Lanterns
International
Transforming villages, towns, cities and
nations
into vital parts of God's Kingdom
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The vision of Lanterns...
Lanterns full vision and mission can be found here. What does it mean to transform a village, a nation or society?According to Acts 3:21 and Col 1:20, God's purpose is the restoration and reconciliation of all things to himself. This restoration begins with the great commission.... "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Mat 28:19). Clearly, disciples are people, and nations (or races) are made up of people — so that's where we start, with the restoration of people. Even this one thing (which we call salvation) is both huge and wonderful. However, the restoration of all things that God has in mind, goes way beyond the forgiveness of sins, of healing and deliverance, of personal growth in Christ, and so on. These are just the first, crucial steps to full restoration. So what are "all things"? Speaking of the coming Messiah in Isaiah 9:6, it says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder." And in verse 7, "Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever." 2 Tim 2:12 and Rev 20:6 make it very clear that God's intention is for us to reign together with Jesus, as joint heirs of his inheritance (Rom 8:17). We are also commanded to be imitators of God and of Christ. (Eph 5:1, Rom 8:29) It's clear from this, that God has in mind the restoration of the government and judicial systems — and that he intends for us to play a major role in all of it. Of course, just as there is a fulfilment of salvation that is yet to come (when Jesus returns in glory), there is also a coming fulfilment of his government over the world at that time. But just as there is already a part of salvation that occurs now, there should also be a working towards the restoration of all things right now.... Especially as we draw near to that great day of his return. Indeed, in Matthew 17:11, it says that all things would be restored before Jesus returns, and Acts 3:21 supports this view. What is the restoration of government? In the context of "all things" we believe government to encompass the rulership of all areas of society, especially....
Other forms of government include:
Effectively therefore, the restoration of government into the kingdom of God, equates to the transformation of society. As soon as we really believe that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, we will start to see ways that we can move into any of these positions. The Calling of the SaintsFrom the very beginning it has been our commission to take dominion of the Earth and to subdue it. Adam and Eve lost that mandate, but Christ won it back again. Our task therefore, as royal sons and princes of the Most High, is to transform the whole world into the character and likeness of the kingdom of God — by filling all the positions of "government" with born-again disciples of Jesus, who will operate in those positions according to God's will. All the saints are called to the work of ministry (Eph 4:12), but Jesus indicated that the ministry of the saints is in the world (Mat 13:38). Therefore, it should also be understood that a call to fulltime ministry, most likely means a calling to any of these "governmental" positions "in the world" (not necessarily within the four walls of the church). Key Ministries
In a bit more detail... 1. Evangelism CrusadesThe general strategy here is to do 7-day, village crusades in numerous villages and small towns in a given region (or suburbs within a city). Then, when there are sufficient Christians in that region, they all come together for a major, 7-day crusade in a large town or city. A major emphasis for every crusade, is that we not only aim to save individuals – but with royal decrees and a special Jericho Walk – we claim spiritual dominion of the whole region for the Kingdom of God, and proclaim Jesus as Lord, Saviour and King of the region. 40-Day Preparation Before each crusade, everyone involved participates in a 40-day preparation (including the congregations of local churches) to help draw everyone into a greater intimacy with God, and a greater readiness and anointing for the crusade. The Gathering of Eagles This is a gathering of pastors and other Christians participating in the crusade. It normally occurs during the daytime of the crusade period. At a small village, this may consist of teaching and encouragement for a day or two – with prayer, praise, thanksgiving and worship continuing on the other days of the crusade. At a larger event, it may be more like a 7-day conference or convention — with hundreds or thousands of participants. (The miracle and healing festival would normally be at the end of this period — on the last one or more evenings.) The Jericho Walk
On each of the 7 days of the crusade, we spend 1-3 hours in a prayer-walk around the village, town or city. There are several reasons for the walk... We have found the Jericho Walk (and the decrees that go with it) to be an absolutely critical component for the success of all our crusades — especially for the breaking down of spiritual barriers. The Miracle & Healing Festival The miracle and healing festival is the main
public
event of the crusade and is usually outdoors. It begins with 1-3 hours of 24Glory! (thanksgiving, praise and worship) while the people arrive, then the gospel is presented with signs and wonders — however the Lord leads. Depending on how the organisers feel led by the Holy Spirit, it may be on all 7 days of the crusade, or may be just the last 1 or 2 days. In villages, the crowds can be anything from a hundred or so, up to a few thousand. Major events in cities could have any number. The normal result, is that most of the crowd will be saved, and nearly all of the sick (blind, deaf, lame, HIV, malaria, anything) are miraculously and instantly healed! Praise God! 2. 