All or Nothing By Mark Nelson

Mark Nelson, November 16th, 2009

24-7 Prayer has many unsung heroes who sacrificially serve the movement and change the world through prayer. Let me introduce you to the most colourful…

Charlotte Terris is instantly recognisable. You may have seen her behind a merchandise stand, at a 24-7 gathering or featured on the International Blog. With her crazy, every changing hair colour, (half black/half white, neon pink and bright orange to name just a few) her boundless creativity and energy is evident from her first smile to her last word.  Charlotte Terris is a breath of fresh air!

Charlotte’s journey of faith has taken her from being a rebellious teenager to a radical prayer champion.  Dragged to church as a child Charlotte made her own commitment to Jesus as a teenager.   Almost instantly her faith became more than a Sunday morning commitment…

“Being a Christian you have to make a decision. A key moment for me was when I realised…this is either all or nothing.  God should have all of me or none of me.”

An instant evangelist Charlotte’s key passion is communicating with God and about God…

“The thing that drives me is I want everyone to know who they have been created to be. I love it when people find their potential, and I think you can only do that through asking God in prayer. Life is forever pulling people down, tiring people out and telling them they’re not worth much, I think the only way you can have the confidence in yourself, is by believing God made you and loves you”.

Charlotte’s involvement with 24-7 Prayer began before it even had a name! She decorated the first EVER 24-7 Prayer Room in Revelation Church, England. Sadly the huge waterfall sculpture she made out of plastic bags fell down before the Prayer Room opened and blocked the door. Technically Revelation began with a 24-7 Prayer Corridor until the carnage could be cleared.

Her experience of praying night and day was impacting…

“Ourcommunity completely changed. I saw people’s faith levels not just grow, but overflow.  We saw angels above the Prayer Room, the answers to prayer book filled up and people came to faith when they tangibly felt the presence of God.”

COME ON!

Charlotte’s passion for prayer is huge and when I asked her why she felt 24-7 was so important her eyes lit up…

“That’s like saying why is talking good? How do you communicate with God? Through prayer! If God created the world it might be a good idea to ask him what he wants us to do with it and how we’re meant to be living in it.  24-7 Prayer is like a phone company, postal service or Internet provider. It’s one of many ideas and movements trying to connect humanity to the Father in conversation.  It's good to talk to God!”

True to her passion Charlotte has done everything to spread the vision of prayer from packing envelopes for office mail outs, to enthusing about God at Christian festivals. Now she is a key part of 24-7’s UK and International Prayer Teams and raises money for the movement managing the 24-7 Shop. Charlotte has been helping to develop prayer all around the world, affecting thousands of lives through her work and prayer, but she is much more than the tasks she performs.

Charlotte blesses all those she works with through her faith, energy and compassion.  She brings life to every Prayer Room, gathering and market place she is part of.  This unsung heroine is a privilege to know and the kind of person everyone wants to work with. God has used her life in remarkable ways to serve this movement for most of the last decade. She lives out an unwavering display of ‘all or nothing’ faith that has contributed much to the growth of the 24-7 Prayer movement.