Monthly Hotline

February 2012

2012-02-03T15:43:00.000Z

Christmas has come and gone and feels a long time ago now. 2012 has arrived and life is busy once more. As I have considered this New Year I have been so conscious that this is a new year full of opportunities that we could so easily miss if we do not keep our eyes on the correct perspectives. I believe that if the church takes its right place in society we can make such a positive contribution to the lives of people hurting in the present economy but we need to stand up and make a difference. Again and again I have felt God promise me that this year offers the opportunity to be a season of acceleration and multiplication into all He has planned for our lives if we will take the LEAPS of faith that are necessary to activate our potential. So make 2012 your LEAP year and accelerate into the purposes of God for your life!

We had a wonderful family time at Christmas. It was great to have our son, David, and his wife, Jenny, staying with us as well as my parents from the States. My brother, David, and his wife, Pippa, with their kids came to visit for a day on Friday 23rd December and we had lots of fun. As usual we had plenty of food, some good walks, and time to do jigsaw puzzles. Helen gave us a 500 piece jigsaw of Tim, Nicola and family made from a recent family photo and we had fun finding Cooper’s nose and Leila’s hair to complete the puzzle. We also had a near disaster when the en-suite bathroom sink blocked and then leaked and the ceiling on the stairs nearly collapsed! But the calamity was averted and it is all repaired and safe again! But it would not be Christmas without a drama!

On January 1st 2012 we were in Peterborough at Kingsgate Church and had the joy of preaching at their service. What an incredible way to start the new year. God was so present in the service and the atmosphere was pregnant with expectation. Many people responded and several were saved – a great start to the year! The following week I was at Kingsgate Cambridge for the Sunday morning service and then drove back to Peterborough to encourage the Prayer Army, having spoken at a prayer breakfast in St Albans on the Saturday. It was a busy weekend but I was so encouraged by the fresh earnestness to pray and hear God in this season.

Helen enjoyed joining the Southwest Youth Ministries’ Foundation Year trainees for their conference in Bridgewater and spent two days teaching them about the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. It was great to hear the stories of how they stepped out in the gift of prophecy and learned so much more about the incredible privilege of partnering with the Holy Spirit to touch the lives of young people in our communities.

After starting this year in the UK Helen and I were then back on a plane bound for the USA. Every day the weather forecast seemed to threaten our plans as there were predictions of heavy snow falls but our flights were all on time and we escaped the snow. Our first stop was Goshen, the land of plenty in adversity! It seemed a very appropriate place to start the year. Here we ministered in a church from a Mennonite background that had been renewed. The power of God to touch lives was so evident and we spent time with the leadership team, prayer and prophetic teams and the church. People were so gracious and we left blessed!

We then flew to Washington, DC, to spend 3 days praying for the USA and Capitol Hill. Again God opened doors and we connected with influential and special people who love their nation and pray for America. It was interesting to find ourselves in the USA during the Republican party’s leadership elections and be able to listen to the debates given by the candidates and get a sense of what the USA election will look like this year.

We then flew to upstate New York and were in Catskill where we were able to bless a church that a few months ago was the centre of relief and help in their community. After tropical storm Irene hit their area, this church became the evacuation centre for the neighbourhood. This has had a profound impact on the church and they have become so community minded. We saw many people touched by God, people get saved and lives healed.

Now we are back in the UK again. We just about managed to time adjust before driving to Birmingham to join the Betel gathering for their days of teaching on Friday 27th January. There is nothing like being in a room of young converts, hungry for God, who know they need help! The passion of these young men freed from a past of alcohol, drugs and prison, who now love God, is deeply moving. It is always a privilege to minister there. Finally Helen and I went to Chipping Campden to minister to 160 women at their annual conference. After the raw passion of the Betel men everything felt very “pink” and posh! But God deeply touched lives and impacted the women, calling out their sense of purpose and the privilege of this season. I believe many were inspired to stand and make a difference in their communities.

So we have lived life in the fast lane this month! However, we did start the year with a three day retreat for prayer and planning. We considered especially how we were stewarding the areas of ministry God has entrusted us with and which areas we feel encouraged to grow and expand in this season. One of our biggest needs is time. We know God is calling us to write a number of books and also upgrade our teaching and research on a number of key subjects. Like the apostles in Acts who felt they needed to give themselves more to the teaching and preaching of the Word and to prayer so appointed deacons to assist in the day to day running of the ministry, we are looking to employ a UK administrative assistant as soon as possible to relieve us of some of the office responsibilities and schedule planning. Please pray for the right team member to join us. We are also trusting God for a greater release of finances to enable us to take more quality time away to write. We will also be doing some prayer journeys to a number of missions nations this year and so will need extra provision for theses ventures. While the world is downsizing and cutting back, we sense that many in the Kingdom will experience the supernatural provision of Heaven and find this becomes a season of growth, expansion and acceleration, with greater harvests for those who will step out in faith.

We are delighted that the final copy edited draft of my new book Run Your Race is now with the publisher and will be published in July. For a sneak preview of the audio version, do visit our new download’s pages on our website where you can listen to the latest talks too.

February will see us traveling in the UK quite a bit, with weekends in Devon (Barnstaple, Ilfracombe, Exeter and Crediton), Kent and Birmingham. We will also be in Norway for the National Pentecostal Leaders and Preachers conference where Rachel will be the main speaker for the weekend.

Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson with Helen Azer & Glenda Renes.

November 2011

2011-11-07T09:53:00.000Z

This weekend the clock falls back and winter time has officially come to England. As I look at the leaves turning golden and red, and the fruit-laden branches on the trees, with shock I realise 2011 is nearly finished. What a season of shaking in every area of life this year has been. However, as this year draws to a close we are also busy planting bulbs and seed for the next spring. In this picture there is a lesson: as we reap the harvest of one year we must also be investing time to plant seed for the next. I believe that God desires 2012 to be a year of plenty for the church but we must get busy planting in prayer for this harvest.

October was a month where we were mainly based in the UK. We were all over the nation from the North East, London, south coast, Norfolk, North West and then Oxford! But although we covered miles in the car we were so encouraged to see there is an army of passionate people who love Jesus right across this nation. The month started with a trip to Norwich where we connected with a group of women leaders who have a vision for their region. It was inspiring to listen to the passion and strategy that God has given them for their area. We then ministered at a women’s conference all day Saturday and in the church on Sunday. God gave several prophetic words for people. who were amazed as the detail was accurate and the prophetic word had answered questions and given them direction.

After Norwich we did venture outside the UK to Poland. Here we discovered we arrived in the nation at a pivotal time. It was their national election on the weekend we were in Warsaw. Although it was a women’s conference several men attended the days and we spent definite times in prayer for the government and elections. The church leaders had felt God had spoken to them about who should be the next leader for Poland and so were delighted when the results were announced and “their” man had won. Again as we preached we watched God’s word set people free. One leader testified that he had been struggling with depression and as I spoke revelation broke the power of this weariness and he felt free! We were encouraged to see many radical young people on fire with a passion for God and a desire to pray for their nation.

Back in England again we then travelled to the North West. We had a wonderful meeting in Bolton on the Thursday on our way to Cumbria. During the worship God spoke to me and said to watch out for EMILY. So I wrote this name, EMILY, down on my notepad and wondered if this referred to my niece, making a mental note that I should contact her later. However, after preaching, when I asked if there were any who wanted to know Jesus, immediately a young girl sitting in front of me put her hand up and exclaimed, “Yes I want to know God”. So I asked her name. “Emily”, she replied! So I told her God had spoken to me about Emily in the worship and showed her the name written on my note pad....she cried and as the note pad was passed around the church many others were touched. In the end 12 people responded and gave their lives to Jesus! What a wonderful God. We then continued to Cumbria, did a weekend with a group of women calling them to AWAKE and pray. On our way back to Oxford we stopped in Lancaster and ministered in Father’s House and were so delighted to see that the church had their own building at last. What a blessing!

In the last days of October we have mainly been busy in Oxford and London. Helen spent a day in east London speaking to the regional New Wine leaders network on the challenges and opportunities which postmodernism and secularism have created in our society and why Islam has been able to fill the vacuum in the West. Last Sunday Gordon was preaching at Oxford Bible Church, Helen was at St Michaels, Cumnor, and I was at Cornerstone Church. So we were touching three churches in Oxford on the same day! It was a wonderful day and I felt the sense of little acorns growing into MIGHTY OAKS! There are so many excellent people of faith waiting for a breakthrough in Oxford and I believe that these are exciting days. This last weekend of October we will be speaking in Reading on Saturday and then visiting Peterborough for the Sunday services. Then we get ready for a long trip away from the UK. Gordon goes to India and then Australia and Helen and I go to the USA. Helen returns to the UK in late November and will be ministering in Oxford while I fly on to join Gordon in Australia for both ministry and family time.

GORDON WRITES: This last month I spent five days in Kristiansand, Norway, in one of our favourite churches, preaching 13 times (!), mainly in their Bible School. The following weekend I was asked to join the Swedish Pioneer Church Planting conference in Stockholm: I felt like a granddad encouraging the next generation to go for it! It was great to reconnect with an Iranian lady who has led over 100 Muslims to the Lord. Next year we hope to draw together the key workers in Norway and Sweden who work with Muslims.

