New Posts & All the Archives - Click Here

Below are samples of new postings @ our new site!

Evangelism ~ State of the Art

April 21, 2010 by Phil Miglioratti · Leave a Comment (Edit)

Evangelism Connection
Evangelism news from the Mission America Coalition
The whole Church taking the whole gospel to the whole nation – and to the world.
Table of Contents
Chairman’s Letter | Collaborative Calendar | Evangelism News | News & Trends | Tools to Use

Get the Scoop on Internet Evangelism Day

Harold Hendrick interviews Tony Whittaker, Derby, England; Coordinator, Internet Evangelism Day
Tony Whittaker is the International Coordinator of a vision whose time has come – Internet Evangelism Day (www.internetevangelismday.com).  It is observed worldwide every fourth Sunday in April.  The website is wonderfully helpful and easy to navigate, and includes, for

Presidential Prayer Team Alert

A federal judge in Wisconsin yesterday found the National Day of Prayer to be unconstitutional, saying it violates the First Amendment prohibition laws respecting an establishment of religion.
The decision was rendered in a case brought some years ago against the Bush (and subsequently Obama) administration by the 15,000-member Freedom From Religion Foundation.
The court’s action will not [...]

Mom’s Day of Prayer

April 16, 2010 by Phil Miglioratti · Leave a Comment (Edit)

Mother’s Day, Moms Pray and Chick-fil-a
Isn’t that cool?  We have a great new idea for our Mom’s Day of Prayer
Mother’s Day cards this year!!
You can send us a donation of any amount in honor or memory of the special ladies in your lives!!  With this we ask that you write a personal note because our MDOP [...]

Help! … may be one click away

April 14, 2010 by Phil Miglioratti · Leave a Comment (Edit)

Post local volunteer opportunities in your ministries!
Register with ChristianVolunteering.org
Let us help you find Christian volunteers to come beside you in transforming urban communities. Post your volunteer needs online by completing our quick and easy registration process. Join other organizations which are benefiting from dedicated volunteers. Register today to begin!
Becoming a MissionAmerica.ChristianVolunteering.org member is [...]

Filed under Ch!cago: One Great City, Loving Our Communities to Christ, NPPN · Tagged with

Pray! magazine launches new network on the web

April 9, 2010 by Phil Miglioratti · Leave a Comment (Edit)

Dear Friends of Pray! and NavPress,
We are excited to announce the public launch of the new Pray! Network.  We’ve had over 600 join in our beta phase and the activity and new content already posted is unbelievable.  We’d like to extend an invitation to you to join the network.

Click Here for the Latest Postings!

CITY IMPACT ~ Top 10 Praying Cities

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com

Prayer ministry data reveals top cities praying for national leaders

By Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (ANS) -- A national organization promoting prayer for our nation's leaders has revealed the locations across the United States which pray the most for those in authority over us -- and the results are quite surprising.

Presidential Prayer Team logo

The Presidential Prayer Team (www.PresidentialPrayerTeam.org ), the nation's leading ministry encouraging prayer for the President and leaders of America, today in a media advisory released its 'Top Ten Cities Praying for President Obama' list for 2009.

Over 1.2 million Americans have joined the team since its inception in 2001. The team's mission is to provide tools that encourage and inspire daily prayer for the President, national leaders, and the armed forces.

Throughout each year, the Presidential Prayer Team monitors interaction among its hundreds of thousands of active members across the nation. From this detailed information, the ministry can identify those cities that are the most active in its prayer activities.

"Of course with all of the challenges our nation faced in 2009, many Americans prayed every day for our President and our country," said Scott Fehrenbacher, President of the Presidential Prayer Team.

Top Ten Cities praying for our leaders

"Our Top Ten Praying Cities list shows that many Americans are praying for the President despite political differences they may have. For example, the top city in America praying for President Obama is also the hometown of former President George H.W. Bush."

The Top Ten Cities Praying for President Obama in 2009:
1. Houston, Texas
2. Los Angeles, California
3. Dallas, Texas
4. Phoenix, Arizona
5. Colorado Springs, Colorado
6. Atlanta, Georgia
7. New York, New York
8. Indianapolis, Indiana
9. Austin, Texas
10. Denver, Colorado

"Some of the results are surprising," added Fehrenbacher.

"Half of the cities that made the list are in blue states and half the cities are in red states. This data encourages me that more Americans realize that our nation and our President need prayer to address our challenges ahead, regardless of their political party, or in some cases, perhaps because of their political party."

The Presidential Prayer Team was born days after the vicious September 11 attacks on America in 2001. Since then over one million people have asked to be members of the national ministry. As a ministry that interacts almost exclusively online with its constituents, PPT interacts with hundreds of thousands around the world each week by web and email to encourage prayer.

Based on the Biblical admonition found in 1 Timothy 2, 1-2, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness," the ministry works to encourage, inspire and promote daily prayer for our nation's leaders, our President, and our troops.

PPT also launched and hosts a successful military ministry through its website www.AdoptOurTroops.org which has led to hundreds of thousands of active soldiers being adopted for prayer.

_______________________________________________

Media Contacts:
Scott Fehrenbacher, President/CEO
Scott@PresidentialPrayerTeam.org
719-502-0072

Harriet Al-Najjar, Manager
Harriet@PresidentialPrayerTeam.org
480-483-7729

7373 East Doubletree Ranch Road
Suite B-180
Scottsdale, AZ 85258

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

City Transformation Convergence?

