An apostolic family

Issue 4 JANUARY 2013
An apostolic family
Welcome to Life Church
Children?
We love welcoming children and young people to our Sunday meetings:
Pips crèche for 0-5 year olds and GLO kids’ club for school years 1–6 run every
Sunday during our meetings in Peterborough and Stamford.
Hub is the name for our activities for young people. Hub / Life Group for
11-18s meets every other Sunday in Peterborough and Stamford – building
relationships and learning together for young people in school year 6
upwards. Ask a member of our Welcome Team for more info.
Check our weekly diary for midweek activities for under 18s:
LifeTots for parents & toddlers and Hub / The Crossing for 11s+.
The Hub is our termly event for all 11-18s – find details on our website or
follow The Hub on Twitter @HubGetPluggedIn.
Do life with us
We do life together in Life Groups – small groups meeting in homes across
Peterborough, Stamford and the surrounding towns during the week, where
we enjoy God together and grow in our relationships with him and each other.
Contact Sam Tucker sam.tucker@life-church.eu to get connected.
Live, Love, Pray
We meet all together for an evening every month to worship and pray (and for
extended evenings at regular points during the year) at the Sibson Inn on the
Great North Road (A1) near Peterborough. See our weekly diary for more info.
Contact
Life Church
139b Fletton Avenue,
Peterborough, PE2 8BY
01733 552227
hello@life–church.eu
www.life–church.eu
Follow us on Twitter:
@medialifechurch
Find us on Facebook:
Life Church Peterborough
MEETING ON SUNDAYS
from 3rd February:
PETERBOROUGH
10am
The Beeches Primary School
Beech Avenue
PE1 2EH
STAMFORD
Please see website for details
SUN TUE WED THU FRI SAT
Family worship (PETERBOROUGH)
10am, The Beeches School
Family worship (STAMFORD)
See website for details
The Living Room
Coffee lounge for 50s plus
10am – 12noon, Fletton Centre
Church office open
10am – 12.30pm
Fletton Centre
PRAYER & WORSHIP
First Wednesday of the month
8 – 9.30pm, Sibson Inn, Peterborough
Church office open
10am – 12.30pm
Fletton Centre
LifeTots
Parents & toddlers group
9.45 – 11.45am, Fletton Centre
For Y6 onwards
7 – 9pm
Fletton Centre
PASTORAL SURGERIES (By APPOINTMENT)
Second & Fourth Saturdays of the month
9.30am – 1pm, Fletton Centre
03
An
apostolic
family
by ADAM BRADLEY
@AdamRBradley
Adam leads Life Church, which he thinks
is ‘probably the best job in the world’.
He’s married to Lorna and they have
three young daughters and a small dog
called Clyde.
In this issue of The Vibe we’re going
to take some time to explore what it
means for Life Church to be part of
Relational Mission: a growing family of
churches across the UK, Europe, Canada
and an ever–increasing list of locations
around the world.
Looking backwards to see
where we’re heading
In order for us to be clear about what
Relational Mission is and where it is
going we need to look back to see
where we’ve come from. Almost 30 years
ago God started a new work through
the ministry of Terry Virgo, which came
to be known as Newfrontiers. This was
not so much the creation of a new
denomination as the birthing of an
apostolic family of churches.
‘Apostles are called
to help individuals
and whole
churches live as
sent people.’
TERRY VIRGO
What does that mean? It means that
we believe in and treasure the gift
of apostles (please note the small ‘a’)
today. Ephesians 4:8–13 tells that when
Jesus ascended to heaven after his
resurrection he gave ‘gifts of people’ to
the church. One of these gifts was that of
apostles. This gift is part of God’s plan to
‘equip the saints for works of ministry, for
building up the body of Christ, until we all
attain to the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God’ (Ephesians
4:12–13, ESV). What a beautiful display
of Jesus’ love and care for his church!
However, some people will find this a
shocking statement. Am I suggesting
that there are Apostles (please note
the capital ‘A’), who are equal to the
twelve and to the Apostle Paul? Am
I suggesting that these new apostles
can write scripture? Clearly the answer
is a loud and resounding ‘no’. However,
scripture itself shows us that there
are different categories of apostle.