Back in Oxford I am now ministering in a small Anglican church, St James Cowley, in the Islamic area of town, but also plan to preach and minister outside of Oxford too. This Saturday I ministered at a conference to help people on their journey through cancer. I am also the chairman of Love China International, which is now relaunching after its early years as BTJ Foundation, connecting with the Chinese missions in the Muslim world. We’ve been asked to help launch some philanthropic groups amongst the Chinese in the UK and Europe, who could then take the principles back to China to help them develop the whole culture of charitable giving which doesn’t exist in China at present. Even the Chinese Premier is keen to learn from the charitable groups in Europe about this area of philanthropy.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching, we wanted to give you advance notice that our Heartcry online shop will have some great special offers and gift ideas for Christmas…so watch this space! We are also thrilled that our audiobook shop is now open and you can purchase Rachel’s two devotionals, Stepping Stones to Freedom and Pathway of Peace, on audiobook, featuring Rachel reading the books herself! So, November is a month of travel and touching the nations again. We so appreciate your prayer support for us!

Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson with Helen Azer & Glenda Renes.

October 2011

2011-10-01T15:48:00.000+01:00

WOW I cannot believe that a month can evaporate so quickly! It seems that September came and went before I really registered its arrival. However, despite this feeling I know that September DID exist as I have over 700 photos to prove it. Gordon and I had a wonderful break in South Africa and were amazed at the ease at which the itinerary we had organised all came together. It was a wonderful mixture of work and play and we loved every moment of our time. We landed in Cape Town on the 29th August and took a few days sightseeing and were blessed with the cloud clearing for 2 hours at the top of Table Mountain so that we could see the view. We then drove to the Cape of Good Hope and climbed the lighthouse; watched penguins at Boulder Bay and thoroughly enjoyed the Botanical gardens full of flowering Proteas and magical plants. The weather was cool but we were able to enjoy every day.

Gordon had chosen some lovely hotels along the way to celebrate our 30th Wedding anniversary. We postponed our holiday to celebrate this event until later in the year as we so wanted to go to South Africa but did not want to go in winter! The highlight was 3 nights in Gomo Gomo lodge where we went on safari and saw elephants, rhino, Cape buffalo, lions, cheetahs, leopards and many more....it was fascinating and certainly addictive! Hence the hundreds of photos! However, we also had the opportunity to connect with some of the churches too. We met Phil Dooley and the Hillsong crowd in Cape Town and enjoyed worshipping with them on Sunday. We then ministered in Johannesburg with City Life Church and James Monaghan from Portland area – this was a fantastic time of ministering to their team and seeing lives changed through the church. Then we went to Pretoria visiting Hatfield Church and the Vial Triangle ministering at a Ladies conference and the River of Life church. It was a wonderful time. We returned home refreshed, relaxed and ready to go again and it has been busy since our return......already I have driven over a thousand miles in 10 days!

GORDON WRITES:

The week before we flew to South Africa, I finally began to see the jigsaw puzzle coming together that I have wrestled with for these last 8 months since leaving St Aldates. First I met with the Bishop of Oxford and he has agreed to licence me to work as an NSM minister in Cowley based at St James. That secures my role as a local church leader in an Islamic area, even though it comes unpaid! They know that I will be fully occupied in setting up the Mahabba Network across the UK, but are just really keen to have me as part of the team.

Then I also finally went out to the States the week before we flew, to spend two days with OMS (One Mission Society) as they kept insisting that we belonged together! I was astonished at their Kingdom perspective which I seldom meet in mission societies: as we talked, it became apparent that they are Kingdom builders and not interested in growing their own empire. The end result is that they really feel Mahabba is something they want to get behind, and they are willing to help me from next February to secure my own personal funding and then approach other foundations to secure funding for the growth of the Mahabba network. They would like to partner with us to birth “Mahabba Network International”. They would help us with training, funding, and seek to help us spread this model in time across Europe....and beyond!

The main vision will be “ to motivate and mobilise ordinary Christians to reach their Muslim neighbours, and to mentor and multiply dynamic communities of disciples in Islamic neighbourhoods.” They specialise in training people to develop self multiplying, self propagating discipleship groups. So over the next few months I will be looking to raise the funding to run Mahabba Network International. I do believe God is encouraging me to pursue this as the churches in the UK are ill equipped to reach the thousands of Muslims in our neighbourhoods. Our six session “Friendship First” DVD Training package produced by the team here is now available to churches.

OMS are not a fly-by-night outfit (110 years old) and have a substantial budget. Last year they birthed 4000 “house churches”, and saw 400,000 people come to Christ. One of the most touching moments was kneeling in front of Wesley Duewel, their 95 year old past President, who was still at his desk in shirt and tie at that age! He laid hands on me and prayed for God’s blessing on this little embryo of Mahabba. He spoke of his days in India where he invested his whole life: he was part of birthing 8 seminaries out of Allahabad, and a denomination called “Evangelical Churches of India” which now has 500,000 members.

In October and November, I will be preaching in Norway at one of our favourite churches in Kristiansand, and at the DAWN conference in Stockholm and then spending 2 weeks in India travelling with Duncan Watkinson, before finally flying on to be Granddad in Sydney. We are both so looking forward to those weeks in Sydney.

HELEN WRITES:

Meanwhile, back at home it was a joy to gather with over 1000 leaders at Wembley Stadium for a day of prayer and preparation for London 2012 and hear about various plans to capitalise on the Olympics and take the opportunity to reach out to the nations who will be visiting London. One such initiative, planned by a church in Leyton, just two miles from the Olympic site, is called “London’s Burning”. We have got behind this project and are looking forward to being part of the team leading the Leyton Orient Stadium worship and prayer day on 27 May 2012, Pentecost Sunday next year. We aim to have 10,000 believers together that day to light the fire in the spirit ahead of the Olympics! For further details please visit www.londonsburning2012.org.uk where there is a powerful prophetic promotional video. Why not plan to bring a group from your church and be part of the day?

This coming month we will be back on the road travelling up and down the country and also speaking at a national conference in Warsaw, Poland, as well as several local church meetings in Warsaw too. Please do pray that we would have a word of life to bring to the hungry!

Thank you for all your prayer and support!

Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson with Helen Azer & Glenda Renes.

NEW STUDY GUIDE OUT NOW

2011-07-27T13:32:00.002+01:00

July 2011 Hotline

2011-07-01T10:20:00.001+01:00

We are writing to you this month from the USA where we are completing a ministry trip. We fly home on Thursday after a really fruitful month. This month has been busy! For most of the month we have been on the road, firstly in the UK and then in the USA. Helen took some time to be in Germany in early June and so I travelled by myself to several of the UK venues. It was strange to minister and travel without Helen’s practical and ministry support but I coped and remembered most things correctly but have enjoyed travelling together for this intensive time in the USA. I realise that travelling alone is much more stressful!

In the UK I had the privilege to speak in Purley to the staff of the Baptist church and then in the evening at the training school. It was so good to meet people of faith and courage demonstrating the love of Jesus in a very multicultural area of London. Then it was up north to Halifax where we connected the North West (Liverpool) and North East (Hull/Bridlington) together for a prayer day called The Lion’s Roar. Sue Sinclair organised this day and it was so great to see nearly 400 people together to pray for the day. The worship was great and there was a free flow of prophetic words, worship and prayer with speakers directing the focus of the day. I loved it. If you would like to hear the words please go to the watch the highlights on this YouTube link (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAbo-Wgoukc). Then on Sunday I spoke at Ribble Valley Church just outside Preston, a new church that is full of vibrancy and life. In the afternoon we took the town centre Starbucks and had a Ladies’ Meeting and I was SO blessed to discover that last time I was in the church a lady in a wheelchair was totally healed. Today she is walking everywhere and vibrant! It was so good to see her well.

After a hectic weekend, on the Monday we went to Watford and Gordon and I taught at the CML missions’ school. The students were hungry for the presence of God and it was a delight to teach them. After teaching all morning we spent the afternoon meeting people from our Watford days and were touched to hear the stories of the goodness of God seen in the churches and many projects growing in Watford. It was so exciting to meet the people and know that the churches, community and commerce are coming together in Watford to bring change!

Helen started the month in Germany where she was an official representative of the Church of England at the German ‘Kirchentag’ festival. This is a bi-annual event which took place in Dresden this time and saw 120,000 visitors from across the German Protestant churches gather for five days of worship, teaching, lectures, political debates, concerts, art exhibitions and youth events. It is a unique event, partly under-written by the German government and at which German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, schedule time to speak, take part in debates or lead Bible studies. It is a fascinating gathering and was very moving this year as it took place in a former Communist East German city where only 20 years ago any type of Christian expression on such a large scale would have been unthinkable.

It was then time for Helen and I to fly to the USA. We flew into LA and then drove up to Ventura on the coast to visit a new church led by some great friends from the Seattle area. We had a fantastic time leading their church prayer meeting, taking part in their Encounter weekend and then preaching on Sunday morning. Whenever I am in California I have such a sense that this state which has been despised and denigrated by so many in the USA is destined to lead the way and reverse the curse of some of its ungodly choices. Looking back in history this is the state which birthed the Azusa Street revival, which saw Amy Semple McPherson and the Vineyard movement move in signs and wonders and healings. So it was a joy to speak into this state again and encourage the Church to be a voice of influence which prepares the way for another move of God.

