SESSION 1 (Monday 1:00 PM – 7:00PM)
“Most of us do not need inspiration or instruction, but rather maybe a little motivation.” – Tom White
“What it takes to reach a city is a city wide gospel movement.” – Tim Keller
It is not enough for a few churches to grow. Rather, Christianity needs to be growing faster than the population of the city is increasing. True growth goes beyond one organization or one church. Tim Keller argues that in order for this to begin to happen 10-20 percent of churches/non-profits need to be on board working together to create a tipping point.
1. What is the Lord touching in our community?
2. And because of this, where is the Holy Spirit moving?
Groups represented:
- Clark County, WA: Beginning of collaboration through school partnerships, community, and prayer
- North Portland/Beaverton, OR: A greater sense of unity across denominations (church/non-profits) and leadership resulting in favor from the community
- Treasure Valley, ID: The Lord is unifying churches and pastors as we reach out to bless the community
- Bellingham, WA: Being touched by increased unity, prayer, acts of compassion, and strategic partnerships between faith and government communities
- Clackamas/Milwaukee, OR: School partnership with the church
- Oregon City, OR: Inspiring leadership to pray together, worship together, and envision ourselves as one church on mission
- Corvallis, OR: Increased collaboration across the body of Christ to impact international students and schools
- Lane County, OR: Longterm unity has created incredible real relationships
- Rogue Valley, OR: Shifting churches focus from internal focus to external focus
- Albany, OR: Increased unity and collaboration among the churches
- Central Portland, OR: Seeing a heart of leaders being touched by the Lord for deeper unity and deeper engagement
- Spokane, WA: greater sense of unity through prayer and a passion helping and dressing the issue of fatherlessness
- Seattle, WA (Greater Seattle): God is using networks to bring together a unity and connecting young adults, civic leaders, and pastors for the purpose of compassion ministry
- Kelso/Longview, WA: Ministries are reaching the marginalized
Common threads: Collaboration, unity, networking, prayer, schools, love, compassion, seeing God work, and Holy Spirit
Actions: Going from internal to external, connecting, and servanthood
Seattle Story:
“Give careful thought to your ways.” Don’t just get pumped up and throw a big event, but think through it. How is it going to play out?
- God is drawing people out of a congregational mindset into a kingdom mindset
- God has been doing a lot of great things in Seattle for the last few hundred years. We just need to seek him out.
- Networks already existed and were actively organized and engaging in their community
- Local city networks (23 local networks) have begun to gather quarterly specifically for the purpose of sharing stories of what God is doing in the Seattle area. There is a feeling that this is all that needs to really happen. The power of story and relationships is big.
- 8 key areas/needs that rose to the top: Prayer, evangelism, school partnerships, orphan care, immigrant/refugee care, incarceration, human trafficking, city efforts, and homelessness.
Half of the job is just seeing what God is doing and celebrate it and make it known. And whenever possible, do it with numbers. Bear witness to it. Tell Stories. All we really are, are a bunch of smaller networks.
- One of the ways in which they have been able to tell the story is through “Red Wing.” This identifies who is doing the work as well as where the need is. Seeing needs actually mapped out really spurs motivation to do something about it. Maps are a powerful and effective visual that are really effective.
We heard stories of how God is working through the networks across the city area in areas of:
- Prayer – pastors coming together for prayer, as well as prayer walking. One specific network brought church planters in the middle of their prayer meeting and played hands on them.
- Homelessness – a central resource center and 15 different churches offering overnight shelters.
- John 17 movement – unity and collaboration with the body of Christ. Revival, unity, and transformation.
- YMCA – is proving to be a unique hub for some of the things going on
- One-Eighty Program – working with young people, felons and ex-felons. Have worked with 1,000 people over the past few years.
- Racial reconciliation – “I don’t care how much you know, until I know how much you care.” 2 Corinthians 5:11-15
Takeaways:
- Celebrating what God is doing through stories/testimonies
- You need to be grounded on the cornerstone of love
- The importance of gathering people and being a ligament
- If the Holy Spirit is saying do this, don’t do that – let the Holy Spirit lead
- cgough@ugm.org – Christ Gough, Seattle Coordinator
Tim Keller – Gospel Movements
movementday.com – Resources, Tim Keller, 2012
When a movement takes place, stuff happens
- Contextualized Gospel Vision – Cults can grow. We can have all kinds of denominational differences and disagreements and cultural variances, but you all have to agree on the gospel.
