Sometimes it brings me so much life to review the things God has spoken over the church and promises He has given us. Recently I re-read a prophetic word our friend Ollie gave us last year. It contains lots of references to rivers and water which in the bible represents God’s life giving presence coming to places that need renewing, like a river does to dry ground.

“I got a picture for you guys. So I got a picture of East Hull and the river you guys got as a prophetic running through it. You both were leading people to it and they were drinking from it and being transformed.

I then saw the river burst its bank and flood everywhere. Streets, houses, shops, schools. Absolutely everywhere. It looked like a scene from the news where we have seen places like York experience flooding and people are waist deep in water. Then the whole place started to grow trees and vegetation and turned into a beautiful garden. The whole of East Hull turned into a huge garden.

The verse I got was Jeremiah 17 v 7-10. I feel the interpretation is that you guys are doing what God has asked you to do. You are leading people to Christ and He is transforming lives. I feel His ultimate goal is to destroy the awful stuff that is in East Hull (poverty, poverty mentality, separations in families and between communities, education issues etc) and at points it may even look like things in the area are getting worse (I feel God will show you He is doing something). Then the whole place turning into a garden represents God transforming not just lives but the whole area in a way you can’t currently comprehend. Potentially more and more people will become christians without you guys making any specific contact with them. Schools will improve because of His grace and favour, communities will come together etc. The whole area will be a better place.

I hope this makes sense and is helpful. Please obviously weigh. Continuing to send love and prayers.

Oh and I feel God showed me that verse because He is going to cause so many people to put their trust in Him that instead of getting them to come to the river and be planted, He is just simply going to exponentially expand the river so that everyone becomes a tree that is planted by the river. If everyone is a tree, the whole area turns into a luscious, beautiful forest with lots of life.”

The reason we remind ourselves of things like this periodically is to help us remember why we have come to East Hull. Perhaps you’re not a Christian reading this and you’re wondering what difference having a church in your neighbourhood makes?

The bible says like a river brings life to its surroundings, having Christians around does the same thing. Although they aren’t perfect, Christians carry something of God inside them. When they are living as the bible says they should, Christians do the people around them and the neighbourhoods they live in, a lot of good. As River City Church that’s what we’re aiming for – to bring our city life! The ‘prophetci word’ that our friend Ollie brought us was what he felt God was sayign was going to happen for the people in River Church Church, they were going to be like a river that burst it banks, not in a destructive way but in a way that helped, healed and restored a city in need of help.

Bringing life to a city can happen in many different ways. When Christians encounter injustice in their neighbourhoods they pray and then they act (that’s why RC runs Hull Foodbank: East and CAP Lifeskills). When we come across people who are lonely we befriend them and welcome them, no matter their background or their baggage. When we see people who are struggling with hopelessness, pain or sickness we ask if we can pray for them and invite the power of God to change their situation. It might surprise you to know we see many things change as a result of prayer.

If you’re interested in faith or looking for a new church and you’d like to find out more about River City Church and what sort of church we are you can visit here.

For those of you that belong to the River City Family why not leave a comment below or on social media to let others know what its like knowing Jesus as a friend.