Hi Ren Family and Friends!
Something is happening in our region and at Ren Church! I’ve been describing it as an increase of spiritual temperature. Hunger for God is deepening. People have been breaking down weeping out of a longing for more of God. There’s a seriousness about the pursuit of God that is greater than anything I’ve seen in recent decades. God is getting ready to pour out His Spirit!
There are several opportunities happening this month that will help connect you to what God is doing.
Prayer and Revival Talks
As a way of preparing us for this season of intensified prayer and outpourings of the Spirit I’m delivering three simple messages on Prayer and Revival. I gave the first one last Sunday. You can listen to it on our website or one of the podcast Apps. The first talk is aimed at igniting a fresh fire in you. The second and third talks will help you sustain the spiritual fire once you have it. The three go together, so it would be good to listen to the first one if you missed it.
Welcome Gathering
This Sunday afternoon from 2-3:30 pm in the large fellowship hall next to the Ren cafe (@ 10 Tripps) we will have the first of three special gatherings for those who are fairly new to the church. I’ll be telling the story of Renaissance Church from its inception over 20 years ago. There are so many amazing stories! We will have one gathering per month September-October-November. Each month we’ll explore a little more of the story. This is a perfect opportunity for those of you who are new to the community. It’ll give you an in-depth understanding of our vision, our culture, our theology, our philosophy of ministry, and our dreams. Some of you who may have recently become Core members are also welcome to come to learn more about the church. We will make space in each of these gatherings for Q&A if you have any questions at all about Ren Church.
Sunday Afternoon Worship
Usually, on late Sunday afternoon we are resting or even sleeping. Not this Sunday! We are having a special time of worship at 3:30 pm in our sanctuary @ 10 Tripps with Zac and Ashley Lenz who lead His Providence Church. Zac and Ashley are two of the most amazing worship leaders I know. And they are leading one of the fastest growing churches in the region. This will be a powerful time of refreshing in the Spirit! Come hungry. Invite a friend. Expect God to move!
Daily Prayer
On Monday we began daily prayer opportunities open to all. Eleven people attended the first one, and there was a beautiful sense of God’s pleasure upon the time. I felt like God greatly assisted our praying! Below is a schedule of daily prayer times. You’ll also see the themes for each day. If you cannot join the daily prayer in-person, consider joining with us from where you are. It’s so powerful when we gather together physically to cry out to God, but it’s also powerful to be agreeing with one another in prayer from wherever we are!
Sundays 9 am (our main gathering)
Mondays noon (next generation)
Tuesdays 1 pm (regional revival)
Wednesdays noon (local pastors)
Thursdays 6 pm (glory of God)
Fridays 9 am (spiritually lost people)
Saturdays noon (Ren community)
Great things happen when churches unite together in earnest prayer. Miracles happen. Surprising things happen. The glory of God falls. Lives are changed. The region is impacted. May God help us to sustain!
Prayer Retreat
On Saturday September 27th we are hosting a mini prayer retreat and training day from noon-4 pm. This will be a time to not only learn a variety of forms of prayer but to practice them. So many in the church through the years have expressed a sincere desire to have a deeper prayer life but feel like they just struggle so much to make it happen. That’s what this training will be about. It’ll equip you to go deeper. It’s perfect for the brand new believer but also will strengthen those of you who may be more advanced. We won’t have lunch but will provide some snacks about halfway through.
Consecrate Conference
Lastly, I want to tell you about a special regional gathering that I believe will be an epic moment for the wider Church. Dozens of churches are coming together for a special gathering called Consecrate. It’ll be held in South Attleboro at Crossroads Church (click the link below to register). One of the speakers is David Thomas, a key leader in the recent Gen Z Asbury Revival in Kentucky. I’ve heard him preach more than once. Last time I listened to a message from him—I couldn’t stop crying! Another speaker is Sam Gibson who leads Pray NYC and is on staff with Church of the City (Jon Tyson). Sam is ablaze with prayer fire and has rich wisdom on his to prepare for and sustain revival. It’s not just the messages, though, that’ll be epic. There is a sense that this is a sacred assembly, a holy convocation in our region. There’s an anticipation in prayer that the Spirit is going to be poured out from above!
There are so many other things I could talk about, but I’ll save my thoughts for later. What I will say is this: Don’t miss what God is doing in our time, in our region. Sometimes I think of the greatest and most powerful historic revivals that we read about in church history and realize that some people lived at the time and in the region of epic moves of God, but—completely missed it. They were too busy. Or, they just didn’t recognize the move of God. In some cases, they mistakenly resisted the revival, not realizing it was a genuine move of God. May that not be our story for such a time as this. Let us be wide awake. And let us make every effort to participate in what God is doing.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:15-17
Scott A