The Rural City of God

We are delighted to be bringing the Hope Countryside prayer gathering to the North East this March. The day will be a great opportunity for everyone to meet and connect with others in the region who are involved with, or interested in, matters relating to rural life, church and mission, and farming and the land. 

Our theme for the day is The Rural City of God. The principle common factor of the Garden of Eden, the Tabernacle, the Temple, the people of God and the New Jerusalem, is the presence and dominion of God. As we eagerly await the return of Jesus Christ, we are called to proclaim and to demonstrate the gospel of His Kingdom. The idea of 'the rural city of God' is to explore what this proclaiming and demonstrating looks like in the rural context.

To help us do this, we have a number of people who will speak about their contexts; how they are proclaiming and demonstrating, what they have learnt and what they see ahead. This will help us to pray and see practically how we can all partner together to see His Kingdom come.

Bob & Mary Bain
Based near Alnwick, Northumberland, they lead a weekly online gathering called Bright River Chapel, and they lead the Welcome Network, whose mission is to 'connect people to show God's love and power in their community.' They have much experience to share with us.

Rob & Jo Parker
Jo is the new Vicar of six rural churches between Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire, and will be sharing some of the real-life challenges and joys of rural ministry and mission. Rob is an itinerant worship leader and leads the WINGS Prayer House. He will be speaking about extraordinary opportunities in a very rural context. Rob will also be leading our times of worship throughout the day.

John Plumb
John is a farmer in Coleshill on the edge of Birmingham, founding member of Hope Countryside, and chair of Village Hope and Agricultural Christian Fellowship. He will give the keynote address.

Steve Weatherill, who lives locally to Saltburn and a member of the Hope Countryside team, will lead us through the day.

Jane Holloway, of the World Prayer Centre, will lead times of prayer as we respond to the input and sharing from our speakers and others. 

Venue

The day will be hosted at ECHO, which is the church hall of Emmanuel Church in Saltburn-by-the-Sea. It is easy to get to with limited on site parking, but plenty in the surrounding streets. Refreshments will be provided throughout the day. Please bring your own lunch, or you can purchase from one of the local nearby stores.

Hope Countryside

Hope Countryside (originally Hope for the Countryside) is a partnership including Agricultural Christian Fellowship, Village Hope, the World Prayer Centre and others. 'Hope Countryside' expresses our growing vision of beacons of prayer lighting up across rural Britain, bringing hope both to the countryside and from the countryside to the whole of the nation. Our aim is to promote understanding of, and prayer for, rural life and communities, church and mission, and farming and the land.