“I believe it is a season where there is something stirring on the earth — an acceleration happening — which I believe will lead to a harvest like we have never seen before.
“And God is calling a generation of whoever is available, saying: “Are you ready because I want to send My people afresh?”
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So said Pastor Louis Els who leads Victory Christian Church in Jeffreys Bay as we spoke about a visionary commissioning event called The Sending which the church is hosting from July 5 to 7 at nearby Mentorskraal estate.
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International speakers lined up for the weekend event include Bethel Music worship leader, songwriter and speaker Jeremy Riddle; South African /American songwriter and worship leader Brenton Brown; and speaker, author and prophetic voice Bob Hazlett.
There are also a number of speakers from the global Church of the Nations (COTN) family of churches which came up with The Sending event through a process of seeking God’s direction together. These include COTN founder Tony Fitzgerald, other Apostolic Council leaders, and young pioneers from SA and abroad who have found a higher purpose in fields such as marketing, midwifery and media.
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“It will be a good variety of older guys — fathers, prophetic voices, great worship leaders and a whole group of young men and women who will come and speak and say: ‘This is how I discovered my call; this is how I yielded to my process; this is how I’m getting there or how I got there. It’s about walking out the process with dignity and honour — not about shortcuts” said Els.
Through a time of worship, prayer and prophetic encouragement people would motivate one another to recognise their call. And people would be invited to allow God to ignite something fresh in them, moving them beyond just looking for a successful career to looking at how they could apply Kingdom values and principles to make a difference.
He said he believed that God somehow chooses days and times to initiate new things, like when he spoke to Joshuah after the people had already been out of Egypt for 40 years, and said: “Today I roll away the reproach of Egypt from you.” (Joshua 5:9).
“So, God can say for 40 years I have been renewing your mind, your temperament, your mentality, your way of thinking, and you are now ready — today — for that which I have got for you.
“So, we hope it is going to be a today kind of a weekend.
“We really trust it will inspire a generation of people to say: ‘Whatever You tell us God, we’ll do it.’ Literally from young to old,” said Els.
He emphasised that the Lord had shown him that the “next generation” He had in mind was not based on age but on availability — from a young Mary that proclaims: “Behold the handmaiden of the Lord” to a Caleb that says “Give me my mountain”.
He also said that while the event was birthed among the COTN group of churches out of a word about God ushering in a season of supernatural acceleration that would impact every area of life for those who were aligned with God’s purposes, they had come to realise that The Sending event should be open to all.
“From responses of others who showed interest we realised that we are not the only people hearing the word ‘acceleration’ or ‘The Sending’. Just after I got the word I heard there was a big movement called ‘The Send’ in America. It’s great to know that although we are not in contact with each other we are all involved in a great move of God. I think that is the beauty and the kindness of God,” he said.
More information about The Sending, and a registration link, is available online at thesending.org
It is encouraging if the tendency towards inwardly focused worship and club-like churches would again turn to the Great Commission!
I hope that most people attending will be convicted that God has called them to the places they work, where the attend school, university and even their homes. The largest mission field in the world is right outside the door of the church. Access the Worklife section of St Nicholas’ website.