The God Story

Encounter the unfailing love of God in the unfolding narrative of scripture.

Each one of our lives is a unique and unrepeatable creation. Each one of our stories is precious and worthy of being told, shared and experienced. Yet none of our stories make sense in isolation, disconnected from a wider plot. Our personal stories only truly find meaning when they are linked to the very source of our lives and the unfolding drama into which we were born.

The God Story is a compelling and creative retelling of the biblical story, looking at God’s overarching and awe-inspiring plans for humanity as laid out in Scripture.

Learning Sundays

We’ll be using this book to inspire our study in the next year, particularly on Learning Sundays.

More details to follow.

About the Authors

Our friends, Alain Emerson and Adam Cox – two leaders of the 24-7 Prayer movement – developed the content of The God Story over the last twenty years in their own local church contexts (Alain in Lurgan, Northern Ireland and Adam in Kansas City, Missouri), preaching and discipling their communities in the biblical narrative.

LISTEN: Alain Emerson speaks to Proximity Church on Justice, November 2020

Theology Sessions Venue Change: April 2024

We are spending the first part of 2024, dedicating ourselves to some core foundations of the early Church. To dwell in the New Testament and dig a little deeper into the gospel of Christ (kerygma) and the teachings of his earliest disciples (didache).

More on Learning in 2024

This month Drew Caldwell from 24-7 Prayer Lebanon will share with us an incredible special teaching on ‘Missiology’. Exploring key questions like:

• What was life like for the early church?

• If the Jews had strict customs and laws to set themselves apart ,how did the early church life a distinctive life?

Venue

We usually meet at Hassenbrook Academy. This month - very fittingly - we will meet in homes. We will still meet at 2.30pm but this is an important message we want to sit with and chew over as House Churches (HC).

Locations:

•⁠ ⁠Riddles’ House: Wednesday HC (Stanford-le-Hope) & Thursday HC (Vange)

•⁠ ⁠Gjonis’ House: Thursday HC (Corringham) & Wednesday HC (Corringham)

•⁠ ⁠Peters’ House: Thursday Daytime HC

If you are new to Proximity Church, or under where to go, please contact Charl Harman: charlotte.harman@proximitychurch.co.uk

About Drew Caldwell

Our dear friend Drew will be dialling in from the Middle East. He’ll bring us teaching from his own learning and experience as a missionary. Over 15 years ago, Drew, with his wife Mary, and three daughters, moved from Tulsa, USA to live and work in Beirut, Lebanon.

'The Gathering' Tickets on Sale!

You’re invited to a birthday party like no other!

At his year's 24-7 Prayer international Gathering, we'll be celebrating 25 years since the launch of the first ever 24-7 Prayer room - and 25 years of unbroken prayer across the globe.

Our Gatherings are always an opportunity to pray, worship and learn together, but this year is special. This year we'll be celebrating the significant journey that's brought us here, and we'll be looking ahead to how God is inviting us to partner with him, to build his kingdom in our nations and in our world.

For 25 years, the vision has been Jesus.

Join us as we seek his presence together and look to the future.

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24-7 Prayer Events

The Gathering

31 Oct - 02 Nov 2024

Come, and celebrate the God of the immeasurably more. Whether you’ve been part of this global movement for 25 years, or one day.

Early bird tickets

Wildfires Festival

23 - 26 Aug 2024

Where friends from different streams, churches and communities come together to seek God and fan into flame the next Great Awakening.

Buy tickets

Theology Sessions

Learning 2024: Theology Sessions

In Acts chapter two, we see a picture of the early church after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension - these are words we have held to and pursued:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Acts 2:42 (NIVUK)

So, what was the apostles’ teaching?

We are going to spend the first part of 2024, dedicating our Learning Sundays to some core foundations of the early Church. To dwell in the New Testament and dig a little deeper into the gospel of Christ (kerygma) and the teachings of his earliest disciples (didache).

