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Dear People of the Northstate Vision:
With the first day of February we enter the fifth year of ministry for PrayNorthstate. We mark the occasion by celebrating the goodness of God as He manifested miracle in Paah-ho-ammi (see the center insert for details) and girding our loins for the next project(s).
The principal thrust of Pray California for 2005 will be effort to sow a culture of life to displace the culture of death that characterizes California at this time. Twenty-five per cent of the abortions performed in the nation occur in our state. Most of the nation’s embryonic stem cell research will be done here for the foreseeable future. Suicides by the especially violent method of stepping in front of trains are more prevalent in California than in any other state – nearly double that of the nearest competitor and disproportionate to our population. Another effort to legalize doctor-assisted suicide is in the legislature. These things are the effects of the spiritual atmosphere over the state – not its cause. People of prayer are urged to address the cause in two ways.
Pray Cal is assigning each county in the state a week to be in intensive prayer for the state. We are asked to pray God’s blessings as they are depicted in Matthew 11:2-6, to repent for the sins that have born such deadly fruit, and to seek the re-commitment of our churches to the revival and transformation of our communities. In Northern California Shasta County has responsibility for February 1-7, Trinity County for February 8-14, Siskiyou County for February 15-21, and Humboldt County for February 22-28. (PrayNorthstate is orchestrating this northern effort – call or e-mail us if you do not know your county facilitator.) The other way in which we are acting is to make frequent trips to the state capitol for the purposes of prayer and blessing on site – and to encourage the Christian members of state government. Please pray for the teams making these trips.
When Jesus finds his disciples unable to expel a demon who persistently threatens the life of a child in Mark 9 – even in the authority of His Name – He casts it out Himself. When they ask him why they were powerless he simply replies that “this kind only comes out with prayer.” The implication is clear that he means consistent, concerted and focused prayer – they have clearly prayed already, but not enough. We renew the call for daily Paah-ho-ammi prayer this quarter – and for California. Unceasing prayer is the paving of that desert highway for our God. In California we have only just begun.
CURRENTPrayNorthstateEVENTS
PrayNorthstate will offer Worship and Warfare: A Summit for Intercessors on Friday and Saturday, February 18 and 19 at Living Waters Church in Anderson. These summit events bust open our paradigms – that only some Christians are called to prayer; that when God calls us to warfare He intends anything other than that we bless one another into the Kingdom; that the stakes are less than the Kingdom transformation of our communities. 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 hands-on practice of the concepts we teach. Call 530-365-1897 for information.
PrayNorthstate TV moves to Fox 30/Cable 2 on Monday, February 7. The program will still be broadcast at 6:30 AM – but now to be seen throughout Northern California.
PrayNorthstate finished taping the pilot episode of a new television project titled Genesis Generation at the end of January. This program – now in post-production – is intended to showcase the ways in which God is producing leadership and vision in the younger generation – not for the future but for today – by featuring young people who are leading the Body into the Kingdom. With this program we hope to sow generational reconciliation and share the good news in a fresh context. When the pilot is ready for broadcast we will use it to seek grant funding for a series. We ask your continued prayer for favor and resources.
PRAYNORTHSTATE RADIO and TV FOR FEBRUARY
PrayNorthstate Radio is all about local missionaries in February. We feature missionary to Albania Jennifer Ago on February 5. Skip and Penny Tyler – law enforcement chaplains who make mission trips to Africa to minister to police officers there – guest on February 12. Anderson based missionaries to AfricaDavid and Tovah Potter will join us on February 19. LifeLight director Rain Mahan and Sharon Jurgie are missionaries to us as we talk about non-profits leading the way to a Shasta County business renaissance on February 28.
PrayNorthstate TV will feature Prayer Vanguard leaders Dwayne and Janine Tanabe in a double-barrelled program on February 7 and 14 as they talk about establishing beach-heads of blessing in Gridley. We are joined by Pastor Gil DeLao and Del Casale on February 21 – they will share how Jesus Christ has become a persistent presence at the Tehama County Fair. On the last Monday – February 28 – Tom and Cindy Lau are featured. The Laus left a high level Silicon Valley lifestyle to learn from God how to care for an apple orchard and a Kingdom business in Manton.
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 Fox/Cable 2 at 6:30 AM.
