WHO YOU ARE?

 

Rev. Henry Hammond, Senior Pastor – Crawley-UK

 

Email: revhammond@caogic.org

 

Having planted and Pastored Faith Assemblies of God-Austria for many odd years. Rev. Henry Hammond again migrated to Great Britain by the permission of Ghana Assemblies of God- Head Office and took on a new challenge of planting another new Church called Crawley Assemblies of God International Church where now been a Senior Pastor. He is committed to seeing the Kingdom of God expand and grow for the glory of Almighty God.

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The Crawley Assemblies of God International has four (4) branches in Kenya (East Africa) with Orphanage Centre which Rev. Henry Hammond is the Overseer.
Rev. Henry Hammond has a passion to see more churches planted and younger leaders emerge as the work of God continues to develop in Crawley, County West Sussex, Great Britain as well as whole World. With a heart for seeing healthy and connected churches within the movement, Rev.Henry wants to make the next year’s ahead count like never before in seeing the work of God move powerfully forward in the Crawley, UK and particularly West Sussex.

 

Married to Rev. Mrs Mavis Hammond with three BEAUTIFUL children.

 

What is your TESTIMONY? 
My journey into the ministry is not much different from other testimonies of ministry Pastors. I can see that our God is a kind, merciful and gracious God who works through sinners whom He has redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Truly, details and circumstances may now be different, but as with all who have been called by God into this TRULY divine call, Almighty God continues to work through His people.

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Firstly, years back when I was in my third year at high school (New Juabeng Secondary Commercial School), a Christian brother (as a neighbour) encouraged me to go to church with him (a Pentecostal church). I was a young boy so I had no desire and was not prepared to give it much thought. I was by then not blessed to have good friends around me who would have talked to me to follow that brother who has invited me to join his church. All the friends at that particular age period were worldly people. I can particularly recalled the brother came again, gave me his bicycle “because I was not having transport fare and any money for offering” to use it and gave me also some money for offering; I attended the church for some weeks but later stopped attending the church. Anytime the brother will try to convince me to follow him to church I will be giving excuses and will be running away from him. The brother never gave up, but he will continue to come to me by talking to me about how God’s word can be seen in nature:- Live, sin, death, family, love and especially God’s grace given to us in Christ Jesus.

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It was until I completed my high level education and again started going to church. I baptised at that time but again refused to go, and since I was young and immature, and also not ready to have such great responsibilities in going to church and be doing and partake events and weekly activities in the church. At the age of 23 years, I decided school was not for me to continue and made up my mind to travel. In my travelling, I met different kind of friends “bad friends” who led me into deeply worldly life; by drinking, going to unnecessary parties etc, and at time God brought my wife into my life. Few months after I met my wife and got married, she started persuading me to change and start attending church; but she didn’t have it so easy.

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My wife found it very hard to drag me to church. So what she started doing was that she will wait till I have gone to sleep, then she will come and laid her hands on me and pray for me. Almost a year after our marriage, I was smite by some awkward body attack and I was admitted at the hospital. Just as I was discharged from hospital, I felt in my spirit that God was calling me. I could feel the calling intense and few weeks from the hospital I told my wife that the next day Sunday I am going to go church. I made a strong decision to look for God for Him to change my life because I cannot do it by myself. My wife starred on me for some minutes without any word and was surprise to hear such words from me. We went together and that very day the message that came was for me; “it was about repentance and forgiveness” and I remembered that there was a sister I was not having good terms with her, so when immediately we got home I quickly called that sister and we settled our differences. She was also not going to church but due to what I did by calling her and spoke to her made her to go to church and now she’s part of one Pentecostal church in UK. From that day when I attended the church and afterwards, I started working very hard to be part of the activities in the church which I attended “called Betel Prayer Ministry”. I devoted my whole being to God to teach me His word. I joined the prayer tower and later the Minister in the church asked me to take work as interpreter-that’s (from Ghana language into English).

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An invited guest speaker was preaching one day when he walked down to me and said directly to me that “you will be the crusade director in this ministry”. I received the prophetic word into my heart and began to work towards that by entering into consistent fasting and praying, bible studies all the time, I will never missed my church attendance on Sundays and weekly activities. Few years later, I was ordained as a deacon, then 2 years later I was ordained as Church Elder of the church whiles undertaking the position as church financial controller. And I was more and more active in the church and that’s when I felt and experienced very strong call of God upon my life which I couldn’t resisted. The Lord God began directing my life and giving me or revealing to me where He’s taking me to. He gave me 2 books which is “the book of the gospel of Mark and the book of Jeremiah”. He said it in the revelation that read the book of Mark and Jeremiah. After such revelation, I put everything aside and took upon myself to be diligent, faithful to God and my studies, and also to prioritise responsibilities, and to love people unconditionally no matter how difficult the predicament they’ve got themselves into.

 

Exactly 5 years later, God gave me a vision to establish a church of my own and I planted a church called “Faith Assemblies of God-Austria” I was leading the church as the main Leader, and later went for 3 years Bible College and was ordained as full time host pastor of Faith Assemblies of God Church.

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I pastored the church for many years and then relocate to Great Britain by the guidance of God and with permission from Ghana Assemblies of God head office-Ghana. In Great Britain, God led me again to plant a church which I’m now a senior Pastor of the church. My life is full of testimonies and I believe God can do it for everyone.

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Would I exchange my life as a Pastor for another life? Through tempted, I cannot think of a better and blessed way to serve the Lord. The only other calling that I would hold higher is that of husband and father. As I look back on my life I thank the Lord for His love and patience with me, all centred in my Savoir Jesus Christ.

