WPC (27)
HOPE 2014 SEASON OF PRAYER
Starting on 18 October 2013 to 31 January 2014.
To launch HOPE 2014 Year of Mission, World Prayer Centre and all the partners of HOPE 2014 invite you to pray with Christians around the country using the Prayer for Today Hope Daily Prayers.
HOPE 2014 Prayer Countdown starts on 18 October 2013 and runs through to 31 January 2014. Thanks to UCB, who have published this Prayer for Today resource, more than a million copies of this specially written prayer diary are being distributed in print and on line by HOPE’s partners. The prayers and themes are also available as Word document for you to add to your local prayer calendars and church newsletters.
You can order printed copies from UCB – they are free if you can distribute 1000 copies to churches in your area, or Christians in your network.
If you would like a word version of the Season of Prayer booklet, please call us on 0121 633 7393 and we’ll email it to you.
To request daily emails from the start of October: click here
To download the pdf of HOPE’s Season of Prayer: click here
Hope 2014 Prayers for a New Year
We are praying that 2014 would be a catalytic year where churches work together around the Christian calendar, festivals and new mission initiatives to bring good news to a lost and broken world. The fruit of this could be thousands of changed lives and a great harvest for the Kingdom of God.
Click HERE to download Prayers for a New Year.
The response to the National Call to Prayer letter, signed by the national church leaders was amazing. Churches all over Scotland from every denomination and church grouping responded, with many opening their doors for hours on the day before the vote.
Please continue to pray for Scotland and encourage your church and those in your community to continue praying that God will pour out His peace over the whole of the UK and that political leaders will now do what is right for all the nations in the UK.
Click the websites below for more updates:
Pray for Scotland website – click HERE
The Stand website – click HERE
One aspect of World Prayer Centre’s ministry and part of the rhythm of prayer is to pray for the nations. We are currently praying for each of the nations of the world, bringing one before God each day. We are working our way through the nations alphabetically as well as praying for nations where the church is being persecuted.
Why not click on the current month below and join us as we bring all the nations to God. Simply see which nation we are praying for on the day and stand with us in prayer on behalf of a nation, where you are. Let’s see prayer make a difference around the globe!
You can also download a copy of the schedule for each of the months.
Thank you for visiting this page to find out more about how you can pray for our brothers and sisters who live in nations where there is persecution every day.
Click on the links below to visit the websites shown to give you more information to pray for the Persecuted Church on a regular basis.
Visit Open Doors UK website
Visit Christian Solidarity Worldwide website
Visit Release International website
Being A Watchman
One of the very clear aspects of World Prayer Centre’s ministry is that of being a watchman.
At our “Standing in the Gap” conference in 2014, Malcolm Duncan spoke powerfully about God’s desire for a Watchman Generation and how we need a fresh understanding of God’s watchman strategy. Some of the guidelines that Malcolm laid out are:
> Watchmen serve out of love for their community and church. The role of watchmen has been undermined by those who have served from an agenda and a sense of superiority – this is not the servant attitude God looks for
> The watchmen listen to God’s heart – they are attuned to His love, grace, and forgiveness
> Watchmen are humble, alert, available – they watch what is going on.
Watchmen warn – they must have credibility and good relationships with others if those warnings are to be heard and responded to
> They warn those who sin – Ezekiel 3:17 – calling the wicked to turn –they must be clear, they are accountable to God for a message that is difficult to deliver – but comes from love.
> In Isaiah 21 the watchman announces what he sees – he does not add to it, or interpret it
In these fast changing times God has a heart for our towns, cities and communities – often we are naïve about the dangers, therefore we cannot give the warnings. The key area of growth within the church is young people – it is also the key battleground – with horrendous tales of bullying, kidnapping, assaults, sexual predators, poor parenting, domestic violence. We need watchmen – who see, understand, and stir us to pray in this and other areas. We believe God is calling forth compassionate, alert and aware watchmen.
Warning……. Watchmen at Work
Birmingham UK skyline
Ezekiel 33 gives a clear warning to the watchmen – if the trumpet is not blown to warn people the watchman will be held accountable for any deaths.
The watchman’s task is to watch – and then encourage and challenge people to act. Some watchmen have a call to protect their local community – others a wider calling. Rees Howells, the famous intercessor and his college students prayed daily throughout World War Two but his call went much further in the war’s critical stages.