We then travelled on to Turlock, choosing to use our free days to drive the scenic way through Yosemite National Park with its stunning forest, waterfalls and lakes. In Turlock we had the joy of being back in Harvest Christian Center Church and speaking at their prayer school. We loved seeing hungry people grow in their understanding and authority in prayer and realise that they are made both for intimate communion with God as well as warfare intercession to execute the Father’s will and plan. We also had the privilege of being in the church on the Sunday, Father’s Day, and speaking at the two morning services.

Taking the scenic route again we drove through Napa Valley and up to Roseville. It was such a joy to be back with Impact Church for a Face2Face evening to share about our ministry and missions projects. We then spent the weekend with The Family Church for their Festival of Joy conference, celebrating prophetic worship and the arts. We enjoyed the atmosphere of abandoned worship and joy and spoke on what biblical joy truly looks like and how we can become those who release the atmosphere of God into the community and bring transformation.

After a very full weekend we woke up at 3.30am on the Monday to catch our flight out of California to Wisconsin where we have been this last week. I had been invited to be the speaker at the American Baptist renewal stream’s annual summer conference, organised by Holy Spirit Renewal Ministries. We were delighted to be with 500 or so Baptists pastors and church leaders and loved their hunger and passion. We developed a series with them starting with God’s call to raise up his warriors and give them strength where they have grown weary, right through to learning to become the mouthpiece of God into the community and nation to bring change. We shared about some of the incredible things God is doing in the Middle East and how God cannot resist the wilderness and specialises in bringing breakthrough in those tough places. We exhorted them to seize the opportunity to embrace the seasons of change in the USA and make these times to go in the opposite spirit and model outrageous generosity and courage. We shared how we felt it is time for America to usher in a ‘re-formation’ where the foundations are re-established and society is touched and radically changed. In the next months we will be sharing more about the vision for a day of remembrance on 11 November (11/11/11) this year where America recalls its roots.

Thanks so much for your prayer and encouragement!

Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson, Helen Azer and Glenda Renes.

June 2011 Hotline

2011-05-27T10:49:00.000+01:00

Thank you for praying for us during our busy month of May when we were on the road so much. We were blessed with easy travel connections in spite of the ash cloud, a wonderful sense of God’s presence in meetings and some excellent time with our supporters and partners in the USA.

We left the UK on 29th April, the day of the Royal Wedding. We were able to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange their vows on a TV screen in Heathrow airport before boarding our flight to LA. Once we arrived in the USA we then caught up on the rest of the day’s historic moments. As we watched the moment the future King of England married his beautiful bride, the Holy Spirit spoke to me about the privilege of being part of a Kingdom, one that cannot be shaken! Being in the USA where much of the media was distressed that we should call Kate a ‘commoner’, I realised that in the UK we understand the language of Kingdom so much more: by calling Kate a commoner we simply acknowledge that she has no royal blood. In the same way, all of us are commoners or sinners before we ‘marry’ and give our lives to the Prince of Peace. And yet, we have turned the head of the King of Kings and He counts us worthy to be His Bride. Like Kate, it is our covenant commitment to the King of Heaven which changes our status. Through covenant we gain Kingdom authority and become co-heirs with Christ. When Kate walked into the abbey no one saluted her, but on her exit with the future King everyone acknowledged her – she was no longer a commoner. Kate now has authority in the royal household and so do we once joined to Christ. In the same way, although a commoner by birth, it is impossible for Kate to give birth to a commoner; she will only birth royal princes and princesses. It is the same for us: once we carry God’s Word we never birth anything but Kingdom “children” as we are now connected with the King of Heaven. We no longer carry the ordinary but extraordinary, no longer just natural but supernatural! So why not reflect on the richness of imagery and illustration in this Royal Wedding and let God fill you with a deeper sense of gratitude and wonder for what He has done in taking a commoner to be His Bride!

So, having landed in LA we drove to Santa Maria for the first weekend at Church for Life where we spoke at a ladies’ meeting on the power of spiritual motherhood. We also spoke at the weekend services and an informal gathering with the pastoral and leadership team. We loved this new connection and look forward to future partnership. From here we flew up to Seattle and to a Board meeting and a wonderful couple of Face2Face evenings where we share more intimately and openly about our mission’s projects and breadth of our ministry in the nations. We have been so encouraged by the response to these evenings and are delighted that others of you are also now offering to host these partners’ gatherings.

We then travelled to Aberdeen, WA, and spent a prophetic teaching weekend with River of Life Church. It was so good to be back there and we were blessed to be able to see the impact of the Word both preached and prophesied. We also celebrated American Mother’s Day with them and spoke into the importance of mentors and role models, and the necessity of mothers and fathers to shepherd the families and communities as so many in our neighbourhoods seek those who will give them guidance and security.

After a few days back in Seattle, travelling to Rainer Hills, connecting with Dan Hammer and the Sonrise church and other God appointments we then travelled to our final conference in Roseville, CA, with another new contact. Here we spoke at their women’s conference and weekend services at Impact Church. Again the presence of Jesus was powerfully present as we ministered to the ladies. They had chosen the title “Doors and Windows” and so we spoke into the areas of “DOORS of Opportunity,” the effective DOOR for the gospel and the WINDOWS of blessing and signs and wonders! So many in California have suffered in this current economic crisis but it was wonderful to watch how God encouraged His ladies with new courage and comfort in this season. We look forward to connecting with Impact Church in June for a Face2Face evening.

We have just returned in the last day from a five day trip in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland. In Aberdeen, Scotland, we were delighted to be part of the Vivacious women’s conference and managed to fit this in before flying on to Dublin where the Queen had just completed her historic visit. Having worked in Ireland and Northern Ireland for so many years, it was so very encouraging and moving to see the change which has taken place and how wonderfully Dublin was able to embrace the British monarch’s visit. While there is so much turmoil in so many parts of the world, it is heartening to witness a nation which is overcoming its painful past and moving forward in forgiveness. Here we were delighted to minister at Dundrum Methodist Church and then on the Sunday at St Mark’s where Rachel preached prophetically on the Gift of Time. We then drove up o Ballymena where we ministered at High Kirk Presbyterian church and had a great evening of ministry with the women on Monday evening as well as time with the prayer ministry team and staff leadership team.

So, this month has been busy! As we write, Rachel and Gordon are preparing to spend the Bank Holiday weekend down in Dorset leading a prayer conference then having some family time on bank holiday Monday while Helen flies to Germany on Friday for a few days’ retreat and rest before attending the Kirchentag conference as a Church of England representative.

Thanks so much for your prayer and encouragement! I would also value your prayer for my family. My dad, Alan Vincent, now 80, has been suffering with various health challenges. First he experienced rapid vision loss due to wet macular degeneration that has severely altered his lifestyle and more recently has been in hospital with urinary and kidney problems. He is now at home again but is still under care for various symptoms. Please pray for them as they are great heroes in the faith and I know this is a challenging season. They are hoping to go on vacation in Spain but they just got caught in the hurricane in Dallas Fort Worth airport and have had to return home and wait for another flight. All this is exhausting and draining. So I would value your prayer! THANK YOU!!

Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson, Helen Azer and Glenda Renes.

May 2011 Hotline

2011-05-05T11:22:00.001+01:00

We trust you have had a great Easter with some time for reflection, celebration and family. As we continue to hear the stories from the Middle East of nations in uproar and people fighting for survival, we become so aware of the fragility of life. Yet, at the same time, Easter reminds us that life is such a gift. Here in Oxford we have had the joy of hearing of three new babies born to our friends over the Easter weekend and so we celebrate with them this miracle of new life.

We have enjoyed extended time in Oxford this month spring cleaning the office, sorting filing systems and taking time for reflection and planning as well as catching up with several of our friends. We have also celebrated Gordon’s 60th birthday with the family and a few surprises, including a special treat of watching Torvill and Dean’s Dancing on Ice show in London.

We started the month up at Swanwick for the Groundlevel Network Leaders’ Conference. It was good to connect with colleagues and friends in the ministry and realise that we are part of an army of believers in Britain who are making a difference across the nation. From there we travelled to Grantham for the Lydia regional link day where we spoke to ladies from the five counties of Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and South Yorkshire on the theme of understanding the ‘prophetic edge’ and recognising the Kingdom season we are in. We shared about the big picture of God’s plan for an alignment to come in these days and the importance of getting Heaven’s perspective as we pray. We were struck by these incredible warriors who have staked the ground in Britain for so long and continue to stand with faith and eager expectation to see the seed of their prayer bear fruit and to ensure that they leave a legacy which outlives them and blesses the generations to come. In the evening we spoke on ‘Sound Waves with a Cutting Edge’, teaching on the power of the Word in our mouths and how to keep this Word sharp.

