Prayer Gathering
April 30 Online Prayer Gathering
Ukraine Documentary:
https://cityonahilldocumentary.com/
Transcript:
Rev. Darren Herbold: Hi everyone. A few quick updates. Firstly, the April 30th Alliance Canada online prayer meeting is happening on Zoom. You can find the link below. I'm hoping you would join us in prayer and discernment for our district conferences.
We also recognize that the commitment we made at General Assembly 2024 to double our reach can only be done in dependence on the Holy Spirit. In Zechariah 4:6, the Lord reminds us that it is not by might, nor by power, but by God's Spirit. He says that we join him where he is already at work nationally and globally.
John 15 has become a foundational passage for us as a movement and for myself. The reminder in verse five that apart from me, we can do nothing dovetails with our vision to double our reach by 2034, and stands as a strong reminder to me to ensure that I am abiding with Christ intentionally and deeply.
This is why United Prayer is such a foundational growth driver for our strategic framework, and we are seeking to be a movement marked by a culture of prayer in which we are a people who are continually praying for the Kingdom. And we are a people who are constantly meeting with our King. Part of this culture is joining together for intentional times of prayer such as these, where we can collectively listen to the Holy Spirit and pray for important events such as our district conferences.
So please, would you sign up and join together with us in prayer? Also, another area of prayer God is prompting me to engage in is the practice of intentionally pausing to pray our vision prayer every day at noon. I heard about this during a trip to Latin America.We met with the CNM leadership in Colombia, who told us how they had started this practice and it spread across the country.Now, hundreds and hundreds of people pause every day at noon to pray for their country and for the ministry of the Alliance. And so I wonder, and I would invite you to join me in this.
Secondly, one year ago, almost to the day, there was a convoy going from Warsaw to Kyiv and Damian, Mark Jones, Union and I were invited to Ukraine as part of this convoy. The invitation was simple. It was to say, yes, you can come and bring food and vital supplies, but even more so come and just be with us. They said no. We didn't know where we would go or what we'd see. We wondered about going to the front lines and somehow even though we didn't intend to, we ended up there in part because we just kept saying yes to every invitation the Lord brought our way without knowing what the Lord might do, but knowing he is always writing a beautiful story.
We decided to capture video on the fly and in real time as we did, and we captured stories of the Lord's faithfulness. Last week we launched our Ukraine documentary called City on a Hill, and you can watch it on cityonahilldocumentary.com. That invites you to watch this trailer together.
In the early days of the war, we raised over $2 million for relief efforts through the Global Emergency Response Fund for Ukrainian refugees. Since then, so many amazing things have happened and I want to highlight a few of them to you. As of two weeks ago, over 200 convoys have been driven into Ukraine. That number will continue to rise.
We funded 77 of those convoys through your generous gift. Each convoy averages about one and a half tons of relief, food and aid. It's mostly food, clothes, hygiene products, gas. Good Works Mission made over 50,000 candles. And so these food and supply convoys are small gestures, but they are powerful. When our partners show up to a village where everybody feels forgotten and the ground is vibrating from explosions, these not-so-small acts give dignity to the people living in the shadows of war.
They feel seen by God and cared for.
It truly is a profound experience. Over 5,000 children in Poland and 3,000 in Ukraine have participated in a program for children called the Festivals of Joy. Good Works Mission and Center has helped over 100,000 refugees since the war began, and more than 50 churches in Poland are sending support and convoys to more than 28 cities in Ukraine, and we partner with them.
One of the projects there is that they're beaming the gospel message right into Russia, so that Russians can also have even more access to the good news that they already have as well. So this documentary was made with you and churches in mind.
There are resources and printouts available for you to host a watch party in your home or at your church, and even the potential to have people come and host a question and answer period afterwards.
This is a really important opportunity, a powerful opportunity for your church. And perhaps to bring your community together. Friends,
We have churches and workers in Canada and international workers all over the world doing work just like this. God is being proclaimed all around the world. Lives are changing. There are so many incredible things that God is doing, and it is because of you and your generosity.
When you give to the Global Advancement or the Global Emergency Response Fund, these are just a small portion of the kinds of things that can happen. And so thank you. And I know I keep repeating this, but we serve a God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. And so I pray that today you would be encouraged. We have lofty goals. We have heavy workloads, and perhaps some of you may have heavy hearts. And I want to remind you, whatever it is you are facing today, above all, we have hope because the God we serve is incredible and powerful beyond our understanding. So may the peace of God rest with you.
Thank you for your faithful service. Thank you for your simple and faithful obedience to Jesus. I encourage you to abide deeply, to know his hand upon you and his strength for today's next step.