Paah-Ho-Ammi: First Fruits
The first phase of the Paah-ho-ammi prayer project was concluded with the worship service at Simpson University on Sunday Evening, January 30. We give thanks for those who came out to worship and praise the Lord our God – and special thanks to PrayNorthstate board member and leader of New Song MinistriesFrank DiSalvo for leading us into the presence of God. Communion was shared, the Word of God was preached, and people who were sick received prayer with at least one healing reported on the spot. The documented results of the one hundred days ofprayer were unveiled.
The most important issue for which we prayed – and the one that generated the greatest passion in the intercessors – was for protection of youth (aged 14-24 for statistical purposes) against sudden and violent death. When the project began deaths in this age group were averaging two per month. During the period of intensive prayer there was one such death during the entire time covered. At the same time there were no seriousinjuries during the entire Fall season for high school sports. All three of the prayer teams made this a focal point of daily prayer. This is spectacular – Praise the Lord!
Traffic fatalities declined by eighteen (18%) per cent during the prayer period – from six to five – despite a significant increase in both population and reported stress over the past year. Just as significantly, there were no traffic deaths throughout Northern California over the most traveled holiday weekends of 2004 – Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Special thanks go to California Highway Patrol CaptainDave Hahn, Anderson Police Captain Dale Webb and Chief Neil Purcell, and Redding Police Officer Rick Blankenship for supplying the information. This too calls for a major league Praise the Lord – and a suggestion that perhaps the residual impact of the I-5 Project – in which a blanket of prayer for the peace and blessing of the state along the I-5 Corridor – is still with us. This issue was a focal point of the Public Health team.
Cancer admissions to Mercy Hospital was another issue on which the Public Health Team zeroed in. Admissions declined by twenty-one (21%) per cent during the prayer period – down fromone hundred thirty-six (136) to one hundred seven (107). We believe this to be a very significant result and we are deeply grateful to the Mercy staff for their cooperation and support. (Shasta Regional Medical Center declined to supply us with information, and we continue to hope to include them in later phases of the project.) We thank Don and Cathy Morgan for their leadership of the prayer team. Special thanks go to Mercy President Rick Barnett, Administrative Assistant to the President Cindy Shiplet, and Lead Coder Julie Draper for their help and another big-time Praise the Lord.
Unemployment was the prayer target of the Economy Team. In the wake of the prayer effort unemploymentfell during October by a large amount. However, rates actually rose during November and December – as they have tended to do for the past couple of years. The most important thing to note is that unemployment rates for October are .2% below where they were in October 2003, in November they are .1% below the rate for November 2003, and in December they are .4% below the level for December 2003. These figures are – frankly – nowhere near as large as we had hoped they would be. Even so, they need to be viewed against the backdrop of continuing population growth in the Northstate and the fact that an economic infrastructure is still in the process of creation to accommodate this growth. There is much good news to report that bodes well for unemployment rates in coming months in our region.
The building trades are reportedly booming and non-profits are doing well in the face of adversity. The Salvation Army actually took in $30,000.00 more in Fall Quarter 2004 than for the same period of 2003 – despite being banned by several major retailers. Habitat for Humanity came out $13,000.00 ahead after being robbed last summer. Carenet Pregnancy Center was able to replace their defunct ultrasound with a new one and when the crosses erected by LifeLight were destroyed by vandals they were replaced within a week. I believe the non-profits are pathfinding for the commercial sector.
A prophetic word was released over Redding in 2001 that the city would be re-named Abundant Springs. Since that time we have seen the building of the Sundial Bridge and Big League Dreams. We have seen major expansion of Simpson University and Shasta College, the building of the new civic center and county administration buildings. The Cascade Theatre is open for business and the Downtown Mall has begun its transformation. Oasis and Stillwater are moving forward and new light manufacturing is coming in. This word from the Lord is beginning to manifest – and we need to pray hard in order to pray it in. We give thanks to Tom and Cindy Lau – who led this team – and a big Praise the Lord!
Crime offered an ambivalent result during the prayer period. In the county areas protected by the sheriff’s department violent crime declined by twenty-two (22%) per cent. Property crime was unchanged. Redding has not released crime figures for December but violent crime increased by one third in October and by two thirds inNovember as compared with those months in 2003. Property crime increased by twenty-nine (29%) in October and by forty-three (43%) per cent in November against the 2003 figures. (This has been a steady trend over the past few years after a steep decline in the mid nineties.) Anderson was the most striking, however. The only homicide in the county – compared to two in Redding alone during the same period of 2003 – occurred in Anderson and the overall rate of violent crime climbed by seventy-eight (78%) per cent while property crimes remained constant.
