The vision
The famous preacher Charles Spurgeon once showed a group of people round his church. After they had admired the large worship space, he asked whether they would like to see the boiler room.
Boiler rooms weren’t pleasant places to visit — usually tucked away in the basement. On steamships, the power was provided by boiler rooms; when ships burned coal to create steam, these rooms were called fire rooms. Those working in them shovelled coal continuously onto the grates beneath the boilers. Boiler rooms were hot, dirty, and potentially dangerous.
Spurgeon’s visitors weren’t particularly interested — but he took them down to the basement anyway. There, they found about a hundred people in prayer. This was Spurgeon’s boiler room.
Boiler rooms weren’t glamorous or glitzy. But they were raw and real. They were the powerhouse — the driving force, the heartbeat. Even on ships cruising at sea, the fires were rarely extinguished completely, as re-lighting the boilers was time-consuming.
At Mariners, we seek to be a church steeped in prayer — and so we have our own Boiler Room. A space where we gather each week to allow God to speak to us and fill us.
Every Sunday, between 8–9 pm, we feel called to gather in the Boiler Room.
As we desire to abide in God, we sense that prayer is where this begins. We long for all that we do to flow out of, and be saturated in, prayer — spending time in His presence and catching His heart for our church, our communities, and our city.
No glitz. No glamour. Not manufactured — but raw and real. A space where we get on our knees, posture ourselves to meet with God, and give room for the Holy Spirit to speak and fill us. A space for revelation.
For more information and details, please contact the Office or speak to Kieran.
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We believe this space is vital and will become the powerhouse of Mariners Church as we move forward together.
As we gather, our hope is to create a worshipful atmosphere where everyone’s time is honoured. We invite you to enter quietly, taking a moment to still your mind and focus your heart on God’s presence.
To help us worship, there will be music playing — either on the screen or led by someone in person.
During this time (and even beforehand), we encourage you to listen carefully for anything God might be saying — whether that’s a scripture to share or a sense of something we should pray into — so that together we can shape our time and move beyond one person leading, into the whole body participating as we follow the Spirit.
We will finish at 9 pm. However, there may be times when it feels right to continue in prayer. If this happens and you need to leave, please do feel free — we just ask that you slip out quietly, so others can continue in prayer without distraction.
We’re excited to see how God will move, and we look forward to welcoming you on Sundays, 8–9 pm.