Some fantastic teachers will join us to explore the following topics:

• Ecclesiology
  What was the “household structure” of the Early Church? Particularly, what role did women have?

• Eschatology
  Am I going to Heaven? Is Heaven “a place on earth”?

• Soteriology
  What does it mean to be saved? What am I saved from, what am I saved for?

• Missiology
  What was life like for the early church? How did they live a distinctive life?

Soup Week 2024

New Year's Eve Prayers 2023

One of our great traditions that never fails to bless, encourage and inspire.

Each year, we embark on a mission to pray over every home in our church community. Spending the day walking and driving from door to door, to pray in living rooms, hallways and driveways.

This is one of the most special days in our calendar, as we give thanks for the year that has passed, and pray blessing over the year to come.

Thank you to everyone that could join us.

Come Lord Jesus!

Christmas 2023

Check our Christmas events

Wildfires Festival Tickets on Sale

Tickets for Wildfires Festival 2024 are now on sale.

Wildfires is a three day festival at the Wiston Estate, West Sussex, UK. It was launched in 2018 as a joint adventure between 24-7 Prayer, Worship Central, Bible Society, Pioneer, Fusion, Big Church Festival and Tearfund.

Over the festival, thousands of all ages gather from different church expressions and communities, hungry to see revival in our time; gathering around Camp Fires that deepen friendships and community; pursuing together Holy Fire through worship, prayer and teaching; and encountering the Wild Fire of the Holy Spirit to take back to our homes, communities and our nations.

Proximity Church at Wildfires Festival 2022

Watch this video from our time at Wildfires in 2022.

Joe Gisbey: Doors of Breakthrough

“This year, is the year of doors of breakthrough.”

At Learning in September, Joe Gisbey, CEO of Links International and leader of Arun Church, came to speak to us about Faithfulness.

At the beginning of his time with us, he shared this word for us as a church.

Listen in full below.

Prayer Week, February 2023

Photos from our Prayer Week in February 2023 praying for… breakthrough.

Prayer Room Launch

On 01 October 2023, we will be opening our latest Prayer Room!

We believe that a dedicated space for non-stop prayer creates the time and space for people to encounter God.

As a church, we have done our best over these Prayer-Room-less years, but we have suffered without the intentional, single-purpose, creative space that Prayer Rooms nurture.

Through partnership with Dry Street Memorial Church, we are transforming their Vestry into a 24-7 Prayer Room, for an initial 3-month trial. The Prayer Room will be available to book online: Monday-Sunday, 6am - 9pm.

Link: What is a 24-7 Prayer Room?

We are (strongly!) encouraging everyone in Proximity Church to look at their diaries and find one hour each week to pray in the Prayer Room until the end of 2023.

I’m sure you have questions, and all will be made clearer soon.

Notes on Accessibility

We believe everyone should be able to pray in the Prayer Room. So we wanted to address to two immediate potential barriers.

Travel

For some, One Tree Hill is too far, or too uphill, to walk.

We don’t want this to prevent your encounter with God in the Prayer Room.

You will be able to claim one return taxi/bus fare per week from Proximity Church.

There is a free car park at Dry Street Memorial Church.

Access

A Key Code will be given to Proximity Church and distributed carefully.

There are currently temporary ramps on site, and we are working with Dry Street Memorial Church to maintain and improve step free access to the Prayer Room.

FIVE by FIVE: Daily Prayers

Celebrating 13 years of Proximity Schools

For more than 13 years, Proximity Church have been dedicated to praying for and in our schools.

This year, Proximity Schools worked with more than 300 young people every month through a well developed programme, delivered expertly by a staff team of six, and many volunteers. God has led us further in prayer, mission, and justice for our town then we ever thought possible. He has been so faithful, so generous, and moved in power.

Together, the leaders and trustees have decided that Proximity Schools, in it’s current form, will not continue in the new school year (2023/24).

