Dear Friends:

A Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

It is important to recognize the times and seasons that are upon us. This first half of 2006 was a special time for Redding Transformation. Our favor has increased. There is a widening agreement that a united Body of believers can fill a city with prayer and grace together and bring transformation to every sector of society! From here, we can look back and see ground taken and look forward to exciting future paths with new rivers to cross. But the ground beneath us has been sloping upward, indicating that this is a season of going up the mountain with God. A seasonal shift is here and we feel the anticipation!

Ecclesiastes 3:2 …a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

Along the upward slope, God has asked us to shed some things. We have. As many of you know, we resigned our 15 year post as worship pastor at Trinity Alliance. Our last day ‘in the saddle’ there was June 11. It is a strange new feeling - like a promotion and an uprooting all in one. Guess you could say, we are resigned to do His will. This means that our full attention will now be on city transformation and our full support, by faith, will also come from there (which means another $2500 per month needs to be pledged. Praise God for the 20% already promised!).

Another Great Month

On June 4th, we saw 200+ believers gather to lift up Jesus and pray together at Global Day of Prayer. Great connections were made and all were blessed to see such unity! One man came up to me and stated how he was about to end his life by jumping off a bridge last September. The Lord apprehended him, told him to “go to Redding.” When he arrived, he walked straight into a prayer tent where someone ministered to him. He got into a partnering fellowship where he has been discipled for the last 9 months. He just wanted to say how blessed he has been by the united worship gatherings and how the tent prayers touched his life! The day of prayer ended with groups circled up to pray for one another. A beautiful sight indeed.

As we establish this unified prayer-evangelism network around town, a perfect complement to this will be our GRACE-IN-MOTION team. This will be a proactive, service oriented group that can quickly mobilize when situations arise to sow grace into present, felt needs all over the city and express Christ-like unity. As you, our marketplace ministers, spot the needs, you’ll have a centralized way of responding to them. A group of 8 people from 4 fellowships have been meeting this month to discuss the guidelines and prototype. Launch is projected for August 1.

Another awesome development this month was the meeting I had with some localyouth who wish to take the point and publicly walk out a passion for Jesus through prayer, unity in the body and visible action! Their heart and ours are completely aligned. This could be explosive. Watch as God brings the generations together to transform our region!!

We’ve also been working on our infrastructure. Since this work is multifaceted and many gifted people are beginning to come around us to help tackle it, we are excited to put some organization to the flow.

The Main Thing

While camping with my family, I was reading a paragraph in a book by Jack Hayford. He said, “The things God creates have a beautiful simplicity, while man-made things become increasingly more complex.” This work of unity in the Body and everyone experiencing the grace of God flowing daily into every facet of city life through prayer evangelism should have a beautiful simplicity to it. If it becomes increasingly more complex, we will know that the ‘main thing’ has shifted to a ‘man-thing.’ God wants us to keep focused on the main thing. This is a Kingdom thing, pure and simple.

Movin’ On Up

We want to thank you for your loving support and caring prayers for us. Our needs are met and we are up to date financially as we embark on what feels like PHASE 2. We ask you to keep praying for people around you, sign up for our “Grace-in-Motion” team, consider coming aboard in a more precise role, or increase your monthly giving. Donations are tax deductible and can be made on-line through the website, www.reddingtransformation.com.

When you receive this communication, I will be in Argentinasummittingwith God, receiving more training and impartation for transformation. Pray that I come back refreshed and recharged to tackle the next assignment.

Que Dios les bendiga,

Jon & Natalia, for the team