Hi

Here’s the first FUSION blog and the countdown has begun. 23 days to go.

What is Fusion?
Fusion is a melting, a merging, a meeting – a prayer meeting.
For the past three or more years, every couple of months loads of Christians (of every denomination. If you don’t know what that means – fantastic!) come together and pray for 24hrs.

What’s the point?
We are hungry to see a new Welsh Revival. 1904 was too long ago. God used to do amazing things (mind blowing things) in Wales every thirty years. It’s been over a hundred years since the national press reporting on what God was doing in Wales. God’s holding out. What for? Perhaps a fusion.

What am I talking about? The dictionary says about fusion: “to melt together: blend, unite: a close union of things, as if melted together.” As I thought about this I realised how closely this definition mirrored something that Jesus prayed:
“I’m praying not only for them but also for those [us] who will believe in me because of them and their [the Apostles] witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind - just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they'll be as unified and together as we are - I in them and you in me. Then they'll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you've sent me and loved them in the same way you've loved me.” (John 17:20-23, from The Message translation of the Bible)

God has a desire for there to be fusion in our lives, a beautiful fusion where there is no separation between us and Him. This doesn’t come cheap though. God is holy and we are not. And so the cross is where the fusion begins.

I was telling my pastor about this and I forgot that he used to be a welder. He laughed when I tried to tell him about fusion. “Fusion was my job” he laughed. In intense heat two separate material become one, he told me, not existing along side each other but melted together without any separation. They join on a molecular level.

That is what we need – fusion (2 Chronicles 7:14).

What happens in 23 days? What are we counting down until?
Our next FUSION event. (Although it is currently still known as ‘Prayer for the City’, it will be formally launched as ‘Fusion’ in May :o).

The doors of Bethel Community Church (Stow Hill, Newport, South Wales) will open at 8pm on Friday 24 Feb and remain open until 8pm Saturday 25 Feb! Why is it open, so that Christians can come in and pray for all those who live in our city.

Is there any point to this?
We have been surprised (i.e. we weren’t expecting it) by what God has done over these times of prayer. Despairing people full of alcohol have come in drunk and left sober with a smile on their face! Men full of anger looking to start a fight with anyone have come in and been shocked by the peace that they encountered. A physical peace that completely changed them! Kids on their way to play football have stopped in to ask for people to pray for their mate with a broken leg! Stow Hill, which usually ends up blood stained after people roll out of the clubs, has stayed clean all weekend!
Mad things have happened because God has turned up, because people have been seeking him – that’s fusion. You leave different from when you came in.

This blog, while a useful means to remind people about the event and getting them to interact, it is because FUSION is not about an event; it is about living. I want these blogs to shine full of God’s grace in our lives. To expose the hope he has set in our hearts. To reveal salvation through Jesus Christ.

Who am I?
I am Andrew Carey. I have a beautiful (and funny and smart) wife called Ruth. One day she may blog here, who knows :o) We belong to Bethel Community Church and I love being a Christian. Life is for living and so you’d be daft to leave the life-giver out of your fun! I may tell you how I got saved at some other time.

Here’s our church’s website: http://home.btconnect.com/bethelnewport/

We have an awesome pastor. He is encouraging and full of energy but more than that he is full of God (don’t believe me? Wait until you meet him :o)

I’m not the only one who works getting the FUSION event up and running each time. Loads of people help (especially my wife who helps me focus on things rather than distracting myself) but let me tell you about two.
Chris Cheshire. He’s the man. He loves God like no one else I know. Completely passionate! A man of prayer. I have no doubt that Chris makes God smile. Chris is my ‘Mr Organiser’. He makes sure that everything is done on time and that letters get sent out to all the church leaders in Newport.

Gareth Smith. An awesome young South African with a passion for his Saviour. He plays bass guitar in the youth worship band (called IGNITION! ) and occasionally on a Sunday morning. He is also a budding graphic designer. He does all of the poster design for FUSION. He’s good. This is one of his previous posters.

I’ll put up the new poster in the next few days.



That’s all for now. I’m going to have some lunch and listen to the new David Crowder*Band CD “A Collision”. It took me a while to really get into it but now I just can’t get enough of it.