In May 1940 the British Army faced annihilation on the beaches of Dunkirk. The King issued a national call to prayer and as many know the German tanks halted, the Channel became a millpond and 480,000 were rescued in small boats and returned to England. The warning was heard and the nation saved.
In the 1970’s I had a mentor from the Potteries called Bill – he loved the people of Northern Ireland and acted as a watchmen in the troubles. He gained credibility with the Police who gave him a special call sign – and when he called with a God given warning they evacuated places before the bombs went off or the shootings could happen.
Watchmen have a burden to pray protection on the place they are stewarding (it could be their local community, or their nation). As they pray, God will lay scriptures on their hearts. They also read widely – credible newspapers, the internet, commentators and books. They may go on prayer walks. They broaden their understanding (e.g. many are currently reading widely about Muslims and their beliefs; others will be monitoring the political situation in the UK, others watching the changing economic climate globally).
Blowing the trumpet is a risky business – what happens if it is wrong – if we have misread the situation? What happens if no one listens? Ezekiel 33 makes it clear – how people respond is up to them, our job is to blow the trumpet.
Sound the AlarmThis is a time of many warnings – of danger from terrorists, of severe economic collapse, of God’s judgement on nations and situations. We can become very concerned, but all watchmen are subject to God – He is the ultimate watchman. Psalm 121 tell us “He who watches over will not slumber; indeed he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep”. God has called forth watchmen at this time – but ultimately it is up to all of us to weigh up the warnings and ask – is this God’s voice to us at this time. He warns us for a serious purpose – to lead to repentance, prayer, practical action. Our conference in March focuses on being in the presence – in these dangerous times we need to be listening, and responding – and for some of us the call will be to blow the trumpet of warning.
Steve Botham….. Trustee
Rhythm of Prayer
The Prayer Room in *Cornerstone House is in regular use and as a team, we gather to pray on most weekdays.
We invite you to come and draw aside and spend some time away from the hustle and bustle of busy lives in prayer, worship and reflection. Please see the dates below for the next few months – we hold these days once a month and would encourage you to join us. We also pray for a nation each day – details can be found here – please stand with us on behalf of a nation each day and see God in action as we pray.
We look forward to seeing you!
*cornerstone House is situated on Ethel Street, just off New Street, B2 4BG
JUNE
Daily prayer For a Specific Nation
Monday 22 June Two weeks before ‘Trumpet Call.” Keep praying, keep seeking, keep listening and keep worshiping and come and pray for this momentous Day of Prayer on 4 July.
JULY
Daily prayer For a Specific Nation
Monday 20 July In the follow on from Trumpet Call and as the nations seek to work together in this United Kingdom and following the General Election. Come and listen, come and worship, come and pray.
Come for our WPC Days of Prayer
At World Prayer Centre, prayer underpins everything that we do. We live and breathe prayer! We recognise that when we pray it changes things, both in the physical and spiritual realms.
Our regular rhythm of prayer consists of two Days of Prayer each month. One at Birmingham Christian Centre on a Saturday and one in the Prayer room at our offices. These days are a gathering of people from across the UK and consist of worship, prayer, encouragement and equipping people to learn more about what God is doing, locally, nationally and around the world. We pray for issues affecting our nation but we also pray around the world.
Why not come and join us on our prayer journey? It’s a great day to connect with other Christians with a heart for prayer and intercession. The days run from 10.30am to 3.00pm. You can find the dates on the events calendar (link) but here’s the next ones coming up…
MONDAY 20 JULY – WPC PRAYER ROOM
A day of prayer, worship, contemplation, declaring of scripture and seeking God in the heart of the City in the heart of the nation.
SATURDAY 12 SEPTEMBER – BIRMINGHAM CHRISTIAN CENTRE
A day to pray for our children, young people and young adults as the new academic year starts.
Send a Message
Please contact us if you have any queries.
How to find us
World Prayer Centre,
Cornerstone House,
5 Ethel Street,
Birmingham
B2 4BG,
England,UK
0121 633 7393 Andy Page | +44 (0)1934 444777 |
The Trumpet Call journey has been an amazing walk of faith.
When God spoke to us back in October 2004 for the first Trumpet Call, we had no idea how many times God wanted us to blow the trumpet in the heart of the nation. God has clearly spoken each time to host these national days of worship, prayer and proclamation to gather thousands of people to pray for specific assignments God has given us for each event. We feel that these events have been strategic in the spiritual climate of our nation.
