| JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-478 * 10 JUNE 2004 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG IN THIS EDITION: JN478-1. TYPICALLY GOD: You cannot out-give God JN478-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Prayer storm in London JN478-3. NEWS: British evangelist repents for slavery JN478-4. TREND: Prayer coach helps churches become 'house of prayer' JN478-5. WEBLOG: Emerging Church update JN478-6. RESOURCE: Prophetic words about the harvest --- JN478-1. TYPICALLY GOD: You cannot out-give God "One of the great lessons that Kay and I have learned over our years of ministry is that you cannot out-give God," says pastor Rick Warren. "Whatever you give him, he takes and multiplies. This was a lesson we learned on a personal level. Three different times in our marriage God told us to give away our entire savings. Each time we obeyed, God would replenish it in greater ways than ever before." "I'll never forget during the 'Time To Build' campaign when Kay and I prayed about what our sacrificial amount should be. God told us to give an amount equal to one year's salary. I said, 'How are we going to do that, God? How will we live an entire year without a salary?' But God said to do it, so we did it. About a month later, a publisher called up and said, 'We'd like you to write a book.' That book became The Purpose-Driven Church. They said, 'We know it's going to be a best-seller so we're going to give you an advance of $100,000'." LINK: http://makeashorterlink.com/?J60321788 --- JN478-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Prayer storm in London Prayer leaders in London, England, are calling for an army of prayer warriors to join them in 'storming London with prayer' from 16th June till 25th July. These 40 days are preparation for a massive outreach in servant evangelism from 26th July to 7th August called 'Soul in the City'. This Soul Survivor project will draw 15,000 youth who will be impacting the city in various practical ways, from cleaning the parks to serving the poor. More than 700 partner churches have joined in the project. Let's pray for God's hand on the preparations and logistics of this massive outreach. Pray for unity among those involved, and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the young people who come and the neighborhoods they will serve. If you wish to sign up for the 40 days and adopt a specific hour each week, check out the website. LINK: http://www.londonprayer.net/ (40 days of prayer) LINK: http://www.soulinthecity.co.uk/ (the project) --- JN478-3. NEWS: British evangelist repents for slavery A British evangelist is trekking across the United States repenting for slavery. Liverpool native Geoff Sadler begs African Americans to forgive his city's role as the leading slave-ship port in the 18th century in hopes that genuine reconciliation will bring revival to his nation, theirs and Africa. Hadler said God started speaking to him last year about being involved in reaching out to African people both in the United States and abroad, and also being involved in reconciliation and repentance issues concerning Liverpool's involvement in the slave trade. When he recently addressed an African-American church in Atlanta, the congregation embraced his message and was impressed that someone would travel from England to repent for the sins of his forefathers. "This gentleman is one of the few voices acknowledging that," said the church's pastor, Donn Thomas. "Rather than reopening wounds, it's an opportunity to heal wounds that have never been closed. It's an attempt by God to bring significant healing to the generation that is living today. Who knows, it could start a revival in reconciliation." In October 2004, Sadler will participate in a YWAM initiative visiting former U.S. slave markets and ports. They will walk in shackles and chains as a symbolic sign of apology for the slave trade. LINK: http://www.charismanews.com/a.php?ArticleID=9113 --- JN478-4. TREND: Prayer coach helps churches become 'house of prayer' As the prayer movement matures, a new role is emerging: the prayer coach, someone who trains and mentors churches to become a 'house of prayer'. The National Pastors Prayer Network (NPPN) in the United States reports: "Across the nation today, more and more pastors and church leaders are responding to the sense of urgency for meaningful prayer times. Pastors know it requires more than a one-time or one-weekend effort (prayer conference or retreat) for a church to expand their prayer ministry to what Jesus refers to in three Gospel accounts: a house of prayer. Such an expansion requires someone to coordinate the effort (breadth and depth) for the church; to come alongside the pastor and church leadership to help in transitioning to a church where prayer is the engine that drives the church." The prayer coach will start with a 'prayer assessment': where are we now, where do we want to be in the next 6 months to 2 years, and how does the Lord want us to get there? The coach makes a development plan, looks at the resources that are needed, and provides coaching in the implementation phase. According to the NPPN "the prayer coach recognizes that building a house of prayer is a process - not an event." LINK: http://www.nppn.org/Prayers/PrayersNew.htm#1 --- JN478-5. WEBLOG: Emerging Church update Joel News publisher Marc van der Woude keeps a weblog in which he reflects on God, the Church and daily life. This week he's catching up with developments and blogs on the emerging church, and made four selections of what he liked. Read more about the world's first 3D online church, the WiFi enabled church, Benedictine values, youth ministry, community transformation, experiential storytelling, the shape of Future Church, and relevant trends in society. LINKS: http://marcsmessages.typepad.com/mm/2004/05/emerging_church.html http://marcsmessages.typepad.com/mm/2004/05/ec_update_2.html http://marcsmessages.typepad.com/mm/2004/05/ec_update_3.html http://marcsmessages.typepad.com/mm/2004/05/ec_update_4.html --- JN478-6. RESOURCE: Prophetic words about the harvest Bob Jones had an experience many years ago and received from the Lord a personal promise that he would live to see a generation of youth emerge in great power, purity, and authority. This article describes a prophecy he received on the AIDS epidemic and abortion, a visit to Heaven, the ministering role of angels, and the massive The Call youth mobilisation gatherings of the past few years. LINK: http://makeashorterlink.com/?S3EE22688 --- COLOPHON Joel News International is a leading special interest bulletin on prayer, church growth and revival. We offer a keen selection of the most encouraging news reports, the most challenging developments and the best resources from over 100 reliable sources in six continents. Joel News International is a great help and time-saver for thousands of Christian leaders and intercessors in over 120 nations. Editor: Marc van der Woude. You can contact the editorial office at joel-news@xs4all.nl. Joel News International is distributed weekly by e-mail on the basis of an annual donation. For more information see http://www.joelnews.org/donation-jni.htm#options. Has this bulletin been forwarded to you? Then subscribe directly by sending an empty e-mail to: subscribe-joel-news-international@xc.org. |
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