When Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) paid £2.6 million cash for a converted warehouse in September 1998, it became the church seating the most people in Britain. Can this six-year-old church in Hackney, East London, now be growing beyond its 4,000-seater capacity?
AS: Recently the Stephen Lawrence report was published. What practical things can white Christians in Britain do to welcome black people?
MA: The church needs to admit to itself that it has not spoken out against this injustice. There is prejudice within the church. '11.00 on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week' (Adam Clayton Powell Jnr.).
AS: How has KICC grown?
MA: We started in September 1992 with 200 adults and 100 children.
AS: Has the church grown by conversion?
MA: Quite a lot by conversion. In the last eight weeks, there have been 431 conversion decisions. At the New Year watch-night service, 261 conversion decisions were made.
AS: Praise God! I'm aware that in January you celebrated 25 years in ministry. What have you learnt from your earlier experiences in life and ministry?
MA: Anywhere there's growth, there's a 'story behind the glory'. I spent 18 years in ministry before KICC started. I don't rule out the miraculous but you can't accelerate growth and maturity. Vintage wines can't be accelerated.
Strengths and vision
AS: What are the strengths of KICC?
MA: We let outsiders tell us. People coming into membership have mentioned the four W's: the Word, worship, warmth and warfare, that is, prayer. I think of it as four I's: integrity, intercession, impact and insight - we ask tomorrow's questions today.
AS: What is your vision for KICC's future ministry?
MA: To plant more satellite churches (KICC's literature says 30 satellites by 2000) and to grow to 25,000 attenders by 2000. We plan to open churches in major cities of the world. 50% of people in the world will be living in major cities by 2010. Paul planted in major cities like Corinth and Ephesus. We're committed to using modern technology, so we're buying TV time in Nigeria and Ghana. We can't let the 1980s tele-evangelists' failures put us off using relevant media.
AS: Most Nigerians in London have migrated to Britain in the last ten years. This can raise issues for pastors of the same ethnic group that other Christians here might not understand. What can we learn from how you've coped with these issues?
MA: There are people from 36 nations at KICC, not one nation. Many pastors in the UK are mono-cultural in their outlook. They need to be re-educated to become cross-cultural. Jeffrey Archer told us recently that London is now '45% ethnic'. Pastors need then to go a stage further and become cross-racial.
Real prayer
AS: Western Christians often pray in hope that their prayers will be answered. Christians from other cultures often pray expecting that their prayers will be answered. How can you do this and avoid expecting God to give you whatever you want?
MA: Christians in the West can often be like the rich young ruler. He had everything except an experience of need. If you've never known lack, you don't appreciate supply. As a result, prayer in the West has often become praying in hope. But in the Bible, prayer is a matter of faith, taking God at his word. This type of prayer is not cultural! Jesus' sweat was like drops of blood and he shouted (on the cross). Because we often don't know lack, prayer can be seen in the West as a crutch when you can't walk. But Hudson Taylor said: 'God does nothing except in answer to believing prayer.'
Yes, there are demons in the Third World. The demons in Europe, however, are very subtle. You don't find instances of 11 year-olds killing people in the Third World. Rape is not a major issue in Africa. Open homosexuals would be stoned to death in Nigeria by non-Christians.
Growing churches are seeing that growth because of their attitude to prayer. If during the Second World War, Winston Churchill and Britain had thought: 'Let's hope we win the war,' we wouldn't have won it. Prayer is the key to revival. The reason we don't see revival is because we're not willing to pay the price. In Pensacola, people were praying for two years before God started moving. If you want a rain shower, there needs to be evaporation before the downpour.
Alan Sharp comments: 'Revival came to Britain, but it was black so we missed it', was Bev Thomas's observation on the revival among people of Caribbean descent in Britain from around 1970-1982 which has resulted in most Caribbean families in Britain today having at least one believer. Is something similar happening today among Africans in Britain?
We may have concerns. Is response to an altar call or a decision card evidence of conversion? Can we expect God to multiply our giving back to us? There are many questions. But there is much going on which puts many other churches to shame. Stirring word ministry, dynamic worship, life-changing prayer, championing different cultures, outreach to the white community, church-planting here and abroad, creative use of technology, community projects, ministry to the suffering and oppressed. The list goes on ...
The publication of the Lawrence report brought acceptance that justice must be achieved not only through the police, but also through other white-dominated institutions (e.g. teaching, civil service, health service etc.). As our eyes are focused this millennium on Greenwich, the borough in which Stephen Lawrence was killed, will the church be willing to work in partnership with Christians of all races so that God's will and kingdom may come on earth?