Paah-ho-ammi was supported by a number of small churches throughout the county, with most participants coming from Redding and northern and eastern outlying areas. Fewer than 10% were from Anderson and Cottonwood. Redding’s Bethel Church supplied more than half of the team members and none of the other flagship churches of the county participated at any level – although some of their members were involved. It is impossible to say what impact – if any – the demographics may have on the outcome, but we hope for broader participation in future phases of the project. We plan to continue this daily prayer effort and hold another worship service and unveiling of results in early May. In the meantime, thanks to all; keep praying daily; and Praise the Lord!
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. (Jim will share the duties of host and master of ceremonies with other local leaders.) 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.
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. The rolling event is called the 2005 Concert of Prayer and people are asked to pray where they are rather than gather in a specific location. In the northern region we are praying during the months of February and October, with each county being assigned one week. (Shasta County has Feb. 1-7; Trinity County takes Feb. 8-14; Siskiyou County is up for Feb. 15-21; and Humboldt County will handle Feb. 22-28.) Participants will spend theirassigned 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. Pray Cal leaders earnestly believe that God is calling for a transformation of the nation – and that California is called to be the inaugural state in that process. But the converse to that opportunity is that – we believe – if California fails to step up to the plate there will follow not status quo, but judgment. We need to pray. Contact PrayNorthstate for a referral to your county coordinator if you are not in contact with that prayer leader.
Gerry Sprunger is a retired Siskiyou County pastor who was diagnosed with systemic cancer in late 2003 and given a few weeks to live in early 2004. He was miraculously healed of his cancer (as reported in this newsletter) and a word was given that revival in his county would follow the news of his healing. Gerry brings the word of God’s miraculous grace to Shasta Bible College (Redding) on Tuesday, February 8, at 10:20AM in the campus chapel. He can’t stop talking about the goodness of God – and reports say that the climate in Siskiyou is indeed ripe for revival in the wake of his testimony.
In Shasta County:Youth for Christ reports that they now have eleven campus chaplains deployed on five county high school campuses. The chaplains are trained by Youth for Christ personnel and county law enforcement chaplain trainers. This is all in accordance with federal law and is in addition to the twenty public school campuses prayer-walked by PrayNorthstate in the county. (There are approximately twenty more campuses blessed in other counties by our Vanguard teams.)
In Siskiyou County:Pastor John Wetzig is functioning as the first-in-the-county campus chaplain at Yreka High School. He is work comes alongside that of John Hall – formerly of Young Life – who leads a ministry called TeenEdge – an interdenominational ministry that also works on campus at the high school. Both men believe the time is long past for each congregation to keep to itself with its youth program. They represent the growing edge of what God is doing through His Body.
The gathered churches of the county celebrated their annual Unity Day service on January 16. Pastor Gerry Sprunger (see above) was the featured speaker and electrified the crowd with his story – a story he was taught to believe did not occur in the modern world. The churches are also praying for their second annual county-widewomen’s retreat – scheduled for May 13 and 14.
Trinity County reports: In Weaverville the churches of the county will gather at the local Nazarene Church to worship God with the aid of an eighty-voice choir on Valentine’s Day, February 14 – a Monday. Christians often forget that the holiday was named for a deacon named Valentine who was martyred in the third century along with his bride-to-be. Neither would renounce their faith as they watched each other die for the Lord they shared. Hayfork churches announce that they will begin the Celebrate Recovery ministry shortly; this ministry is the vision of Rick Warren – best known for the Purpose Driven Life series. It also has NorCal chapters at the First Nazarene Church and at Risen King Community Church – both in Redding.
Pastor Danny and Sherie Silk will bring Revival in the Family to Mountain Chapel in Weaverville on March 18-20. Danny is a trained sociologist who – with wife Sherie – teach a course called Love and Logic for parents all over the Northstate. He has also established a program of mentoring for families at Redding’s Enterprise High School. They will be joined in the teaching by Pastors Steve and Wendy Backlund of MountainChapel. Call 530-623-3933 for information.