- Church Renewal and Church Planting – A lot of churches that are consciously in renewal. No city can reach everybody through church planting. Both are essential. New churches are a great way to renew old churches.
- Specialist Ministries – These are parachurch organizations. These are needed, but they need to be working with the congregations. Needed ministries: prayer movement ministries, evangelism ministries, array of justice and mercy ministries, faith and work initiatives, systems of training leaders (theological training), unusual unity of Christian city leaders coming together.
Look for “tipping points”:
- Stuff happens that is not happening because of you
- City tipping point – the movement has an impact on how life is lived in that city. At a certain point there will be enough Christians in the workforce to make a difference
SESSION 2 (Monday 7:00PM – 9:00PM)
Whatcom County, WA
Jason Hubbard – Light of the World, Prayer Center
1church1day.org, lowpc.org, and theprayercovenant.org
The vision is to see Christ have supremacy over everything. When we lift up Christ, all men will be drawn to him.
- A canopy of prayer – 24/7 prayer
- Strategic counsels – people in the marketplace: Government, Business, Education, Media/Arts, Healthcare, Family, and Church
- Communication – an efficient delivery system
While prayer most certainly seems to be the real fulcrum for this story, it is interesting to note the importance of the other two elements.
Cliff Langley – Government Sphere
Recognize that God has placed you in whatever sphere of influence you are in. Be faithful in that and God will give you greater influence. Pray that God would arise, that he would be honored and glorified, that he would reign, and there would be chaos of those who oppose him. Faithful and united we will stand, scattered and divided they will fall.
Erin Van Staal Duinen – Pregnancy Clinic
This is a ministry that was founded on prayer. It is a spiritual battlefield. 2 out of 3 women who choose to have an abortion are women of faith.
Grant Fishbook – Christ the King
ctkbellingham.com
Came to Bellingham 20 years ago because of the cool logos and lots of coffee shops. There was no collaboration among churches. The few that did get together were very judgmental and secretly celebrated when other churches failed. Grant was able to find a friend in another pastor and they were able to begin to pray with each other and fairly preach with each other.
Mark 10:36ff
Do we find some satisfaction, however subtle, when someone else fails? If we were all truly honest with ourselves, this exists on some level within all of us.
Pastors praying for other pastors
- Nobody cares how big your church is
- Nobody is going to ask you for anything and somebody else is going to pay for your lunch
- You have to pray for somebody else
Pastors are lonely – Monday is a day they are spiritually attacked all day long. Sometimes you need Jesus with skin.
The posture of prayer and the posture of servanthood are very similar
Table Talk
- Where are you seeing signs of hope?
- Who do yo know who embodies both the posture of prayer and servanthood?
SESSION 3 (Tuesday 8:30AM – 3:00PM)
Andrew Palau
“My prayer is that all the wandering sheep would come home. Especially in our families.”
Louis Palau
You are here because the holy Spirit has called you t some point in your life.
The grandeur of being a servant of Christ and blessing our city… We are called to shepherd the flock that Jesus has shed his blood for. Don’t look down on the church! The church is God’s kingdom, his love.
John 21 – Jesus is not only working to restore Peter but he gives him a new purpose, a renewed call
God loves the city. We love our city.
Jesus tells Peter:
- Feed my lambs
- Take care of my sheep
- Feed my sheep (we do this by giving the truth, the Word of God)
There is great dignity to our calling. The Lord has called us to this calling.
We have authority – it comes from, not only our calling, but from the truth of that which we speak. Our power and authority is totally related and dependent on the truth that we proclaim. When we have the truth, do not be afraid or ashamed to proclaim it. We are a person of the truth.
- The Holy Spirit
- The Calling of God
- The Truth we Proclaim
There are great risks to being a pastor, but there are also great rewards to being a pastor. When the chief shepherd comes, then you will be rewarded. The Lord knows, he is the one we answer to. Be faithful to his calling on your life, so that it might be said of us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
The Body of Christ is seeing a new generation emerge; a new set of leaders who are taking us to new places.
Treasure Valley, ID
treasurethevalley.org
Montie Ralstin – Treasure the Valley
“Everything is Awesome! Everything is cool when you’re part of the team.“
Deep roots. The foundational thing that really brought us together was a prayer summit in 1991. It was here that relationships began and were established that continue today.
