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Dear People of
the Northstate Vision:
The new year finds us in the traditional season of Epiphany. The word is an old Greek one and it means to "manifest" or "show forth." It is all about those events in the life of Jesus – then and now – that identify Him as Lord. Most closely associated with this season are the visit of the wise men, Jesus’ own baptism, and the wedding at Cana. Foreign dignitaries pay homage to the King of the universe in the first; the Holy Spirit descends visibly on the Son in the second; and the third features His first public miracle.
I cannot think of a more fitting time than Epiphany to share the experience Diana and I enjoyed in early December. We were privileged to join a group of Pray California regional facilitators and leaders, along with representatives from Mission America, to see The Passion of Christ – Mel Gibson’s depiction of the last twelve hours of Jesus’ life prior to His resurrection and glorification. It includes the resurrection, and Mel Gibson was good enough to share with us an hour and a half of his time so that we could ask questions and offer suggestions as the film company completes the post-production phase of their mission. The film will be released nationwide on Ash Wednesday – February 25 – and it is indeed an epiphany of the person of Jesus Christ.
The film is a very graphic – read real – representation of what Jesus did for each of us on the Cross. From the moment in Gethsemane when He declares Himself willing to carry the sins of the whole world, until he walks alive from the Tomb, the violence and unending torture of death on a cross – preceded by scourging that strips the flesh from a man’s back and torso – is inescapable. The agony is broken only by the skillful use of flashbacks to illustrate less painful sacrificial acts of washing feet, communing disciples, and preparing to leave home.
There is no one to blame – except all of us – and that statement is made several times in the film. Jewish leaders are presented ambiguously – with some calling for blood and others for mercy – as they are in the Bible. In fact the film is utterly faithful to Scripture in all respects. It will wrench the hearts of those who know Jesus into a fresh experience of how much God loves us, and it will melt the hearts of those who have not seen Him in His incarnate yet humble majesty before. This film – this epiphany – should be seen by all of us – that we might be driven to prayer and truly become His Body on earth.
The I-5 Project – also known as the Mandala Project – will bear fruit on Saturday and Sunday, January 3 and 4. All of the people of the northstate vision – wherever you may be – are asked to pray the blessings of Matthew 11:2-6 for one hour between the hours of 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM on January 3. (Pray that the Kingdom of God would break out all over California in terms of healing, prosperity and absence of crime, freedom from bondage, and the government in the hands of people not offended by Jesus.) As many as are able are asked to gather in homes and churches – that their prayers would be a corporate time of worship and intercession. Selected intercessors will be praying near at least one Interstate 5 bridge in each county from Mexico to Oregon with PrayNorthstate having responsibility for Glenn, Tehama, Shasta and Siskiyou Counties. Jim will be in Southern California on Saturday and Sunday praying with other Pray California leaders at various harbor sites slated for deposits of mandalas.
The long promised PrayNorthstate website is up and running as of January. We hope soon to be on several of the major search engines, but the site can be now be accessed by simply typing in PrayNorthstate.org as the web address. (We announced some months ago that we had a web site up and running, but frankly, the addressing function available to us was too cumbersome for use at that time – this one is the real deal.) We give praise to God and thanks to Kelly Engel of Computer Solutions and Anderson-Cottonwood Neighborhood Church (for donating the web site) and to Charles Davidson of Shasta County Women’s Refuge and Redding’s Risen King Community Church (for volunteering as our web master) for making this possible. The new site will enable us to post far more information about what God is up to in the Northstate than we can cover in the newsletter – which of course continues each month – and it will enable us to give instant updates without putting out a separate mailing each time. Please plan to check in with the web site a couple of times each month for some fresh vision and information.
There are a couple of regular PrayNorthstate events that are on a special schedule in January: First Sunday will be held on the second Sunday of January – the 11th – at 7:00 PM in the Espresso Bar of the Holiday Inn on Hilltop Drive in Redding. As is now usual we will begin with a communion service for all who come and we will remain together in prayer and worship – asking God to come in all of His transformational power – to Northern California until we feel released. All who name Jesus as Lord are welcome to come and go as they please and to share the time with us. Dennis and Madei Lane of Redeemed Ministries will lead the worship in January.
The Excalibur Group will meet from 12:30 to 2:00 PM at DeMercurio’s Restaurant on Hartnell in Redding – as usual – but the dates in January are the 8th and the 22nd – the second and fourth Thursdays. We return to our regular 1st and 3rd Thursday schedule in February. Excalibur is a group of believing business people who meet over lunch to fellowship and pray for the dynamic transformation of Northern California through the coming of the Kingdom. All area business people who name Jesus as Lord and Christ are welcome. There is a $5.00 charge for lunch.
