As 24-7 is celebrating it’s 10th birthday, so Ashburnham Christian Trust is celebrating its Golden Jubilee. Hear how you can get involved in their vision for continuous prayer:

Ashburnham Place has been the site of a Christian Prayer and Conference Centre since 1960. We may be 50 but we haven’t grown old, and just like 24-7, we are looking forward to all that God will do through us in the next 50 years!

During this time, countless numbers of people have visited the beautiful grounds and community of Ashburnham Place to seek God and to pray. In the 1970s and 80s there was an attempt to begin 24-7 prayer but this was not sustained.

In recent years, God has been reminding us of that calling and has given us a fresh vision and a dynamic model to gather together to move towards 24/6 continuous gathered prayer. Our main calling is to pray for the nations, many of which are represented here by our international team.

We began in May 2008, praying just 36 hours a week, this has gradually increased to between 80 and 120 hours a week. Each prayer hour is led by members of the community who make up the staff team. All hours are open and we are frequently joined by visitors, either those coming here has guests, or from the local area. The praying is interactive, creative, multi-faceted, focused and Spirit-led. Over the New Year period we prayed in the New Year for every nation on this planet. We are planning some specifically focused weeks during 2010.

The weekly schedule is available on our website and you are warmly invited to join us. The hours take many different forms, from praying through Scripture, listening to God, today’s news, global issues, creative worship and many others. When necessary, we are able to respond immediately to breaking news. Each day we pray specifically for the persecuted church and for at least two nations.

We are taking our first tentative step towards mentoring our young volunteer team to be prayer leaders themselves and to take this experience back to their own nations. We are excited to learn of prayer rooms sprouting up in nations around the world facilitated by those who have been part of the team at Ashburnham Place.

As well as the 24/6 Prayer Room, guests are able to come away by themselves or as a group to pray and seek God either in the other smaller Prayer Rooms, the Prayer Garden or simply by walking in the peace and quite of the grounds and gardens. For the very hardy souls, we have two prayer rooms deep in the woods that are available during daylight hours.

How can you get involved? Check our website. Come and visit us for an hour or two. Come and stay for a week or two. If you are aged between 18 and 27, apply to join our volunteer programme and become part of our international team.