Renew South

Watch this video on the dramatic decline of the Church of England. Various views are expressed. What do you think is true? Why do you think it is true? What lessons ought to be learnt? What are the key factors in church growth and decline? What ought we to be doing? The decline in the PCANZ in our area is also alarming. What must we do if the church is not going to dwindle on our watch? Add your comments below.

Hi everybody, One of the concerns behind the desire for spiritual renewal is the thought that our churches often operate as organisations depending on human skills, rather than depending on the power of God. In other words, we might not be very spiritual. Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). He also told the disciples not to leave Jerusalem on mission until they had received the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4). The power our churches need comes from the Holy Spirit. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8). I think it would be wonderful if we could pray That there will be an awareness of our impotence without the Holy Spirit and a heart-felt desire to be filled with the Spirit. That God will be gracious and pour out the Holy Spirit afresh on all the members of our churches. That we will see new power and effectiveness in the mission of the church (“…and you will b

  Dear Pray-ers. Remember James 5:16b and all of Jesus’ promises of answered prayer. Paul prayed for the Colossian Christians. We can identify his prayer concerns and we can pray them for our brother and sister Christians, and our churches, in this region. Colossians 1:9-14 9  For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,  10  so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,  11  being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,  12  and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.  13  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdo

We are seeking to identify people in each of the regions, willing to pray for the spiritual renewal and growth of our people and churches. If you didn't know about that but are willing to be part of that team of pray-ers, please contact me ( Peter Cheyne ). I will let the coordinator in your region know. So far, only two regions have identified some pray-ers. That might be another thing we need to pray about. Prayer suggestions For a rising tide of passionate prayer in our parishes. For increasing interest in spiritual renewal. (There currently seems to be some resistance, and a difficulty getting responses from people.) For an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in each church resulting in people finding a closer relationship with God and being committed to following Jesus. For the Presbytery Council as they have to handle diverse issues but also that spiritual renewal remains a priority. May the Presbytery Council give leadership in thi

Pray-ers, please pray regularly and fervently about the following. For an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our presbytery. That Presbyterians in the South will experience new joy and enthusiasm in their faith, worship and mission. For the leadership teams in all of our churches grappling with how to be effective in what is often a difficult context. For conversions. May people in our communities be born again by the Spirit of God and become life-long followers of Jesus. Please also be listening. Tell us what you believe God wants to say to us. Of course, pray in any other way God leads you to too.

  In February 2019, the Southern Presbytery meeting voted for a prioritised focus on spiritual renewal and growth. This arose out of discussions about there being too few people to carry out the functions of the Presbytery. The concern was a church in decline. The eventual result was a task group set up to give some legs to this. As time progresses, you will hear more about the work of that group. In the meantime, there is a website that contains updates and resources. Feel free to have a good look at that. One of the very first priorities is prayer. If there is to be spiritual renewal and growth within our presbytery, it will depend on prayer. We would love it if lots of you committed to pray regularly for the spiritual health of the presbytery. Please do that, and let us know that you are. The November 2020 meeting of the Presbytery agreed to ask all of the regional groups to recruit pray-ers within their region. The plan is that we distribute prayer suggestions to those people (via