May 2008

Dear Ones,
What a great time to be following the Leader of leaders!  This month He led us…

INTO THE SCHOOLS 
The Lord has set our feet in HIGH PLACES.  This month we were hosted by “high place” ALTA MESA (Alta Mesa = high plain) MIDDLE SCHOOL for 2 inspirational assemblies.  Our trumpet player, whose daytime ministry post is the 5th grade classroom on this campus, has been spreading God's grace there consistently for years.  He shared with his leaders how great the Bella Vista School night of worship and fundraiser went.  The administration quickly agreed that we come do a similar night of worship with the prayerwalk / dinner fundraiser, AND play 2 power-packed motivational assemblies to gear everyone up for STAR testing.  What favor!  The crowd of students was great and the feedback from kids and staff has been excellent.  Partnering with the education system and bringing them fresh waters of life is a privilege and an honor.  In the past few months, God’s allowed us to raise over $1000 to give to school leaders for their campuses.  It’s not just us though.  The Lord put it on the heart of another ministry in town to do a fundraiser for a local school which they adopted this year.  They raised over $5000.  The people of God are praying and giving “alms,” which is what we call the “Cornelius key.”

In Acts 10, we read about Cornelius.  He was a man who had God's attention.  The word says that his alms and prayers came up before the Lord as a memorial.  It was in this man's home that the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles for the first time.  What was so special about Cornelius?  Well, he prayed and gave alms to those in need.  Now, we could easily overlook the context in which this outpouring took place, but let’s not.  It was decidedly the home of a “devout, God-fearing” official who was characterized as a man of prayer and giving.  Notice, PRAYER AND ACTION.  Every move of God requires a staging ground (an inn's stable, a fisherman's boat, a centurion’s home, etc.), and we believe strategic prayer and generous giving to schools these past 2 months is preparing such a staging area for God’s Spirit.

INTO COMMUNITY EVENTS 
God really showed up in our band’s planning of the Kool April Nights’ cruise concert this month.  We’d planned to stage the event at Trinity Lutheran Church on Hilltop Drive but providentially, the process got bungled up and the paperwork complications set us back.  Normally we’d just persevere and press through, but this time, it seemed like the Lord was actually re-directing us.  So, after seeing Dairy Queen in prayer, we thanked TLC and went to ask DQ if they’d host us.  The owner there knows the Lord and had “just been thinking” about how she could make her property count for the Lord.  She later told me that rarely can one just drop in and find her at the store.  But on that day, not only did I find her there, but God had already prepared her heart.  She invited us to stage our concert there - that’s when we realized we’d need a big, tall stage. Kenn, our drummer, got right on it.  He opened the phone book and, out of the blue, called a trucking company owned by a man named Kenn.  He says, “Hi, this is Kenn, from Redding Transformation.  We need a flat-bed trailer for our community event....”  They didn’t even hesitate to reply, “Of course!”  But it gets even better - there was a whole motocross stunt show planned for the same parking lot area with thousands of dollars already spent on advertising. Everything came together beautifully on cruise night.  People were swarming around DQ in droves, and we enjoyed 2 hours of PERFECT WEATHER as we sang over them.   DQ wants to take this a step further - but I’ll have to keep you in suspense on this one for now.

The Kool April appearance was just the first of FOUR major community appearances which the WeR1 Band will make this year.  We’ve also been welcomed to present our music and message at these large community gatherings: Relay For Life, the Shasta District Fair, and the 4th of July Freedom Festival (see details below).

IN PRINT
The first edition of the TRACK RECORD, our new periodical documenting God at work in our community, is out.  Over 50 area churches gladly placed stacks in their foyers last weekend as did many businesses.  Nearly all 4000 FREE copies are out of our hands and on their way into people’s lives.  The costs were covered by 8 local businesses who wanted to see this effort get off the ground by sowing into the first run of the quarterly.  We praise the Lord for the way in which it all came together.  Pray that the testimony and action steps in its pages will inspire many to personally and intentionally engage in Kingdom transformation efforts in our region.  (You can view this as a PDF document at our website, www.reddingtransformation.com.)

IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT
The GRID of the city is introduced in the middle section of the TRACK RECORD.  This tool helps people visualize in bite-size pieces how the city can be reached through connecting and going forth there with grace-filled prayer and action.  The Redding Grid is also uploaded on our website and we’ll be filling in the dots as people sign up to “adopt” their GRIDspace.  Their ensuing stories will be featured in upcoming editions of the TRACK RECORD so all can see how the vision progresses. There’s no time like the present to get real practical!  Right?  So, go to the web and register your GRIDspace or call us at 222-9371.

COME JOIN IN!
SATUR’08 week of prayer, May 1-10.
•   National Day of Prayer at City Hall: May 1, noon, & April 30, 7 pm with WeR1Band
•   Celebrate Recovery Night of Worship with WeR1Band: May 2, 7 pm, Neighborhood Church of Redding
•   Prayer Tents: May 6, 7, 8 on the streets around the region.  Call Natalia at 722-7688.
•   A “single-mom” focused Grace-in-Motion day: May 10, 9 am-1 pm.  Meet at City Hall south parking lot at 8:45 am.
•   Downtown Fest: May 10 Downtown Mall outdoor area.  5 pm - food, fun for kids, music and drawings for prizes.  6 pm - testimonies from the week and worship together.
Every Thursday 12-1pm, Redding Library, Prayer for the Region

IN CONCERT: WeR1 BAND DATES
•   May 31 – Relay For Life, Shasta College, (times TBD, but likely 5-7 pm)
•   June 13 – Shasta District Fair, Pepsi Stage, 9 pm
•   July 4 – Freedom Festival, Redding Convention Center grounds.  (Times TBA)

IN YOU
Write your own paragraph by praying for people this week and see what God does through it!  
Love to hear from y’all.

IN HIM,  
Jon & Natalia Thompson, Team Leaders

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