May 2007
Dear Friends:

DEEPER CHANNELS
40 Days of Grace has deeply impacted the region and deepened the channel through which more grace can flow! New connections have been made and old ones strengthened for His glory. This has been yet another great month of Kingdom expansion across our valley.

PRAYER TENTS & KOOL APRIL PRAISE
A total of 17 prayer tents were up this season. Hellen Meade coordinated the effort from Redding to Anderson, Shasta Lake City to Shingletown, Whitmore to Weaverville and everywhere in between. Seems like everyone is getting into the act to “see to it that no one misses the grace of God.” In just 3 short days, we had scores of Divine appointments as more than 80 intercessors ministered to over 500 people who voluntarily stopped in for prayer. Our WeR1 band lifted up Jesus’ name near the Sundial Bridge on Easter and again at the Kool April Nights cruise.

TECHNOLOGY FOR TRANSFORMATION
Our new sound gear arrived this month and, WOW, what a difference! It is lean and clean, loud and clear – perfect for taking the message to the streets and parks, which the Lord has us doing non-stop from here on as far as we can see. Our own band sacrificially gave and pledged $9000 toward this, yet another $4000 is needed to finish out the system. If any of you could give toward this, it would be a huge help. The video camera is also here and we have used it to capture current testimony for fresh encouragement in the marketplace arenas. We also video taped the Transformation Seminar and have that available to order.

STAND OUT MOMENT
During the Friday night meeting of our Marketplace Transformation Seminar, we stood to receive an impartation in prayer and a commissioning upon us for the work of taking transformation into our spheres of influence. Everyone in the room felt the wave of heavenly grace wash over us; His presence was STRONG. Selah. Words are not enough to describe the impact. Not sure if the DVD caught that moment, but the Aloha project Allen describes and the testimony of how transformation has impacted our own Governor Schwarzenegger are worth hearing and seeing, so order a set of discs for just the cost of production ($12 DVD or $7 CD + $3 S/H).

STRATEGIC FRIENDSHIPS
We are excited to see how God is forming some key relationship. A few weeks ago the director of Outreach America was speaking at a function where we led worship - what a God-connection! As a result, they partnered with us May 5th at the Downtown Festival (I will share with you a few POWERFUL stories from that day next month). We have also received more invites than ever to minister in local fellowships and had the privilege to speak to 3 fellowships during this past 40 Days. Are things in crescendo mode or what? I was able to meet with 2 of our 5 county supervisors and start friendships there also. Praise the Lord for time to explore His open doors and walk out this adventure of building bridges for transformation.

MINISTRYLAND
It is our belief that all who enter this county, whether they live here or are just passing through, will be touched by God’s grace as we turn every environment in this region into MinistryLand. The campuses, neighborhoods, workplaces and open spaces will become one big, interconnected net of praying people who care for folks and reach out with the power and presence of God. Ministry and prayer are already practically inescapable, and this is only the beginning!

CONTESTED
This is all not without cost. Our team has experienced a month of trials. Personally, I wrestled with a spirit of negativity and dismay; I think his name was FUNK or BUMMER. I kept casting him out of my truck (oh yeah, I got a gently used pick up this month, PTL) and my thoughts. Roy, my teammate, crashed his truck. He survived, but his truck didn’t. One of our singers was misdiagnosed with an ugly disease, 2 of our musicians struggled with intense back pain, our Red Bluff contacts had some unexpected deaths and set backs. One man who shared his testimony at the launch had a serious accident over the weekend and is in an induced coma. Ground has been taken, but the frontlines of battle aren’t called the frontlines for nothing.

STILL WE PRESS ON
Looking ahead is glorious! Upcoming dates are as follows:
• May 16 Business Transformation Lunch, Noon at National University.
• May 27 GRACE AWAKENING is our testimony and praise event for the whole Body regionwide. 2 pm – sunset, Anderson River Park bandstand area.
• June 9-10 We stand with Refiner’s Fire in welcoming ministers from Kenya to Redding at Redding Convention Center grounds
• June 14 We play worship at the Shasta District Fair from 3 to 5pm on the Pepsi stage.
• June 16 We partner with Red Bluff churches in touching a whole community with a backpack drive
• July 4 We will be leading 12,000 people in Amazing Grace at the Redding Convention grounds mainstage!
We welcome you to come out and be a part of a united Body of believers in any of these gatherings, but more important, remember to seek God daily for the next step He is showing you to reach out to those around you where you live, work and play. Thanks for participating and supporting what the Lord Jesus is doing in our region.

Abiding in Him,
Jon Thompson
Redding Transformation Team Leader

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