The ARC is blessed with a number of gifted, creative artists. One such artist is 13-year old author, Karis Sellers. Karis is the daughter of ARC pastor and published author, Graeme Sellers and his wife, Jennifer.

I began reading Karis’ book, Dragon Warriors, thinking it might be a good book to recommend for teenagers, especially with Christmas coming up. However, I found myself being drawn into the story and characters to the point I had to finish it; I literally could not lay it down.

Dragon Warriors is the story of a fierce battle of light versus dark, with the lives of the world's children at stake! “You will lead charges and help command the army. I will train you. Wearing armor and on a Dragon Horse, you cannot fail or fall. Please, Michael!” Natalie begged. Michael threw his hands up in frustration. “I can’t fight! I don’t have it in me to kill people. I’m too weak!” Kat touched his arm. “Everyone has strength inside them if they only have the courage to find it. You have that courage. It’s inside you. It’s your job to find it. But it’s there. Think about it.”

I highly recommend this book for your own reading and for gift giving. Get a copy for yourself here, or for a teen for Christmas and support one of the gifted, creative artists we have in the ARC.

 As I mentioned in the last edition of our ARC E-News, one of the many wonderful blessings God has given us in the ARC are a large number of gifted young leaders. In October, another of those young leaders was ordained. Jessica Charney, youth pastor at Living Water Church in Elk Grove, CA was set apart for leadership and service as an ordained pastor in the Alliance of Renewal Churches. Following are reflections from senior pastor, Joel Midthun:


On Sunday, October 20, we were thrilled to be able to ordain Jessica Charney as Pastor of Youth and Family at Living Water Church. We have had a vision at our church to add an associate pastor for a number of years but the timing was never right until now. After finishing her M.Div. at APU in Southern California in 2011, Jessica became our Youth Director. She and her husband Nick (and now baby Kacie!) both grew up in Elk Grove but never anticipated that God would call them back to their hometown to minister. They are a great team and each brings different things to the table; Jessica was raised in the church while Nick became a believer as a teenager.

Some of Jessica’s passions in ministry are living in authentic community and ministry to the whole family. She especially has a desire to see that our youth and young adults are connected to our ‘big church’ as that is one of the main indicators of whether youth will leave the faith when they grow up. Jessica observed in her own youth group growing up (which research is confirming as a trend) that as many as half of her friends from youth group no longer attend church as adults.

Jessica is a shepherd. She is very natural at caring for people and including others. She also is a first rate teacher-preacher and very gifted at interpreting the Bible. Our Elder board, composed of men and women, has as one of it’s purposes, to “bless what God is doing” in our midst; that is, to discern what God is doing and then support and encourage those ministries and people. To date we have been able to bless many in our church who are attempting ‘God sized’things from fighting human trafficking to starting a Cause Marketing non-profit. As we witnessed what God was doing in and through Jessica’s life and leadership in our midst, the decision was made to call her and set her apart for ordained ministry in our congregation and in the ARC. Ordaining Jessica is another way to "bless what God is doing" in our midst and give her more formal recognition in our church and in the community.

Jessica writes, “My ordination service was attended by family members, my former youth pastor and his wife, good friends, and colleagues from our time in seminary, along with many members of our church family and small group. It was encouraging to have so many people from different areas of my life there to encourage me and support my formal ordination into the ministry. All of these people have been a part of inspiring me in my Christian faith and call to ministry and it was such a blessing to have them there. While ARC Director, Mike Bradley, was unable to be there, he gave a powerful greeting and blessing via video. Each step of the ordination process involved some challenges and helped me to really look at my calling and prayerfully seek God’s guidance for my future in ministry."

As Director for the Alliance of Renewal Churches, I welcome Jessica to the ranks of ordained ministry. We’re thankful to have you as a member of this band of brothers and sisters who are on mission together!

This is the mission God has given the ARC. Toward that end we will be bringing training seminars to ARC congregations in various areas of the country to “provide ministry training for the members of congregations.” If you’d like us to bring a ministry training seminar to your congregation and region, just contact ARC Director Mike Bradley at: safeplacemb@gmail.com.

Following are three of the seminars the ARC will be presenting in 2014:

Building Healthy Leaders – ARC leader Robert Walter will present a seminar on developing healthy leaders and disciples at Hope Lutheran Church in Westminster, CA (SoCal region) on January 22-24. Robert will provide a model for training to help us develop leaders and disciples who are growing in their relationship with Christ; are developing their competencies for ministry; and are becoming more emotionally, relationally, and spiritually whole. This seminar can be used to develop healthy leaders in every ministry of your church including ministries such as Alpha, Blackberry Bush, and 3DM

Immanuel Prayer: A Model for Healing Prayer – ARC leader Danny Mullins will present a seminar on a model for healing prayer called Immanuel Prayer in Tampa, Florida on February 7-9. He will address the biblical foundation for healing prayer, present a model for healing prayer of wounds in our past that are influencing our present in unhelpful ways, and facilitate practicing this model with one another.

