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Weekly Prayer Focus: Transform.Church

Week 25

Transform.Church is an unusual church within the EBA as it is an online church with no physical building. It is a new church which has a group of trustees that are working together to plant a church with strong missional, disciple-making values.

Transform.Church is identified by its set of directions and dimensions. These are:

A commitment to kingdom transformation in each of the four dimensions of discipleship:

With God – knowing and following Jesus, doing the will of the Father, living in the power of the Spirit;
With people – loving our neighbours, pursuing justice, embodying grace and mercy;
With the planet – through a generous gratitude for, and good stewardship of, the natural world;
With ourselves – developing our character, discerning our calling, making our unique contribution.

A commitment to kingdom growth in the two directions of discipleship:

Inwardly – personal transformation in each of the four dimensions of following Jesus;
Outwardly – offering transformation to others through opportunities to encounter and follow Jesus

There are five trustees that make up the core team of Transform.Church. They are Rev Simon Goddard who had the initial vision for Transform.Church. Simon is a former regional minister in the EBA, and Director of RiverTree, which he set up in 2018 to catalyse, cultivate and collaborate in pursuit of fruitfulness in the mission of God; Alice Cheeseman who is a qualified youth worker, and a digital pioneer with six years experience of working with digital expressions of church; Rev Eleanor Kelsey who is a former Managing Chaplain of a prison in the EBA. She is now continuing study at Spurgeon’s College where she is doing a Masters in Digital Theology; Rev Nathan McGuire who is the JPIT Campaigns and Church Engagement Officer. Nathan is a Baptist Minister and is driven by a strong passion for community organising and equipping Christian communities to actively pursue justice; and Hannah Fleming-Hill who is a digital missioner helping churches to get online whilst also studying Digital Theology at Spurgeon’s. Together they are working through how this new church will work.

Their aim is not to reproduce a traditional church online, but to be a church that supports and resources its members as they form missional communities.

Please join them in praying:

For a unity in vision and understanding that allows this new church to flourish.
For wisdom in planning the practical elements of the church so they align with the vision.
For their gatherings to be Spirit Filled times of learning, community and prayer which lead all involved to step out in faith.