference which took place in Schwabish Gmund in May this year close to Stuttgart, Germany. It was a great time of fellowship with old and new friends in Europe. The great thing about this meeting is that we set a theme and then leave each speaker to decide on their topic. We then find that the Holy Spirit orchestrates a harmonious flow building something that really brings a sense of purpose and direction for the coming year.
I love such times as they are so much in the flow of the heart of our ministry at Living Word. Bringing life and equipping ministers in their calling is at the centre of what we do and increasingly I find that God moves in demonstration of His power and transforms lives.
I realise there has been a delay in getting this newsletter out to you. Mostly this has been because of a very busy ministry schedule following the meeting I described above. First, on returning from Germany I spoke on a Sunday morning for my good friends Stephen and Janet Wood at their church close to where we live in Warminster, UK. I spoke on “Having Confidence in God” and there followed a really powerful and encouraging ministry time. The church is about to launch into leasing their own premises after many years and it was good to speak into the lives of some of their leadership team and encourage them as the church steps into this new season.
Shortly after at the beginning of June I embarked on my third trip to Russia along with a ministry colleague, Gareth Jenkins from Harvest International Church in Reading, UK. Together we held a short conference for my contact in Russia Oleg Kunin and his network of churches. On this occasion the conference was held in the building of one of the churches at Tula Christian Centre, Tula.
We had a very specific theme this year to encourage the pastors and leaders by teaching on Church structure, culture and team building. It was helpful having Gareth to share the work as he has a great background in the business world and was able to make good comparisons between church and business operations. I spoke on defining church culture and developing the vision for helps ministry workers. Oleg himself spoke on cell structures. Together there was a great blend and the pastors were challenged to implement some of these in their churches. The local pastor in Tula was so excited that he called his leadership team together at the end of the conference to discuss what they could begin to change. He was so encouraged that the conference had stimulated his team to open up and begin to consider ideas for what they can do. I am looking forward to returning in the future and seeing the results for myself.
Only 2 days after returning from Russia my wife and I flew to the US for a holiday in Alaska followed by a return to the FCF Family Church Conference where I was speaking on the Supernatural Helps Ministry. I will report back more on this next time.
In the meantime I will be ministering at the Living Word International Conference in Slough towards the end of July. There was a possibility that I might go to Vietnam at the beginning of August but this has been postponed for the moment. The same minister has invited me to go with him to Ethiopia for some miracle crusades in the autumn. I would value you prayers for this venture as he is seeing some awesome things happen and it would be great to go and participate with him.
As things get busier I am keeping focused on my vision and calling and seeking God’s blessing before I venture into ministry where I get invites. It is a great place to be but it means I have to hear the voice of God as many of these involve much travel in more dangerous places of the world. One good thing is that I know if I have the Lord’s direction then I will also have His covering protection. So I am excited for the future.
Thank you for all your prayers and support
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Tony Sheard
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Tony training leaders in Tula
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A workshop session at the conference
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Gareth Jenkins in Red Square
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