After each Trumpet Call we have seen change. Our offices have received correspondence sharing amazing,inspirational testimonies of the experience of being with thousands of Christians praying together for their nations. There have been testimonies of healings, churches revived, and people left with their faith restored again to go on believing God for impossible situations in their lives and across our nations.
Trumpet Call I - October 2004 - Download Report
Trumpet Call II - June 2005
Trumpet Call III - October 2005 - Download Report
Trumpet Call IV - May 2006 - Download Report
Trumpet Call V - October 2006 - Download Report
Trumpet Call VI - May 2007 - Download Report
Trumpet Call VII - June 2008 - Download Report
Trumpet Call 2013 - June 2013 - Download Report
Trumpet Call 2015 - July 2015
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Over the years as the team has grown, we have sought to learn, encourage, teach and facilitate prayer on local, national and global issues. From local church prayer to national conferences and prayer events, we have sought to bring together Christians from across the denominations to pray and work together to see the presence of God released in our nations.
WE HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING WITH:
- Many churches around the UK
- Prayer & Mission organisations
- Redeeming our Communities
- Local Churches and many ministries in Birmingham & the West Midlands – seeking to bless in whatever ways we can
- Supporting the Persecuted Church by praying with them and promoting prayer for them
AS A TEAM WE ARE PART OF:
- Hope 2014
- The European Prayer Forum
- The International Prayer Council
- Praying into G8/G20 summits
- Praying for national and international Governmental issues
THE WPC TEAM:
- Hosts annual conferences for prayer leaders
- Maintains a regular weekly & monthly rhythm of prayer
- Hosts regular Days of Prayer for the UK from a Birmingham base
- Hosts National Days of Prayer
- Takes Prayer Teams around the UK and abroad, standing with, praying and encouraging Christians as they seek to serve God in difficult circumstances
Ian & Pauline Cole
Ian & Pauline Cole
The vision for the World Prayer Centre was first given in 1990 to Ian Cole, who is founder and chairman of the Birmingham-based charity Cornerstone and formerly leader of the national prayer network Pray for Revival.
Pray for Revival started in Birmingham in 1986 with a group of leaders who met to pray for the city, but whose vision over the nineties was extended to the nation and then to the world.
Cornerstone Christian Charity (founded in 1980) was pioneered and developed through the 1980’s and 1990’s and ran up until 2010 – concluding after 30 years of life. It made a large impact on the lives of many young people, through reaching out to homeless young people and families in need and had a strong emphasis on the poor.
Pauline Cole is the World Prayer Centre Financial Administrator.
More...
World Prayer Centre is a member of the Evangelical Alliance, and as such subscribes to its statement of faith:
We believe in:
- The one true God who lives eternally in three persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.
- The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God—fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.
- The dignity of all people, made male and female in God’s image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement.
- The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.
- The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.
- The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.
- The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.
- The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.
- The Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers—given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit’s gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love.
- The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.
The world is changing.
Evidence of globalisation is all around us.
While to many the world seems out of control, God is fully in command of all that is happening, and is consistently and surely working out His purposes. And He is calling His Church to take up its global mandate with renewed vision and purpose.
The World Prayer Centre is part of the new thing that God is doing around the world. As the Church begins to strategise and think globally, so we must pray globally. A united and consistent flow of strategic prayer is needed now:
- to open the way for us to reach the remaining peoples of the world who have not yet heard the good news of Jesus
- to equip the church to reach out with love and grace to a hurting society
- to enable us to meet, with the authority of Christ, the challenges and opportunities of national and international power structures
- to strengthen the Church to meet its end-time calling
The Centre, as seen in a vision by Project Director Ian Cole, is yet to be built, but even now there is a growing tide of prayer across the world which the World Prayer Centre will join in facilitating in due course.
Download the Vision brochure (A5 size pdf file)
In June 1992, God gave Ian Cole what he describes as a vision. Over a three day period details of a building and its ministry became very clear. Prior to and during this time, Ian had been reading through the story of Nehemiah in the Bible and through Isaiah, particularly chapters 56 – 58.
