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Dear People of the Northstate Vision:
We enter the new year, the ancient season of Epiphany, and the climax of Paah-ho-ammi (Phase 1) at the same time. Epiphany is a Greek word that means to manifest or show forth; it is associated in scripture with the visit of the Wise Men, the landing of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at His baptism, and the first miraculous manifestation of His identity – turning water into wine at a wedding. Paah-ho-ammi is, of course, the Hebrew compound for “Cry alas, My people.” This project has been an epiphany from the start.
Although we will spend much of this month gathering the statistical indicators of what God has done in response to the one hundred days of prayer that is Paah-ho-ammi, the jury is already in that God has indeed moved during this time. Three teams have prayed for reductions in crime, unemployment, traffic fatalities and cancer admissions to the hospital. All of the teams prayed in addition for protection of the younger generation against sudden or violent death. It appears that crime and traffic fatalities are down – at least to the law enforcement folks I talk to – and unemployment is lower than last year at this time. There were no traffic fatalities over the Thanksgiving Day Weekend – the most heavily traveled weekend of the year – and no serious sports injuries during the Fall season. Most exciting to me is the story on youth deaths – running at an average of two each month in the county for the first eight months of the year – they are down to one for the entire season of Paah-ho-ammi.
There is much to be done. We do not yet have any information on cancer admissions, the traffic and crime reports are yet to be documented, and the employment picture is not clear. All of that will be in black and white by the time of our worship service at Simpson University on January 30. The biggest job yet to be done is this – keep praying for the transformation of our region! Keep praying for God’s intervention in public health, our family and social life, and the economy – in such a way that the visible signs are reductions in traffic deaths, cancer admissions, crime, and the rate of unemployment. Keep praying for God’s protection on youth – and for reconciliation of the generations as the fruit of prayer. Come to Room 204 of Simpson’s LaBaume-Rudat Building at 7:00 PM on Sunday, January 30, to worship God and hear of what He has done in our midst.
Most important of all – step out in faith into a new year in the shadow of His wings.
CURRENTPrayNorthstateEVENTS
Worship and Warfare: A Summit for Intercessors will be offered at River ValleyFellowship in Redding on Friday and Saturday, January 28-29 – 7:00 to 9:00 PM on Friday and 8:30 to 5:00 on Saturday. There is a $20.00 donation asked of each registrant and breakfast and lunch are provided on Saturday. The summits provide training and hands-on experience in the ministries of Prayer Vanguard and Lighthouses of Prayer. Each participant will be ready to join our larger ministry of establishing beach-heads of blessing in neighborhoods and communities – from blessing home andneighborhood blocks to the churches, schools and businesses that make up the glue of communities. Call 530-247-1850 for information. The summit is co-sponsored by River Valley Fellowship, The Standard, and the Faith Assembly Churches of Redding.
PrayNorthstate Television is moving from FamilyNet 26/Cable 15 to Fox 30/Cable 2 as of the first of February. (We are still at the old location through January.) Our first broadcast will be Monday, February 7, and we retain the time slot of 6:30 AM on Monday Mornings. The new program is sponsored by Open Systems Imaging, Lithia Chevrolet and Toyota, and Children First Foster Family Agency. Quite frankly, we are in need of several more sponsors to keep this program on the air. As we do in the most popular (for its time slot) radio program in the county, we simply interview two Christians who minister outside of the box and ask them how what they do intersects with the One Whom they serve. We ask all of you to pray for and support these faithful sponsors – and pray for the new sponsors we need. This move multiplies our viewingaudience by 600%. This is a major league move of God and we praise Him for it.
Paah-ho-ammi participants – and newcomers – will gather in Room 204 of Simpson University’s LaBaume-Rudat Building for a service or worship and celebration of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 PM on Sunday, January 30. Results of the prayer initiative will be unveiled and proclaimed at that time. First Sunday services are on hiatus.
WHAT THE COORDINATORS ARE UP TO
Jim will be speaking at Trinity Lutheran Church during the 8:15 and 11:00 services and in Sunday School on Sunday, January 16. He will preach at The Standard at 7:00PM on Saturday, January 8 and on Sunday, January 9 at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. He is the featured speaker for Faith Assembly at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, January 12, and at River Valley Fellowship on Saturday, January 15 at 5:00 and 7:00 PM. He rounds out the month at Living Waters Church in Anderson at 10:00 AM on Sunday, January 23. Jim will bless a new home on Saturday, January 15 in Redding.
Jim and Diana lead meetings of the Pray California Listening Team in Los AngelesJanuary 16 and 17. They lead prayerwalks at three San Diego area churches on January 19 and they begin taping the pilot episode of the new television project called Genesis Generation back in Redding on Friday, January 21. Finally, they Prayer Vanguard the new Restoration Enterprises facility in Anderson on January 15.