THE STORY SO FAR

A prayer week for Schools in Stanford and Corringham, turned into pioneering Prayer Spaces in Schools across our town, and a whole-church response to a double-sided offer of how we could bless Gable Hall School.

And so began an adventure with after school Cafés, 1:1 mentoring, sitting in French lessons, a Chaplaincy team, God Story in two schools, TLG Mentoring, inspiring global visitors, reading, writing and franchising the MADE Course, developing wellbeing workshops, hosting Assemblies… the list goes on.

THE STORY CONTINUES

We are so grateful for all that God has done, choosing to partner with us to serve the most in-need families. And it has been so amazing to do it together, thank you for serving, praying, and giving to this work.

Our journey as Proximity Schools is well worth celebrating, and so did just that - with lunch, speeches, a coffee van and an ice cream van! Worshipping a God who is not finished with this place, or with us.

Thank you to our special guests: Nic Jeffrey, Gable Hall School Vice-Principal; Karina Garrick, Corringham Primary School Headteacher; Sally Feeney, Hassenbrook Academy Principal; and Councillor Qaisar Abbas, Deputy-Mayor of Thurrock for joining us on this special day.

Shout out it

Playing a classic game with Senior Leaders from Gable Hall, Corringham Primary and Hassenbrook Academy

Charl shares how it all got started

Sally Feeney: “No one can replace you.”

Scott interviews a true hero, Jenny Wood, one of many Schools Work volunteers from Proximity Church

Mathilde left Denmark at 20 to live and work alongside Proximity Schools

Made Unique

Graham re-tells the fantastic story of the MADE Course

Nic Jeffrey, Vice-Principal Gable Hall School

Deputy Mayor of Thurrock

Councillor Qaisar Abbas, celebrated with us, also sharing some kind words.

Video

We enjoyed this walk (laugh and cry) down memory lane, scratching the surface of some of the fun and faces we encountered on the way.

Summer House Meals

Enjoying summer evenings together.

In August, as many of us take the opportunity to holiday and take breaks from work, we are pausing our usual House Church rhythms. Instead we’ll enjoy the summer together across three evenings.

The three hosts will create a relaxed environment to eat together and be family together.

You are welcome to join in.

For each night you would like to attend, you will be required to book in, including each member of your household and any dietary requirements.

Please see the event pages for locations, booking in, and sign-up deadlines.

On booking, your host may contact you with more information or ways you can contribute.

Mary & Martha

Yemi brought this reflection brought after Jon had spoken at Encounter Sunday.

• Mary & Martha (Luke 10:38-42)

  As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

  “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

There is something that God revealed to me some time ago on Mary & Martha, I feel very burdened to share it.

I was going to preach one day on the story of Mary and Martha. People say, “I’m not a Mary, I’m a Martha. Or, I’m not a Martha, I’m a Mary”, and I was asking God, what does this really mean? Because in the passage in Luke 10, Christ specifically said one thing matters, Mary has chosen it.

When I asked God what it means, what came to me was this: that Martha was very busy trying to love the Lord - trying to take care of him. Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, letting the Lord love her. There is a complete difference in the two.

Martha was trying to love God, like we all do as Christians - “I want to love God more”. Mary just sat there, saying “I’m Yours, love me.” And that changes the whole thing.

We are going to have a meal soon [at Encounter Sunday] and at this meal we’re going to sit down and have something to eat. Somebody said that what was happening in that particular story was this: when you go to someone’s house the host says: “You are in my house, sit down I will take care of you” - and that is what Martha was doing.

But in the case of Mary, she had changed it by saying “Jesus you are in my house, but you are the host - you serve me.” And that’s why He says she has chosen the best dish, “she has chosen for me to serve her”.

What Martha was doing was not wrong. But what Mary was doing was better.

Mary had chosen to allow Jesus to be the host and to serve her.

It looks very simple, but for me, I find it so powerful that what I need to do is let Him love me. And in letting Him love me, I can now love Him, love myself, and love people.