Hi friends Let me begin by wishing you a Merry Christmas and encouraging you to reflect during this time on the most remarkable truth that ‘The Word became Flesh and made his dwelling among us’. Or, as Paul writes to the Philippians: ‘He made Himself nothing and became obedient even to death on a cross’. What a remarkable truth! And what a message we have to share! I am a little overdue in being in touch with this Newsletter as I have been spending a lot of time travelling in the latter part of this year. I have been in South Africa, Australia and the United States as well as travelling extensively across the UK. Much has been happening— read on for some exciting highlights…
The Rooftop at the Shard, London, UK
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South Africa
Australia
I spent some time in Durban and as well as meeting with pastors from the city and being at the Baptist World Congress, it was great to be at the formative meeting of the board of The Rooftop South Africa.
My recent trip in Australia took me to Adelaide, Tasmania and Melbourne where I have been able to introduce and develop a key theme with Baptists across Australia – equipping pastors to be evangelists and identifying people with the gift of evangelism and exploring ways that they can be equipped and deployed within the movement. I was also able to speak at a number of churches and God used my ministry in powerful ways. It is also very exciting that we have been able to appoint Nathan Lattimore as The Rooftop Pioneer for Australia. Nathan is involved in ministry with Hobart Baptist Church and Tasmanian Baptists and will be giving one day per week to helping the development of The Rooftop in Australia.
The Rooftop South Africa Board meeting in Durban
In early 2016 I plan to be back in SA for a board meeting but also to travel with our pioneer, Chris Dikana, to launch the ministry in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Following my time in South Africa I have the opportunity to speak at a number of events in Zimbabwe, a key meeting that I hope to address is the meeting of the ‘All Africa Fellowship’ a gathering of strategic leaders from across the continent of Africa, this could be a tremendous opportunity for The Rooftop.
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Nathan and wife-soon-to-be, Keziah
United States My recent trip to the United States was a six-week marathon during which I was ministering in several states. God moved in amazing ways during Sunday worship gatherings and it was encouraging to see so many people respond to the challenge of joining Jesus in His mission. I have been able to have countless conversations with Christians who shared deeply about how the Lord has spoken to them in new and fresh ways and how they will ‘never be the same again’ as a result of the message that the Lord has given me to share – praise God!! Here are a few brief glimpses into some of the things that happened:
A Rooftop Encounter in Virginia Beach was part of a Rooftop weekend conference with Great Neck Baptist Church. Following the Encounter on Saturday evening the church gathered all the adult Sunday School classes together on
Sunday morning and those that had been at The Rooftop Encounter shared what they had experienced. It was an amazing time! Great Neck Baptist Church is now going through The Rooftop process. Also in Virginia Beach I was able to connect with Calvary Baptist Church, a church that has, in the words of the pastor, ‘been revolutionized by The Rooftop’ (in a very positive way). As well as addressing their leadership team I was able to spend some time, (with the help of the Jason Davis – the video tech at Calvary), filming a short video with Pastor Bubba during which he shares some of the ways that The Rooftop has impacted Calvary Baptist church. This will be available on the website www.therooftop.org in the near future.
Filming with Pastor Bubba Pugh at Calvary Baptist Church
During my time in Virginia I was able to meet with Robert Cochran the Executive Director of the DC Baptist Convention to further
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explore possibility of a Washington DC-wide ‘Rooftop Encounter’ during 2017. This is a distinct possibility and, as The Rooftop continues to develop around the world, it is exciting to think that a key part of this development includes such a significant global city.
in a different apartment complex. I am always encouraged to hear stories of how The Rooftop is helping churches to reach lost people beyond the walls. After Arizona I travelled to St Louis where I spoke at Westside Missionary Baptist Church and then onto Chicago to meet with Cheryl and Rick Dorsey in Chicago. Cheryl is Prayer Co-ordinator for Chicago Metropolitan Baptist Association and Rick is president. Cheryl is joining the board of The Rooftop US and is also helping to plan for a Chicago city-wide Rooftop Encounter in 2017.
I am excited at the possibility of a DC citywide Rooftop Encounter in 2017
Following my time in Virginia and DC I flew west to Arizona where I am working in partnership with the Arizona Baptist Convention. I preached in churches and met with leaders in Tucson, Phoenix, Mesa, Show Low and Kingman. Again, God moved in powerful ways and the response was great to see. I was thrilled to meet with a pastor in Show Low who shared with me that, as a result of The Rooftop he has now started a new church for ‘people who don’t do church’ in an apartment complex. As he drove by the complex he had asked God to help him to see the people that live there as He sees them – this resulted in a church being started there. He is soon to start another new church
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I am excited at the possibility of a Chicago city-wide Rooftop Encounter in 2017.
Cheryl Dorsey (with husband Rick and son Joseph in Chicago).
