CCK Life blog

Amy Loizides arrived in Brighton 2 years ago to serve on CCK’s Impact team for a year. She then worked as part of the Administrative team, led by Annie Waller.  She has just left Brighton to return to South Africa before moving to America to be involved with a church there. Amy shares with Yohaan Philip about her relationship with Jesus along with some of her memories of life in Brighton.

YP: Tell me about how you came to know Jesus.

AL: Well….! I grew up in a Christian home but as happens with a lot of people, the older I got the less important Jesus was to me and things like popularity, boys, image, parties etc got more and more important. In Cape Town, South Africa (where I grew up) every year Newfrontiers ran a Summer Camp (sort of like Newday but on a smaller scale) for the youth of the churches in our area. I went every single year and every time I went I’d get all fired up for God again; I’d be really excited about the whole thing, but then two weeks later when I went back to school, I’d go straight back into my old habits – partying, gossiping, drinking and all that. Then I arranged to come to England to find a job after I finished school when I was 18 but nothing opened up! So I emailed Joel Virgo and asked if I could come to Brighton (because that was one of the few places in England I actually remembered!) and volunteer at CCK for a little bit while I looked for a job. He said no to my idea because he had a better one – he said I should do Impact for six months at CCK instead! Then on the plane on the way over I was thinking about how messy everything had gotten in my life and how much it had hurt me and I just said “Right God, I swore I’d never go to England yet I’m on a plane to England and I swore I’d never work for the church yet I’m on my way to do six months at CCK, so it seems you’ve got me right where you want me.” There was no point fighting it anymore and pursuing other things so right then and there I just surrendered my life once again to whatever God had in store for me and honestly there wasn’t anything better that I could have done or will ever do.

YP: Lovely story! So why are you leaving Brighton then?!

AL: Haha the million dollar question… In short I feel like Brighton has been sort of a stepping stone, a ‘launch pad’ if you like in the time that I’ve been here. CCK is a great place to come, get stuck in, be a part of, be trained up and move on to advance the gospel further in other parts of the world. So I’m going to North Carolina, USA for a few months…as you do. After that, who knows!

YP: What have been some of the key things you’ve learnt whilst at CCK?

AL: Man this is hard because literally my whole life has changed! Umm…

To try and do everything with your best effort – because ultimately even if you aren’t working for the church, you are working for God and so it’s worth it to get stuck in wholeheartedly and get involved wherever you can.

To trust God completely with everything no matter how big or little it seems. God’s faithfulness shouldn’t surprise me, but it always does. He might not answer or provide in the way you expect him to, but it will always be the way that’s best for you and He will never ignore you.

YP: What are some of the things you’re going to miss?

AL: I sometimes grumble about Brighton but to be absolutely honest there is not a place in the world like it. I will miss walking down the road and seeing a man with blue hair, a tie dye dress, piercings everywhere walking barefoot in the pouring rain. I will miss the Red Roaster coffee house (just by the Old Steine – visit if you haven’t already!). I will really miss the amazing friends I’ve made and the ladies (plus a few boys) who work on the admin team at CCK - they do so much that goes unnoticed, true gems!

YP: Yes they are stars! All the best then and hopefully we’ll see you soon!

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Mike Pilavachi is the co-founder and leader of Soul Survivor. He also leads a church in North Watford. He has authored quite a few books including Walking with a Stranger: Discovering God and Storylines. Mike is known for his ‘dramatic’ humour in his sermons along with a depth of an understanding of God’s Word. He recently preached at Newday, where Yohaan Philip caught up with him for a highly entertaining interview! Yohaan writes,

There was never a dull moment when Mike preached at Newday! The crowd loved him. His illustrations were hilarious, simple and straight to the point. His second preach on the presence of the Holy Spirit had everyone eagerly anticipating a move of the Spirit in our midst. It was fun chatting with Mike!