WHAT’S UP IN THE NORTHSTATE
The Northern California Burn Foundation makes a regional event on Sunday, February 13, with a telethon from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Hearts for Burned Kids benefits Camp EagleFlight, a camp for children who have been burned and for emergency professionals injured in the line of duty. UPN 21/Cable 13 will televise the event with substantial help from the NorCal affiliates of Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC. Win River Casino is donating their concert facility. Regional Elected officials and entertainers such as Willy Nelson, Eddie Money, and former child star PaulPeterson will participate. The foundation and camp are dedicated to the Lord our God and PrayNorthstate is proud to serve on the event steering committee. Call 530-200-1452 or 527-2876 for information or to pledge support for Camp EagleFlight.
Also of regional significance is the annual pastors’ prayer summit at Richardson Springs from Monday, January 24 through Noon on Wednesday, January 26. The event is sponsored by the churches of the Chico regional hub. There is a requested donation of $75.00 per person to cover lodging and meals. Participants will spend time away with the Lord and one another in prayer and worship, seeking the Spirit of God for their own transformation and that of the region. Call PrayNorthstate at 530-941-3470 or e-mail to praynorthstate@charter.net. Pastors may participate; others are asked to pray.
Pray California is asking each of the 58 counties of California to pray God’s blessing and transformation over the state for one of the 52 weeks of the year. In the northern region we are praying during the months of February and October, with each county being assigned one week. Participants will spend one assigned week asking God to resurrect business, government, and families across the state; offer repentance for the bloodguilt of abortion and embryonic stem cell research; and pray for revival in the churches. Contact PrayNorthstate for a referral to your county coordinator.
In Shasta County the annual youth conference of Bethel Church, Redding, will be held from Friday, January 21 through Saturday, January 22. This year’s event will be held in conjunction with a 48HOP – forty-eight hours of continuous prayer and worship – beginning on Thursday, January 20, at 7:00 PM. Keynoted by Peter Grieg founder of Britain’s 24/7 prayer movement, the conference will feature worship led by BrianJohnson and his praise band. There is a $15.00 registration fee for attendance. Call 530-246-6000 for information.
Teen Challenge is a national recovery ministry with a regional base in Sacramento that established a presence in Redding in 2004. Begun as a ministry to youth, the ministry offers recovery home placement and the Set Straight outreach ministry to local families. In addition, they now operate recovery homes for people of all ages and their record of success is approximately 80% – a level unequaled in the field. Plans for 2005 include a local home for men and an after-school program. Plans are also underway for a golf tournament fundraiser for the ministry. It will be held on May 13 at Noon. Call 530-246-1561 for information on services or opportunities to serve.
Outreach America – the most dynamic interdenominational evangelism ministry in the state – will hold its annual leadership conference at Redding’s Little Country Church on Friday and Saturday, January 21 and 22. There is no charge for participation and the event offers training and practice in partnering across the Body to bring the Kingdom into communities of the region and state. Preparation is offered for the BLAST – Bringing Love and Salvation Today. Call 530-222-3803 for information or to participate in the ministries’ fair.
Youth are taking the proverbial bull by the horns on their campuses. In two examples, students at Enterprise High School (Redding) and Anderson Middle School (Anderson) are gathering weekly at their flagpoles for prayer and prayerwalking their campuses periodically. Both schools have seen tangible results in new programs and achievements and the middle schoolers report leading several of their friends to Jesus.
YWAM – Youth With A Mission – regionally based in Richardson Springs – is taking a group of men to Mexico on July 24-31 to build houses for people who need them. In Shasta County the contact congregation is Gateway Christian Fellowship – call 530-365-5456 – and the cost of the trip is $350.00 per person. Christian men of all ages who want to pay for a vacation in which hard work is the rule and a peace that passes understanding the reward are welcome – neither prior skill or experience is required.
In Tehama County – Red Bluff to be specific – a local Baptist church is teaming with a non-denominational charismatic congregation offer a seminar called Ancient Paths. The seminar combines biblical teaching with sharing and praying in small groups to recover what the Word of God says about life, marriage and family – and to practice it. The cost is $45.00 for individuals and $70.00 for couples. Call 530-529-1836 for information or to register for the February 17-19 event. Classes are from 6:30 to 10:00PM on Thursday and Friday and from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Saturday.
In Butte CountyTheFather’s House (Live Oak) is hosting the Rev. Dr. Irma Diaz for a School of the Prophets. The school will be held Thursday through Saturday, January 27 through 29 – 7-10 on the evenings and 10-4 on Saturday. Dr. Diaz has a deserved national reputation for placing spiritual realities in such every-day garb that they become readily accessible. The current resurgence of prophecy and the related gifts in the Church all over the world – exciting to some and disconcerting to others – is just the topic for a person with these special gifts to share. There is a $25.00 cost for attendance. Call 530-695-1864 for information or to register.