From: Eric Moore [mailto:creating.beauty@hotmail.com]

Subject: Oak initiative and the Transformation of Michigan

I have been thinking strategically about the Oak Initiative in MI (as I frequently find myself doing these days). My brother, Kevin, lives in Birmingham, AL and has functioned in the same kind of role as Bishop Larry Jackson - the Executive Director of Mission Birmingham, Birmingham's theme is the same as Charlotte Awake. The whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole city.

I spent several days with Kevin over Thanksgiving. We talked at length about what is happening in both regions - B'ham and MI. There is a level of maturity that is occurring in the city reaching efforts that we need to be aware of and to learn from. It will help us face some of the challenges we will have here and are already beginning to see surface.

I have attached a brochure for the National City Impact Roundtable/Mission America Coalition event that will occur in Alabama this coming March. It is an annual event that brings people who lead city and regional transformation efforts together for mutual learning and encouragement. (For the Brochure go to www.cityreaching.org)

I want to share one idea from my conversation with Kevin that I believe is profoundly important. Basically this - Transformation efforts require a complex inter-relationship between leaders who function in different focused streams of transformation. It's like a three dimensional matrix of people and philosophies.

Four basic philosophical streams are functioning in transformation efforts.
1. Presence/intercession
2. Community Development
3. Personal Evangelism Strategies
4. Marketplace

This year's National City Impact Roundtable theme is converging those four streams.

Here's a basic definition of each.

1. Presence - this stream focuses on prayer and the prophetic. It seeks to mobilize prayer on a grand scale with a focus on understanding the spiritual history of the community and then focusing prayer on strategic issues. It uses prayer, declarations and prophetic acts to break spiritual strongholds and create a new direction. IHOP, George Otis and the Sentinel Group, Chuck Pierce are major leaders in this stream on a national level. One of the first city transformation books on the market (circa 1990) was John Dawson's book, Taking Your City For God

In Michigan those representing those streams are Transformation Michigan, the Strategic Prayer Network, the various locations and initiatives of 24/7 prayer and several prayer groups around the state. Quite a significant level of helpful spiritual mapping occurred over the last decade.

2, Community Development - this stream focuses more on actual boots on the ground doing rehabilitation of communities through housing programs, food distribution, medical/psychological care, education/tutoring, etc. John Perkins is a front runner on this issue (See Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development).

In Michigan we have some excellent examples of this kind of endeavor, mostly in urban areas. Detroit classics are Eddy Edward's Ravendale Project and Focus Hope. Another was led by Pastors Corletta and Gil Vaughn during the mid-90's. Perkins used them as a case study. More recently ministries are rising up that are building capacity for Community Development, ie Pastor Kenneth Hogan, Pastor Rufus Hayes, Lisa Johanson, and large ministries like Greater Grace and 2nd Ebenezer. Much more is going on in this area. I only see the tip of the iceberg.

3. Personal Evangelism - On a national scale ministries like Ed Silvoso's Lighthouses of Prayer and Mission America's Care, Prayer, Share are large endeavors focused on personal evangelism. Large scale distribution of THE JESUS MOVIE has been done globally and in Michigan. There is a growing trend toward prophetic evangelism-using prophetic revelation from God to touch people with the love of God. Foursquare Gospel Businessmen Groups and Christian Business Men's Committee (CBMC) have both had a strong evangelistic presence in SE MI in the past.

In Michigan most of the evangelism is done on the local church/personal level. I am not aware of any significant strategic efforts underway. Tom Grassano, who come frequently from Brooklyn, leans in this direction with some larger scale, multi-church efforts. Billy Graham efforts here caused him to say that he would not come back-because the church was too divided. Larry Jackson's Breastplate Prayer combines prayer and evangelism and is worthy of statewide development.

4. Marketplace - this stream is different than the personal evangelism of Foursquare and CBMC. The concept is best captured in the Seven Mountain Strategy detailed by Lance Wallnau. The concept was articulated by Bill Bright, Loren Cunningham and Francis Schaeffer. Henry Blackaby has been promoting this concept for years and has built a network of CEOs. Some national level organizations are organizing around this stream like the National Coalition of Marketplace Apostles and ProVision Network.

In Michigan many are positioned for impact but little is being done to network marketplace leaders. Barbara Yoder in Ann Arbor has been holding periodic meeting that interface church, government and business. She is developing a business incubator with a marketplace ministry philosophy. A fledgling group of media/marketing/movie leaders is connecting. Dick DeVos formed a group of business leaders who have had a transformational effect of Grand Rapids' downtown and business environment.

Other statewide groups that are solid, high impact organizations are Michigan Family Forum (family friendly legislation), Citizens for Traditional Values (grassroots political activism), The Acton Institute (GR economic think tank with Catholic roots) and the Michigan Catholic Conference (we wouldn't have a marriage amendment without them).

Based on this concept of four important streams to the transformation of a society, here are some observations that need to be part of future conversations...

First, a thorough analysis of the strengths and weakness and opportunities of our current situation needs to be done. My analysis is limited. The Oak Initiative can encourage this type of analysis on a regional and statewide level. In light of the spiritual war we are fighting - What do we have, what is missing, and what needs to be shored up, resourced and promoted.