Prayer
Daryl Zachman – Calvary Chapel Treasure Valley
It was through the prayer summits that Daryl became connected. Everything you do comes as a result of the relationships you have and the prayer summits brought these relationships about. Prayer is the first step in reaching our community for Christ. City wide prayer brings about a powerful unity of the Body of Christ.
- Is prayer a priority for us? John Wesley prayed for 2 hours a day. Today the average pastor prays for 4 minutes a day. Before God brings revival, he brings his people together to pray.
- Are we willing to participate in regular corporate prayer and fasting? We need to be specific in our prayers and our requests.
- Are we persisting in our prayers until our answer comes. Always pray and never loose heart. Just like the persistent widow Jesus talks about.
- Are our hearts broken? Matthew 9:36
Care
Aaron Bear – Mission Aviation Fellowship, Treasure Nampa
What is happen gin in Nampa?
- Cultivated relationships with the mayor as well as school principles
- Compiling a list of resources
- One of the struggles we are facing is how to draw the pastors in, getting them to buy in
Jim and Sharon Porter – Love Caldwell
Love Caldwell began as an offshoot of the prayer summit movement.
- “There were 52 churches in Caldwell and I only knew 4 or 5 of them.”
- Jim, you pastor these people, but I have called you to this city.
- Do Good. Love Caldwell
- Has gone civic instead of religious which has resulted in the ability to work alongside of pagans
- Compassion Caldwell event this past year was a great success. 40 percent of the volunteers had no church affiliation.
- Mayor is LDS. 27 percent of Idaho is Mormon, and there has been a movement of openness to working together.
Share
Montie Ralstin – Treasure the Valley
Hope. Don’t give up. If we do not give up hope, the Holy Spirit will give us the “Whoosh” that we need.
Embrace Oregon
Milan Homola
James 1:27 – I parsed this in the Greek over and over again in Seminary. But it wasn’t until I parsed that in human lives that it sunk in.
Ben Sand – Portland Leadership Foundation
http://www.portlandleadership.org
Every kid needs Jesus, but Jesus is not all that every kids needs. How is Jesus integrated into the fragmented social structure they are living in?
Our Mission: Portland Leadership Foundation’s mission is to strengthen and develop leadership for the spiritual and social renewal of Portland, Oregon.
Jillana Goble – Embrace Oregon
Julliana has been a foster parent for 12 years and has led in the Embrace Oregon initiative (embraceoregon.org). Since its inception, the following has happened:
- 1,400 volunteers mobilized
- 75 churches engaged
- $195k donated to beautify DHS offices
- Over 200 items donated to support kids in care
- 84 new foster families certified. This continues to be one of the greatest need.
There is a serious epidemic.
Norene Owens – DHS, Multnomah County
“They are not the state’s children, they are the communities children.”
The state is not a good parent. Relationships are the things that are missing. The state can be harsh and cold because their jobs demand it. There is a need for relationships to exist. And as this happened, people of faith in the State Departments now feel like they have a voice.
Mark Estes – City Bible Church
Really it’s the church coming together and BEING the church that has made all that has been shared a reality.
“What we are a part of is a whole lot more important than the part we play.”
“The only way to get your city in your church is to get your church into your city.”
City Collaboration – Portland/Seattle
- What is disappointing or causing frustration in your movement?
- What step can you take to catalyze increased kingdom collaboration in the Church in your city?
One of the main things we found as frustrating for both our cities is the lack or dropping of pastors from corporate prayer.
1 Year Plans/Takeaways for Each Geographic Area
- Eugene: Employ strategic prayer initiative – 1 Church 1 Day
- Corvallis: Church to adopt one day of prayer a month
- Oregon City: Seek God for the City and then asking what does God want us to do?
- Whatcom County: Red Ring
- Seattle: Prayer, identify each Seattle movement and tell their story really well
- Albany: What is God already doing?
- Kelso/Longview: Gather together region wide ministry and celebrate what God is doing
- Battle Ground: Hoping to mobilize ministry leaders around the posture of prayer and service
- Spokane: Continuing to build their team, relying on storytelling and testimonies along the way
- Portland: 30 Day Revival
- Treasure Valley: Approach various pastors to prayer
- North Clackamas: More defined, more intentional, and more collaborative
- Sacramento: Greater ownership, every church adopting a school
- Rogue Valley: A movement of prayer