For example, in Hebrews 3:1 we’re
told that Jesus is the Apostle of our
confession. Then there are the twelve
(and Paul) who were personally called
and commissioned by Jesus to be
eyewitnesses. However, as I’ve already
shown, there is also another category
of apostles who have been given to the
church (see Ephesians 4). For example,
in Acts 14:14 Barnabas is called an
apostle and is clearly not Jesus (Phew!
I’m glad I’ve got that straight...) nor one
of the twelve, nor Paul.
It seems really clear to me that if
scripture is able to make a distinction
between types of apostles, we too can
sit comfortably with the idea that there
are (small ‘a’) apostles today without
this undermining our belief in the final
authority of the Bible.
04
So what do apostles today do?
Apostles today are called to help
individuals and whole churches live
as sent people (for that’s what the
word apostle means). An apostle
plants churches (just read the book of
Acts), works with leadership/eldership
teams (Acts 14:23), lays foundations in
churches (1 Corinthians 3:10, 10:3, 12:28;
Ephesians 2:20), brings on–going care
and encouragement to churches (Acts
15:36), is known by the churches he is
involved with (1 Thessalonians 1:5), and
paints a big and compelling vision for
churches to get caught up in (Romans
15:23–29; 2 Corinthians 10:15–16). When
apostolic ministry is working well it’s a
beautiful thing and helps bring maturity
and mission to local churches. Over the
last 30 years we’ve seen this modelled so
well by Terry Virgo and his team.
The atmosphere of family
However, if we stop there we would miss
something very special and important
in our understanding of apostolic
ministry today. There is a fatherly
and relational dimension to apostolic
ministry that cannot be manufactured or
denominationalised (I think I’ve just made
up a word!). We see this in the way the
apostle Paul writes to the churches he
cares for.
‘I am not writing this to shame you but
to warn you, as my dear children. Even
though you have ten thousand guardians
in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for
in Christ Jesus I have become your father
through the gospel. Therefore I urge you
to imitate me’ (1 Corinthians 4:14–16).
Apostolic ministry is inseparable from
the atmosphere of fathering, family and
relationship.
Why is this so important? Because over
the last five years or so, as Terry has been
contemplating where Newfrontiers
should be going in the next 20–30 years,
he could so easily have organised himself
out of the equation. However, by so doing
we would have lost something critical to
apostolic ministry: the family atmosphere.
Thankfully instead he has been working
with a group of emerging apostles and
giving them permission to develop their
own family of churches that have these
same essential characteristics.
In a biological family, when someone
leaves home and gets married they
don’t stop being part of that wider
family; instead they start to create a new
family with unique characteristics and
emphases. This is what is happening
with Relational Mission. Mike Betts and
his team are growing this new family
for a new season; a family that has
maximum relationship and minimum
organisation and that, from the outset,
is looking to see further emerging
apostolic families birthed out of
Relational Mission.
This is a truly thrilling time for us as a
church! We’re caught up in God’s great
mission to draw the nations into the
‘white hot enjoyment of God’s glory’
(John Piper), through churches working
together as part of an apostolic family.
For more on apostles, download the
ebook ‘The World Needs More Apostles’
by P–J Smyth (2008, 3rd edition) from
http://godfirst.co.za/files/
The_World_Needs_More_Apostles_0.pdf.