Second, the Oak Initiative can facilitate the networking of leaders within streams and between stream. Like minded people can encourage each other and expend their effectiveness. They can also strategize on how to raise additional troops and the next generation of leaders. We also need to call forward honor between the streams. A tendency exists for passionate leaders to think that their agenda/purpose is THE change agent. We need everybody in the same fashion that wars cannot be won without the strategically aligned efforts of Navy, Air Force, Army and Special Forces.

Third, the current Oak Initiative involvement in MI is heavy on the Presence/Intercession stream. Prayer is the right place to start, I believe we would all agree. The Oak Initiative will benefit from avoiding a perception that it is a charismatic movement. The National Oak Initiative focus is very diversified and also has a strong governmental focus; we need to press in that same direction.

Fourth, regional and state OI leadership teams should reflect strong leadership within these distinct streams.

John Burton had a vision recently he called the Race of the Rooms in which he described the urgency of a functional spiritual war room. I see the same thing and feel the urgency. I pray for God's help to us in the maturing of the church as a force for redemption and restoration of our culture.

Yea, God for what You are doing among us!!

Looking for your feedback and ideas for next steps.

Humbly,

Eric Moore

734-658-1750

creating.beauty@hotmail.com

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

Pastors Against Christmas ...

Pastors Conspire Against Commercializing Christmas

While many Christian leaders campaign to keep Christ in Christmas by going after retailers who use the words “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas,” a group of pastors are waging a different kind of culture war. Now in its fourth year as a rising movement, Advent Conspiracy challenges church members across the nation to fight against the commercialization of Christmas by replacing consumption with compassion. In 2005, Rick McKinley, pastor of ... Read more

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

CITY IMPACT ~ Pacific Northwest CIR Reporting In ...

>>>>Note: After reading this encouraging news, click headline for news on the National CIR in Birmingham

City Impact Roundtable:

Pacific Northwest

For those of you who missed it, our 7th annual PNW City Impact Roundtable was excellent, perhaps our best yet. Put the 2010 PNW-CIR on your calendar now -- Monday and Tuesday, December 6 & 7 in Portland. The paradigm of building unity, transformational prayer and kingdom collaboration in cities is alive and growing! Alan Doswald's word, "Transforming My City: What Will it Take?" was spot on. Convicting. Challenging. Do-able. "If we would simply obey Jesus by mobilizing thousands of His followers to walk their neighborhoods praying, caring for and sharing the gospel with the lost...our cities would be transformed." The content in the CD's (and Alan's excellent handouts) are well worth circulating among your city colleagues. You may order them for a suggested donation of $15 shipped with an email to Melisa Pearson mpearson@bvcc.net. At the CIR, Dennis Fuqua received the first shipment of his first book, Living Prayer, a practical exposition on personal application of the Lord's Prayer. Take a moment to check out www.livingprayer.net for ordering information. We also recommend highly that you utilize the 2010 version of Seek God for the City, edited by Steve Hawthorne, and available at www.waymakers.org. We have also prepared a summary sheet of some of the more memorable nuggets from our gathering. We suggest you print this sheet, and share it with your city-reaching colleagues. You will also find an update on the Tillamook OR city movement. PNW CIR 2009 Nuggets Tillamook OR City Movement Update Keep an eye out in the spring for an announcement of our plenary speaker next December! Tom White, Dennis Fuqua and Montie Ralstin

Keep an eye out in the spring for an announcement of our plenary speaker next December!

Tom White, Dennis Fuqua and Montie Ralstin


* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

CITY IMPACT ~ Austin, TX: Onine Calendar for CItywide Christian Community

New Online City Calendar Built to Assist Christian Community in Austin-area.

Austin, Texas - December 17, 2009 - Above Grounds has completed work on a new ecumenical Austin-area web calendar on www.abovegroundsaustin.com. The online calendar creates a place for the Austin's Christian community to communicate events to the public, and to each other. Above Grounds has begun marketing this new resource to the public.

Along with the new calendar, the website has also been redesigned to increase usability. "Above Grounds is more focused in its mission and purpose than we were 3 years ago, and the website now reflects this," says Dustin Wiggins, volunteer.

Resources and information located on the website include a searchable church directory of 990+ churches, a searchable ministry directory of 160+ ministries, 80+ bands, and the new city calendar.

"This past year I would not have attended some concerts, seminars, and volunteer opportunities if this calendar did not exist," says volunteer Joel Skotak.

Local ministries such as Austin Bridge Builders Alliance, Austin Disaster Relief Network, and Austin Pregnancy Resource Center have utilized the church database to more efficiently serve the city.

"This is the most complete church list you'll find on the web, and the search and mapping features really make it easy to use," says volunteer Andrew Mabry.

The ministry listing is similar to the church listing, and the bands page is next on a on-going website improvement list. Above Grounds volunteers have collected additional information for each church, ministry, and band that does not display on the site, but that is stored in a database behind the scenes and that is shared by other community building organizations such as those listed above.

"Christians should know what types of ways other Christians are serving in the city. This online calendar is something that hasn't been done before in Austin on such a large-scale effort. We have heard positive responses from the Christian community thus far, but our biggest challenge now is reminding the community to use it," says volunteer Joel Skotak. "God put this task on our hearts. We are currently working to spread the word and be patient. The calendar is built to accommodate hundreds of events such as recurring Bible studies or small groups, concerts, retreats, volunteer opportunities, seminars and guest speakers at churches, and much more. We'd love to see the calendar be filled with hundreds of events in 2010."