YP: Tell me a bit about your self.
MP: I was brought up in a Greek family. My parents were Greek orthodox atheists and so I grew up not believing in Jesus at all. When I was 14, I wrote an essay titled “Why I am not a Christian”. Later I found out that Bertrand Russell wrote an essay with the same title. I think his was a bit more intellectual than mine. Basically I wrote that Christianity was for weak people who needed a crutch, for weak people who don’t understand that science has the answers and for old people who are scared of dying. It’s just God’s sense of humour that a year after writing that essay I became a Christian!
Even though I had thought I had rejected God and Christianity, I was searching for something because I was struggling with life so much. I started looking into all sorts of new age stuff. Some friends at school when they heard I was looking into all this, sat me down and explained what Christianity was all about. It’s about Jesus and the cross and the resurrection and for the first time it all made sense to me. It was the 15th of January and I had a little booklet called “Becoming a Christian” by John Stott. I went on to a hill and read the booklet and at the end of it there was a little prayer. I knelt down on the wet grass, said the prayer, said amen at the end, got up, didn’t feel any different, but knew that my life had changed.
I discovered that Christianity wasn’t a religion, but a relationship with a person – Jesus. I didn’t discover Christianity, but I discovered Jesus and became a follower of Him. He became the passion of my life.
I last saw that essay 20 years ago! And when I read it my first thought was “how awful my spellings were”.
I was an accountant till I was 29 when the leader of the Church I was part of asked me if I’d give that up and become a youth leader. And I’ve been doing that ever since. And now I’m one of the oldest youth workers in the world. I’m actually 51 and I know people won’t believe that because I just look incredibly young.

YP: No way! Great story of how you came to know Jesus though! What inspired Soul Survivor?
MP: I was the youth leader at church and started to go places and speak to other youth groups. And I realized there was nothing for young people to gather. I wanted to see an event which had cafes and sports events and bands and a place where young people could bring their non Christian friends without feeling embarrassed. We would focus on teaching them as much as we can and help them focus on Jesus and be open to the ministry of the Spirit. I went to my boss, my Vicar, with my vision and after I shared what I had planned with him, he said “it sounds ridiculous to me”. He paused for a bit and then added, “ But it sounds like God. Ok you can have a go.” And in 1993 we did our first Soul Survivor. Matt Redman, who was in my youth group from the time he was 13, lead worship. We have 1,893 young people and we don’t know where they came from. We’ve gradually grown and this summer it looks like we’ll gather 28-29,000 young people which is very exciting. The best bit is seeing people come to know Christ.

YP: Your book StoryLines just sold out at Newday! Tell me about how you came up with the book?
MP: The young people who came to our festivals were receiving the ministry of the Holy Spirit, engaging in worship but didn’t seem to know their Bibles. They just didn’t know where to begin. They almost seemed frightened to open their Bibles. So what we wanted to do was write a book that introduced and explained the Bible to this generation of young people. So there’s stuff on what is the Bible, then we explain the Bible in 6 pages, then we take some of the themes that run through and look at the story lines that weave through them. We look at themes like the Covenant, God’s presence, the cross, Jesus in order to say here’s the stories of the Bible that’s part of the big story – it’s God’s story.

YP: How did you discover these themes in the Bible? What’s been your academic growth?
MP: I love reading. I’ve been a Christian now since the days of Noah so I’ve done a lot of reading and thinking. I wrote the book with a young man, Andy Croft, and he did theology in Cambridge University. So, he supplied the theology and I supplied the jokes. Hopefully I may have done a few things more! As we studied for the book, we came across some awesome truth. I spoke to people and gleaned from them.  It was a lifetime study, but we specifically prepared for the book as well.

YP: What have been some of the books and authors that have really inspired you?
MP: Too many to do them justice! I love Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, The Cross of Christ by John Stott, biographies – George Mueller, William Carey, Hudson Taylor, stuff by Brother Andrew, the Bible Speaks Today commentaries. I’ve left loads out! I read a lot of books. There are books in season. RT Kendall books are in season for me at the moment.

