Now that we are fully into the New Year 2010 and our plans and hopes for the year begin to unfold, I am reminded by the words in PS 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” The psalmist warns us of inherent danger in any endeavour we might set out to achieve. The suggestion here is that there are things which the Lord does, and things which we do of which the Lord is not involved. This presents the right perspective, in that ultimately it is the Lord who is at work, but it is through earthen vessels that He chooses to use. If we are therefore to accomplish anything of worth it is through a surrendered life to His will and purpose and not that of our own. This is the secret of a fruitful life: To abandon ourselves in the endless possibilities and unfailing love of God. A life of abiding, is a life which knows both the Creator and the creative expressions of His Holy Spirit outworking fruitfulness within us. The Lord is not concerned so much by the outward appearance of our “holiness” but by the inner affections towards Him and the consequential inner transformation as we conform to the likeness of His Son. So let us indeed put our hand to the plough and labour with all the energy God provides, but let our inspiration and motivation come through a life of intimacy with Him. Let us know where the boundary lies, to know our part, and to know His. God has such great things in store for us. We are the object of His affection and desire. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. If we are willing, I believe the Lord will take us into a new and spacious place that we did not even realise existed. In God, our life is to tread new paths, to explore new heights, and in the doing of such to discover more of His eternal ways, extend His Kingdom, and bring change and blessing to our families and communities in which we live.

Dear friends of the Body and the Bride Ministry, I felt I needed to write to you personally, to explain the background to the exciting developments that have taken place regarding the Body and the Bride ministry. I shall never forget the Lord's words to me that day in 2006 when He told me to change the name of the ministry from Harvest for Christ to The Body and the Bride. When He did, He made it very clear that ...."this is not so much a ministry as a move of My Spirit".. I quickly added... 'Thank you Lord, I understand, but surely it's only a part of a move of Your Spirit'. I knew that others had also been called, like us, to.... 'heal the broken Body of Christ and to raise awareness of Her Bridal identity'. Little did I realise then, the Lord meant that literally and one day soon He would call me to lay it down in name and join with my dear friend and fellow 'traveler', Michael Pike, in Co-directing Time Out Mission. Our respective 'journeys' had bought us both to seek and to value intimacy with the Lord Jesus in a deeper way. Throughout my Christian life I had sought the Lord but had come to realise that it had been His hands I was seeking....His 'handouts' ...reflected in my prayers for Him to bless me. Seeking Him for who He is was something new, and seeking His face was painful because looking into His face revealed His perfection and my imperfection. Both Mike and I knew that the Lord had brought us together so at first the two ministries began to partner together, Mike serving as the UK director for the Body and the Bride Ministry and I, serving on the ministry team of Time Out Mission. The mandate on my life was to focus on bringing an understanding of unity within the Church and to cause Her to rise up as His Bride, but I was also aware that from that foundational position, the church needed to move out into effective mission and Time Out Mission clearly had that mandate laid upon it. The Lord was not requiring a partnership but a merger! However that presented us with a new challenge. What would we call the ministry? I have always preached that the message is more important than the ministry and that it's not about us but about Him. After seeking the Lord for several weeks and wrestling with the issues, both personal and ministerial, I felt strongly that He wanted me to lay down the Body and Bride Ministry that I had directed since 2003 and join Mike as co-director of Time Out Mission. I feel so excited at this development and look forward to seeing even more growth and effectiveness for the Kingdom by this development. Finally, let me assure all of you who have supported me personally that the message of the Body and the Bride will always remain a foundational part of Time Out Mission and its initial Unity Conference called a Body and the Bride Conference. However now we are equipped to minister more effectively. Tricia and I, as do Mike and Jo, value your continued prayer and financial support. The work goes on, its just that the logistics have changed. God bless you so much

Time Out Mission International Vision.....
To see the church united as a radiant bride, passionately in love with Jesus, and living life to the full, where every believer is empowered and released into their mission, so that the Kingdom of God is advanced in the land we live bringing radical change to every level of society