Just before Easter Helen travelled to Turkey to meet with groups of believers and learn what God is doing there. We have had numerous prophetic words about this nation and so we felt it was time to actively seek God about how He would have us involved there. It was amazing to be in this diverse nation which has had such a variety of influences which have all shaped its political, geographical, social and religious outlook. This is a nation of nearly 80 million people but with under 5000 believers! It has such a rich heritage of biblical and church history, from the seven churches of Revelation through to the Councils of Nicea and Chalcedon. This region has always been a pioneer. Emperor Constantine established Constantinople (present day Istanbul) as the Christian ‘capital’ and declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, ending three centuries of Roman persecution. This very city later became the seat of the Islamic caliphate until Ataturk abolished sharia law and dissolved the caliphate in the 1920s, establishing the Turkish Republic, language and alphabet and moving its capital from Istanbul to Ankara. The photo shows the 4th century Hagia Sophia Church which became a mosque in 1453, was secularised in 1931 and then turned into a museum in 1935. Today, the battle for this region we now know as the nation of Turkey continues to rage. Islamic radicalism is rising against the backdrop of a very proud and aggressive secularism. But signs are that God has Turkey well within His sights and is putting this nation on the radar of many in the Kingdom at this time. Having made connections with several key national leaders and learnt so much about the Church in this nation we are praying for God’s leading for the next steps.

As we write we are preparing for a two week ministry trip to the USA and are looking forward to being back in Seattle with our USA office and board. We will be speaking at conferences in Santa Maria, CA, Aberdeen, WA, and Roseville, CA. Please pray for safe travel, inspiration for the messages we bring and times of blessing and refreshing for the churches where we minister.

For those of you in the USA, we will be holding another two Face2Face evenings in Kirkland, Seattle (5 May) and in Buckley, WA, (10 May) this month. If you consider yourself a friend, partner or supporter of our ministry we would love to see you at one of these events. The USA website has details of how to book your place. Click here for more information.

Later in the month we are delighted that we will be back in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland for a variety of conferences, training events and leaders meetings. At the end of the month Helen will be in Germany, on retreat in Herrnhut (one of Zinzendorf’s Moravian settlements) and then attending the German Protestant churches congress or ‘Kirchentag’ in Dresden as an official Church of England representative.

This month will be an intensive time of travel, a complete contrast to the days we have had at home in Oxford during April. These days have been vital to just refocus and find time to write, read and replenish and prepare for this coming busy month. I have so enjoyed writing a chapter for a book on mentoring about the role of spiritual mothers in the church and also preparing a set of teaching notes entitled “The Gift of Time”. Please continue to pray for Gordon and I as we seek to determine the steps ahead of us. We are so aware that we need to hear God’s direction at this critical time.

Thanks so much for your prayer and encouragement!

Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson, Helen Azer and Glenda Renes.

Face2Face

2011-03-30T12:26:00.004+01:00

To find more Please Click Here

April 2011

2011-03-30T12:24:00.001+01:00

In the midst of ongoing turmoil across the world this month, here in Oxford we have had the first signs of spring with warm weather and new plants appearing in the garden. It is the strangest feeling to reflect that, while on one side of the world whole villages have been swept away in a tsunami causing unbelievable trauma to so many, on this side of the world nature’s familiar cycles of winter giving way to spring can give the impression of ‘life as usual’. It is a reminder though of the indomitable power of life to triumph over death. At the right time, even the bleakest, coldest ground has to yield to the power of life which has lain dormant in seed form within its soil. As we pray for the nations of Japan, China, Burma and Thailand, all of which have been so shaken by earthquakes this month, we must also remember to call forth life out of death and activate the good seed which many have sown in those nations. Now is the time for fruitfulness in the barren places and for spring to come to nations which have endured such long spiritual winters.

One of the messages we have been sharing with people over the last month is the sense of the incredible gift of time. Now more than ever before we realise that there are ‘tipping points’ in history and most of these occur when people appreciate that the choices they make can become defining moments for a nation, community or family. Whether on the larger global scale or just at the level of our individual lives, God has given humanity a gift of time: we have a yesterday, a past, which we can close the door on instead of letting it define our today. We also have a tomorrow which means that good stewardship of each moment is vital to secure a legacy and fulfil our destiny. But we must understand that our destiny is not a certainty but a God-given opportunity and our choices today determine our legacy. In partnership with God we can change the destiny of nations as we steward this incredible gift of time.

On a personal note, Gordon and Rachel have been aware of the passage of time and its gift this month as they celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary and spent a couple of days up in Grasmere where they enjoyed walking in the lakes and the beauty of the open spaces as they had done on honeymoon!

On our travels in the nations, it has been our privilege to share in what God is doing in the nations this month. We spent three days in Washington DC praying for those who work on Capitol Hill and supporting the work of the National Prayer Center. We also travelled to a great church in Catskill, New York state, and were impacted by the way in which they are touching their community and serving its needs through youth work, sports facilities and support for those with addictions among other things. We were also delighted to preach at Liberty Church, New York City, which has already grown to over 80 people in seven weeks.

It was then time to return to the UK and we had a busy weekend with Rachel ministering at the Worship Academy in Derbyshire followed by Sunday celebrations in Haverhill, Suffolk, while Helen spoke at the Aglow National Leaders and Members conference in Southport. It was also so good to be back at Streams in the Desert in Leamington Spa and see the hunger amongst ladies form the Midlands region for a fresh encounter with God. Rachel spoke on being ‘wet people who burn’, that is those who are saturated with the presence of God, soaked in His Holy Spirit but then able to carry His fire.

One of the joys of this season has been the ability to travel and minister with Gordon again. This month we were able to go as a team to minister at the Social Work Christian Fellowship where Rachel spoke on ‘Being a Voice of Influence’ while Gordon and Helen acted as chaplains to the conference, leading the morning devotions and a closing Communion service. As we write, Gordon and Rachel are in Norway ministering in Filadelfia Church, Kristiansand, and Catch the Fire, Oslo, while Helen is at home working on a study guide for Eat the Word, Speak the Word.It was so good to be back in Norway again with Gordon and just see again the growth and vision of the church in Kristiansand. They have become a church that inspires us with their prayer and strategy each time we are with them. Oslo has always been a more challenging city to minister into and this time we spoke in a new church plant. It is always great to hear the stories of how people have found Jesus and their testimonies of healing on the streets. We will finish this month up at Swanwick for the Groundlevel Leaders Conference, a network we have loved being connected with.

In April we have a much more home based month, with time for UK ministry, time for family and friends and the celebration of another landmark - Gordon’s 60th birthday! Helen will be visiting some friends in Turkey and then at the end of the month we fly to California for a conference in Santa Maria.

For those of you in the USA, we will be holding another two Face2Face evenings for our partners in Seattle and in Buckley, WA, in May. The USA website has details of how to book your place from now to avoid disappointment. Click here for more information.

It is a characteristic of Kingdom life that it is often birthed out of what looks like a disaster to the natural eye. As we approach Easter this year with all that is happening in the nations, we do well to remember that Calvary was not the end of the story and that what the enemy intended for harm God turned for the good of all who embrace the Resurrection life force hidden within. What some saw only as a tomb, God used as the womb from which invincible life would flow. Let’s embrace that gift of life and time afresh!

Happy Easter!!

Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson, Helen Azer and Glenda Renes.

February 2011

2011-01-31T11:56:00.002Z

So 2011 is already rolling and the first month has vanished! I hope as you have stepped into this year you have been able to let God define your expectations for the days ahead. The media seem determined to convince us that this year will be a time of difficulty and economic disaster but in the midst of the real hardships and crises we must keep a heavenly perspective. I felt God speak to me so clearly at the start of 2011 saying we must live with GREAT expectation and watch for the touches of HEAVEN this year. read more...

Gordon and I had a relaxing Christmas in the UK with David and Jenny, our newlywed son and his wife. We ate, watched movies and played games, walked the dog in the snow and visited family. After the stress of the final months of 2010 it was so good to stop and be family. Gordon finished working as the Pastoral Minister at St Aldates on 31st December so it is a new season in his life. At this stage he is not sure what the days ahead look like in terms of new employment, but we are waiting on God to open new doors of opportunity and ministry for him. However, this has not meant that Gordon has been bored or idle! He has still been busy praying with people, preaching and connecting with leaders and missions projects! Gordon will always find something to do for the kingdom. My life has continued to be busy with itinerant ministry both in the UK and the USA this month. What is wonderful is that Gordon is now able to join me more frequently.

2011 started in the best possible way for Gordon. He was given the opportunity to join old friends on the ski slopes in Switzerland. On December 31st he caught a plane to Geneva and had one week skiing in Verbier. He returned happy, tanned and relaxed and more ready to face this New Year. The following weekend Gordon and I were able to go to Belfast to be with our friends Paul and Pricilla Reid as they transitioned their church, CFC in Belfast, to new leaders Andy and Isabelle McGowan. It was wonderful to be part of these days and connect with many other ministers and friends from around Ireland and other nations. We realised that God has blessed us with such great people in our world and they are such a support in these days when we need wisdom.

The following weekend Gordon ministered in Oxford Bible Church while Helen and I started back on the road again. We spent the weekend in Exeter and the North Devon region. The weekend started on the Friday lunchtime in Barnstaple at the House of Prayer where we ministered to leaders from across the area. As we prayed and spoke with them it was wonderful to watch God strengthen and encourage them. We then drove to Ilfracombe and spoke in the evening at a local Anglican church where many were touched by God and given fresh hope. Saturday we spent the day in Exeter city centre speaking on the prophetic and Sunday we ministered in 2 churches in the local area. Once again we were struck by the wonderful gatherings of passionate, praying Christians who are scattered all across the UK in little towns and villages but who are standing in faith believing for their communities and families to know Jesus. Individually they may seem frail and insignificant but together they form an army of strength and purpose and it is always so encouraging to discover them.