YP: Thanks! What advice would you give a young guy in his twenties who wants to pursue his understanding of God and the Bible?
MP: Stay in fellowship. The best way to grow as a follower of Jesus is to serve in the Church of Jesus. Get in His Word, spend time in prayer, learn from others, listen to His voice and obey! I know these seem to be the general ones, but they’re true! When He speaks obey. The best way to hear His voice tomorrow is to obey when you hear His voice today.

YP: Always helpful to hear that. Last question – You’re a funny guy! Which comedians inspire you?
MP: I base myself on John Cleese who plays Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers. I enjoy comedy. Morecombe and Wise! Eric Morecombe was a classic from years and years ago. Lot’s of different people.

Graphics by Steve Rowland

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And what a day it has been!! We’re seeing such an outbreak of God’s presence amongst those calling on His name that words cannot do justice to what’s going on! If you’re child’s here, they’re probably going to come back transformed. GOD IS AT WORK at Newday and as you can see, I’m bubbling with excitement! I live to see God work in people’s lives. I thrive on these moments. Jesus is being glorified!

Main Session 6: Joel Virgo – Peter: Restored by God

Mark 14:26-31,6-72

From this incredible story of Peter’s boast of his loyalty and his ultimate denial of Jesus, Joel, urged us not to be proud about who we are and to approach God, broken for His will in our lives.

Peter, who later wrote urging us to be on our guard against the prowling lion (the devil), had been shown how desperately he needed God. Satan had asked God if he could sift Peter, but Jesus had prayed for Peter. Sifting is the separating of the wheat from the chaff.

God knows how frail and fragile we are. As a father has compassion over his children, so our heavenly Father has compassion on those who fear Him.

At Newday, most of us our on a spiritual high as we encounter God and as He places ambitions and plans on our hearts. When times of testing follow, remember that you are not the hero of your story, Jesus is.

The evening session began with worship lead by Simon Brading, who was joined on stage by crowd favorites, The 29th Chapter! People went wild as soon as they appeared on stage on joined with Simon and the band to do their popular rendition of ‘Our God He reigns‘. What amazed me the most though was that in spite of the song being not your typical worship song, we never lost our sense of worshipping Jesus.

Main Session 7: Mike Pilavachi – Filled with the Holy Spirit

Ezek 47:1-12

The crowd roared with anticipation as Mike took the pulpit to preach again. Mike seems to have become a very popular speaker as he brings his depth of understanding of the Word along with a very dramatic sense of humour to the stage. We loved him!

Last night after Mike preached, we spent some time waiting on the Holy Spirit. And the presence of God came! What followed was, well, not normal! You had people crying in one corner, laughing in another, doubling over groaning, jumping, dancing. Mike sought to explain what had happened or rather, to explain why he couldn’t!

From Ezekiel 47, Mike explained how the river that flowed from the altar of God’s Temple was an indication of the Spirit that flowed from the altar of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. There can be no Pentecost without Calvary. The Spirit is a gift from the Father through His Son. We don’t earn Him. The Spirit often comes to us in our weakness and brokenness rather than in strength and achievement. It is never about how good you are, but how good Jesus is. The destination of the river is the world. It moves to makes things fresh, to create things new.

The imagery in Ezekiel’s prophesy is about stepping of the ground and releasing control. God’s plan is for the Spirit to be completely in control We can’t call Him ‘Lord’ and then proced to do what we want to. When we invite Him, He comes to us and takes complete control.

God dwells in us by His Spirit. Through His indwelling, His gifts are released in us. It’s not about wearing the badge of the gifts of the Spirit, but about it being a power to take the gospel to the world.

The Holy Spirit points us to Jesus. We must be people of the Word and the Spirit is we want to grow in our understanding of Jesus.