A user must sign up for a free account, and then may post events to the calendar. The calendar is moderated by Above Grounds volunteers and is located at www.abovegroundsaustin.com/city_calendar

Above Grounds was formed in 2006 and exists to bless the city of Austin by providing resources for its thriving Christian community.

POST AN EVENT TO THE CALENDAR | VIEW THE CALENDAR

Please forward this press release to others!

Contact:
Joel Skotak
questions@abovegroundsaustin.com
1900 Scofield Ridge Pkwy #502, Austin, TX 78727
Ph: 512-670-1367

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

Challenging Younger Generations

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com

Urbana 09 - The Tradition Continues

By Gordon Govier, Special to ASSIST News Service

MADISON, WI (ANS) -- College students want to change the world, today more than ever. The study-abroad statistics from the Institute of International Education indicate a growing desire for a global perspective. More than 262,000 Americans studied abroad in 2007-2008, an increase of 8.5-percent from the previous year and four times the number of just two decades ago. Changing the world is what Urbana 09 is all about.

Urbana's Global Perspective
The growing number of students with global experience who will attend InterVarsity's Urbana 09 Student Missions Conference is reminiscent of the returning veterans who attended InterVarsity's first Student Missions Conference in 1946. They had acquired a global perspective as they traveled across the globe during World War II and were preparing to return overseas, taking the gospel message with them.

In the years since 1946, as student populations have changed in many ways, InterVarsity's triennial Student Missions Conference has maintained its global perspective. In 1948 the conference relocated to the campus of the University of Illinois, where it came to be called Urbana. Then in 2006 it moved to St. Louis, Missouri, for Urbana 06. Urbana 09 will also be held in St. Louis, December 27-31, 2009 at the Edward Jones Dome and The Americas Center.

Not Just Another Conference
Since that first conference 63 years ago, more than 240,000 Urbana attendees have been challenged to consider God's call to global missions. Urbana has become one of the longest-lived, regularly scheduled events within evangelical Christianity, and its impact on each generation of college students is widely known and well respected. Pastor Rick Warren, the author of the best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life and a speaker at Urbana 06, said, "You can't afford to miss Urbana. If you are serious about not wasting your life, do whatever it takes to get there."

Urbana is focused on mobilizing men and women for global missions, but the conference's influence is broader. Author and theologian John Stott, who spoke at six Urbanas, said, "In my travels I have met many missionaries and other Christian workers whose lives were profoundly changed by the Urbana experience."

Urbana's Ripple Effect
In a growing number of countries the Urbana conference has been a stimulus for Christian student groups to sponsor their own student missions conferences in locations as far-flung as Nigeria, India and Ukraine. "These events represent a growing missionary vision across the world," said Lindsay Brown, former General Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. "There's no doubt in my mind that Urbana has contributed to this vision." About two dozen international guests will be on hand at Urbana 09 to gain an insider's perspective on hosting their own student missions conference.

The best way to experience Urbana is by attending the multitude of seminars, and by developing new contacts and new friendships. But today the explosion of electronic media and the internet means that the message of Urbana 09 will be shared in many new ways.

Urbana and Social Media
Videos of the general sessions will be posted online at www.urbana09.org within hours a fter each session. Audio files from general sessions and news conferences will also be made available, as well as news releases. But unofficial, participant-produced reports from Urbana will also be populating online social media, on sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Flickr. Urbana 09 will be the first Urbana conference that can be followed on Twitter (use the hash tag #urbana09).

"At a time when students are thinking globally and are open to what it is that God may be saying to them, we're showing them what God is doing in the world, and then inviting them to be a part of that," said Jim Tebbe, the director of Urbana .

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is an interdenominational ministry to university students in the United States, with over 32,000 students involved on 550 campuses nationwide. InterVarsity is a founding member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, which is advancing Christian student work in 150 countries.

---

Gordon Govier is a veteran journalist currently working as a web editor for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, at www.intervarsity.org. You can contact him at ggovier@intervarsity.org.

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

City Impact ~ Lafayette, IN

It began with prayer. It has been sustained by prayer. It is expanding through expanding prayer. For over twenty ears now the Lord has been advancing His kingdom throughout Tippecanoe County through a growing unity among His churches and through persistent and persevering prayer. In fact we believe the Lord is calling us to prepare for a season of further expansion and influence of His presence in the Greater Lafayette area. We are responding to His call by making a concerted effort to expand the number of local church and ministry prayer coordinators who will serve as liaisons between their church and ministry and the city-wide prayer movement. This effort has been very successful. Secondly, we are in the process of expanding our leadership base and redesigning our organizational structure. We have also just become a 501c3. We’ve discovered that each new phase of growth that the Lord has brought has required a change in how the movement is led. Otherwise it gets “bottle necked” and we stagnate. (It’s a delicate dance to keep in step with the Spirit without lagging behind or pulling ahead of Him!) We hope to have all the needed changes in place over the next six months. This will include changing our website and all our informational material. So with this new transition in mind here are so of the things that have happened.

In recognition of TEAMM’s work I our community a member of our executive leadership serves on the Board of the Indiana Faith Based and Community Initiatives. This provides us a wonderful opportunity to contribute ideas and encouragement to other communities in our state who are building bridges of cooperation between government and faith based organizations. Over the last two years we’ve developed an arm of TEAMM called “Teamm-Works”. This aspect of outreach works closely with city government in neighborhood rehabilitation. These work weekends that bring together different churches and faith-based ministries culminate in a City-wide night of worship in a historic theatre downtown in the center of the city. We refer to it as lifting up Jesus over Greater Lafayette. These city-wide worship services have been a great success in bringing together an even greater diversity of believers together in intercession and praise. We have also used this worship venue to raise over $11,000. for our local Red Cross.

