Thousands gathered Wednesday night, May 11 for London 2016, the first of a three-night event kicked off at the Ruach City Church in central London and hosted by Empowered21.
Delegates streamed through the expansive lobby of the historic structure, formerly the Gaumont Theater. Built in 1937, the dominating structure attracted stage and movie legends for decades. The Ruach Church acquired the complex in 2007, turning it into a 4,000-seat worship center.
Leading up to the highly-anticipated gathering this week, leaders around the world have been preparing academic papers and having intense conversations in three primary areas of focus: Scholarly Pursuit, Discipleship and Next Generation Leadership. On May 9 and 10, the E21 Global Council heard reports from representatives on all three focus areas.
Wednesday’s activities culminated in the opening worship service at Ruach featuring messages by the superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Dr. George Wood, and Rev. John Francis, pastor of the Ruach Central Church.
Wood spoke on the sovereignty of God to use everyone for the kingdom, no matter the size of talents or giftings.
“God’s work grows when we are not afraid of the size of the task,” Wood stated. “God is raising up a Spirit-empowered church, and He is doing it with those who are not afraid to offer their smallness to Him.”
Rev. Francis challenged everyone to take up the task of becoming an “agriculturalist” by cultivating the spiritual ground God has placed in everyone.
“If you understand what it means to be an agriculturalist, you can change your workplace, your home and your family,” Francis admonished. “When you cultivate, you create an environment, and when you set an environment, you can understand the power of the Holy Spirit and change the atmosphere.”
Empowered21 continues through Friday with morning devotions and messages, as well as three afternoon sessions each day. Featured evening speakers will be Agu Irukwu, Nicky Gumbel and Peter Wenz on Thursday, followed by Samuel Rodriguez and ORU President Billy Wilson on Friday.
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