Gig Review: 29th Chapter

By Jotham Oakley

29th Chapter will be remembered by many for the famous ‘Jesus Rocks’ rap last year with Simon Brading. It would appear that they have built on that success as the gig venue was possibly at its fullest yet. A solid start to the gig rolled into a slower mid-section which could have been seen by some as a surprise. But as a result the energy of the crowd was saved for the end of the gig in which the band performed their new single ‘Invincible’. Bright lights, active on-stage dancing and impressive crowd partciption meant that fans left the venue buzzing with energy.

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Day 3 and energy levels are still going through the roof! The weather has been impeccable! Sunny all through the day – a rare occurance for the likes of Newday! The return of a dear friend, an outstanding preacher and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit characterized today.

Main Session 4: Joel Virgo – Peter: Renamed by Jesus

Matt 16:13-23

Jesus is about to unveil the big plan. ‘I will build my Church..’ is Jesus’ mission in a nutshell. The Greek word for Church implies the rulers or the governing body of a city. We are called to be rulers and to shape the culture we live in. We are called to bring righteousness and justice and rightness and goodness and Gods ways to whatever context we are in. We need to understand how great and what the significance of the Church is.  Jesus see’s the Church as His plan A.

The rock on which Jesus will build His Church is

• the confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
• On leadership gifts and people

Never rebuke God! Fight temptation and sin. Stay focused and committed to the mission we have been called to.

The evening session began with worship lead by Matt Redman. And how we celebrated and worshiped God!

Main Session 5: Mike Pilavachi – Jesus in the Old Testament

Mike, who is a part of Soul Survivor, had us in splits and yet awe struck as he brought in revelation after revelation about Jesus Christ. You don’t want to miss watching this preach online!

Mike preached about Jesus is the central character of the whole Bible especially the Old Testament. Through the pre- Christ scripture, we see hints and clues which point towards the ultimate treasure which is revealed on the cross.

Genesis 6:5-9 – Noah is a type of Jesus, who was blameless, righteous and walked with God. Through His death, He provided for us an ark of salvation in which we can take refuge from God’s judgment.

Genesis 22 – Jerusalem was later built at the center of the region of Mount Moriah – the mountain on which Abraham went to sacrifice Issac. The Lord ultimately provided the lamb to take away the sin of the world.

Joseph – Was sold for the price of a slave by evil men, went into a dungeon of death, came across 2 criminals – one died, the other was saved, he then came out and was seated at the right hand of the most powerful man in Egypt and under his rule the land prospered. Much like our Savior.

Ex 32:31-33 – Moses was willing to be blotted out  from God’s book in place of the Israelites. Jesus was forsaken by God on the cross in place of us sinners.

David – He was born in Bethlehem, was a shepard, an evil king wanted to kill him, he beat an evil giant that was oppressing his people. Once again, much like our Savior!

Jesus is all over the Bible! Find Him!

Gig Review: Verra Cruz

By Jotham Oakley

Verra Cruz have apeared at Newday before, and this time, the crowd appeared even more up for it. Despite there being only three of them, big sound and impressive lights ensured that there was little lack of interest on stage. With their blues/rock feel and some big crowd vocals, the band produced a set that was musically similar to the likes of Kings of Leon. Good arrangements and melodies proved that this band has a category of good songs and with their full guitar, big drums and a healthy dose of bass,  the trio should feel they performed a successful gig.

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Main Session 2: Joel Virgo – Peter: Mind Blown by Jesus

Luke 5:1-11

Joel began the first of his four part series titled The Life of Peter: Best Friends with Jesus.

When Peter realized who the man who had just given him advice was, he fell at Jesus’ knees. Peter had just encountered God in flesh. He did not seek to buy Jesus’ services for his fishing trade. Peter saw beyond the practical and saw the state of his soul. Holiness shocks the human heart. When Isaiah saw God, he was undone.