In Butte County: On December 14fifty pastors from two counties and many denominations spent the evening sharing the love of God with five hundred and forty-five inmates of the Butte County Jail – in Oroville – led by Jeff and Denise LeGrimas. Three hundred and eighteen received the Lord as all received prayer! Aglow Prison Ministry partnered with local schools and churches to provide gift packs.
Elsewhere in the county a Christian businessman recruited a crew of taggers (makers of grafitti) to paint a mural on a wall he owns near Chico State University. These young people were not Christian – yet they painted exclusively Christian themes on the wall and were paid for their work. They gained legitimacy for their art and gave new meaning to the concept of joining those who cannot be beaten. Can conversion be far behind?
In Nevada County: Volunteers from the healing rooms will visit the Psychic Faire in Nevada City on March 17-19. Their booth features Mind/Body/Spirit as they become apostles to the New Age. Recent healings reported by healing rooms personnel include scoliosis, night terrors, insomnia, an arthritic hand, and two cases of blindness.
UPCOMING PrayNorthstate EVENTS
The intercessors’ summit returns to Southern California when we offer it at HarborChristian Fellowship in Costa Mesa on April 22 and 23. Jim and Diana will come to lead the summit, but this opportunity is the result of the dynamic ministry of our SouthernCalifornia Prayer Vanguard leaders Paul and Dana Herman – people see this couple as they serve and they just want to be a part of it! The pastor of one Southern California church recently visited by the Vanguard ministry told Jim, “My youth ministry has just exploded since your team came here – and there is a new sense of freedom to minister throughout the church that we have not seen before.”
As in all of the summits the training will be offered from 7:00 to 9:30 PM on the Friday Evening and from 8:30 to 5:00 on the Saturday. Breakfast and lunch for Saturday are included in the $20.00 registration cost and participants will be trained and practiced in the ministries of Prayer Vanguard and Lighthouses of Prayer. Call the church at 949-631-7730 for information or to register.
Jim leads a retreat for men at Richardson SpringsMarch 4-6 titled “A House of Prayer: Some Assembly Required.” The retreat is sponsored by St. John’s Episcopal Church of Roseville, but any men seeking to know Jesus better and build a foundation of prayer for the relationship are welcome to attend. Teaching sessions will include A WalkThrough the Book of Acts; Building a House of Prayer; Worship as Warfare; Healing and Other Practical Stuff; and Prophecy and Prophetic Intercession. Jim will also offer this retreat in North San Diego County May 13-14 under the sponsorship of four area congregations. (Watch the newsletter for details on that one.) Call St. John’s at 916-786-6911 for information on the March retreat.
WHAT THE COORDINATORS ARE UP TO
Jim will be preaching at Living Waters Church in Anderson on Sunday, February 6, at 10:00 AM. He brings the Gospel to Destiny Christian Fellowship – also in Anderson – on Sunday, February 13, at 6:00 PM. He will preach and lead worship at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Roseville at 8:00 and 10:00AM on February 20, and it is back to Redding where he will preach at 10:00 AM at Church of the Redeemed on Sunday, February 27.
Jim will lead a Pray California prayer team into the state capitol on Saturday, February 5, and a special Prayer Vanguard will bless the concert facility at Win RiverCasino in advance of the Hearts Burn for Kids Telethon on Saturday, February 12. (The regular Redding Prayer Vanguard meets on February 19 at 10:00, as usual.) He will share some host duties on the telethon itself on Sunday, February 13, between 11:00AM and 5:00 PM. He will also serve as Master of Ceremonies for the Carenet Pregnancy Center Banquet on Thursday, February 17, at Redding’s Holiday Inn.
Diana is hard at work preparing the graphics for Genesis Generation and completing her studio – under construction at the house and soon ready for use.
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.
Please pray also for missionaries Bill and Lori Gardner as we highlight their ministry this month. Bill and Lori serve in Kenya where both teach in a Christian college. Bill profs Greek and BiblicalExegesis while seeking his own doctorate and taking classes in the Bantu language. Lori is teaching Missiology courses and a class in conversational English for the wives of students. They plan to return home before the end of the year and they ask prayer for their replacement family, for resolution of a taxation issue that impacts all of the missionaries in Kenya, and for their son, Michael, who is competing for a college scholarship at this time.
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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