After this weekend we then packed our cases to travel to the USA. Helen and I left Gordon in the UK while we flew to Las Vegas for the Vision and Prophetic conference at ICLV church. This has become a favourite place where we have grown to love the pastors and their congregation. Dear Paul and Denise Goulet always give us such a warm welcome and great freedom to preach. I preached 4 times in the conference and then did TV interviews, Kairos Bible School and the Leaders lunch. It was a packed programme but so satisfying! Helen preached alongside me in the Bible School and spoke eloquently about the influence of Islam in our nations in these days. It was so well received and the 40 CD’s produced after the session sold immediately. After Vegas Helen and I flew to San Antonio to briefly see my parents for a day before leaving for the weekend to minister in Lubbock, Texas. Here we spoke at a women’s conference entitled “CHANGED – from the inside out!” then followed by ministry in the church on the Sunday. Helen and I spoke together taking alternative sessions and God used us to speak to precious women whose identity had been crushed and so their purpose had become unclear. It is wonderful to watch the power of God transform broken people and give them hope.

Although we have been busy on the road, we have a great team (Casey Tait, Glenda Renes and David Hickson) who have worked together on producing our first Study Guide for Rachel’s book Supernatural Communication. As we write, the printers have just finished producing them and so we are thrilled that those of you who have urged us to produce workbooks and study guides to facilitate small group meetings will now have material to help you. These books will be available through our website’s online shop with some special deals for bulk orders or if you purchase the book and study guide together!

Looking ahead, February will continue to see us both in the UK and the USA and Canada.

We are so grateful for all your prayer support and financial partnership with us as we go to the nations. We know it makes a difference and we love to hear your stories and sense of what God is doing. Please do keep us in prayer as we seek God to really know the next steps for our ministry for Gordon and myself.

Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson, Helen Azer and Glenda Renes.

2010-11-09T14:27:00.000Z

We are so thankful for all your prayer support during October. We have been busy travelling the length and breadth of England, with a brief visit to Brecon, Wales, as well. It has been an incredibly rich month and we have so appreciated being reminded that God is powerfully on the move in countless ways in our cities, villages and hamlets. This month we have been in city celebrations of over 900 people, with civic and church leaders, and in tiny village halls and homes, crammed with hungry people. While Christians in Britain can sometimes be tempted to agree with the media’s assessment of the decline of belief in our nation, we have been reminded that the Kingdom is advancing and there are many who are not ashamed to bear the name of Jesus in our nation! The NOT ASHAMED campaign has got off to a great start and the number of signatories to the petition is rising. Why not look at the updates on the website www.notashamed.org.uk and consider spreading the word!

On the home front David and Jenny’s house purchase completed just in time for them to spend Jenny’s school half term break unpacking and settling in. After what seemed like endless holdups and harassments they finally received the keys and we were able to help them move. It was such a joy to be able to see them settled at last!

So, looking back at October, the month started with us travelling to Harlington, Bedfordshire, to lead a day which we entitled ‘Voice of Influence’. We have been developing some teaching material to help people understand the trends in our society and culture which have allowed the Christian voice to become marginalised and discriminated against in our legal system and political, educational and media institutions. We look at the ways in which the Church needs to appreciate the challenges this poses to our message but also understand the opportunity and become equipped to be informed and intelligent in the way in which we relate to this generation. From Harlington we drove to Doncaster for an evening celebration which gathered together many different churches and denominations and were able to speak encouragement into the efforts being made for the churches of Doncaster to work together for the sake of the Kingdom.

Our weekend at Lenchwood Christian Centre in Evesham and Sunday in Brecon, Wales, coincided with the special prayer initiatives held to mark the 10-10-10 date which the prayer and prophetic movements around the world used to make declarations for the re-establishment of God’s law and righteous boundaries in the land. It was good to stand on behalf of the nation and reclaim our godly Christian heritage.

Our visit to Kingdom Life Church in Northampton for their ladies conference and Sunday services was a deep time where we spoke on Keys for the Journey of Life. We were privileged to see God touch the people with His healing and deliverance and strengthen them to make right choices in seasons of difficulty, betrayal and everyday challenges. It was at this church 3 years ago that Rachel prophesied over a lady that this would be a season where she would see the prodigals return. Last week we met this lady again in Cambridge and she had a surprise for us. She had brought her three daughters and a granddaughter to the women’s conference. She then proceeded to explain that within a year of the prophetic word, one of her daughters had become a Christian. A while later her second daughter and her granddaughter also came home to the Lord. Last year, by faith, she had bought five tickets to the women’s conference believing that by the time of the conference her third daughter would also have made a commitment to the Lord. To her absolute delight (and ours!) her daughter had given her life to the Lord three weeks ago and all five of them were there. God’s word never fails!!

Our itinerary then took us to Shackleford, Leyton (East London), Watford, Leicester, Cambridge and Leeds in ten days and it was incredible to witness the depth and breadth of the Church. In Leicester we were delighted to be part of the annual Leicester-wide Christian Praise celebrations, held in the De Montfort Hall with around 900 people in attendance each night over two days and a variety of leaders and ministers’ seminars in the daytime as well as a civic lunch for the city leaders including the mayor and deputy mayor. Rachel spoke at this lunch on the need to connect Church, Community and Commerce in order to bring change. The heart cry of prayer for the city officials and the humility to offer to serve them proved to be a key into many of their hearts and many expressed how much they appreciated the opportunity to be prayed for and to hear that Christians wanted to be good news in the city. In Cambridge we loved being part of C3 church’s Boutique Breathe women’s conference and in Leeds we were so blessed to see the incredibly vibrant church right in the heart of the city centre with a membership of over 1000 reversing the curse of alcoholism, drug addiction and poverty. As we spoke on Reformation Day we felt the prophetic cry to call out a new generation of reformers who would see our inner cities transformed.

Having been on the road solidly for a month, November is a little less hectic. While we do have some speaking engagements, Rachel also travels to Australia to be with Nicola and Tim for the birth of her grandson, due on 12th November. Please do pray for safe travel and timely arrival!!

We are introducing a couple of evenings in the USA called ‘Friends of Heartcry for Change’. This will be an opportunity for an informal gathering to connect with Rachel and Helen and hear some of the stories, testimonies and reports of the work of Heartcry for Change around the world, especially in some of our missions nations. We are not always able to share the full extent of what God is doing in our monthly Hotline so we are introducing these special regional events so that you can share in the work we are doing and hear more fully what God is doing in the nations. For more information or to book your place, please contact Glenda.renes@gmail.com for the USA or contact us here in the UK office for one in your area.

Our love and thanks – Rachel Hickson, Helen Azer and Glenda Renes.

Helen Azer Talking on being NOT ASHAMED

2010-10-18T08:40:00.001+01:00

October 2010

2010-10-03T11:25:00.002+01:00

Thank you for all your prayer and love as we start this new season and get back on the road after the summer break. The wedding and birthday celebrations seem like a different decade now. David and Jenny are back at work after a wonderful Honeymoon in Mauritius and although they have not yet moved into their new house they have been so blessed with temporary lodgings with a great couple in their church in Peterborough. So please pray that this house sale completes quickly as they are longing to set up home by themselves now. Tim and Nicola have safely moved into their newly built house in The Ponds district, near Sydney, Australia. Rachel enjoyed spending 2 weeks with them this month learning her way around the area.

September has been a busy month ministering in the nations and already we have been encouraged by what God is doing in so lives. Rachel spent most of September in Australia ministering in three different churches in Sydney and in Brisbane. Here is a wonderful testimony she received after one of the meetings in Brisbane:

Can you please let Rachel know that she prayed for women who had trouble getting pregnant and the following Sunday one of the ladies tested positive after 9 years of trying! We are all very excited!

This has been an incredible season for us in Heartcry, where we have been hearing testimonies of medically documented healing from those who have been touched in meetings and conferences we have ministered in, some 20 years ago and some from just last week. It is so humbling when God allows us to glimpse something of the deposit we have left in people’s lives, often without even knowing it at the time! It has reminded us again the reason for the hope that is within us and why we are in ministry in the first place. There is nothing so amazing than to be in partnership with God and see lives changed!

Back in Oxford Helen spent the month of September researching and preparing notes for a seminar series articulating the influences impacting our church culture in the West today. We have felt an urgency to help churches, leadership teams and prayer movements understand why they feel such a resistance in the Spirit as they strive to break through in our so-called ‘Christian’ Western society and how to respond to the challenges posed by secularism, postmodernism and Islam. So we have developed a teaching series that we trust will help inform the Christian community to respond to these issues with wisdom, grace and maturity. If you or your church would be interested to host a day on these issues then please do get in touch with us or book a date via our website.

In connection with this subject, we are delighted that the ‘Not Ashamed’ campaign has just been launched. This is an initiative led by Christian Concern for Our Nation and we really commend it to you. The aim of the campaign is to raise the profile of the Christian voice in society by boldly proclaiming that we are not ashamed of Jesus, of the Cross and of the fact that we believe He is the only real hope for our nation. This campaign includes an opportunity to sign a petition and make your voice count so why not take a look at the website www.notashamed.org.uk!