24Glory!I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. (Psalm 86:12) 24Glory! is our worldwide 24/7 praise, worship and thanksgiving to God, and has quickly become one of the most important elements of Lanterns... So much so, that it now permeates all of our events and has become the first level of involvement with Lanterns for any new church or ministry — even before we go there. (See the 24Glory! home page for details on how to join.) It is a wonderful time of glorifying God, of seeking his face and his glorious, manifest presence, and of growing in intimacy and joy with Yeshua (Jesus), our Father Yahweh and the Holy Spirit. As the numbers participating in 24Glory! continue to grow, it is like the prayer of agreement — the effect is getting more and more powerful and the experience of God's presence and glory is growing all the time. Sometimes the presence of God is so strong that ministers cannot even get up and speak! At Churches and Home-groups 24Glory! started in early 2007, and within a year there were nearly 27,000 people (mostly saved through Lanterns) meeting regularly in churches and home-groups. This continues every day, and we now have over 700 churches and schools in Africa and nearly 200 in India, plus many home groups -- all meeting together for joyful, praise, worship and thanksgiving. One amazing concept of 24Glory! is that all this is happening with a great sense of unity. Although there are many groups in different parts of the world, they are not in isolation, but have a sense of participating together in a worldwide assembly of saints. Miracle Healing Centres In 2007 we started setting up 24Glory! Miracle Healing Centres at various participating churches. These are simply 24Glory! meetings where the public are specifically invited (via street signs and word of mouth) to come and be miraculously healed by God. Many times at these, people will just come in off the streets and get healed, delivered and saved — without any specific prayer — God just does it! Hallelujah! At Crusades 24Glory! is now incorporated into all of our crusades — both during the Gathering of Eagles, and at the Healing & Miracle Festivals. It is truly awesome to watch God's sovereign healing and deliverance, and to experience the wonderful intimacy of his glorious, manifest presence during these amazing times of praise, worship and thanksgiving. 3. Abundant Life Program
The Abundant Life Program is for everyone who has been saved at our crusades and 24Glory! or who has otherwise joined Lanterns. The aim of the program is.... There are three components to the Abundant Life Program... Eagle Lanterns (Youth Program)This youth program is like no other in the world. It aims to equip the youth with a powerful set of Godly attitudes, good character, and practical life-skills that will help to bring success into all areas of their lives. Yes, there are similarities to other youth programs in some things — such as growing in relationship with Christ, and achievement awards in the form of badges and certificates. However, Eagle Lanterns goes way beyond these, and into the realm of equipping the youth for greatness and destiny... There is real purpose and direction behind the awards and their structure, and that purpose is to develop vital life-skills and attitudes that are never taught in school or college — and very rarely anywhere else. Attitudes that break through the mentalities of poverty and mediocrity and into the knowledge that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, and that each and every one of us are wonderfully and awesomely made for greatness and for the purpose of fulfilling an awesome, God given destiny. Eagle Lanterns has courses to develop communication and relationship skills; others on how to break through barriers of anger, resentment, bitterness, criticism and hatred — plus many others. Skills (based on God's wisdom) that impart vision, purpose, hope and success in all areas of life. For some, their ministry may be in their family, for others it may be full time in the church, for others their ministry may be in business or government, for yet others, it may be a combination — but whatever their ministry and their life purpose, Eagle Lanterns aims to equip them with the right skills, attitude and wisdom for Godly success. Eagle Lanterns is due to be released soon, so keep watching — it's not far away! Abundant Life Training (For Adults)Adults of course, want (and need) to learn all the same skills that the youth are learning at Eagles — and this is where they can do it. Naturally, the presentation is different, however, there is a lot of interaction between the two programs — especially when it comes to the practical components of leadership, mentoring, partnering and teaching. Lanterns Farm ProjectThe aim here is to provide a source of hope for churches, a training ground for success, and to help both the individuals and the churches to become financially independent. This is done through providing churches with land that the congregations can collectively farm. Here, they have the opportunity to apply the skills they have learnt through Eagle Lanterns and the Abundant Life Training, and to bring the farms to a level of prosperity that they would not otherwise know. While the produce and the profits from the farms all belong to the congregation members who work it. It is expected that their tithing will also bring financial independence to the local churches for their normal ministry requirements. For city churches that want to participate, we may arrange buses to take workers to and from the farms. Our plan at this stage, is to provide one farm for every ten churches, although this may change as the project progresses. 4. Lanterns Community AssistThe aim here, is actively demonstrate love in action — from the Christian community, toward the general community. Currently, our Lanterns co-workers maintain three orphanages... One in India, one in Uganda, and one in Malawi. These ministries existed before they joined Lanterns and have struggled in poverty for a long time — so we are working very hard to improve their situation and independence, and help them financially whenever we can. Whenever funds are available, we have other community-assist projects (such as providing clean water where it is not currently available), and the list is expected to grow rapidly as our resources increase. How to Get Started...Please come and join
this exciting revival!
We hope to see you very soon!
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