After Chicago, I travelled to Tennessee and led a Rooftop conference with 1st Baptist Church Sevierville. As well as preaching at the three morning gatherings, I led a seminar during the afternoon which, in the words of the senior pastor, ‘hugely exceeded our expectations in the numbers that turned up’ and then spoke at an evening gathering. It was a great day and thrilling, once again, to see a huge response as I challenged people to join Jesus in His mission. If you would like to see me speaking at First Baptist Church Sevierville please visit www.fbcsev. org/watch-listen/live and then scroll down to Dennis Pethers. Then I drove to Northern Kentucky where I met with Robert Franklin, the pastor of Main Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Kentucky. Main Street has been connected with The Rooftop for a while and it was very encouraging to see that the worship area of the church building has been filled with images of city-skylines. This is a constant reminder to those that gather to worship that they come together to worship so that they will be transformed and be able to reach those beyond the walls! You can see a short video of Robert explaining why there are ‘rooftops’ in the worship area by visiting www.therooftop.org/blog/ category/stories. Following some time speaking and meeting with leaders in Florida, I then travelled to North Carolina
for the first meeting of The Rooftop International Council. This ‘council’ is the group that will be overseeing the international development of The Rooftop. We had a great couple of days together and were able to put many things in place that will enable us to move forward into a phase of international development in 2016 leading up to the global Rooftop Encounter in 2020!
Rev Robert Franklin in the worship center at Main Street Baptist Church
United Kingdom As well as travelling across the world it has been great to be able to spend time ministering and developing The Rooftop in the UK. I have recently spent a few days in the Midlands, preaching at Leamington Spa Baptist church where, again, many responded to the challenge! I then led an afternoon seminar outlining ‘The Rooftop’ process and inviting the church to become part of the movement. It was also good to be with other churches in Birmingham
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City Centre, planning for partnerships in 2016. A very recent, and enormously exciting event was ‘The Rooftop’ at the Shard in London. The Shard is the highest building in Western Europe and we gathered around 100 leaders from across London on the 69th and 72nd floor viewing platforms to look across this ‘great city’ and to ask God to give us a fresh vision of His heart for the lost people who are beyond the walls of the church. Following the time of prayer I couldn’t get away from the Shard because so many of the leaders wanted to talk with me about what they had experienced. One of the pastors told me that this has been the most significant moment of his 40 years in ministry. Another that he would no longer tell God what He should be doing but seek what God is doing and be willing to join Him. Several are interested in becoming more involved in the ministry.
Leaders praying for a fresh vision of God’s heart for London
I will be in the UK for the rest of this year and for the next few weeks
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will be meeting with several leaders across the UK as well as preaching a series ‘God with Us’ at my home church, Billericay Baptist Church. Then some time off to celebrate ‘The Word Made Flesh’ and spend time with my family and friends.
Looking Ahead to 2016 As I look to next year I am aware that we are moving from the ‘Setting the Foundations’ to the ‘Expansion and Development’ phase of The Rooftop vision. As well as continuing ministry in the US and UK, we have great opportunities to expand the ministry during 2016 as follows: • Africa: Continue to develop ministry in SA; new opportunities in Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Kenya. • Europe: New opportunities in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria and Hungary. • Latin America: The Rooftop written materials have now been translated into Spanish and we are in the process of having the teaching videos dubbed. There is the opportunity to reconnect with Panama and use as a base for equipping others in central and Latin America The possibilities that are open to us for development of the ministry are both exciting and daunting as I know that what God is calling us to requires more resources than we currently have available.
The greatest challenge is to develop the ministry into countries where there are not huge financial resources. As a missionary movement we are keen not only to minister in countries where there are significant resources. With this in mind I have calculated the costs of travel to introduce the ministry in Africa and Europe during 2016. The amount required to cover these costs is likely to be in the region of $10,000 and it would be a great help if we knew that we had these funds available so that we can plan in advance. As well as enabling us to plan with confidence this also often results in us being able to arrange cheaper flights. Please would you consider making a one-off gift that will contribute towards these costs.
In The US
Visit: www.therooftop.org/donate or send a check payable to The Rooftop International to: Ed Randle, The Rooftop International, First Baptist Church Litchfield, 608 N. Van Buren St Litchfield, IL 62056.
In The UK
Visit: www.therooftop.org/donate or send a check payable to The Rooftop international to: Alan Pattle, The Rooftop International, Room 112, Hallmark House, 25 Downham Road, Ramsden Heath, Essex, CM11 1PU
Thank you SO much for you prayer and support In Jesus, Dennis e: dennis@dennispethers.com w: www.dennispethers.com
First Part of 2016 At-A-Glance January 2016 Ministry in the UK
February 2016 Ministry in Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya
March 2016 Ministry in Europe: Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Hungary
April 2016 Ministry in the United States: Arizona, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida
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