From Nevada County comes a report of the healing rooms that have been open for the past year in Grass Valley. These rooms – open in many locations around the country – offer the services of people from all streams of the Church who are willing soak theirclients with prayer for all needs presented. One woman who reported chronic (two years) back pain received prayer recently and reported an almost immediate – but incomplete – reduction in her pain. When she forgave a friend for a longstanding offense her healing was completed at once. These reports are typical – and a witness that God is no respecter of persons or background as He works His will in us.
UPCOMING PrayNorthstate EVENTS
PrayNorthstate will offer the intercessors’ summit again in Shasta County on Friday and Saturday, February 18 and 19 at Living Waters Church in Anderson. The summit is held from 7:00 to 9:30 on Friday Evening and from 8:30 to 5:00 on Saturday. Breakfast and lunch are included in the $20.00 registration and participants are trained in the Prayer Vanguard and Lighthouses ministries. There will be updates on the Paah-ho-ammi and various other prayer projects in which we are involved and hands-on practice or the concepts we teach. Call 530-365-1897 for information.
The intercessors’ summit returns to Southern California when we offer it at HarborChristian Fellowship in Costa Mesa on April 22 and 23. Jim leads a retreat for men at Richardson SpringsMarch 4-6 titled “A House of Prayer: Some Assembly Required.” (Watch the newsletter for details.)
PRAYNORTHSTATE RADIO and TV FOR JANUARY
PrayNorthstate Radio begins the new year on New Year’s Day, January 1, with Ed and Brenda Ballentine. The leaders of the Northern California Burn Foundation are planning a telethon on the UPN Network to raise funds for a camp that will minister to burn victims and those who risk burnout caring for them. On January 8 we will feature Kayla Smith and Lisa Hedrick – leaders in Club Ignite, the Christian club of Enterprise High School. January 15 brings Simpson University professors DavidHamilton and Dan Haskin to the airwaves and on January 22 we will host Glenn White and Dave Metcalf of the Kingdom Business Institute. January is a five-Saturday month and we will close it out with Doug Hignell and Rich Sprenkel on January 29. Doug owns the Hignell Development Company in Chico – a company that emphasizes its Kingdom vision – and Rich is one of a growing number of corporate pastors.
PrayNorthstate TV begins our last month at FamilyNet 26/Cable 15 with Doug Tooley and Sam Graham of B& T Satellite and Sam’s Satellite respectively. These men are competitors in the satellite dish business – and best friends who encourage and advise one another. Their program airs on January 3. On January 10 we’ll chat with Pastor JohnThompson of Redding Transformation. We prepare our hearts for Sanctity of HumanLife Sunday on January 17 when we talk with Sharre Littrell and Lloyd Golliher of Carenet Pregnancy Center. On January 24 we feature Ed and Brenda Ballentine of the Northern California Burn Foundation – yes, we do think they deserve double exposure – and we complete the month on January 31 with youth pastors Nathan Edwardson and TodSkinner who will share their college outreach called One Thing.
PrayNorthstate Radio is heard every Saturday Morning at 8:00 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. PrayNorthstate TV can be seen each Monday Morning at 6:30 AM on Family Channel 26/Cable 15. The program moves to Fox 30/Cable 2 on Monday, February 7, at 6:30 AM.
PrayNorthstate PRAYER LIST
Please pray for the financial stability of PrayNorthstate and for our radio and television ministries. Pray for Kingdom transformation of the region – as Matthew 11:2-6 describes it. Ask God to bring resurrection and reconciliation to our heavily polarized land. Pray for Outreach America, Redding Transformation, and Paah-ho-ammi. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Pray for missionaries Bill and Lori Gardner, Coleen Schafer,Ron and Christine Hamstad, and Eric and Linda Zane. Pray for the selection of a new campus pastor at Simpson University, and for Mt. Shasta’s Coffee Connection.
Pray for sponsors of PrayNorthstate Radio and TV – without them we are off the air – Dr. Andre Van Mol and Julie Winter, Howard Taylor Motors, Open System Imaging, Hue and Cry Security Systems, New Song Music, Nor-CalLeavitt Insurance Agency, B & T Satellite, Tac(o) the Town Tacqueria, King Richard’s Used Cars, the Children First Foster Family Agency, Nicolette Glass, Lithia Chevrolet and Toyota, Carl VanDyke’s Allstate Insurance, Truscotts InteriorDesign, Redding Computer, and Sam’s Satellite. Pray for Kingdom Business Institute, TV 26/Cable 15 and Fox 30/Cable 2.
HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT
Correspondence – and donations – may be addressed to PrayNorthstate, P. O. Box 493743, Redding, CA 96049-3743. Call us at 530-941-3470. Our web site is www.praynorthstate.org; our e-mail is praynorthstate@charter.net.
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