Forty Days of Prayer and Fasting 

November 10th - December 19th 2025.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:14).
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9).

God is on the move in our nation. People are coming to Jesus, and the church is growing (see the 'quiet revival' report here, or watch this UK news report by Emily Maitlis). We're beginning to see exciting signs of this locally, with churches across Felixstowe (including Christ Church) experiencing growth.

We don't want to miss this move of the Spirit at Christ Church. There is all sorts of stuff we could do: we could add more and more events into the calendar, to try and attract people in; we could try harder to make sure our worship on Sundays is welcoming; we could spend money and time on advertising; and more. Many of these things might be positive, and could lead to more growth, but before we do anything we must wait on the Lord.

If God is on the move in a new way, then we need to respond by listening to him, waiting for his vision for Christ Church, and then moving with focus and boldness into whatever he has planned for us here. Christ Church has a history of growth, with people over the years coming to know Jesus - indeed, our vision is "to know Christ more and make him known." How is God leading us in this next season?

For forty days from November 10th to December 19th, we are calling the whole church to prayer. In particular, we want everyone to wait on God, to ask him what he's saying to us, his people here, and to ask him how he's calling us on. As we do this, we can trust that God will speak.

The shape of these forty days is still being planned, but the following days are already in the diary:

In addition to these gatherings, we are also asking that people fast on each Monday during the forty days of prayer. We recognise that not everybody will be able to do this. For those who can, please be sensible: if you're not used to fasting it might be best to miss one meal each Monday to start with, rather than trying to fast for the full day. If you have any health conditions that would make fasting from food unsafe, please don't put yourself at risk.

For those who want to join in with fasting, but can't skip meals for whatever reason, you could perhaps try fasting from something else instead: maybe you could stop watching TV, or going on social media, on those Mondays.

In the new year, the leaders will gather together to reflect and pray over everything that we may have heard as a community, to begin to discern the next steps for Christ Church.