Dearest Little Lamb & Champ
The trip to Hawaii was money well spent. The conference has answered many questions for myself & your dad through revelations & confirmations. I believe that societal transformation is high on GOd's agenda for this generation & to bring about city transformation, Christian believers have to minister in the marketplace.
Marketplace transformation is about taking the presence of God to the marketplace which is the heart of the city/region. This is about fulfilling the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20This is a conference where we get to see how so many ordinary people from around the world do extraordinary things with God. They gave their testimonies on stage. Many marketplace people see multitudes saved, violence decreased, corruption uprooted, prisons transformed and poverty reduced.
Ready for some real stories - see God's hand at work :
1) Mexico
Mexico is the 6th most violent city in the world. It was notorious for corruption and its drug cartels. God called Ps Poncho to minister to the prisoners in El Cereso Prison & confirmation came when the mayor approached him to help with transforming the prison. 92% of the prisoners were on drugs. People from the outside commit 'small' crimes just to come in to buy drugs. Corruption was rampant from the head of the prison to the lowest level staff.
After much work and prayer, hundreds of prisoners were set free from drug addiction. The govt gave Ps a separate building to do church on Sunday and now the congregation is 650-strong. The clean prison image attracted the United Nations' attention and a UN team came to study the prison's management so that they can replicate its model.
There are other city transformations as well. About 100,000 children and teens roam the streets daily. The mafias use them to kill people for a fee of US$300. Ps Poncho is building a museum for the children to educate them so as to keep them from crimes. Out of 3,000 prostitutes, roughly about 1,000 had quit their jobs.
2) Jacksonville, Florida
Ps Vaughn revitalised the ghetto just outside of Jacksonville. Ps Vaughn decided he wanted to impact the community instead of just pastoring a church. He bought a dilapidated mall unused for 15 yrs and turned it into a vibrant place with the help of his church members. The mall now houses 21 businesses which are owned by the church members themselves. The church covers the overhead costs and the tenants give back to the ministry as their businesses prosper, never fearing eviction. God has transformed the community through the mall in the marketplace and thousands of lives have been touched.
3) Philippines
The city of Paranaque near Manila was transformed when the mayor gave permission to Ps King Flores to pray for the city at city hall. The mayor was desperate for help as he had inherited a debt of 1 billion pesos. With the christians doing prayer evangelism, the city witnessed a change in climate. Corruption was removed, bribes were gone and people paid their taxes. About 900 couples got married as compared to previously, couples just cohabited.
Even more amazing was how a bar becomes a church in the Philippines. Joe was a taxi driver and shortly after his conversion, he heard God tell him to serve where he was. So he focused on a bar called Sweet Moments. He applied the principles of prayer evangelism. He befriended the manager, Brian, who was a homosexual, a gambler, drug user, drug dealer & a pimp to 35 prostitutes. The friendship grew & ultimately Brian accepted Christ, & was baptized. As Brian came out of the water, God came upon him, & he experienced an instant transformation - all his homosexual drives disappeared, & he was freed from gambling & drug addiction. He stopped being a pimp. In a very short time, all 35 prostitutes became Christians. The owner of the bar ultimately became convicted that his line of business was not pleasing to God, so he turned the bar into a church.
4) Maui, Hawaii
Myles and Joyce Kawakami owned a carpet business. They were on the verge of winding up their business when God spoke to Myles to give him half of his business earnings to God. And why not? He wasnt doing well and he had nothing to lose. That year, his profits came up to US$130,000 and even if he gave 50% to God, he earned much more than when he owned 100% of his business. Out of his profits, Myles' wife Joyce was able to feed the poor in Maui. It started as a small food pantry from the back of her car and it has grown into a distribution of food throughout Maui to anyone who needs it.
5) Toronto, Canada
Ps Pat Francis started a church where the poor went. She took in the rejected, defeated, etc. She helped them to climb out of poverty by teaching them how to be entrepreneurs and own their own homes as the bible says that there should be no poor amongst you. She even set up a mortgage company to help the people in the church.
Ps Pat taught that prosperity is the solution to poverty and since we are the seed of Abraham, we cant help but prosper.
Brian Burton is a pastor of a church in Phuket. A high govt official who heard the sermon on the evil of corruption was finally convicted that he should return a bribe of US$1m that he had taken for paving the way for a hospital construction. Since the govt official had returned the money, the construction company decided to return a bribe of US$1/2 million as the management did not want to get into trouble with the law. Very soon, many who took bribes returned the money. Now the fund stands at US$7million and more money is pouring in at this moment. The money is finally used for helping the poor in the community. This is what you get when christians start to pray for transformation in the city to stem out systemic poverty because of corruption.
There are many other amazing stories. One thing is for sure, God is making an impact in this end times by anointing his people to be marketplace ministers. Your dad and I believe our family will be actively used in the marketplace like Joseph, Job, Gideon, David, Esther, Daniel, Paul, Aquilla & Priscilla.
Only when you are willing, then you will see miracles in your lifetime.
Jeremiah 33:8-9
"I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise & honour before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it, and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it."
With Love
Mum