We have just returned from a weekend in Tulare, California, where we spoke at a women’s conference entitled Eat the Word, Speak the Word , encouraging people to regain their confidence in the power of the Word of God as it stands in the Bible and then be equipped and prepared to be a carrier of His Word of life into our communities and see transformation take place. On the Sunday evening we then spoke at the citywide gathering, challenging the Church to keep its cutting edge. It was a joy to see many different churches and denominations gather together for this event.

Thank you for continuing to pray and partner with us! Many of you have emailed us from around the world in the last weeks asking about the news you have heard that Gordon and Rachel will be moving on from St Aldates Church at the end of this year. We understand that you want confirmation and clarification of this news. Rather than respond to all the emails individually, at this time we would prefer it if you read the Bishop of Oxford’s statement which was shared with the church on 15th September. Please click on the secure link here to read the Bishop’s statement. Or Download the PDF here.

For the foreseeable future we will continue to be based in Oxford but from December we will no longer be part of St Aldates Church. We appreciate your prayers for both Gordon and Rachel as they seek God for their ministry and life together in the days ahead.

Our love and thanks – Rachel Hickson, Helen Azer and Glenda Renes.

July 2010

2010-06-29T11:37:00.001+01:00

We are delighted to be writing to you from sunny Oxford where we are enjoying the warm weather and time to catch up with people in the church. David and Jenny are in full planning mode for their wedding and it has been good to have some time at home to prepare. I have managed to buy my outfit and the important hat (!) and now just need to buy shoes! We have also had a busy month travelling in the UK and have been overwhelmed again by the wonderful ways in which God is moving in this nation. Only the depressing reports tend to hit the headlines but we have discovered that there are so many wonderful stories of God transforming lives that never reach the news. Our challenge in this season is to keep a correct Godly perspective so that we do not become downcast and cynical or intimidated and fearful. So it is perfect timing for Rachel’s new book Pathway of Peace which has just been released this week! You can get your copy at a special introductory price through our website!!

June started with Rachel and Gordon taking a couple of days’ leave in Vienna where they enjoyed the Spanish Riding School’s performance as a special treat in advance of Rachel’s birthday. Meanwhile, Helen was in Braunau, Austria, where she was invited to participate in the opening celebrations of a new church building. The church has been established for 30 years, has a vision of serving the community in practical ways and now has a permanent home for its activities. This vibrant community are staking the ground in a town notorious for being Hitler’s birthplace. They have a great vision for reversing the curse and investing in the youth of the town to birth Kingdom leadership and a heart of service. In their congregation it was wonderful to see the first fruits of their efforts, with ex-Neo Nazis fully born again and living for Jesus now! Helen preached on the Saturday morning about the redemptive purpose of God for a people and God’s presence was clearly evident as men and women wept as they realised the trust God was placing in them to become heirs with authority to change the destiny of a city and nation.

Back in the UK Rachel and Gordon spent the first Sunday of June with Kerith Community Church where Rachel preached at all three services. There was a great sense of the power of the Word and the ministry times were deep. The next week we had a great day in London where Rachel was interviewed on Premier Radio about her book Eat the Word, Speak the Word and the relevance of the prophetic in our lives today. It was so good to be back in London and pray for Parliament and meet some of those who are influencing the governmental and political arena. It was also a great joy to connect with Christian Concern for Our Nation (CCFON) and discuss with them the follow up to the Westminster Declaration.

Back in Oxford on the Saturday we so enjoyed sharing at the Ladies Breakfast at St Aldates. Rachel’s talk on ‘Perspectives’ proved a timely and challenging word for many as she encouraged us to look outside our tent of impossibility and containment and look up to be captivated again by what God says over our lives instead. We then drove up to Leicester where it was our joy to connect with the new committee of ‘Christian Praise!’ in advance of Rachel speaking in October at this Leicester city wide event. From there we travelled up the motorway to Preston where we spent the Sunday with Ribble Valley Church for their Sunday meetings and a ladies afternoon tea. What a blessing to connect with this church and its heart for the community in Preston. Last weekend we had a wonderful time in Romsey with New Life Church and Wellspring Church ministering at their conference entitled ‘Preparing for Revival’ and then the Sunday meeting.

With time back in Oxford in the middle of the week we have found space to put in a couple of days in the office sorting out our filing system to accommodate the expanded areas of ministry and missions and reorganise our shelves. We can always tell it is summer when we find time to put the office straight and begin our planning for the next twelve months. We are now fully booked for weekends up to the end of May 2011, but with some limited availability mid-week, and are also increasingly receiving requests for bookings between May-December 2011. If you are intending to book dates in 2011 please do get in touch with us soon in order to avoid disappointment.

On 11th June we marked 3 years of Helen working with Heartcry and we cannot believe how quickly this time has gone, nor how much has happened! We are so blessed that doors of ministry continue to open for us as a team and we are conscious that we have enjoyed the favour and goodness of God as He has met all our needs. We look forward to this next season with expectation.

So, looking ahead to this coming month, we have a few speaking engagements in the first half of the month with an Alpha Holy Spirit day, a ladies meeting and preaching in the local church. From the middle of the month Rachel and Helen will be on leave and the Heartcry office will be closed for two weeks. Apart from a summer break Rachel will be celebrating her 50th birthday on 24th July and so from all her friends who have sent in greetings and messages-CONGRATULATIONS RACHEL AND HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY!!!!

So, whatever you are doing in July we pray that you know the favour of God and that you are able to be a blessing. Remember, if you need a good summer read why not try Rachel’s new book Pathway of Peace. This will make an excellent gift too! If you are in the USA please be aware that all our resources and products are available through our USA website and USA shop at www.heartcry.us which will mean you receive your order more quickly than ordering through the UK site. For those in the UK or Europe please find us at www.heartcry.co.uk On the homepage just make sure to select the correct country by clicking on the map of USA or UK and then enjoy browsing and shopping!

Thank you for continuing to pray and partner with us.

Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson, Helen Azer & Glenda Renes.

June 2010

2010-06-01T20:22:00.002+01:00

After being around Oxford and ministering in the UK during April, May has seen us back at airports and on planes as we have travelled to the USA, Middle East, Sweden, Poland and the UK. We have had great favour as none of our flights have been delayed by the ash cloud or the BA strikes so far even though we have been booked with BA for each of these trips. Travelling is often challenging and my digestive system has been struggling with all the constant dietary changes. As we write, we are preparing to go to Poland for a weekend of ministry and believe we need to bring a word of direction and comfort after the tragic loss of their president and many government officials just a few weeks ago. So please pray that we would bring a relevant word of LIFE to this church in this significant season of history.

It seems like a very long time ago now but May started with the uncertainty and excitement of the General Election in the UK. In our Oxford constituency we were thrilled that Nicola Blackwood, a Spirit-filled, born again Christian was elected as our new member and so we will have a voice of integrity and morality speaking on our behalf in Parliament. Over the first weekend in May while Helen was on a mission’s trip Rachel was up in Bolton, UK. With no clear majority in government, it was a great time to focus and pray for the nation. On Friday night we were with Claremont Church where I spoke on the theme of ‘Greater things are still to come!’ which was then followed by a ladies conference on the Saturday entitled ‘Beautiful to make a difference’ and then the Sunday services. Not only had these events grown in size compared with last year, but the depth and hunger was also even more evident. We were able to share the vision for missions and sense their longing for God to breakthrough in England too. It was a powerful day with deep personal ministry but also impact and vision for Britain.

Meanwhile, Helen led a weekend away for ladies in the Middle East. With Rachel in Bolton it was the first time for me to take a friend and colleague from East London with me and together we spent time teaching on the theme of discernment and also looking at the theology of women in leadership. Both subjects are so key in nations where women are expected to be invisible and unheard and where the move of the Holy Spirit has opened the Church up to all kinds of teaching but, as with the Corinthian Church, often little discernment. It was so incredible to see the ladies begin to understand their destiny in God and commit to allow God to break them out of their socially and culturally imposed limitations and trust Him to make a way for them. I returned encouraged and blessed by what God is doing in the Arab nations!

It was then time for Rachel to travel to the USA and reconnect with dear friends at Life Bible Church, Harrisburg, Oregon for their women’s retreat. The theme for the weekend was ‘Women of Courage’. It was special to literally speak hope and strength into these ladies and see their faces change as they began to believe that they could win their greatest battles and break through as God touched them with His gift of courage. In the beautiful and peaceful surroundings of the retreat it was also good to have time for conversations and one on one ministry. I was also able to launch my new devotional PATHWAYS OF PEACE and signed books until my hand was exhausted! It was also great to be in the church for the weekend services. Then, after a 24 hour stop in the Heartcry USA office in Seattle, it was time to return to the UK and pray that the ash cloud which had shut Heathrow airport would move in time for me to land and then for us to leave for Stockholm, Sweden. Miraculously this did happen in time and our flights were some of the only ones not to be disrupted by the threat of cabin crew strikes as well!

Once in Sweden we connected with Arken Church to teach at their Bible school and weekend conference as well as the Sunday services. We also had the privilege of being in Stockholm for the Saturday which had been planned as a city-wide ‘Jesus Manifestation’ event. Churches of every denomination and background joined together for a joint celebration and hosted mini gatherings in the city’s squares with live music, testimonies and activities. At 2pm they then processed into the city centre from each of the outlying events and gathered for a large final celebration to worship and pray for the city and nation. Estimates suggested there were around 20,000 people and it was wonderful to see the crowds and hear the sound of praise fill the city!