Though we are made in the image of God, we don’t have the right to make God in our image. We shrink God. But God is meant to be feared. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb 10:31) This doesn’t fit nicely with out strawberry flavoured Christianity. Every man fears. The question is ‘ what are you frightened of?’

Only God can tell you not to fear Him. The more you fear God, the less frightened you become. That is because God’s turning that fear into sweet trust in Him. Perfect love casts out all fear. (1 John4:18)

Newday is all about a people who are dominated by Jesus!

Main Session 3: Stef Liston – Giving Forgiveness

Matt 6:9-15; 18:21-35

Stef began by pointing out the emphasis Jesus placed on forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer. It is on the cross that broken relationships are dealt with.  He then used the parable of the unmerciful servant to point out the high importance of forgiving.

1. The incomparable difference in the nature of God’s forgiveness and our’s

The current financial equivalent of the debt that the unmerciful servant owed the king and what his servant owed him was £8,000 to 1 p! We, even though we are sinful, struggle to forgive. We can never understand what sin does to God. God is appalled by sin. God is always the chiefly offended party by sin. The extent that God went to sin was separation from His Beloved Son as He hung on the cross.

2. For a believer to hold on to unforgiveness is an outrage

If you don’t forgive, it indicates that you haven’t understood what you have received – God’s mercy. Forgiveness is not about saying ‘it’s ok’, but, it’s saying you ave wronged me but I release you from it.

Unforgiveness leads to resentment, bitterness, revenge, rage, cynicism..

3. Forgive from the heart

Biblicaly, the heart is the seat of your emotions. We are called to completely forgive. When we forgive, God comes in and heals and restores (Psalm 147:2-3).

On the cross, Jesus forgave.

Take off the lid and let the Holy Spirit in to deal with it.

Gig Review- Portland

By Jotham Oakley

Portland arrived on stage yesterday to perform a set that wouldn’t have been amiss on a sunny afternoon at Glastonbury. The crowd watched on from the floor as groups sat down to listen to the mellow music. With a mix of acoustic brilliance, backing vocals and soft rhythm they delivered a performance that was pleasing to the ear and interesting to watch. Here was a band who really showed how to produce the feel-good factor.

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And we’re finally here! And what a start to the event! Thunderous applause preceded our very own Joel Virgo as he took the stage to open Newday 2009. Jesus was about to be glorified by about 7,000 young people at The Norfolk Show Ground! CCK’s Simon Brading then lead a very charged worship time which regularily featured rapturous applause as truth after truth was sung about our Lord.

Main Session 1: Stef Liston – Receiving Forgiveness

Charismatic preacher, Stef Liston kicked off  with the first of his two part preach series on Forgiveness. He began by appealing to those who were on the verge of leaving the meeting to stay on and soak in the presence of God and the transforming truths of His Bible.

Forgiveness, he exhorted us, is the key to the difference between surviving and overcoming in this life.

1. Our greatest need – to be in a relationship with God (Gen 1:26-27)

We have been created in the image of God and God burns to see His image reflected in you. We are made for close intimacy and relatinship with our God. It i by His Holy Spirit, that what’s in the Bible is ‘blasted’ into our hearts and you just know that God loves you.

2. Our greatest problem – sin (Gen 3:1-6)

Sin is anything that is contrary to the nature and perfections of God. All sin is ultimately against God. God cannot just sweep sin under the carpet because He is holy. And for that we need forgiveness for our sins and our sinfulness. So He sent His Son to crush the devil’s head on the cross. (Col 2:15)

Stef concluded his preach by pointing us to 1 John 1:8-9 and the forgiveness we receive when we confess our sins.

Gigs: Four Kornerz

By Jotham Oakley

Four Kornez arrived at Newday to perform an energetic set that had hundreds of fans jumping and dancing. With their unique blend of dance/hip-hop/reggae and trilby hats, they provided songs of both Biblical truth and musical genius. As far as the sound was concerned, they proved their skill on their instruments, played tightly as a group and, to add to the experience, the crowd participation kept the fans involved rght until the end. A fun night was had by all.