There are two events of statewide scope and significance on the radar:
John Dawson – founder of the International Reconciliation Coalition and newly elected international president of Youth With a Mission – is offering online the International School of Reconciliation Studies. The school is a self-paced, six to nine month course of study for those who want to be "ambassadors of reconciliation" as 2 Corinthians 5:1-20 depicts that calling. Faculty include Dawson himself, World Christian Gathering on Indigenous Peoples founder Monte Ohia; Dr. Suuqiina and Qaumaniq; architect of Hawaii’s ‘Io Project Dr. Daniel Kikawa; the International Reconciliation Coalition’s Native American liason Fern Noble; Pray California regional facilitator the Rev. Fawn Parish; the Rev. Mike Flynn (longtime mentor to Jim) and many others. There is a $285.00 registration fee and registration is at www.gracebridge.org. The course begins on January 7, 2004 and will include a one-week visit to coalition headquarters in Ventura next October.
The first statewide School of Prayer sponsored by Pray California will be held from Thursday through Saturday, April 29-May 1, at Valley West Christian Center in Madera. The event will feature general sessions, workshops and networking sessions. Keynote speakers will be internationally known authors and speakers Francis Frangipane and Dr. Suuqiina and the Rev. Qaumaniq Suuqiina. Workshop presenters will be drawn from Pray California leaders statewide and Jim will be among the presenters. This is a not-to-be missed opportunity to participate in the blanketing of California with informed prayer for the Kingdom of God. Participants may register at www.praycal.org or call 559-674-8922. There is a $50.00 registration fee ($60.00 after April 1) and accommodations will be posted on the web site by month’s end.
In Butte County, pastors from the Chico hub area will gather for their annual pastors’ prayer summit at Richardson Springs from Monday, January 26 through Wednesday, January 28. The gathering has limited spaces available and registration can be made through PrayNorthstate at praynorthstate@charter.net or through Neighborhood Church of Chico at 530-343-6006. There is a registration cost of $75.00 per person. Participants will not gather for teaching or informational activities. The sole object of the gathering is for colleagues in ministry to come together for worship and prayer for the Kingdom of God to overshadow Northern California.
The pastors from the Chico hub are also laying their plans for the series of city visitations they do each year. On one Sunday Afternoon each month they join with pastors and intercessors of the communities they visit to prayer walk the community under the direction of local leadership. They return to the hosting church for a potluck and time of worship together. This year they will incorporate a viewing of The Quickening video from George Otis Jr. and the Sentinel Group into the worship time. This video offers seven principals for the encouragement of revival and transformation, along with seven obstacles to avoid. It is based on the experiences of the nearly two hundred communities worldwide that have experienced radical revival in the past decade.
Shasta County plays host to a major opportunity for believing business persons. Redding’s Bethel Church will inaugurate the Kingdom Business Institute with the Kingdom Business Conference from January 15-17. Featured speakers include Dr. Lance Wallnau, a nationally recognized leader in personal and organizational transformation; Kris Vallotton, a businessman turned pastor and prophetic voice for the contemporary Church; and Bill Johnson, Bethel senior pastor and the author of When Heaven Invades Earth. There is a $75.00 conference fee and registration is through the web site ibethel.org or by calling 530-246-6000. The conference is seen as an introduction to the school of business itself, which will consist of nine week modules designed to integrate business acumen with Kingdom principles.
Redding’s Carenet Pregnancy Center will have its annual banquet on Saturday, January 31, at 6:30 PM. This year’s event will be located at Simpson College, also in Redding, and the keynote speaker will be popular Northern California radio personality Lou Hecker. Lou has been a longtime fixture at Radio KVIP – 98.1 FM and 540 AM – and he – and Redding Christian Radio – are now heard in five western states. The banquet is a major fundraiser for Carenet and tickets are $25.00 per person with tables available at $200.00 per table for those who wish to underwrite them.
In Tehama County several Red Bluff churches are banding together to see to it that their city is prayed for throughout the week. Pastors and intercessors from these churches meet together at their respective locations 6:00 AM on weekday mornings to pray for God’s transformation of Red Bluff. Mondays North Valley Baptist hosts the group; for Tuesdays and Thursdays Zion Ministries becomes the site; Community Baptist Church takes over the hosting on Fridays. Prayer Vanguard operates out of Zion Ministries on the fourth Saturday of each month from 1:00 to 4:00 PM as well.