Mosaic Church
Lethbridge, Canada
Trinity Christian Fellowship
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Fenlands Church
Tydd Gote, Cambridgeshire
City Church
Cambridge
Life Church
Peterborough & Stamford
King’s Church
Upminster, Essex
Grace Church
Goodmayes, Essex
Hope Community Church
Brentwood, Essex
God Central
Harlow, Essex
King’s Church
Southend, Essex
New Life Church
Colchester, Essex
Hope Church
Ipswich, Suffolk
King’s Community Church
Braintree, Essex
Oasis Church
Chelmsford, Essex
Gateway Church
Ashford, Kent
Chafford Hundred Community Church
Chafford Hundred, Essex
The Community Church
Bishops Stortford, Essex
Church Plant
Sudbury–on–Thames
Revelation Church
London
Lingfield Church Plant
Lingfield, Surrey
Church Plant
Borders
MIKE BETTS
Keep in touch with Relational Mission
www.relationalmission.com
@RMChurches
www.facebook.com/RMchurches
Vimeo: vimeo.com/channels/308985
05
China Plant
North West China
The Gateway Church
King’s Lynn, Norfolk
New Wine Church
Sheringham, Norfolk
Aylsham Community Church
Aylsham, Norfolk
New Life Church
North Walsham, Norfolk
Wellspring Family Church
Dereham, Norfolk
Christ Community Church
Attleborough, Norfolk
King’s Community Church
Norwich, Norfolk
The Well
Blyth Valley, Suffolk
Gateway Church
Tenterden, Kent
Beacon Church
Maidstone, Kent
King’s Church
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Hope Community Church
Wymondham, Norfolk
Church Plant
Diss, Norfolk
Hope Church
Thetford, Norfolk
Kingsgate Church
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
The City Church
Canterbury & Whitstable
The Beacon Church
Herne Bay, Kent
Grace Community Church
Fakenham, Norfolk
Lowestoft Community Church
Lowestoft, Suffolk
Church Plant
Sittingbourne, Kent
The King’s Church
Stowmarket, Suffolk
Grace Church
Broadstairs, Kent
Medway Family Church
Rochester, Kent
Church Plant
Dover, Kent
New Life Church
Tonbridge, Kent
Church Plant
Malmo, Sweden
New Life Church
Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Stockholm Church Plant
Stockholm, Sweden
Church Plant
Helsinki, Finland
The Father’s House
Smiltene, Latvia
Church Plant
Riga, Latvia
Christengemeente Elim
Reeuwijk, Netherlands
Church Plant
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Christengemeente De Schuilplaats
Utrecht, Netherlands
Church Plant
Leek, Netherlands
Christelijk Centrum
Groningen, Netherlands
Church Plant
Gouda, Netherlands
Church Plant
Assen, Netherlands
Wijnstokgemeente
Berkel, Netherlands
Church Plant
Gdansk, Poland
Regio–Gemeinde
Weil, Germany
Evangelische Freikirche Wilstermarsch
Wilster, Germany
Church Plant
Brussels, Belgium
Good News Church
Nis, Serbia
Church Plant
Lille, France
Church Plant
Kragujevac, Serbia
06
GETTING TO
KNOW...
Mike Betts
by Jonny Howard
@JonnyMarkHoward
Mike Betts leads Lowestoft Community
Church and the Relational Mission apostolic
team. He was born and brought up in
Lowestoft, is married to Sue and has a grown
up son. I caught up with him recently to
uncover more about the man, his apostolic
mission and how Life Church can play its part.
JH: Here’s one to open: if you were stuck
on a desert island, what would you want
it to be like?
MB: One with a hammock, palm trees and
somewhere to swim and to pick fresh fruit.
A bit like Lowestoft really!
JH: Tell us about your journey into
apostolic ministry. How did God lead
you into this specific role?
MB: Around the age of about nineteen I
had an encounter with God that changed
the trajectory of my life. I felt a calling to
give my life to help restore the inheritance
of God’s people to them: things that
wrong teaching, legalism and plain enemy
action had taken from the church. I felt
God say that somehow this would have a
global dynamic to it. At nineteen, in a very
traditional church with nothing like
we see around us now, you can imagine
this was an extraordinary encounter.
I kind of wondered for the next ten years
whether I had imagined it all and was just
slightly delusional (both of which some
might still conclude are options!). However
gradually we planted and built Lowestoft
Community Church and then began to
work with others and over the years this
gained broader reach and scope. I began
to see that perhaps what I had felt had
substance to it.
JH: So how and why did Relational
Mission come about?
MB: The momentum I’ve just described
coincided with when Terry Virgo began to
spend time with me, and others, mentoring
and drawing out of us what he sensed was in
there from God. I found this so helpful and,
over recent years, he has encouraged me to
bring definition to the team and the sphere
of churches we now call Relational Mission.
Nobody can make someone an apostle; it’s a
grace gift just, like any other. It is not a status
thing either – it’s functional.
This, combined with Presence of God tours
across various locations, will help bring a
sense of development to both individuals
and whole churches. My eyes are on the
horizon, though, and new nations and
doors await. We will never consolidate
or ease off: it is part of our DNA to keep
moving. Communications are also really
important, so over the next twelve months
we are investing in strengthening our
communications eg our website and social
media feeds – take a look.
