For the last five years I have been in full time ministry, creating prayer rooms and alternative worship experiences in Florida.  Now I am blessed to be based in Chattanooga, Tennessee partnering with FLASH Ministries and being mentored by Linda Sines who creates Texturized Worships (www.instantred.com).  I continue to travel the country and to overseas locations creating and building interactive prayer rooms that stimulate the five senses, are places of beauty, tranquility and creativity, for the purpose of discipling people into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, to find love, forgiveness, peace, and healing.  Many prayers are shared in these sacred places and many people have commented that the experiences with God's Holy Spirit they have encountered in the prayer room was one of the most profound spiritual moments of their lives.  

For over fifteen years I have been involved in church planting community churches that have a heart for lost, lonely or marginalized people.  During that time I have performed leadership roles usually including being on the management committees or pastoring young people, running special events and programs.  My passions are letting people know they are valued human beings and worthy of a powerful and fulfilling relationship with God. My last role in Australia was on the board of Rivers Community Church and Rock Community Care Charity that originally sprang out of a Brisbane soup kitchen for homeless people.  After 10 years they decided to start a church and I was involved in the initial home church and enjoyed watching it grow into a downtown community church.  I have also received training in social entrepreneurial business's that can be run in a community that can be financially sustainable to employ members of the community while making a positive impact.  During this time I worked for a local community center developing an ADRAcare Training course to help long-term unemployed people reenter the workforce by preparing resumes, job applications and teaching interview skills and motivation techniques.
 
During the last fifteen years I have attended many seminars and conferences such as the Youth Specialties Conventions and FutureGEN and gained knowledge on various spiritual subjects and found many inspirational mentors.  In 2006 I took an internship at a prayer room community and networked with the founders of the worldwide prayer movement 24-7 Prayer. Another ministry I have been trained in is the Ancient Paths Seminar as a facilitator bringing spiritual inner healing for past wounds.  I have also been blessed with the opportunity to speak in churches and at conferences and retreats on various subjects and enjoy speaking at schools "week of prayer" to share this incredible passion for life-changing powerful prayer. I have taught workshops on worship and interactive prayer and made several television appearances.
 

WHERE THE MINISTRY BEGAN

During 2005, after touring US state universities recruiting hundreds of students as overseas volunteers for conservation, environmental and community service work, God took me on a journey into ministry which involved volunteering at Mission Development at Florida Hospital with Dick Duerksen and helping a new church plant in Celebration Florida with Dr Allan Martin.  I had the opportunity to run a House of Prayer for 144 hours of continuous prayer which blessed the patients, the families, the staff, and visitors and provided new type of sanctuary for the hospital environment.  

They then invited me back to work the next year building a 24/7 House of Prayer and Healing.  While volunteering full time for a year during 2006 I created many beautiful worship experiences and 24/7 prayer rooms at various churches, academies, and hospitals.  During this time I felt God affirming my calling to rebuild the tabernacle of David and learnt much about prayer, creativity, beauty and worship.  I also worked with several churches to teach new and unique worship styles and helped design a permanent prayer room at Orlando 1st Presbyterian Church.  This was also a year of learning to live by faith with no income.  God miraculously provided.
 
My ministry training involves having graduated from the Discipleship Training School of Youth With a Mission in 2001 becoming a stronger Christian from this wonderful experience after seeing miracles and hearing Gods voice.  Our outreach took us to Morocco smuggling Bibles, and preaching in Wales and London.  My education involves receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Human Behavior and Cultural Studies.  One of my greatest accomplishments (where God worked through me in powerful ways) was organizing a Theological Symposium for the Seventh-day Adventist University Students (ASA) from Australia and New Zealand - a Spiritual and Health Retreat in the mountains called Rejuve 2002.  This was a week to experience the beauty in the mountains and waterfalls, creativity and to be in a healthy environment to draw closer to God.  There were two guest speakers.  I wrote a daily devotional for them to contemplate during their hours of silence.  The worships were powerful and open to the Holy Spirit's leading.  Many of the workshops were planned to be symbolic and meaningful for example; one worship consisted of walking through the seven steps of the tabernacle ending at the altar in the Most Holy Place - this was a feast of colors, lights, fire and music.  The weeks activities allowed the students to have personal experiences with Jesus Christ and impacted profoundly the 70 students who attended.    
   
Ever since I was young I have been involved in clowning and puppetry and theatre, face-painting etc.  I am not professional in any of these areas but love to teach others how to use these skills too.  I have a love of mission trips and other cultures (having visited 29 countries and lived in seven), and have been an active member of STORMco (Service to Others Really Matters Company) service oriented mission trips around Australia and the world and also sharing the easy and powerful concepts of STORMCo to others.  I find mission trips are wonderful places to put experiential worships into place and often lead out in fun and enjoyable creative and out of the box 'walking worships'.

I also love adventure therapy having been trained briefly at Delhuntie Youth Suicide Prevention and Lifestyle Retreat learning that powerful lessons can be learned through pushing through limits and barriers to break free from fear.  They also have a mobile version of the ropes course on a trailer (The Pinnacle of Terror) that is an amazing financially sustainable ministry that works with schools, business' and prisons.
 

MY GIFTINGS

My spiritual gifts are apostleship, administration and teaching.  I have a calling for discipleship - to teach young people that they are saved/forgiven without question, that they have a power waiting for them yet to be realized, that God wants to talk to them and loves them so extravagantly he wants them to live a holy and pure lifestyle redeemed from brokenness.......  but most of all to make prayer easy, enjoyable and fun.  To help them realize they are truly loved and help them establish a long lasting intimate and powerful relationship with God is an incredible ministry.  Blissful Ministries is a ministry focused on changing the culture of prayer and inspiring others to create prayer rooms/alternative worship experiences at their place of worship, work or school.
 
I have a deep desire to do God's will, even if it means great sacrifice following Him on this journey.  I am a disciple first and foremost continually learning to hear His voice and I long for my heart to break with what breaks His.  I give my life as an act of worship poured out at his feet - not holding my future close but by breaking and wasting this expensive bottle of perfume on His feet - to bless Him knowing that as I walk into the world that His fragrance and anointing will now be my fragrance. This learning journey has been extremely difficult at times but will continue to be extremely rewarding.
 
Nicola Carleton
iBelieve!