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What would happen if Christians came together from their different denominations and united together in passionate worship?  Those who attended Kingdom Worship Movement’s ‘The Renewal’ in London have seen and experienced the answer to that question. Hosted and organised by well-known worship leader Noel Robinson, the conference is now in its second year. But this is no ordinary “event”. As Noel stood on stage during the final weekend of January 2011 and said: “We don’t call this an event because events come and go. We want this to be an encounter,” a loud cheer arose from the hundreds gathered. Black, white, young and old had gathered for three days of praise, workshops and preaching from some of the nation’s most gifted songwriters and teachers. Songwriters including Graham Kendrick, Sonnie Badu, Mark Beswick, Lara Martin and Hillsong’s Peter Wilson were there to lead worship and teach. Not An Event What is it about The Renewal that makes it an encounter, rather than an event? Noel says: “It stands out because of its purpose to bring personal renewal to the lives of worshippers across the church cultures, and then ultimately renewal and revival to the British Isles and the world. Its purpose is empowering the believer both practically and spiritually in personal, social, corporate and Kingdom Worship living.” There’s definitely a sense of excitement and passion as people gather to worship. Graham Kendrick tells me: “I think there’s something fresh that has been happening for a little while now with folks like Noel, Mark Beswick and other guys in the Caribbean and African multi-cultural churches scene.” “Noel is at the cutting edge of bringing people into worship that is creative and of good quality, but is also inclusive. I’ve heard Noel say when he first started working with me, he barely knew that the world I inhabited existed. Now is the opportunity to come together and enjoy what each different section of the church has to bring to our worship of God.” Elim worship leader Lara Martin agrees. “I’ve been to a lot of conferences,” she says. “This definitely has a complete uniqueness about it that I’ve never experienced. I find it hard to put into words what it is to be honest, but there’s just a very real sense of God is in this and God is with us.” Top Songs  The congregation was led in powerful times of worship. Songs sung included Chris Tomlin’s How Great is Our God and David Ruis’ I Will Worship (You Are Worthy of my Praise). Desperation Band’s song ‘Overcome’ which contains the powerful lyrics: ‘All authority, every victory is yours’, was also declared loudly by everyone gathered. One of the qualities of The Renewal which makes it stand out is the diversity. Featuring worship leaders from around the world, the weekend definitely had an international flavour. The Ghana born and award winning gospel artist Sonnie Badu brought his own unique African style to The Renewal as he led the congregation in praise. One of his most well known songs ‘BABA (we are in your presence)’ was particularly powerful. Ask the leaders and delegates of any Kingdom Worship Movement encounter what song has affected them the most, and the answer will always be the same. Rain. The simple chorus and one verse of: ‘Open up the heavens pouring out a blessing, Lord we need refreshing till it overflows’ has captured the hearts of worshippers across the nation.  Noel explains the song’s development was very organic. “We [Noel and Donna] were in the studio and had just been going through so much. It has been a real battle. We needed a real refreshment from God and I started playing and singing [the chorus] ‘Rain on me open the windows of heaven’, and it became a prophetic anthem for us.”Hillsong London’s Peter Wilson brought the conference to an end by playing a selection of well known Hillsong anthems including ‘One Way Jesus’ and ‘Yahweh’ before everybody joined in singing out ‘Mighty to Save’. “The lights are not going out in Europe, the lights are coming on,” Peter declared. “The church is expanding, people are getting saved like we’ve never seen before, it’s incredible what’s going on.” Powerful Preaching  Another highlight of The Renewal for many people was the powerful preaching of Pastor Douglas Williams. Speaking on the final evening, Pastor Williams said: “Worship creates an access point for the inputting and release of God’s will. He wants his will back in the earth. When you really worship God and hallow his name the first thing you need to pray is ‘let your kingdom come’. Worship is about the release of his kingdom.” As well as powerful preaching, The Renewal also gave time to teaching practically about kingdom living and encouraging a spirit of worship. With seminars on topics ranging from vocal master classes to training on worship leading and a CCLI seminar, there was something for everyone. Let The Renewal Begin In You After all of the envisioning and empowering of the three action-packed days, what does Noel want people to take away from The Renewal? “We believe in the power of Impartation, a bit like the disciples who waited in the upper room. 120 impacted the whole world! Our heart is to create an environment for the Spirit of God to impact lives, it is only by his power can lives be transformed. Our heart is to see communities, cities, homes being changed by that power.” Many of the words, chord sheets and lead sheets of popular songs sung at the Renewal are available from SongSelect |
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