Recently, one our circuit judges addressed a gathering of TEAMM pastors and ministry leaders about some of the people problems our community faces. She realizes that government will never be the answer to changed lives so she asked if we would help compile a “directory” of ministry services that she could use in guiding people who come through the court system to get the help they need. This directory is now in place and being utilized by her office. There is so much I could tell you about. United prayer still remains foundational in all that we are doing. Since you were here we’ve instituted quarterly prayer walks in strategic locations in the Greater Lafayette area and at Purdue University. This in addition to our monthly City-wide Prayer Gathering, Leadership Prayer Retreat, three large National Day of Prayer events and the Greater Lafayette Prayer Watch.

I think one of the most exciting things we have attempted is what we called Vision 4/20 (It was held on April 20^th). At the instigation of one of our larger TEAMM churches we brought senior pastors and ministry leaders together to explore ways and areas where we could begin to share and consolidate resources and staff so as not to duplicate what is already being done! There is even talk about exploring the possibility of TEAMM churches (as diverse as we are) actually planting a church! Now that is out of the box thinking!! Some of these things may not come to fruition but they do express the spiritual synergy that the Spirit of God is stirring among us. As exciting and encouraging as this is for us I could also tell you about the discouragements, delays, disappointments, despair, setbacks and betrayals. It’s costly but ultimate I believe it’s worth it. After all this was His idea not mine. It’s odd that after all these years the vision for what He will accomplish in this growing community has not diminished but is as clear and strong as the day He first put it into my heart. Habakkuk 2: 1-3! I have an assurance of things not seen and evidence of things hoped for. To Christ alone be the glory for all that happens here. Well, here’s my partial report from west-central Indiana!

Blessings

Brad Bush

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

Next Level for City Movements

Friend, Join us for an informative, encouraging, challenging and resourceful cityreaching conference call with our very special guest, Eddie Smith of the Eddie and Alice Smith Ministries!

The call is Thursday, December 17 at 10 a.m. Central time.

For years the Lord has used Eddie's ministry to ignite, engage and equip city reaching movements. His stories are real. His teaching is proven. His desire is to see your congregation and city movement go to the next level in the kingdom. He is passionate about Christ, a gifted and prolific author, conference and revival speaker, former pastor and itinerant evangelist. (Not really an intercessor; he married one)

If 2009 has been a bit rough for you, come journey with us. If you'd like to hear about and celebrate where and how the Lord is working in our cities and communities, join us! REPLY TO info@cityeaching.com requesting the dial-in number and code. Invite others to the call! See links below for more information on Eddie Smith:

www.usprayercenter.org
www.PrayerBookstore.com
www.TeachMeToPray.com

Hosted by

Jarvis Ward, National Facilitator for Mission America City/Community Ministries www.cityreaching.com
and
Glenn Barth, President of GoodCities www.goodcities.net

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

GLOBAL NETWORK ~ Haiti: The Concert for Unity

THE CONCERT FOR UNITY, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, November 18, 2009

Rejoicing in the Lord, we witnessed a dream unfold as 2,000 people, including countless pastors and leaders of churches of all denominations, civic and national government leaders, and other dignitaries, worship the Lord together in a spirit of deep humility, repentance, love, and spiritual hunger. the event lasted seven hours, and included four Haitian choirs, a Haitian worship leader, Haitian and Brazilian leaders speaking and praying for revival, myself leading worship and speaking about revival, and two famous Brazilian Christian singers sharing in both song and testimony.

It was a highlight moment when singer Cris Duran, one of the most famous singers throughout France, Spain, and Latin America, got on his knees before the crowd and repented in tears on behalf of the nation of France for the evils of slavery in the history of the nation. Then he knelt before a group of Haitian pastors and washed their feet as he wept over them. This led to an outpouring of love, humility, and unity between the Haitian pastors. God also used Cris Duran to bring healing to both a deaf person and a blind person as a sign of what He wants to accomplish in the healing of the nation of Haiti!

God cemented the hearts and future plans of the four of us whom He had miraculously brought together to put this event together: Haitian Pastors Guillomettre and Joseph, Brazilian Pastor Ivens, and myself. We are now praying and planning for a much larger event of unity and worship to take place in one of the large soccer stadiums on the first of May.

James R. Glynn, Pastor/Apostle

Heart of God Ministries, 1603 Hickory Hill, Freeport, IL 61032

815.801.3030 (NEW phone number)

president@hgm.org

http://www.hgm.org

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hgministries

http://www.youtube.com/heartofgodministries

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

From: Jarvis Ward / To: Cityreachers

Greetings and Blessings!

Do you have 30 minutes for me to give you several important updates on Thursday, December 10th at 3pm Central time?

Important Updates Include:

·Why you and your contacts should be connected with the FREE web-based resource: The Christian Emergency Network (CEN). (The shootings at Fort Hood, Hurricane Ida, economic crisis’s and various toxic spills are just some recent reminders of why the CEN resource is needed!)

·The National City Impact Roundtable (NCIR) and the Mission America Coalition Meetings March 1-4, 2010 in Birmingham, AL (Many believe that the NCIR and MAC meetings might be the best yet!)