So what of June? We will again be touching Europe and feel this is the time to raise a clear sound from the Church and bless Europe and believe for radical transformation of the hard and barren ground which has silenced the Church and stifled life. Helen will be preaching in Braunau, Austria, while Gordon and Rachel will be in Vienna for a well deserved break but also with a view to standing in another precious European capital city and praying for righteousness and justice to be borne through natural as well as spiritual government.

Much of the rest of June will see us travelling around the UK and we look forward to conferences, weekends of ministry and leadership meetings as well as a radio interview and leaders training in Watford. We are planning to have the summer months June-August as time to write, pray, prepare teaching material and strategize for the years ahead. We would like to have our UK administrative base secured from September and so will be looking to appoint a part-time administrator. We are also actively seeking to expand our financial base by finding those who have our heart and relationship with us to support us. As our travel costs increase significantly and the ministry continues to expand into Australia, the USA, Middle East and Europe we need people with a heart and passion for missions to catch the vision and become long-term partners with us, ready to invest financially to see God’s kingdom expand through the ministry of Heartcry for Change.

On 11th June I (Helen) will be marking 3 years with Heartcry and we cannot believe how quickly this time has gone, nor how much has happened! Little did I know that I would have the privilege of helping Heartcry transition to Heartcry for Change, develop a new website and resources and help birth the new season for this awesome ministry. Rachel and I have seen significant doors open into the Middle East which we will develop in the next years and we have also rapidly expanded the written resources and books. I am delighted to continue to be part of all that Heartcry for Change stands for and look forward to seeing new nations in the Arab world and in Europe open up to us. So thank you to all who have prayed for me over this last few years. I love touching the nations and I know that as I press in for more in this next season God will give us the inheritance He has promised us!

Our new website has been well used in the last month and the shop site especially is now up and running in the UK and USA so do take a look at all the new features, resources and downloads. Also, we are expecting Rachel’s sequel to Stepping Stones to Freedom to be launched in June/July so do look out for Pathway of Peace - SHOP. This will make an excellent gift as well as a great holiday read!! Also remember that the other new book, EAT THE WORD, is now freely available and many are enjoying this book. I believe it is my best book yet, as I had some good help from Helen!

Thank you for continuing to pray and partner with us.

Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson with Helen Azer & Glenda Renes.

May 2010 Heartcry Hotline

2010-05-04T16:53:00.004+01:00

Our precious friends and prayer partners
As we write we are acutely aware of the critical times in which we are living, not least for our nation! By next Friday Britain will know who her Prime Minister will be and which party will have the responsibility of steering the nation through the turbulent seas of economic recovery. Among all the other voices vying for the airwaves it is vital that the Church does not allow itself to be silenced but rather raises its voice and protects its right to be heard. Over 45,000 Christians have now signed the Westminster Declaration of Christian Conscience which will be presented to the incoming government. If you haven’t already you might like to take a look and sign at http://www.westminster2010.org.uk/ .
While many of us are convinced that Christians should have a voice in society, so many have lost confidence in the power of our words to truly have an impact. While we recognise that in past eras of Church history reformers and revivalists released a powerful prophetic sound which transformed communities, nations and the course of history, so many of those we meet express hesitation to speak out. To this end of fostering a new depth of certainty in the power of the Word of God, we are so delighted to be able to share with you the release of Rachel’s brand new book Eat the Word, Speak the Word. Starting with the encouragement to recognise the power and the treasure of the Bible, this book seeks to infect us again with a new confidence and fluency to speak the Word of God with authority and accuracy in all walks of life. Thankfully we were only booked to be in England during April and so were not affected by the flight disruptions due to the volcanic ash. We did feel the strange significance of UK air space being completely empty for over a week and we heard the Holy Spirit’s challenge to us: what will fill the air waves over Britain and Europe in this next season? Whose voice will be heard and where will leadership come from? The month of April has been mainly UK based for us. While Helen enjoyed a week’s leave after Easter, Gordon and Rachel travelled to the Czech Republic to minister in Prague and at the Potential Bible School about an hour outside Prague. Rachel and Gordon had a great time together looking at the city and then ministering. God really used the accurate prophetic word to affirm leaders in their call and this broke open a way for reconciliation and healing. The word was well received and many weary people received words of refreshment and new sense of vision. It was a good time! Then it was back to the UK and we were back on the road. It was great to be in Telford for the Heal Our Land conference and, as if emphasising the sense of it being time to stand up and be counted, we felt God say that Telford should Tell-forth His works and demonstrate His Kingdom and that the heart of England needed a strong impulse coming from a healthy understanding of destiny and purpose and knowing the other atmospheres and voices, such as Islam, which have a dominant sound in parts of our nation. From there it was wonderful to be able to re-visit the Midlands area and spend the following weekend in Kidderminster and Bewdley with Riverside Church’s ladies Rose Conference. We loved the atmosphere and hunger of these women and the opportunity to speak to them about the conditions which make for growth in the Christian life. Then on Sunday we had the privilege of being with the church and Rachel spoke on the power of the life that God given us and the mindset that lives by the truth that the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in us! The Groundlevel Leaders Conference in Swanwick was a wonderful opportunity to connect and renew relationships with so many partners in the ministry. We are so thankful for the men and women with Kingdom values who sacrificially stand for the truth in this nation. So what of this month? We will be in the nations again this month with visits to missions projects overseas as well as conferences in the UK, USA, Sweden and Poland. We are especially looking forward to our two European conferences as Sweden is a new contact for us and it has been a while since we were last in Poland. With the tragic loss of their president and many others in the recent air crash, we are honoured to have the opportunity to minister to the precious Polish people in their time of national grief. Please pray that we will have words of hope and life.

SPEAKING ITINERARY FOR RACHEL AND HELEN

2 EPPING FOREST COMMUNITY CHURCH, UK- Rachel preaching
3 OXFORD PRAYER DAY
5-11 HELEN OVERSEAS TRIP 7 CLAREMINT CHURCH EVENING MEETING (Rachel)
Contact: Pauline Davies pauline.davies807@ntlworld.com
8-9 BEAUTIFUL LADIES CONFERENCE AND SUNDAY SERVICE- BOLTON, UK (Rachel)
Contact: Jessica Kell Jessica.kell@boltonathome.co.uk
12-17 LIFE BIBLE CHURCH WOMEN’S RETREAT AND WEEKEND SERVICES, Harrisburg, Oregon, USA (Rachel)
Contact: www.lifebiblechurch.org
16 ST ANDREWS CHURCH, BOTLEY, OXFORD- HELEN PREACHING
20-24 ARKEN CHURCH CONFERENCE, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (Rachel and Helen)
Contact: www.arken.org
27-30 POLAND MINISTRY
Contact: bogdano@jezus.pl

We are excited that our new website is now up and running so do take a look at all the new features www.heartcry.co.uk . We hope this website will be more fun to navigate and keep you better informed about our missions projects, ministry trips and travel itinerary. The resources section also has some great free downloads of talks and previews of mp3 material you can purchase through the Heartcry shop. Please do note that there are special offers and the UK and USA have different shops with different deals so refer to your nation when purchasing. For the USA friends, Mother’s Day is coming and the new devotional book Pathways of Peace is now ready for purchase in the USA - this is a great gift so do order it online. Thank you for continuing to pray and partner with us. Our love and thanks – Rachel & Gordon Hickson with Helen Azer & Glenda Renes.

April 2010 - Happy Easter

2010-04-02T11:39:00.009+01:00

Thank you for all your prayer and support over these past months. We want to wish you all a HAPPY EASTER, even though the weather is still more winter-like. Enjoy your Easter break and be blessed as you watch the new life burst through the hardened winter ground bringing fresh hope. We are now on the flight home for Easter after completing a 2 week trip in the USA. As always this trip was full of blessing and surprises! We landed in Washington DC and visited Capitol Hill for 3 days and so were in Washington while the Health Care Reform Bill was being passed. We then travelled to Seattle and our time included speaking at a Ladies conference in Enumclaw, their Sunday services, visiting with a Group of business people for strategy and partnership and planning the details for the recording of 2 series of teaching for later in the year. We were then away for 5 days writing in the San Juan Islands, a quick visit to Mercy Ministries in Nashville. So you can understand why home seems appealing after sleeping in 8 or 9 different beds! But we will give you more details of this month as you read below.

This month we have been blessed to participate in European projects which are seeking to encourage, equip and grow the next generation of young leaders and church planters. Early March we traveled to Amsterdam to connect with the Masters Commission Europe conference. This is a discipleship training school which provides the opportunity for young people to give a year of their life to be equipped and trained with a heart for their communities and churches, the market place, the arts and media and with Kingdom values. It was our privilege to spend 2 days interacting with the directors from 22 European nations and their group of around 80 students and hear how their graduates are impacting Europe.

Then it was the Scottish AOG women’s conference in Perth. We were thrilled to be back in Scotland after some years and connect with this group of vibrant women. Our theme for the conference was ‘Breakthrough’ and we had a precious time of seeing God minister deeply to the ladies and provoke them to believe for individual and national breakthroughs. We then drove down to Glasgow and connected with Queen’s Park Baptist Church where Rachel spoke at the two Sunday services. We sensed the influence and authority that God wanted the church to have in such a challenging city. On our way home we spent a few hours in Edinburgh before flying home. We love to put our feet down in the capital cities of Europe and speak blessing over them! Then Norway and our time with the Veien Bibelskole in Bergen, was also a joy. It is refreshing to be with young people who are passionate for God, love His presence and are hungry to learn. We spent 3 days teaching these final year students how to identify the atmospheres which have come into our cities in Europe, vying for influence and authority and how the Church might respond to these challenges.

