We were extremely blessed to have Ben Armstrong join us from 8-11 June, along with his wife Heather and a few members of his team, to speak and minister to us at our Prophetic Development conference and our Salt & Light Advance Sphere celebration. Ben is the Overseer of Prophetic Ministry at Bethel Church in Redding, California in the USA, and is gifted prophetically, including in the area of dreams.
Ben spoke to us about the foundations of prophecy, focusing particularly on the father heart of the prophetic. He explained that at its heart prophecy is not about pointing out all the things that are wrong with someone, but directing them into their true identity which is found in Jesus. He also spoke about courage, strength and comfort; perseverance; and worship and intimacy with God. I was really challenged by the reminder that even big moves of God start small, through small acts of courage and perseverance even when it seems like nothing is happening. It can be so easy to feel like there is a magic formula for success that maybe we will find if we just keep trying hard enough, and miss that it all stems from intimacy and continual obedience to God.
Ben shared a number of prophetic words for us about the season we are in, that we’re in a building season that will require strong foundations and a change of structure, and that we are heading into a ‘big fish’ season that will see us reaching the people we didn’t think could be saved. What really stood out to me was the dream that he shared with us, about the call to focus on intimacy with God over the schemes of the enemy that seek to distract us.
We were also joined by Paul Manwaring, who is part of the Senior Leadership Team at Bethel, who spoke to us for two sessions on Tuesday about being apostolic and the importance of true and intimate friendship; and Liam Thatcher, Assistant Pastor at Oxford Community Church and leader of the School of the Spirit training course, who spoke to us about dealing with disappointment.
If you missed it, a recording of the live stream of the Sunday morning Celebration is available on the Salt & Light Advance YouTube channel. The rest of the conference talks will be available shortly on the School of the Spirit YouTube channel.
Abi England, Operations Coordinator