THE BUILDING
The building was to be a place of prayer and mission in the heart of the UK. Out of both Scripture readings and his personal journey, it became clear to Ian that there were to be four foundations stones to the Centre:
- PRAYER
- MISSION & SOCIAL ACTION
- THE BLESSING & ENCOURAGMENT OF FAMILY LIFE
- HELPING MARGINALISED PEOPLE
At the heart of the building is a large globe; the building contains a large prayer auditorium; separate prayer rooms for each continent of the world; individual prayer rooms; a 24/7 prayer room; a prayer training school. It also includes a Family Centre with action zones, learning areas, play areas and a leisure pool. There is a theatre for presentation of Christian life and witness in many forms and a strategic centre for global communications. Restaurants, book shop, coffee shops and an information centre are also included. Around the outer edge of the building is a boulevard of nations; attached to the centre is accommodation for visitors and around the centre there will be gardens and quiet areas. Plans can be seen on the World Prayer Centre web site here.
THE JOURNEY
Over the last 15 years the vision has remained strong. Even at times of doubt and uncertainty God has kept reminding us of His promise that this vision is a Heaven to Earth promise. In other words, there would come a time when we would know that it was right; just as Abraham and Sarah knew when Isaac would be born, so we would know the right time to plant the seed and see the building come into being.
In 1992 Ian was leading the work of Cornerstone Christian Charity involved in word and action in communities around the Midlands area. At the same time, Ian was also involved in a prayer ministry – Prayer for Revival – led by Rev Bob Dunnett.
In 1997, Ian left working for Cornerstone Christian Charity, and together with his wife Pauline set up April ’97 Trust to support them personally in the development of the vision. The World Prayer Centre was registered as a charity, Trustees were appointed and the ministry began to develop. Over the years, friends have joined us and helped us carry the vision for a time and then moved on.
THE MINISTRY
Today, we have a team involved in regional, national and international prayer and worship ministry. The World Prayer Centre is linked to many initiatives, serving Prayer, Mission, Social Action, Family Life and Marginalised People. These include The International Prayer Council, Global Day of Prayer, The Prayer Association of the British Isles & Ireland, Redeeming our Communities and Hope08. The team also leads small and large prayer events and conferences and sends Prayer Teams, around the UK and overseas. In remaining true to our foundational vision, the Trustees agreed that we would tithe 10% of undesignated gifts received. As a result of this, The World Prayer Centre has blessed those involved in prayer, mission, family and the marginalised in many places around the world and in the UK. In this entire journey, we have begun to understand that we are part of a worldwide prayer army that God is raising up the size of which has not been seen in the history of the church. We realise that a building 15 years ago was not the right time; but that when the promise given 15 years ago crosses God’s timing, the resources for the land and the building would be released. We humbly submit that we believe we are approaching that moment.
THE NEXT STEP
Have the plans changed over the years? In principle, no. However, our architect now tells us that the design of sustainable, climate enhancing buildings has so moved on that we want this building to have the smallest carbon footprint possible. We have been given (subject to planning) an area of land within the Birmingham boundary that will enable us to build a “Global Centre for Prayer in a sustainable community.” We await the necessary finance to see the plans set in motion and the building completed.
The World Prayer Centre, Birmingham will, as far as we know, be the largest permanent prayer centre in the world, and a project quite beyond anything the UK church has been called to in recent years. The fact that God has placed it in the UK is something to celebrate, and we believe it will be a blessing to the whole nation.
A strategic information hub
Equipped with the latest global communications technology, the World Prayer Centre will gather and disseminate strategic prayer information from around the world. Churches, prayer groups and individuals will be able to focus on strategic prayer needs and targets, both for the church itself and for its global commission. The World Prayer Centre will be a centre of excellence, and a place that many will want to visit. Its attractive steel and glass structure will house a huge range of resources and amenities.
A place for prayer
Prayer facilities at the new centre will include:
- a 4000-seater dished prayer auditorium
- dedicated prayer rooms for each continent of the world, plus rooms for Israel and the UK
- 86 individual private prayer rooms
- a chapel for visitors’ use
A place for the family
Families will be able to use the purpose-built family centre, young people’s action zone and day care facilities. In addition, there will be a leisure pool, a well-equipped fitness room and a variety of restaurant facilities. Families of all kinds will benefit from the support and positive encouragement which are part of the very fabric of the World Prayer Centre.
Ground Floor
Ground Floor
This level includes: (text colours approximate to colours on plan to show locations)
| Foyers | 8-lane, 82ft leisure pool |
| 1000 seat theatre | Health and fitness rooms |
| Family Centre | Restaurant |
| Creche | Coffee Shop |
| 4000 seat ‘dished’ prayer auditorium | Book Shop |
| River of Life | Accommodation |
and outside:
Gardens / parking
Boulevard of Nations (national flags around the perimeter)
