Visit to Dudley (part 1)

In the past I've suffered from the British disease of cynicism and so when the latest 'revival' claims began to circulate and the 'Dudley Outpouring' began, I determined to try and keep an open mind. Last night, I visited Dudley for myself, to see what was going on and to receive whatever good God may have had for us. The events are hosted by Revival Fires which meet at their Apostolic Resource Centre venue. There were perhaps about 100 people there.

We arrived a few minutes before the meeting started on night 53 of consecutive meetings. Before I say anything else, it must be a tremendous amount of energy, effort and work to motivate a team and church to keep putting on nightly meetings. The Lord knows how tired I feel after the energy invested in a single Sunday morning. To make that commitment, you would certainly hope they sense the call of God to do so.

The meeting started just after 7.30pm with an hour of worship. The band were good and we were led well by a guy called Chris who was leading at these meetings for the first time. The songs were familiar to me and included 'Strength will rise (everlasting God)', 'Giver of Life', 'You are' and 'We bow down and confess'. I definitely found the worship to be Jesus centred, and while there is repetition, it certainly wasn't any more than you might find in another similar charismatic church. There was also space while the band played just to be in God's presence - there was no rush and I appreciated that. So, we were encouraged to praise Him in song for about an hour. I personally found it encouraging and uplifting, but then worshipping our Lord Jesus is almost always that for me.

You can see for yourself here...


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In part 2, I'll share about the time of prayer for healing...