Traffic Surveys & Prayer Meetings

Hi Farnborough Community,

Here’s a quick update on all that’s been going on in our community over the last week and some key news for our site.

Fundraising

If you were at the Kingdom Come prayer meeting on Monday, you would have heard the good news that our gift days earlier this year raised all the money we need to complete this first phase of the redevelopment of our building. This will provide enough money to install the mechanics of the building to make it safe for us to meet on a Sunday. I am so grateful for the incredible generosity of our community and want to thank all who gave a one-off gift or set up regular gifts for the project. After we begin meeting in the building and we have completed this first phase, we will then begin to layout our long-term vision and design for the building and clarify what the second phase of fundraising requirements will be.

Building Works

The warehouse has been a flurry of activity this week. The heating contractors came in and managed to work miracles in getting the radiators and blowers working - this is an amazing answer to prayer as they have been out of action for 8 years! Whilst this won’t be our permanent heating solution, this provides us with an excellent temporary solution for heating and air-circulation allowing us to gather in the building. The heaters don't just blow hot air, but also cool air for circulation which will be helpful in the summer months. Other works that have been going on include the toilets being fixed, a fresh coat of paint put on the kids’ rooms, corridors, and disabled loo and we also have lots of equipment arriving this week to complete the partition wall. You can help get the building ready at our next working parties.

Traffic Surveys & Our Start Date

Many of you have been praying for the change of use decision from the application that we submitted to the council. We heard back from the planners and they have now requested a traffic survey to demonstrate that we have sufficient car parking for both Sunday and midweek activities. We are confident that parking will not be an issue and our planning consultants have assured us that this request for a traffic survey is normal and not something to worry about, but the delayed decision means that the earliest we could get change of use to allow us to meet on a Sunday is now early December (potentially Sunday 5th December).

Save the Dates: Building Project Prayer Meetings

We know that prayer is an essential ingredient in this project and we are going to be gathering twice a month to pray specifically for the building project. We will alternate our gatherings with in-person on-site prayer times, and with Zoom meetings. These will be at 7 pm on Sunday evenings with our first gathering on Zoom on Sunday 17th October and our first in-person prayer gathering after half-term at Invincible Road on Sunday 7th November. The intention is that these meetings will be 45-minute sessions of focused and specific prayer for breakthrough in the building project. I will send out the zoom link for these prayer gatherings nearer the date.

 Duncan Klitgaard, our elder, shared this encouragement with our buildings team that I think is helpful for all our community to hear:

I’m reminded of 2 Kings 13: 15-18:

15 Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. 16 “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

17 “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”

18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

We believe that Kerith Farnborough is going to be significant in a move of God in this area, so we know are fighting a spiritual battle – we want to hit the enemy head-on and the greatest weapon we have is the power of prayer!

So let’s make sure we keep on ‘banging the arrows on the ground’ asking God to break in on this situation – we want to see complete victory, but we do have to be persistent in our praying!! Let’s keep on praying for God’s favour over this project!

Stay Connected

I recognise the patience and perseverance that our community has had in a delayed relaunch after the pandemic and that many of us are eager to gather. I want to encourage all of us to keep pressing into community in small groups, to keep joining in with church online and taking the opportunity to visit the other Kerith sites, to come along to the prayer meetings, and get stuck into the working parties. I’m praying Psalm 1 over all who are part of our community that we will be like trees planted by streams of water, yielding our fruit in season and our leaves will not wither.

God Bless you all mightily, and I’ll see you at the working parties!