It was then time to fly to Washington, DC, where we reconnected with the National Prayer Centre and their work to bless and pray for the Senators and Congressmen on Capitol Hill. With all the highly charged political debates taking place around the Healthcare Reform Bill this proved to be a critical time to be on the Hill and it was our privilege to stand with precious men and women in the political arena as they wrestled with these issues. We also took some time to ask God for keys to unlock some of the roots and atmospheres which have provided negative influence over centuries in this precious nation and were able to uncover some of the enemy’s hidden strategies and pray into these. We felt that this is a time when God is revealing the hidden things in order that we can take back ground the enemy has claimed as his own.

From DC we flew to Seattle and drove down to the Enumclaw/Buckley area where we ministered at the Rainier Hills Christian Fellowship’s annual women’s conference. The theme this year was ‘A Living Hope’. Rachel spoke on the process that God takes us on where He births us into a living hope and how we must wrestle and contend for this new birth and then guard it as we learn the secret of contentment. It was so powerful to watch the women make the decision to uproot the seeds of discontentment which had been allowed to take root in their lives and re-dedicate the field of their lives to God and allow Him to grow the fruit of contentment. Helen shared on the challenge to embrace the big picture and look to the One who is the hope for our nations.

From Buckley we caught the ferry to our beautiful retreat on the San Juan Islands. Our time writing at Legacy House was literally an island of tranquility in the middle of a busy month. On the evening as we travelled there we heard that Rachel’s new book Eat the Word, Speak the Word had arrived in the UK and was now available for sale.

Rachel writes: So with the latest book published it was time to put my head down and begin to write again! The publisher had asked for 2 proposals to be presented to the editing board so this was the first job. I am now waiting for approval for these books. The first will complete the trilogy of Stepping Stones, Pathways of Peace and lastly Race of Destiny! This book will be a series of 40 day meditations on the theme of living a passionate life, sold out for Jesus and understanding the values of courage, sacrifice and purity! The second proposal was for a book on purity called ‘Boys and Girls come out to play!’, looking at the principle of biblical purity in the 21^st century. After the proposals were prepared I began to write the purity book and have drafted the rough outline for the first 3 chapters. So I left the island feeling satisfied! Helen, meanwhile, spent this time doing research, reading and documenting articles which will enable her to speak on seminars concerning the influence of Islam in the Western world and skill her for her work in the Middle East. So Eat the Word is now on general release. Do order it through the website, and I will have a book signing on Easter Sunday for this book at our home church St Aldates...what a joy!

We are so excited that our new website is now even on your mobile phone! iPhone users are automatically redirected to a Web App that you can add to your Home Screen enabling you to have fast quick access to our website! Other mobile devices can access the site at www.heartcryforchange.com/mobile. We hope our new site will be more fun to navigate and keep you better informed about our missions projects, ministry trips and travel itinerary. The resources section also has some great free downloads of talks and previews of mp3 material you can purchase through the Heartcry shop.

SPEAKING ITINERARY FOR RACHEL AND HELEN

1 ARRIVE BACK IN UK FROM USA TRIP

2-5 EASTER WEEKEND

4 BOOK SIGNING AND BAPTISM SERVICE

www.staldates.org.uk

4 ST ANDREWS EASTER DAY SERVICE

5-12 HA EASTER BREAK

8-12 CZECH REPUBLIC CONFERENCE AND POTENCIAL SCHOOL- Rachel and Gordon

Contact: Jakub Limr jakub.limr@kshk.cz

13 HEARTCRY OFFICE RE-OPENS AFTER EASTER BREAK

16-18 HEAL OUR LAND CONFERENCE- WOLVERHAMPTON, UK

Contact: Gill Trevor info@mission24.co.uk

24-25 RIVERSIDE CHURCH BEWDLEY WOMEN’S CONFERENCE AND SUNDAY MEETINGS

Contact: Angela Clarke admin@riversideelim.com

28-30 GROUNDLEVEL LEADERS CONFERENCE, SWANWICK, UK

So now we enter summer time and the Hickson family is getting ready for a Wedding in August. David, my son, and Jenny Evans were engaged on the 6^th March 2010 and are getting married on August 14^th. This will be a time of great celebration. We are so thrilled for them and it will make the summer a season of celebration with my 50^th birthday, my Dad’s 80^th birthday and a wedding! So be blessed this Easter and thank you for your continued prayer and support for our ministry. We are blessed!!

Our love and thanks –

Rachel & Gordon Hickson with Helen Azer & Glenda Renes.

New Mobile Website!

2010-04-01T03:33:00.014+01:00

Own an iPhone or Web Browsing Mobile?

Then browsing the Heartcry for Change website has just become possible on the go!

iPhone users just logon to www.heartcryforchange.com through your iPhone to access the site and whats more you can add our New Web App to your Home Screen to always keep Heartcry for Change just one click away. For instructions how to do this please just visit the site and read the front page.

To access the site from any another mobile device just CLICK HERE and you can enjoy the same purpose built mobile website.

For those of you who want to shop and listening to free resources through your mobile device I am afraid that this is not yet possible, so please log on to www.heartcryforchange.com on your desktop/laptop computer.

March 2010

2010-04-01T02:20:00.011+01:00

The snow has finally thawed and there are now the first signs of spring bulbs beginning to poke through the hard, cold soil. So spring is just around the corner and it will be a joy to welcome the new growth and see what has lain dormant during the winter. We are so excited that the Lord is actively breathing life into so many nations, especially bringing springtime to those parts of the world where people have often felt despair and been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the challenge. Across the Arab world in particular there are so many signs of new life- people discovering their true destiny in God, getting connected to Jesus and seeing a breakthrough of miracles, signs and wonders. Passionate men and women are rising up to stand in the gates of education, government, medicine and law. We have just been with some great Christians who have purchased 22 acres of land in the desert and are beginning to build a ‘peacemakers’ project where they will seek to provide a school, nursing care for the elderly, a sports and recreation ground for young people, as well as many other facilities for meetings and conferences. They have put their trust in a God who turns the wilderness into a fruitful place and they are pressing in for harvest in spite of great opposition and harassment. Such courage challenges us to stand in our own nation too and begin to release the sound of deliverance over our communities and nation! Through the generous gift of some friends and partners we were able to take a week’s prayer journey and visit the land of the Ancient Egyptians and see the treasures of Upper Egypt in the cities of Luxor and Aswan to better understand the heritage of Moses and the journey of the Exodus and the spirits that gripped and formed a nation. We are praying for an opportunity to connect this with a similar journey to the other end of the Isaiah 19 highway, Israel. We would love to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and call out the destiny of this precious and vital region of the world. After returning from this trip we then travelled to Bergen, Norway, for the national women’s network’s regional conference. It was so great to be with over 600 women and speak to them under the theme title of ‘Freedom, diversity and joy’. Rachel spoke on the importance of breaking the sound barrier of intimidation and understanding the power of releasing God’s Word to break through places of resistance and bring change. As we stand up in our diversity of gifting and calling the sound waves we make will release the very heartcry of God to strengthen the body of Christ and release the captives. Helen spoke on how God calls the generations to partner together and take the land of our inheritance. We prayed for the loneliness and isolation of the enemy’s lies to be broken off the precious women and equip them to know their mission and purpose even as they rediscover their true identity and authority in God. It was our joy to then come to Nottingham, UK, for a fantastic women‘s evening called ‘Beloved’ where Rachel spoke on ‘You are significant’. From there we have just spent a powerful day with the regional Trumpet Call of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lancashire, raising a sound of worship, warfare and intercession for our nation in these days. It was such a privilege to join with this partnership of counties and encourage them as they become watchmen for the Midlands. So what of the next few weeks? In a couple of days time we will be flying out to Amsterdam for the European Master’s Commission annual conference where we will be speaking to the students, staff and directors of this discipleship training school and learning of their work into Europe. We will then fly to Scotland for the Assemblies of God Scottish conference in Perth and Sunday services in Glasgow. We return home briefly and then fly back to Bergen, Norway, to teach at the Veien Bible school. In the middle of the month we will be travelling to USA where we will stop in Washington DC, Seattle and Nashville. Over this time we will be taking some days to write and study as well as preaching and teaching. Please follow our online calendar for updates. While we have been travelling, David Hickson has been work very hard to design a brand new Heartcry for Change website (www.heartcryforchange.com) which will bring together our UK and USA sites, provide much more up to date information on our trips and offer podcasts, downloads and teaching material as well as a brand new shop. We are very excited about this and encourage you to visit the website in the next few weeks as it is launched. There will also be the facility to subscribe to specific pages according to your interest and get an email alert (RSS feed) every time we add or update the content so that you are always on the page and up to date! We are also excited that Rachel’s new book, Eat the Word, Speak the Word, is now with the printers and will be launched in April. Copies will be available through the Heartcry shop in the UK and advance copies ahead of the July USA release through our Heartcry office in the USA.