June 2007
Dear Friends:

...a matter of life and death
As we wrapped up the 40 Days of Grace with a downtown festival celebration on May 5th, a man strolled by the park and was drawn in by the happenings.  As he received a free massage under the Hands-of-Faith tent, the Lord began to minister to him.  He confessed troubles with drug addiction.  The grace-filled, prayerful response of the Christians he talked with paved the way for what happened next.  During the course of the conversation, the man confessed that he had been on his way to commit murder but was sidetracked by what was going on in the park.  He changed his mind – and gave the knife he had in his pocket to the man who spoke into his life.  Is that GOD or what??!!  After being touched and refreshed by GRACE, his perspective changed!  

This and a multitude of unknown stories happened in the context of the Body of Christ enjoying a day of united worship and prayer in the streets of the city.  Jesus’ name was being lifted up in praise from 3 strategic spots in the downtown and many feet of peace were prayer-walking, asking God for life, peace, joy and refreshing on our city.  As a result, someone is alive today and not dead, and another someone’s destiny didn’t get downgraded to life in prison.  Such is the effect of corporate, tangible unity, prayer and praise permeating the streets, and the flowing grace of God.   I believe that “seeing to it that no one misses the grace of God” will lead to many such encounters.  Our schools, neighborhoods, workplaces are dry and thirsty.  They need a saturation of prayer, a soaking of grace and some unprecedented levels of personal caring.

Let us gather at the river
Over 300 people gathered on May 27 to enjoy an afternoon of praise and testimony.  What an amazing time of seeing generations, denominations and regions unite under the banner of Christ and share an afternoon together as a family.  Seeing the I-5 communities unite to hear what God is doing in one another’s cities was a first.  It’s probably also the first time that a hip-hop band and a brass band shared the same venue!  Check out the PhotoGallery for pictures.

An office in the marketplace....
Amid the busy event season, we also moved our office from the Faith Christian Fellowship facility to a furnished office in Scott Schumacher’s State Farm complex.  Compass Home Care opened up storage space for us so we now find ourselves operating from a marketplace platform!

Key Ingredients for Transformation
We believe that the process of transforming a city will require the following action:
1. Everyone prayed for
2. Every environment adopted
3. Christ is central
4. Needs become opportunities
5. Faith goes public
You will hear more about these in the months to come, but let me start in the middle.  Keep the main thing, the main thing!  If Jesus is central, the foundation is secure, and the building will stand.  Things that weren’t flowing with life will begin to.  The Light will dispel darkness.  When He comes into the picture, things change!   When He is invited in, He brings transformation.  That’s His nature!  Think about it - when Christ came into your life, you began to change, right?  We believe that Heaven’s grace to transform individuals can be applied to every situation and people group.  Across the world, we are seeing that when Jesus is invited in, He transforms business, education, government, homes, families, marriages, neighborhoods, and the like.  If you curse your workplace, it will seem like a cursed place.  But if you invite Christ in there, you will see Him begin to change it.  He will use you in the process, so keep in step and be alert.   You can partner with God in transforming cities by binding and loosing.  Bind the work of the evil one in every environment where God has placed you, and loose the power and presence of Jesus there.  Can you imagine a region where Christ has been given preeminence in everything and where the enemy has been effectively evicted?  This is possible- you have permission to do it!

What’s ahead?

• We see a dynamic connection emerging between the communities along the Sacramento River and I-5 corridor.  
• We believe the communities in this north valley region will link in a strategic partnership to reach their cities.  Connecting the like-hearted people in these communities is what the Lord has called us to.  (Every BODY needs some connective tissue.)
• We are increasingly aware of areas where Christ’s light hasn’t been allowed to shine very brightly. Pray for creative ways to access these arenas with effective tools and grace-filled relationships in order to see a turn-around.  Pray about the Aloha project, a behavioral values curriculum for schools, which is currently being explored.
  

See you soon!

• COMeUNITY Prayer, every Monday 7 am Mt. Shasta Mall Food Court
• WeR1 band brings public praise, encouragement and vision
• June 9-10, His Fire West Coast Conf. (with Kenyan ministers) Redding Conv. Center
• June 14 Pepsi stage, Anderson Fairgrounds, 2 pm to 5 pm (prior to Tod Agnew show)
• July 4 Freedom Festival, Redding Convention Center grounds
• Marketplace Transformation opportunities
• Business lunches June 20, July 25
• Seminar follow up trainings, once a month starting in August
• Prayer tent seasons Sept. 11-13 and Oct. 30-Nov. 1

Resting in His grace,

Jon Thompson
Redding Transformation Team Leader

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