Y2K-2C7

even on the early trip to the USA in 1999 being oered a worship pastor job, paid, in a beautiful place. Surely this must be God’s plan! Before giving my Yes, I rang Tracy back home in the UK giving her the big sell. Ever wise, she asked me a simple but striking question. What did Jesus say? Ouch.. I hadn’t thought to ask. Surely it would be right. Using my gifts for God. Perfect. I did go to prayer and I immediately got my answers from God. I felt Him say ‘You belong to Stoke’ I felt He was allowing me to travel in and out but my Spiritual home was back in my City. I went back and gave my grateful apologies but very much at peace. So, this settled I knew that I was available for wherever God would lead but anchored to my home and so began the travelling in and out.

Y2K - 2C7

The year 2000 saw us enter into a growth in local training with teams including food friends at St Paul’s Edensor who were the guinea pigs for my first step into training and equipping. I continued to serve at Swan Bank and lead teams whilst taking some musicians with me on the road as we were invited to various locations. I’d often take Jess with me on a monthly trip to Helsby, Cheshire to lead worship for some ‘ open to the Spirit’ meetings with Andrew Baguley who was the minister there and also part of our Approaching Revival team. Similar regular meetings took place in Dueld where I was regularly asked by the minister Pat Olivent to lead along with musicians I’d take with me. Megan Potter, who still regularly plays violin alongside me, was one of my friends on the journey here who shared with me powerful times of encountering the Holy Spirit as we opened up ourselves to more of Him. I remember a transformation on a particular evening in Dueld that shaped a new era with Megan of spontaneous playing which she still carries so beautifully today. This year continued a run of worship leading for Rob Frost’s ‘Easter People Conference’ this time we were based at the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth. It was an amazing week with my team from Stoke in the venue with Jackie Pulinger, powerful evangelist and author of ‘ Chasing the Dragon’ . We had some amazing and challenging times teaching, learning and growing together. On Pentecost Sunday, the 11th, I led a worship team for the opening part of a large united celebration at Port Vale football ground. The afternoon was full of fun for the family too and the concluding worship time was led by Chris Bowater. It was the first time in our history that we’d taken our worship and prayer to the City stadiums and was to be, I believe, something of a precursor to what was to come

In all of the many and varied opportunities God had faithfully given, the importance of our entrance into God’s presence during our worship was gathering pace. Songs I was writing and any teaching I was sharing was often focussed on this truth. He was taking me deeper and encouraging me to carry others along. Then, in 2001 on one of my visits to the pool at our local leisure centre I wondered what it would be like to gather anyone who wanted to worship, without any other agenda, in the sports hall there. Felt like a bit of a crazy idea. I passed it by some close friends, prayed and felt I should just pay for the hall, advertise it and see what happened. This evening turned out to be deeply significant. Virtually all the seats were filled and we put together a full band including our friends, Andrew and Cathy McKeon who’d been part of our bands through the 80s and 90s. . We had dancers, banners and a group of wonderful prayer supporters and venue stewards. We became a great company gathered together purely with the intention of bringing an oering of praise to God. I remember thinking that this was not an event, it was an encounter.

Looking back now, what followed seemed really intersting in God’s timing. At the beginning of 2001 Lloyd Cooke, my good friend and companion of many years, asked me to block the 31st October in my diary. All very secretive, felt he couldn’t share why but nevertheless , I saved the date. As the months went by we chatted and Lloyd finally confirmed that He’d felt we should hold a united prayer gathering on that date. This was not just an anti-halloween gathering but a response to a poll that had placed Stoke on Trent at the bottom of league tables of the best and worst places to live. I remember clearly that Lloyds response to the poll was to take a look at our Christian responsibility for the city. Rather than blaming any governing bodies, he used the phrase ‘ It’s not the quality and quantity of the darkness but the quality and quantity of the light that is important’ . I gathered a small team and night number one of what was to become the 2C7 prayer movement began (2 Chronicles 7:14) 200 Christians gathered and after a quick chat on stage we agreed to meet again the following month and thereafter for 7 years! Amazing times of corporate worship and prayer with invitations to local organisation heads, such as the Police force and fire service too . My friend Robert Mountford has written extensively about the growth of this movement in His book ‘Heal the land’ Whilst presence was involved in many other areas of ministry to God. 2C7 was a core expression of something really important that God was doing in us and in the city.