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One Voice – ours with His
Underlining the importance of prayer, More Than Gold (MTG) is presenting a city
wide conference this month. One Voice, subtitled ‘His and Ours,’ will take place October 23-24 at Glad Tidings Church in Vancouver. BCCN spoke
to one of the chief organizers, Karen Braun of Breakthrough Prayer Ministry.
BCCN: What exactly is ‘One Voice’?
Karen Braun: One Voice is a call – an interdenominational, intergenerational and intercultural call to the Bride
of Christ to come together as a united body. It’s an invitation – to rediscover the heart of our Father, to restore our joy in prayer and to
re-empower our lives to love.
BCCN: What was the genesis of One Voice?
KB: When prayer is talked about in our churches, if it is talked about, the majority of eyes glaze over and heads go down because prayer
has somehow become a list-oriented, guilt-driven or just don’t-know-how kind of work; or it is categorized, tagged and left to those with a bent for it.
Combine that with the current reality of many Christians who are deeply
struggling, disillusioned and admittedly lacking in spiritual vitality. Is it
any wonder there is a need for a fresh understanding? It is time to uncover what has been hidden and take back what has been stolen
about the truth of prayer.
It was discovered that this longing – to see the church awakened and equipped to tap into prayer – was in the hearts of leaders in key ministries. Through a divine connection at a More Than Gold Prayer Committee meeting, it
was realized that God was putting the idea of this kind of conference on the
hearts of other people as well, and so a champion team formed to help this
vision become a reality.
With the world coming to our doorstep in 2010, we have a catalytic opportunity
that can be a fresh start for the church – bringing new life and vitality that can move beyond 2010.
Are we even listening? Do we recognize and hear God calling us at this time?
Should an evangelistic spark start a flame in Vancouver, it could blaze across
the nation to touch the world.
BCCN: How does this dovetail with MTG?
KB: One word – collaboration. For me, this has been the most exciting faith adventure, ever. One Voice is an initiative in partnership with More Than Gold.
We believe it is part of God’s strategy for a spiritual breakthrough, especially for the city of Vancouver.
We need each other more then ever before. There is strength in marching
together. There was a time when at the Lord’s command a shout as one voice brought down the walls of Jericho.
BCCN: Can you comment on the importance of churches collaborating at this time?
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KB: Extremely important! Jesus could return at any moment. Are we ready? Is the world? It is time to
look beyond our individuality and discover we are stronger and have greater
impact when we are united.
BCCN: Are we there yet? Will we be when the world comes to us?
KB: We need to hear and experience God’s heart like never before. Prayer must become a priority in the church. When Jesus overthrew the money-changers in the
temple, he was quoting Isaiah 56:7: “My house will be called a house of prayer.”
As Vonette Bright has said, “He did not say a house of evangelism, or a house of worship, or even a house for
social gatherings.”
Are we his house?
We have at our fingertips an opportunity to unite our efforts in prayer to hear
and express God’s voice to the lost and hurting. We are all tired of merely good ideas; the world doesn’t even pay attention to them.
We need God ideas. To quote a good friend, “You can’t talk to people about God, until you talk to God about people.”
We don’t understand fully what happens in the spiritual realm when the Body of Christ
puts their differences aside and unites to experience and share his love and
his agenda. The things that don’t matter soon subside.
As the Lord is lifted up by all of us together, we realize the most important
thing – his longing for relationship with us, each other and those who don’t know him yet.
We actually discover how to love one another when our eyes are fixed on him and
our hearts are willing to listen to and obey his voice.
To register for One Voice – His and Ours, contact onevoiceconference.org; or 1.800.563.1106 – ext 2029. Registration deadline is October 19.
October 2009
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