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Excerpts from the article:

“We want young people to enjoy church. That might seem a weird thing to some people, but we’re seeing more and more young people from teenagers into their 20s wanting to get closer to God,” he added.

Thousands of young people from Norfolk and across the UK are expected to descend upon Norwich for the six day festival, with highlights including music and preaching from Simon Bradling, Lou Fellingham, Adrian Holloway, Phatfish and Matt Redman.

Newday was set up by preacher Joel Virgo with a vision to restore the Church to a worldwide audience through the eyes of young people.

To read the complete article, please click here.

Yohaan Philip will be live blogging during Newday on the ccklife blog.

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Annie Waller heads the Administration department at Church of Christ the King. Along with her highly efficient organizing skills, her cooking prowess has blessed many over the years! Over the years, Annie has been an outstanding role model to many young women at CCK. One of them recently described her as ‘an inspirational woman of God who has such a big heart and much wisdom to share.’ Yohaan Philip, recently interviewed her, and writes..

YP: Tell me a bit about yourself, Annie.

AW: I’m married to Nigel and we have two children, Adam (22) & Frankie (17). I grew up in a non Christian home in Hertfordshire where my parents(and one brother) would call themselves atheists and now, humanists! I trained in hotel reception and worked in the hotel world for a number of years. I worked hard and played hard. I met Nigel here in Brighton whilst working at The Metropole. We married and two years later along came Adam.

My first encounter of Church of Christ the King was about 20 years ago when a friend from the hotel days invited us to her baptism. I remember laughing hysterically as it all looked and felt so weird. I filled in a contact card, and subsequently began having bible studies with a neighbor. Nothing dramatically happened, and I didn’t really change my lifestyle until years later.

I spent the next few years in a troubled and unhappy marriage. Nigel and I were both seeking legal advice regarding a pending divorce. One Sunday evening, Nigel was invited to go along to church and God broke in on his life! To cut a very long and complicated story, we began an amazing journey to restore our marriage. This year we celebrate 25 years together.. woohoo!

YP: What has been the effect of God “breaking into your lives” ?

AW: I no longer feel insecure as I have learnt to trust Jesus wholeheartedly, respect my husband, and let him take the lead in all areas of our life together. So releasing!

YP: Tell me a bit about your work. And your role in Church.

AW: I am foremost Joel Virgo’s PA. I also lead the Office Administration team at CCK and jointly oversee the personnel department. Along with my responsibilities at CCK, I play a key role in the 2 annual newfrontiers‘ conferences, Together On A Mission and Newday.

As a part of CCK, Nigel and I oversee four small groups in the North Brighton Zone. We are also involved in preparing young couples for marriage and get along side those who are either in the first few years of marriage or are just needing some input. We thoroughly enjoy doing this together.

YP: What are some of your dreams/ aspirations?

Oh to be mum who gets it right all the time!! But wouldn’t that be boring?

Being a mum of two is a huge privilege. I just love having family time – the four of us together. It’s incredibly special particularly as they get older. I know I don’t always get it right but by trusting Jesus and keeping the lines of communication open, we get through the tough times and have fun in the process.

I like spending time with young women not only in my home but also outside of work and family life. I just be myself, keep it real and give wise encouragement as we go along.

YP: What’s a dream day for Annie Waller?

AW: Wow wouldn’t that be amazing well my dream day would be.. a day to myself, walking, talking (whatever is going on in my head at the time) and listening to God.

I often walk along Brighton seafront taking in all the different cultures, ages groups etc., its such a great spring-board for prayer.

I love musicals so a trip to London to see a musical would round my day off nicely

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Each summer the CCK youth group (Engage, J.Walk and CCKY) heads off to the Newday event which is run by Newfrontiers. The next cut off is approaching next week so make sure you book in if you haven’t already. Watch the promo video below if you are keen to know more.

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