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What are your Passions?

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MY PASSION IS IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

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Sometimes when I listen to a pastor of a ministry or a church stand before a group and try to move them towards a worthy goal, I am amazed at their lack of passion. I often think to myself, “Do they really think people will be moved by their life and words — which appear to be so passionless?” A major part of leadership is rallying people toward a better future. The role of a spiritual leader is to rally people toward fulfilling what they believe is God’s will for their life and church. Pastor, whether you lead a student group of 15 or 25 people, a worship service of 100 or 150 people, a Bible Study for 5 or10 people that want to help you plant a church in your city, or teach before a classroom of students, or preach before thousands, you will not move or keep one person without passion.

 

As a Pastor, I Should Be Most Passionate About these:

 

1) My personal walk with Jesus Christ

 

Since Christ saved you by His grace from your sin, He desires greatly for me to now grow in His grace. This cannot be done without a devotional life built rock-solid upon pouring the Word of God in my life daily. This will not be done without prayer becoming one of my major priorities in my life and ministry. As a pastor my passionless will usually be someone who is not having an intimate, consistent, devoted time with God daily. I have found in my life and leadership, that the greater my devotional life is, the more intensely passionate my leadership becomes.

 

2) My calling to the ministry of the Gospel

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Most pastors have lost the thrill of their calling into the ministry of the Gospel. We can blame our circumstances or the churches we have served through the years for dampening our passion, but if we have lost some of our passion, it is ultimately on us. My passion should not come from the praise of men, but from the God of Heaven who chose me to give my life to the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have forgotten the humility of asking, “Why me, Lord?” and exchanged it with the pride of declaring, “I deserve more.”

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When I am more passionate about my sport game than I am about God Himself, I need to resign. When I am more passionate about my favorite sports team than I am about the message I am going to preach on Sunday, then I need to resign. When I am more passionate about the numbers in my retirement account than I am about the number of people in my church is reaching and discipling for Christ, then I need to resign. When I am more moved by planning something for myself than I am about planning for his church, then I need to resign. A pastor without passion cannot and will not lead the church effectively.

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3) My opportunity to see lives changed

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Just think about myself as a pastor, I have the privilege to give every day of my life to seeing the lives of people changed. One can touch a life by selling them some kind of apparel to wear. One can affect a person’s day by giving them food to eat. Another can alter a person’s future by teaching them about economics. But looking to myself as a pastor, I can see a life changed today and forever when I lead someone into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Knowing that God has let me give every waking hour of my life to leading a ministry or an entire church towards the common goal of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with every person in the world and to making disciples of all the nations.

 

4) My Spiritual Growth

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Here as a Pastor, I need to have the passion to help of growing the church in wisdom and knowledge of the Lord and His understanding and also to see the kingdom of God expand and individuals growing for the glory of Almighty God.

 

5) Soul Winning

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I am passionate for soul winning. Because soul winners are precious and influential people in the sight of God. As a Pastor, nothing should mean more to me than leading those in the world who have not yet known the Lord into salvation. This is something I must take it very seriously in every day, every week and every year more than ever. The gospel book of Mark says chapter 16:15; He said to them, “Go into the world and preach the gospel to all creation. (NIV)

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Again, 2 Corinthians 5:19, which says-that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

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God has committed to me the ministry of reconciliation; not only did He call me into the fellowship of His son Jesus Christ according to 1 Corinthians 1:9, He’s also called me to partner with Him in soul winning. The book of Romans 12:11 says; Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your Spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (NIV). It’s actually talking about fervent in God’s number one business, which is soul winning.

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To be effective as a soul winner, I must see beyond my present circumstances; I must see beyond every limitation and refuse anything that will obstruct my views in this great responsibilities. I must get rid of all distracting influences and fervently serve the Lord as a soul winner. Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:16; For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (NIV).

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If this does not fire me up, light my jets, and help me get up each morning with a greater passion, then it’s time to rethink my life, reignite my walk, and renew my calling. Get away one day, draw aside to Jesus, confess where I am, open God’s word, lay before Him, open my spiritual ears, plead for a word of God, journal my thought, act on His word, return with a resolve and share with others what God has said.

 

If I am a passionless, it means I cannot lead people towards a better future.

If I am a passionless, it means that I cannot move people with my preaching

If I am a passionless Pastor, it means that I will be unable to motivate people to reach their community, region, nation and the world for Jesus Christ.

 

To be honest, the phrase “Passionless Pastor” is an oxymoron to me. The phrase is incompatible and contradictory. How in the world can God called a pastor who lacks passion in his life?

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In conclusion, Our Lord had passion. He was driven with an intense desire to redeem people from their sins. Even the final week of His life is referred to as “Passion week of Christ”. Those final days were filled with joyous passion as the people threw their palm branches and blankets before Him as He rode down the Palm Sunday pathway. The people were filled with tears as He prayed over the city of Jerusalem. These days were even comprised of immense and intense emotion as He became so disturbed by the marketing and commerce that occurred in the temple.

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From the humility Jesus showed by washing the feet of His followers, to His last supper with them, to falling on His knees in prayer in Gethsemane, to His betrayal by one of His followers, to the injustice of His trials, to the denial by one of His beloved true disciples, to the loneliness of His last hours, to the ruthless scourging moments before His walk to the cross, to the nails driven into His hands and feet, to His desire to win the thief on the cross, to becoming the sin of the entire world, to His separation from His Father, and to His final breath, our Lord Jesus display His passion strongly and openly.

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ could not have accomplished His life purpose without passion.

 

AMEN!

                                       

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