Ireland, once known as the ‘island of saints and scholars’ has become a dark blot on the map of the Christian world.  One of the tragedies in Ireland is the way in which we allowed the unfortunate aspects of our history to distort our image of one another. Ignorance and separation breed fear and bitterness and great walls of division grow.  Only Jesus Christ can break down those walls.  A foundation text for our work at the Christian Renewal Centre is found in Ephesians 2:14 "For Christ Himself Is Our Way Of Peace."

The Community at the Christian Renewal Centre was founded in 1974 as a group of Christians drawn together by God from different Churches both Catholic and Protestant and since then also from other newer expressions of church eg. Community/Fellowship Churches.  We seek, through the power of the Holy Spirit to demonstrate and proclaim the uniting love of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.

God called us then to pray and work for reconciliation, through prayer and renewal, in His Church in Ireland and abroad.  With the changes in Ireland - spiritually, politically and socially - He has been leading us to redefine this vision.  Ireland is still our primary field of ministry, reconciliation and renewal are still central to our work, but the key area of emphasis in ministry is prayer.  Prayer for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in reconciliation, renewal and revival.

Recognising the transforming power of God through prayer, we, as a community, are committed to prayer in its many forms - worship, petition, thanksgiving, supplication, intercession, etc.

We are seeking to:

• Grow in our understanding and practice of prayer and in particular intercession, 
• Call Christians to come together for prayer and intercession,    
• Equip Christians for effective prayer by: organising and developing training and promoting prayer strategies. 

And be a place:

• Of meeting and conversing with God, 
• Of intimacy - of sharing our hearts with Him. This includes the possibility of personal encounter and change as we seek Him for that to happen in others, 
• Where we listen to God as He shares His heart and mind with us, for others and Ireland.

Prayer for:

1.   Reconciliation.  We acknowledge our share in the shame of division in the Church, which is an offence to Christ, resulting in broken fellowship and ultimately, in sectarian violence.  And we affirm, “Christ is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.” Ephesians 2:14.

Therefore, we encourage and facilitate the coming together of people, in an atmosphere of prayer and worship, allowing the Spirit to:  

• Transform our hearts,    
• Lead us into repentance, and forgiveness of one another,    
• Enable us to accept and honour one another in Christ, thus restoring fellowship.   

We also acknowledge that our sins – personal and corporate, past and present give Satan a foothold in our lives and in society (Ephesians 4:26), which hinders a change in hearts and minds.  Confession and repentance removes that foothold, and enables the reconciling power of Christ to bring healing to people and into situations.  This often takes places in a powerful way within the context of united intercession.

2.   Renewal.  Being committed to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, who baptises us in the Holy Spirit and renews His Church, we want to work with Him to encourage personal renewal, renewal in the local expressions of Church and the restoration of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that His Church may be an effective witness to His power and healing love for the world.

These will often happen in the context off: Conferences, monthly Days of Renewal, Leader’s Days, special days of intercession for Ireland, Retreats, Prayer Schools etc., in the Centre.  Similar activities can be arranged outside in Prayer Groups, Churches and Fellowships etc.

3.   Revival.  There has been an increased awareness in many people (here in Ireland and in various parts of the world) - through prayer, the inner witness of the Holy Spirit and through the prophetic word - that God is preparing Ireland for revival. In reading the history of revivals, many have been preceded by a movement of Prayer.  We believe God wants us, as a Community, to be a part of such a movement.

The Centre is staffed by a group of Christians who have been called by God to come together from different traditions in a fellowship of prayer and witness, seeking to share our faith in the living Lord Jesus Christ and to pray and work together for the restoration and unity that the Lord is bringing to His Body all over the world.