Bristol
We would like to tell you a story about a seed
Psalm 65: 9-10 says “You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it;…you water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.” By 1999 God had prepared the soil so that it was ready for a seed to be planted in Portishead, near Bristol in the South West of England.
Agnieszka and Michael, who fell in love in England and got married in Poland , also fell in love with Koinonia John The Baptist, becoming members of the community in Wroclaw , Poland . After a year and a half of being formed in Wroclaw , they left for the promised land of England in February 1999 taking with them their House of Prayer (HOPE). The first years were a testing desert time, with only one faithful member, Jane, being added to their number. However the seed was dormant in the ground, awaiting the right time to germinate.
In 2002, the germination of the seed coincided with Agnieszka and Michael’s first child, Janina. Around this time God started sending more people regularly to HOPE, there was a Philip Course and the first Agapitos were held. By 2004 Mary, Karen, Severine, Elizabeth and Marie had committed themselves to Koinonia, with the community growing to 8 members and 3 children, with 4 HOPEs. This again coincided with the multiplication of children – Gabriella and Marysia.
One of God’s key promises for the community was from Isaiah “for my house of prayer shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”. This has been amazingly fulfilled. Within the 8 members, the English, Polish, Zimbabwean, Philippino, Canadian, French and Irish nations are represented, not to mention many other nationalities that have visited the HOPE. The community is also extremely diverse in terms of culture, class and age. This diversity has meant that the community has grown into a place of love and friendship, with people being accepted no matter what their background. Out of this acceptance have come God’s gifts of friendship and faithfulness. It is only Jesus that can make true community out of people with such differences, humanly it is impossible. And so, despite being small in numbers the community is bonded together, strong in the Lord.
This unity is manifested in organising events such as an evangelisation day called “Hope For The Future”, being asked to lead worship at a Diocesan charismatic Day of Renewal and a recent Philip Course. Later this year the community has been asked to lead worship at an evangelisation day in Glastonbury , which despite a Christian history is now a centre for the New Age and pagans.
The Lord has given Koinonia England a strong desire for families and children. This is realised through a House Of Prayer for mums and young children, as well as starting children’s ministry during Koinonia days.
God is now fertilising the plant and helping it grow and strengthen through the cooperation with Koinonia Belfast. His faithfulness is shown again in fulfilling His promise from Judges 1:2-3 in which He spoke about two brothers helping each other to conquer the promised land. We are very thankful to Kathleen and Vernon who support us so much by coming from Ireland to our Koinonia day every month.
The story of the seed does not end here. In fact it is still only a small seedling, which with God’s blessing can grow into the large well-rooted plant that is an oasis with an internal community. Here in the community, we have seen God at work in fulfilling promises and we believe that He will fulfil Zechariah 8:12 “For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.”