·How the Mission America Coalition’s FREE MEMBERSHIP Campaign can help you and other leaders in your relational contacts

·The Nation-wide effort to identify and connect other cityreachers as we continue to build the cityreaching community through www.cityreaching.com

·The possibility of a Graduate Degree Program in Cityreaching

Here is the phone number and code: 1-712-432-0075 when prompted, enter code 9310472. The call is at 10am Central time (11am Eastern & 8am Pacific).

Let me know if you can make the call.

Please remember to check these web sites for more details:

www.christianemergencynetwork.org

► Is the Body of Christ in your city/community ready to respond collaboratively in a prayer.care.share manner in the event of a major crisis?

► Do you agree that natural emergencies such as floods, hurricanes, wild fires, and man-made emergencies & disasters such as terrorism and toxic spills provide a Christian, ministry or network of churches opportunities to practice effective and fruitful city/community-wide prayer.care.share lifestyle ministry (if prepared)?

www.cityreaching.com Register for the March 1-4, 2010 meetings in Birmingham

www.missionamerica.org Register for the March 1-4, 2010 meetings in Birmingham

You may share this invitation with other key leader(s) you know.

If you miss this call, we will offer the same call with the same number and code on the following date/time:

Wednesday, December 16^th at 3:30pm Central

Thanks!

Jarvis C. Ward
National Facilitator City/Community Ministries
Mission America Coalition
815 Boston Road
Pearl MS 39208-9116
www.cityreaching.com
www.missionamerica.org

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

Convergence & Accelertate 2010 * Birmingham * Early registration

===>Click headline for the hot-off-the-press brochure for the
National City Impact Roundtable
and the
Mission America Coalition Annual Gathering

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

No Meetings, No Revival?

What ever happened to revival meetings?

What ever happened to revival meetings? Where did they go?

I grew up with revivals. I'm not referring to the outpourings that many of us long to see today; although that certainly occurred at times. I am speaking of the series of services pastors sat aside each year for the church to experience corporate discipleship and evangelism.===>Click headline to access complete article . . .


* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

How Do Our Prayers Intersect with God's Omniscience?

Dear Phil,

Thank you so much for the teaching on Tuesday ...
I have been pondering the question you raised that day . . . about whether God might need us to draw His attention to needs we have or things we perceive as needs to raise His level of priority in answering those prayers. So far, I can only see that this would question His all sufficiency . . . that is, unless I think of it this way. I believe that in giving us the gift of free choice, wrapped up within that gift is the possibility that He offers another gift . . . that of honoring our choices and our priorities as a way of loving us and thereby gifting us with dignity and honor. I am wondering if it might be within His heart to purpose this. In other words, we effect His priorities through the cries of our hearts because of His love and compassion for us. I'm thinking of the woman brought to our attention yesterday who was longing to die; this was her priority, the cry of her heart. Might His purpose not be to honor her choice? I'm thinking that in the fullness His love and compassion for her that He would hear the cry and want to respond to it. Indeed, her cry might then make her request become His priority.

You established in your teaching that He has a place for us in the triangle where Jesus is praying the Father's heart from one side and the Holy Spirit is praying the Father's heart from the other. In the midst of that triangle our heart cries and groanings ascend too. Our communication is two way; we cry out and then listen; He listens and answers from a heart filled with caring, compassion and mercy. I guess I'm suggesting, too, that Jesus and the Holy Spirit might also pray our hearts thereby reflecting the Father's heart . . . from this paradigm. The cries of our hearts would be pouring out the desire of His own heart to be responsive in His love. In other words, the prayer of our hearts would not be outside of the Father's heart because He honors us in this relationship with him, so all of these prayers would become circular. I'm not sure that I have adequately explained what I mean. Does this make sense? It seems to me, that this would be a way in which we would raise His level of priority without questioning his all sufficiency.

I thank God for you, for your relationship with Him and for His work in and through you.

With blessing,

Rev. Dolores Wiens

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

Prayer Strategy: Mentoring Students

Pastors if you're looking for a prayer strategy to cover your church youth in prayer every day of the year, you may want to consider Shout 365.

If you would like to hear the majority of your church's adults say...

• Yes! I'll adopt a student to pray for every day.
• Yes! I'll become an encourager to one of our kids.
• Yes! You can count on me to help in lots of other ways too.
• No! You are not alone as you minister to our kids. Sign me up!

Shout 365

Equipping student ministries to mobilize adults into the lives of our kids for prayer support and encouragement 365!

www.shout-365.org (currently www.shoutpmi.org which will still be a valid address after the change)

Steve Gervasi

THE EXCHANGE NETWORK'S

SHOUT PRAYER MENTOR INITIATIVE

P.O. Box 177 Columbia, TN 38402

615-403-1082 Cell

exsteve@bellsouth.net

www.shoutpmi.org

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

Revival MP3s

Archived Sessions:

April 14, 2008: Dr. Crawford Lorritts

April 15, 2008: James MacDonald

April 16, 2008: Sammy Tippit

November 9, 2009: Michael Catt

November 10, 2009: David Bryant

November 11, 2009: Sammy Tippit

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

Reaching & releasing the Next Generation

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com Luis Palau’s Next Generation Alliance® Conference Equips Hundreds From Around The World CONTACT: Jodi Carlson or Tim Robnett 503.614.1500 jodi.carlson@palau.org or tim.robnett@palau.org PORTLAND, OREGON (ANS) -- In a world strapped by the confines of a global recession, how relevant is evangelism? Is anyone listening? Does anyone care? As made clear among the 350 attendees at Luis Palau’s Innovative Evangelism Conference on November 10-13, there has never been a better time than now to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. “Doors for the Gospel are opening as never before,” said Next Generation Luis Palau Alliance® Director Dr. Tim Robnett. “This conference is equipping evangelists and ministry leaders from around the world for the task ahead.” Attendees represented more than 10 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Argentina, and Poland. “Coming to a conference like this is so important,” said attendee Justus Amunga, who traveled from Kenya. “It’s a place where evangelists can exchange ideas and find fellowship and encouragement.” Joining Palau as featured speakers were renowned apologist Dinesh D’Souza and the senior pastor of the Rock Church and Academy, Miles McPherson. Dove Award-winning singer/songwriter Matt Redman also joined Palau at the conference, leading attendees in worship and special workshops. Along with much encouragement, attendees received practical training in more than 70 total workshops. Tracks ranged in emphasis from Internet evangelism to fundraising, Latin America to action sports. “The fundraising part has been a practical takeaway,” said Jason Mendes who came from San Diego with Walking on Water’s surf ministry. He came to get tools for launching a ministry similar in format but specific to wakeboarding. “We envision going out and doing crazy stuff, but most of us don't realize the rest of the infrastructure that makes it actually possible.” “It’s cool to see how God puts all of these people in different niches and subcultures with different giftings and abilities,” said Chris Webster, conference director. “What unites us is the Gospel, and making Christ known. Whether someone is a proclamation evangelist or an artist, we all want to communicate the message of Christ.” “Proclaiming Christ as One,” the theme for this year’s conference, reflects the rally cry that gave birth to NGA. Founded by Palau in 1998 with the goal of multiplying the impact of the Good News, NGA now includes more than 200 partner evangelists and ministries. “Hundreds of millions have never heard about the cross of Christ and His saving work,” said Palau. “When we work together we more effectively flood the world with the Gospel.” For more information on the Luis Palau Association, go to http://www.palau.org

---

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

Inner~View #76: Jim Belcher, author of Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional

Phil Miglioratti interviewed Jim Belcher, author of Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional

Phil ~ Seismic cultural changes have traditional churches running for cover. How serious a threat are those changes to the future of evangelicalism?

Jim~ Huge question. I would need pages to answer this well. And even then I am not sure I could answer it well. I would agree that the changes have the traditional church running for cover. How serious a threat are they to the future of evangelicalism? Plenty serious if the traditional church does not recognize them and learn to respond to them in a way that is biblical and faithfully contextual to the new environment we all find ourselves in.


Phil ~ Is the Emergent movement a renewal from within evangelicalism or a new movement altogether? Is it a threat to the Church?

Jim ~ In the book I describe the emerging church as a broad movement, most often found in the evangelical church, though some are in the mainline church. The Emergent Village is park of this movement but not the sum total of the movement. Most of those who are called “emergent” are found in the Emergent Village group. Ed Stetzer calls them the “revisionist” group within the larger emerging movement. They are the ones that get the most pushback from the traditional church because they are the ones most open to rethinking/challenging historic evangelical doctrines like penal atonement, original sin, the doctrine of hell, etc. This group includes thinkers like Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Brian McLaren and John Franke, to name just a few. To answer your specific question about whether it is a renewal movement or a new movement, I would say that if you are speaking of the emerging movement I would say it is mostly a renewal movement. But if you are just speaking of the revisionist side of the emerging camp I might be tempted to say that it is a new movement, at least with some of them like Doug Pagitt. I think he might say the same thing as well. But I am not sure.

Phil ~ A few decades ago, GM (General Motors) and IBM (International Business Machines) could do no wrong; today on company was bailed out of bankruptcy and the other no longer makes machines but is still in the Fortune 100. What are the blind spots in the traditional church and what are the implications of not adopting new ways of being Christian or expressing Christianity?

Jim ~ Another good question. I think the danger of the traditional church is multi-faceted. On the one hand, there is the danger of tribalism where the traditional church is so critical of the corruptions in the culture that it just circles the wagons and wants nothing to do with culture. This is what Os Guinness has called dualism or Blamires called the loss of the Christian mind. We separate reality into spiritual and secular. So while the church may focus on developing people’s “spiritual”side they neglect the full Christian mind which thinks Christianly about every area of life—including business, economics, politics, education, and all aspects of culture. So Christians live dualistically, their faith has very little to do with how they act at the job or in their vocations. But on the other hand, the traditional church can fall prey at the same time to acting like the chaplain of the culture, blending into the culture in order to be accepted. We become squeezed into the mold of the world, not able to offer a prophetic critique of the fallen structures of the world. What the traditional church needs is to rediscover the Christian mind, which will allow it to be salt and light at the same time, avoiding tribalism and assimilation.


Phil ~ How can traditional churches and leaders benefit from the concerns and criticisms of emerging leaders?

Jim ~ I think that the emerging church has done a terrific job at diagnosing what ails the church. In Deep Church I lay out seven protests that the emerging church has against the traditional church. Even if the traditional church disagrees with their solutions, I think it behooves them to listen carefully to the criticism because I contend that they are often spot on.


Phil ~ Forging a new path, what you label as the third way, requires tolerance of an ongoing tension between evangelical truth (the doctrinal essentials of our faith) and emerging styles of worship and preaching as well as structures for teaching and discipleship. Agree or disagree ?...

