March 2007

Dear Friends:

In 2 Chronicles 15:1-15, King Asa, a marketplace leader, brings transformation to his nation. God sends him a word through Azariah, “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” Asa, taking courage, rises up, purifies the land, rebuilds the altar of the Lord, and calls the people to assemble. They come from all over because they saw that the “LORD his God was with him!” In verse 12 the whole nation makes a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and soul. This personal, binding, solemn oath to SEEK GOD caused wholehearted rejoicing and ushered in a significant shift in their region. It was time.

40 Days of Grace IT’S TIME!
40 Days of Grace is a season of seeking the Lord wholeheartedly and making a point to spread His grace far and near. It’s a time to take initiative, seize the moment and surge together in prayer and united Kingdom activity. People from Red Bluff to Shasta Lake are ready to mobilize. The word is out. It’s time to walk more boldly in transformation than ever before because God says, “Be strong and do not give up...” It IS possible to impact whole communities via prayer evangelism and unity in the Body. It won’t come easy, but neither did Asa’s nationwide initiative. The enemy would tell us that this is crazy, but God has brought us this far and is urging us on. Can you imagine, thousands of believers intentionally mobilizing together! The more who engage, the wider the impact! Ask God how you can be transformational in your sphere of influence, He will show you. The enclosed brochure has practical tools and opportunities for you to join your flame to the many others. Together we can ignite a Kingdom bonfire that shines out a beacon of hope for this area and drives back the darkness. It’s time. You are needed.

FEBRUARY HIGHLIGHTS
Our relationship with the Church in Red Bluff has blossomed. After our night of worship on Feb. 18, they began to see breakthroughs in the city, new salvations, and renewed hope! God is rewarding their faithful prayers and joining our shields for the journey! They sent representatives to our 40 Days of Grace “mobilizers and influencers” meetings this month and 5 churches from there plan to fully engage.

Many new friendships are starting as our business lunches grow. Deanna Gallagher, owner of Datawise, shared this month. “PERSEVERE,” was her word! You could see everyone just drinking it in. These lunches are loaded with heart. One man invited others by saying, secular business networks are often all about what YOU can get out of it; transformation is focused on what we can GIVE to one another. He’s right!

REJOICE! A NEW Pastor’s prayer time for the city started this month with 8 pastors. Brian Nickens, a pastor/businessman, is leading this new network which is tied in with (but not lead by) Redding Transformation. Pray that the pastors will be drawn in by the Spirit in this season. March 15th is our next one.

Intercessory prayer. Each Thursday you can find our intercessors in the marketplace praying for breakthroughs at local businesses. Laurie Damoth and her team are laboring hard in prayer for Kingdom advancements! We know that transformation requires a strong foundation of prayer and relationships. Through this task force, we do both.

The Grace in Motion team is still growing and developing. Knowing where to serve and having a team that can answer the call are two critical components in bringing grace into people’s immediate situations. Seeing the Church work in unity to demonstrate the love of God through acts of kindness in a strategic, non-random, sustainable way is going to impact many in this region. Call us to join in! A short orientation meeting on March 24 (11am at RCF) will prepare us for the service day March 31, 9 am-noon.

EXPANDING THE TEAM
God has added some very gifted individuals to our team recently. I’d like to introduce them to you:
Tyler Shuster is now our main techy. He volunteers as our wonder-working website whiz, and our faithful power-point engineer! My hat is off to him, he makes the computers behave!
Eric Hess is our newest board member. He and his savvy wife, Sadie, will be hosting and providing guidance to our network of marketplace ministers. They co-own COMPASS Home Care and speak business-eze. They are transformational people and active disciple makers who have embraced a ministry lifestyle of prayer evangelism. They are PERFECT for this ministry role!
Roy and Hellen Meade, another perfect match up, are joining us this month as dedicated interns. Roy felt God’s nudge to ask if he could join the Redding Transformation team. The board approved and they are now raising support. Roy ran a plumbing business and knows how to organize workers (just in time for Grace in Motion service projects!). He is skilled in worship leading and has a good reputation with those in and outside the church. He’s a man of prayer and wise perspective. Hellen gets things done, organizes, and is an intercessor with a heart of worship! They have moved in united thrusts and street level ministry for years. God is so good!

Many HISTORIC things are happening and all of it is in very delicate stages, but like Asa, we are to “Be strong and courageous, do not give up. Our work will be rewarded.” Hope and faith are on the rise as we see the Body of Christ in these parts join together, to write history. This IS happening, you ARE NOT dreaming. The time has come.

The costs associated with the 40 Days of Grace will amount to approximately $2000 beyond our normal monthly expenses. Our video camera is on order, and new sound equipment will be here (by faith) next month! If you’re excited about what’s happening, and can help us at this time, WE NEED IT. Thanks for sowing generously into transformation! Click here to donate on line.

There is so much more to say, but we must get on with the work!

With perseverance,

Jon Thompson
Redding Transformation Team Leader

Bring everyone you know to launch the 40 Days of Grace on March 25th, 4 pm RCF (2157 Victor Ave)!

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