JH: Where do you see Relational Mission
going in the future?
MB: At present we comprise around 50
churches, almost half of which could be
classed as being in the planting stage.
I have a multi–layered team approach, so
although there are about ten guys working
with me on carrying the broad agenda,
I also have 50 or so trans–local ministries
serving in and out of nations and churches
to varying degrees Some of these are
experienced people, some are very young
but clearly anointed.
JH: How can Life Church as a
community be a part of the journey of
Relational Mission?
MB: I am hugely grateful to have Adam
as part of my core team, and am thankful
to the church here in Peterborough and
Stamford for releasing him into this, and
into serving numbers of churches now.
I think as a church the future looks very
exciting for you, as a robust team emerges
here to serve not only the church in
Peterborough and Stamford, but further
afield. I can see it happening! I believe you
will find doors opening for you as a church
for apostolic advance into the north and the
west of this part of the UK, and numbers
of overseas situations opening up. I would
encourage you as a church to begin to learn
from your journey in order that you may
then help others on their journeys.
The future will included a strong emphasis
on the raising up of spiritual sons and
daughters for further plants and church
and marketplace leadership.
You might like to keep up to date with my
latest reflections on our journey together
on Mike’s Coffee Break on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/user/mikebetts62.
07
The Hearing Room
by Mike Bollinger
@BollingerMike
Mike Bollinger is Canadian
born, with a passion for
helping people grow in
hearing God for themselves
and others. He and his wife,
Ruth, live in Lowestoft, which
is near where Ruth grew up,
and are based at Lowestoft
Community Church.
I was driving along the motorway in my work van the other
day and I heard a voice. It was only a word of two, but I looked
around and there was obviously no one else with me. This
took place a couple of times and I looked around, but finally I
realised: my radio was turned down low.
In my daily relationship with God I often find, when trying to
hear his voice, that sometimes either God is too quiet or there
is just too much noise in my life. But in Job 33, it says ‘For God
speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.’
Another translation says, ‘For God speaks again and again.’
So then I have to ask myself whether I’m pulling over from the
motorway of my busy life to listen.
What is the key to learning to hear – or hear better – the voice
of God? I believe it is to practice being still. In our culture
today this is a huge challenge. We are constantly on the go,
continually plugged in, logged in or switched on.
‘Hearing God is
not an issue of
ability, but of
confidence.’
The radio of our spirit is on. We are wired for sound. I am
convinced that hearing God is not an issue of ability, but of
confidence. But our busyness becomes like static interference.
It says in Matthew 6, ‘But when you pray, go into your room,
close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.’ This is a
challenge to find a place where you can close the door and
unplug from the rest of the world to talk to your Father. Maybe
it’s a moment during your lunch break, or early morning before
you start your day, or taking some time during the evening. Put
on some worship music and be still in the presence of God.
I call this The Hearing Room.
In the middle of worship on Sunday morning, or in the
middle of a prayer meeting, practice being still. I think of it as
switching to ‘receive mode’. Listen for a spontaneous thought
or a picture, or a phrase from the Bible. It might simply be a
good ‘God idea’ that comes to your mind about a situation.
Like in Elijah’s life, we see the lightning, we hear the thunder.
We feel the earth shake, but God is in the stillness. If we want
to hear God, we need to practice being still.
For more, visit www.thehearingroom.org
Quiz
MAGENTA
Saturday 16th February
7pm, Caffe Nero, Stamford
with Angela Kemm
Saturday 9th February
9.15–11.30am
at the Fletton Centre,
Peterborough
For all women at Life Church
Men’s
breakfast
Saturday 9th March
9am–12noon
Fletton Centre
WILD THING / 1 Corinthians
WILD THING / 1 Corinthians
Sermon series continues
EASTER SPECIAL
WEEKEND
GLO in the Park
Saturday 30th March
Balloon modelling and
face–painting, in Stamford
& Peterborough
Essential for
enjoying life
and mission
Saturday 16th March
City Church, Cambridge
details coming soon
Easter Celebration
Sunday 31st March
Drama and more for all the
family, at Stamford
& Peterborough venues
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT
www.relationalmission.com
Credits Editorial team Sarah Lohse, Adam Bradley, Annie Carter Design Follow Creative Print Hollinger Print