Jim ~ I guess if I understand you correctly I tend to agree. There is no doubt as this new generation learns to contextualize the gospel, which our best missionaries have done for hundreds of years, to a new and changing post Christian culture there is going to be tension with the traditional church who may not see any reason to change their style of music or instrumentation because it has worked perfectly fine for the past 400 years! I also think there are newer styles of teaching and discipleship that are going to fit the postmodern environment better. But at the same time, there is much from the inherited past of the Great Tradition, pioneered before the Enlightenment, that is helpful today in how we teach, preach and disciple. So it is not just about being new. Sometimes the best way to be current is to be ancient.


Phil ~ The Church must be relevant to the culture (time and place issues) but culture must be irrelevant to the Church's understanding of biblical truth. What ongoing questions must leaders ask to protect that difference?

Jim ~ I agree that the church must be relevant to the culture because we have a responsibility to speak to real people, with real problems, in real situations. This is what love entails. But does this mean, as you ask, “that culture must be irrelevant to the church’s understanding of biblical truth.” In one sense this is true. The Bible’s message is timeless and cross cultural. But on the other hand, it is impossible (and I don’t think God requires) to read the Scriptures apart from our embedded cultures. And in a real sense this will impact the way we see and understand the Word. Certain cultures will “see” things differently than others; same truth but seen at a different angle. So what questions need to be asked? I think the church always must be going back to the Scriptures and asking if there is any place that the clear teachings of Scripture have been compromised or watered down for any reason. Has the Bible lost its ability to be prophetic, dangerous, threatening to the culture around it? Or has it become like a chaplain, just there to sooth wounds but not challenge or make uncomfortable. But on the other hand, we need to be asking if we have worked hard enough to contextual the message in a way that people can hear and respond to. In the book, I suggest that the Great Tradition becomes a plumb line for steering between irrelevance and syncretism.

If I may quote myself:

“Tradition and history act as checks on our views of the Bible and the world. If we neglect this vital history of the church we are bound to repeat the mistakes of the past. Instead we need to learn from the mistakes, be recalibrated by the wisdom of the past, and work out what it means to be the church today in the light of the Bible, mission and tradition.”

Phil ~ How is collaboration towards impacting cities and communities part of the "Third Way"?

Jim ~ I have a whole chapter, called Deep Culture, that addresses this important topic. The Bible makes it clear that we are called into God’s family (to be blessed) in order to be sent out (to bless others). We are called, says Jeremiah 29, to seek the peace of the city. This means impacting cities and communities. To pursue shalom means to lead people to a place where they have peace with God, peace with others, peace with themselves and peace with God’s creation. Tim Keller calls this the reweaving of our cities. I like that.

Phil ~ How about a final word for that pastor who recognizes the need to change the culture in their congregation or ministry but is unsure of the first few steps?

Jim ~ Big question. Do it slowly! Begin by teaching through a book like Acts or Daniel. These are great books for casting a vision for mission, cultural change and seeking the peace of the city. I would then join up, as we have done, with a organization like Church Resource Ministry and their reFocus process which helps pastors and churches move from simply a posture and commitment to maintenance to a posture of mission. They help churches outgrow the inward church syndrome.


Phil ~ Jim, please write a prayer you'd invite Christian pastors and leaders to pray along with you for the future of Christ's Church . . .

Jim ~ Heavenly Father and Gracious Redeemer, In every age your people have been faced with challenges from within and without. Our age is no different. But the challenges we face seem to be so daunting. We are living in a new post Christian era, what seems like a new dark era.

Thank you for your faithfulness to your church for thousands of years. You have protected the church, strengthened her, and mobilized her for action in each new generation. I pray you do this for ours. Amaze us again by your Kingdom, the good news of Jesus Christ, what he has done for us and through us, and how you have brought us into a new realm where you are Lord. The Kingdom has come. Help us to live as new people, transformed by your Gospel, empowered to live out your Shalom in every area of life—with you, with ourselves, with others and with your wonderful creation. Strengthen, protect, and inspire those you have called to lead your church. Amen.

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm

National Cityreaching Conference Call

Our November 19th Cityreaching conference call could change the way you have been doing ministry! Cityreaching groups, local congregations and the Body of Christ in general have suffered as a result of short-term decision making that perhaps yields quick results with potentially crushing future implications!

You and others in your network are invited to join Dr. Roger Parrott on Nov. 19th as he interacts with callers from his new book, “The Longview”. You will learn to value transformation over turn-around by extending your “view.”

Dr. Parrott has served many years with the International Lausanne Committee, the US Lausanne Committee and is currently the president of Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi.

This is a cityreaching tool/resource that is a plus for you and your ministry or business. To RSVP for the call, scheduled for 10 a.m. Central Standard Time on Thursday, Nov. 19, email info@cityreaching.com requesting the dial-in number.

To read more about Dr. Roger Parrott and to review a chapter of “The Longview” click on the link. http://207.200.19.180/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/applogic+ftcontentserver?pagename=faithhighway/10000/6000/867CI/floating41

We hope to have you and many others join us on Nov 19th at 10 am Central time.

Call facilitators

Rev. Jarvis Ward, National Facilitator for Mission America City/Community Ministries
and
Dr. Glenn Barth, President, GoodCities

* Type keywords in the "Search Blog" box above
* Receive periodic Email updates on new postings: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm