ST ALDATES HOSTS LOVE EUROPE CONFERENCE
As a ‘house of prayer for all nations’, it is normal in St Aldates to have a glorious mix of nationalities. However, there was an unusually high concentration of European names and faces over the weekend of 6 and 7 November as the church hosted the Love Europe conference.
 On Friday 6 November, more than 70 church leaders from 20 countries around Europe gathered for a consultation to hear outline plans for the Oxford Centre for Church Growth (OCCG) – a new vision from St Aldates to train and equip future European church leaders. There was powerful testimony about the challenges facing churches across the continent, but equally of the power of God at work. Elliott Tepper of Betel in Madrid spoke movingly of his experiences of God changing lives there.
A draft plan for an OCCG diploma course was discussed, along with the hopes and dreams of church planters in specific European nations. There was a very favourable response from the delegates towards the diploma proposal and work now continues to make this a reality. The initial prospectus is available to download here.
In the evening, Christian Hofreiter led a fascinating spiritual walking tour of Oxford for the delegates, highlighting many examples through history of God at work in the city. This was greatly appreciated despite the rain! The day then finished with dinner and an inspiring after-dinner talk from Jeff Fountain of YWAM on the spiritual and institutional history of Europe and her destiny.
Many of the delegates stayed over for Saturday 7 November when St Aldates hosted a New Wine Day of Prayer for Europe. They joined over 300 intercessors from around the country for a powerful day of worship and prayer. It was a great honour to have the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Councillor Mary Clarkson, attending the meeting. She warmly welcomed the delegates and spoke of Oxford’s Christian heritage. |