The Healing Rooms of Nevada County – with a dozen county churches – offers a Healing Training Seminar at Sierra Presbyterian Church, Nevada City, from January 8-10. The host church was the location for the Touching Heaven Changing Earth conference last October.) Healing rooms are just what they name implies – places in which people may receive prayer for healing from trained ministers of prayer. The conference will equip participants to pray and ministries to open healing rooms in their own communities. Keynote speakers are Pastors Rick and Lori Taylor, directors of the Healing Rooms of Santa Maria and regional coordinators for the International Association of Healing Rooms based in Spokane, Washington. There is a $45.00 registration fee with Saturday lunch included. Call 530-268-3898 or 478-1478.
Siskiyou County’s Coffee Connection – in Mt. Shasta – will offer Divorce Care beginning on Thursday, January 8, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. The thirteen week course will deal with spiritual, emotional and financial challenges connected to divorce. It is open to all – believer or pre-believer – and will confront the challenges with the love of Jesus Christ. There is a $20.00 fee. Call Blair at 530-925-4480 to register.
On Sunday, February 22, PrayNorthstate and Risen King Community Church will host pastors and intercessors from Shasta and Tehama Counties and the Chico regional hub as they gather to pray and walk the city of Redding. The group will come to Risen King at 3:00 PM and fan out over pre-determined areas for prayer. They will return to the church at 5:00 for a potluck, a 6:00 time of worship, and viewing of The Quickening video. This will be the first regional community prayerwalk of 2004 for this group. Every Christian who reads this is invited and encouraged to attend.
We offer our first 2004 installment of Worship and Warfare: A Summit for Intercessors on Friday and Saturday, February 27 and 28. The summit will be held at the First Southern Baptist Church in Yreka from 7:00 to 9:30 PM on Friday and from 8:30 to 5:00 PM on Saturday – breakfast and lunch on Saturday are included in the $20.00 registration. Those who participate will be trained – and practiced – for the Prayer Vanguard and Lighthouse ministries. They will also be fully versed in the principles for encouraging transformational revival as those principles have unfolded in some one hundred eighty communities around the world.
We open 2004 on PrayNorthstate Radio with Bill Johnson, senior pastor of Redding’s Bethel Church, on January 3. Bill has written a powerful book – that is looking like a runaway bestseller – called When Heaven Invades Earth. On January 10 we will feature Mike Logan and Doug Phillips of the Children First Foster Family Agency of Redding and Red Bluff. January 17 will find us talking with Enterprise High School (Redding) senior Owen Reinhardt – president of the EHS Christian Club and the Jesus Party. Ken and Darla Petranek will join us on January 24 to discuss their ministry as Christian artists who specialize in New Age venues. We spend January 31 with Paul Stagner – a believer launching a cyber business for Christ.
PrayNorthstate Radio is heard every Saturday Morning at 7:30 on AM 1400 KQMS. Jim is also a periodic and frequent contributor to KVIP’s Saturday Magazine, heard at 1:00 PM on FM 98.1 and AM 540 KVIP.
As we write Jim’s January speaking schedule is TBA – watch the web site. Jim will be traveling to Southern California from January 2-5 for the I-5 Project and he will be in Los Angeles again from January 28-31 for Pray California leadership meetings. (He meets with our SoCal intercessors as well.) Jim plans to spend much of January on the writing project we believe will result in a unique treatment of reconciliation in many dimensions. He will serve on the listening team for the regional pastors’ prayer summit January 26-28 in Richardson Springs.
Diana is completing work on our revised postal mailing list, year end reports, the new budget, and a host of craft items she is preparing for 2004 events. She plans to visit our daughter, Malorie, as well during January.
As announced in December, the PrayNorthstate prayer list will become more focused for 2004. Please retain the full list that we published in December – or ask and we will send you a new one. In January please focus prayer on the release of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of Christ and of the people of California from bondage to idols of all kinds – those we can see and those we carry in our hearts. Please pray for the broken covenants that impact families and for the Kingdom transformation of the Northstate.
Please pray for Faithworks Coalition, Restoration Enterprises, and the Good News Rescue Mission. Please pray for Carenet Pregnancy Center, Lifelite, Anderson- Cottonwood Christian Assistance, Youth For Christ, Outreach America, Endtimes Ministries, Noble House, Cornerstone Ministries, Radio Station KVIP and TV Channel 26. Please pray for Aglow International, for the various men’s ministries in Northern California, and churches without pastors at this time. Please pray for the Quills of Faith Christian writers’ group and the Excalibur Group.
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