Reflections from Vineyard NLC 2020
Last week 1,500 leaders from across the Vineyard movement gathered in Nottingham for three days of meeting with God, inspiring one another and inviting the Kingdom to come here on earth!
The main talks from NLC are available now, have a listen to the likes of John Mark Comer, John & Debby Wright and Taryn Freeland:
30 leaders from Birmingham Vineyard were able to attend and here are some of their reflections:
My last visit to a Vineyard NLC was well over 15yrs ago, somewhere on the south coast where the attendance was a few hundred.
What the Lord has done with this movement over the last 20yrs is nothing short of miraculous, with over fifteen hundred gathering for this years conference. Had John Wimber lived to see this event, his credulity would have been stretched. Here is living testimony to the power of that move of the Spirit many of us began to experience in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
It was an awesome privilege to catch up with so many of the young women and men who were sent out from the Birmingham Vineyard full of faith to plant churches and extend the Kingdom.
The priority of worship as our highest calling was beautifully affirmed, as was the expectation that God would presence Himself among us in word and deed.
There is expectation and excitement in the movement as the ‘Roaring of the Twenties’ this time around is seen as a new move of God in our nation and around the globe.
-Bill
I’d pulled my back on the Tuesday morning and it was causing me discomfort at the conference, particularly standing to worship. I was taking pain killers to help.
I responded to a prophetic word about eyes as I also had a returning eye infection. After I was prayed for, I realised that my back had been completely healed. (I realised this when it dawned on me that the pain killers I took in the morning should have run out but I had no pain) My eye infection didn’t get any worse and cleared up without antibiotics by the end of the week.
Sometimes God does the unexpected!
-Jo
God was obviously at work across the movement and from the very first session you could sense there was a hunger for God and more of the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit.
I saw Jo’s back healed - once again God is cool!
Sessions on Unlocking Entrepreneurship in the Kingdom and How to Raise up a Culturally Diverse Leadership Team were two of my most challenging seminars - I’m trying to listen to how God wants me to respond to both talks, which has really challenged me to pray differently and to be more expectant for change
Obviously the key speakers and main sessions were powerful times where God moved significantly, my favourite main sessions were the legacy video and Andrew’s intercession for the nations!
I came away excited about what God has for us, as a movement and also challenged to pray into what my part will be.
-Cap
During NLC the things that had the biggest impact for me were the interview with Carol Wimber, which gave me a new love for the Vineyard movement and an excitement for the future, and the marriage seminar done by Andrew and Rosie, which provided very helpful tools for growing closer together in the midst of everyday life.
There are also some things which I heard and need to spend some more time thinking about what they mean for me, particularly John Wright's message about just giving what gifts I have over to God and leaving responsibility for what happens next with Him, but trusting that He is in the business of multiplication. Also the John Mark Comer talk about not operating out of our shadow side but in full surrender to God was very significant - I think I will need to listen to that again though to seek to apply it in my life.
-Tony