The Prophetic and Gospel Movements
“But the person who prophesies speaks to people for edification, encouragement, and consolation . . . he who prophesies builds up the church”
It’s strange how compartmentalised things can become in the Body. We say that we welcome the power of the Holy Spirit and his gifts, but then we relegate them to the prayer team who minister in a back room after the Sunday service. In Scripture we see a very different narrative. In 1 Corinthians we read that the gifts are all part of what makes the Body of Christ healthy and effective. And interestingly, Paul in the same breath says that we are to “pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and above all that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1). Elsewhere Paul states that the gospel he shared was not shared with eloquent words or flowery speech, rather it was simply spoken and then backed up by the power of YAHWEH (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
Novo UK seeks to follow this model of word, deed, and power. We share the gospel, we act out our faith in real and tangible ways, and we ask the Holy Spirit to open eyes and soften hearts.
As an organisation, we firmly believe that the gift of prophesy has a part to play in all of this. We have an entire team dedicated to prophetically praying over the organisation as well as the European nations we so desperately long to see made new in Christ. Prophecy builds up the Church through edification, encouragement, and consolation or comfort. This can be done on an individual level or even a national level.
God has plans for peoples, tribes, and nations. Our goal is to ask the Lord what those plans are and then partner with him in what he is doing on the earth. We want to see gospel movements spread across the nations, and we need God’s strategies and insight so see that dream become a reality.
To bring all of this down to earth, let me tell you about a couple of experimental prayer projects we’ve run. Our prophetic prayer teams (known as Prime) decided to focus on two cities, Berlin and Glasgow. Folks from Novo UK, Novo US, as well as locals from each city, gathered over Zoom to seek God. For sixty days the two teams met regularly and asked, “God, what are you up to here? Will you show us and tell us what your plans and purposes are so that we can partner with you?”
And God spoke.
He talked to the Glasgow team about praying for a revival of creativity and blessing the city to once again be a place of invention and innovation. He spoke to the Berlin team about going to specific spots in the city and releasing blessing over the people and the land. He spoke using us, his human vessels, speaking out prayers of joy and gladness, prayers of lament and grief. He spoke through prophetic poetry and art. God spoke his plans and purposes for people and nations so that the gospel could spread like wildfire.
Last summer the Berlin team met in Berlin and began walking around the city, going to the places the Lord had highlighted. Incredibly, and not surprisingly, God put people in their path. People desperate for a word from the Lord, people desperate to encounter God and his powerful gospel. The team stopped, listened, prayed, and prophesied. This is prophecy in action; this is what happens when the prophetic and gospel movements come together.
In Glasgow we are making preparations to walk the city again, going to the places the Lord has highlighted. We fully expect to meet with people desperate for Jesus. We fully expect to see the prophetic and gospel collide and people’s lives changed.
This is word, deed, and power.