 A Safe Place for the Gifts of the Spirit – ARC leaders Dave Heinrich and Mike Bradley will present a seminar on the gifts of the Spirit. Their training will address the purpose for the gifts of the Spirit, how we discover and grow in the gifts God has given us, and how to set healthy boundaries that will make your church a safe place for the operation of the gifts of the Spirit. The seminar will be held in May at Penasquitos Lutheran Church in San Diego, CA. The dates for that seminar are still to be determined.

Transforming the world through the scandalous love and power of God. What’s scandalous about the Lord’s love and power? That will be the focus of our keynote speaker, Dr. Greg Boyd.

Greg is a published author, seminary professor at The Master’s Institute, and lead pastor for a church in St. Paul, MN. His insights and perspectives of Scripture are refreshing and challenging all at the same time. Greg has a passion for the Lord, for forgotten ones, and to be faithful to God’s Word. He will help us experience afresh the depth and power of God’s love as he helps us remember that the way Jesus loved and those whom Jesus loved seemed absolutely scandalous to the religious and self-righteous.

Greg connects really well with teens and adults alike. That’s important for us because we will once again have a strong youth participation in both San Diego and Minneapolis. Teens will meet with us for the evening sessions and during the during the day a teen-specific schedule will be led by ARC youth pastors - Danny Scarborough, Dirk Duhlstine, and Derek Luptak in the Southwest,and Brendon Fairley and Corey Paxton in the Midwest.

Both gatherings will include a number of workshops to help equip members of your church to go home and transform the world through the scandalous love and power of God. Workshops will include: Sharing Your Story, Prophetic Evangelism, Everyday Encounters – Having Spiritual Conversations and Prayer, Developing Missional Communities, Breaking the Stronghold of Fear in Sharing Your Faith, and Helping Teens Talk with Their Friends About Life, Faith, and Christianity.

The Southwest Gathering will be held at Penasquitos Lutheran Church on July 17-19 in San Diego, CA, and the Midwest Gathering will be hosted by Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fridley, Minnesota on November 6-8.

Each gathering will include much time for building and nurturing our relationships with one another; unhurried worship in depth and freedom; vision casting keynote sessions; and workshops that will help equip and empower you and your members for fresh boldness and effectiveness in ministry. As always there will also be time for personal prayer and prophetic ministry.

Please put these dates on your calendar now and plan on attending. We will have registration information on the ARC website in the near future.

There has been much erosion in church activity in the last generation, and this has hit small and medium sized churches especially hard. At Robinwood Church, here in California, we lost at least ¼ of our membership during the Great Recession as our families moved away, seeking less expensive places to live. We had to do something about that--and with very little money available with which to do it! Our rent was eating away half of our offering, and we couldn’t generate the typical programs that draw people in from the outside.

We had been running the Alpha Course since day one, but in small congregations it can be hard to keep it going; kinda like running out of firewood for a campfire. Thus was born The BlackberryBush Course. We designed the course to solve the following problems (some are all of which your church may well share):

1. We needed to do something to backfill the spaces of those leaving the church.
2. We needed to do it on a small budget. (Running BlackberryBush costs your church about $7 a week).
3. We needed to combine discipleship for our members and evangelism/catechism for our new people. I’m the senior pastor and only very part time. We don’t have enough resources to run a separate ministry for both.
4. We needed something fresh. Something where even the most seasoned church member wouldn’t know where the teaching was going to land.
5. We needed something that was sustainable in a small church. Most courses tend to lose attendance over time. We developed a compounding attendance model that ensures that if you start with one or two tables on your first BlackberryBush semester, you can easily have three after a year and a half.
6. We wanted a course that would actually provide adult conversions and baptisms. We are doing baptisms this Sunday for adults who have come to faith in recent months. We’ve done over 30 since starting the course a couple of years ago.
7. We wanted something more culturally, ethnically, and generationally flexible. Especially in California.
8. We chose for the highest level of streaming video technology. If you have a tablet and a flat screen, you can run the Course.
9. We departed from all pedagogical (teaching children) models and instead enlisted experts to ensure the highest level of andragogical (adult) learning. Adults like to affect the outcome of a session. In keeping with this, there are no “leading questions” that try to get you to land in a certain place. We trust your group dynamics and the Holy Spirit to take care of that.

We succeeded, by the grace of God, and now would like to offer what we’ve found to you! We took the basic outline of Luther’s Large Catechism (Three major segments on God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and added a dash of CS Lewis, a dash of Wimber, a pinch of Stott, a puree of Morris and Larry, and voila, the Course was born. The course comes in 8-week segments. Currently there are three (God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). There will be more coming. Think of each 8-week series as an 8-week spiritual treasure hunt. It’s also flexible. Once you purchase a license, you can use the course anytime/anywhere in your ministry area at no extra cost. At any pace, for any purpose. Creative congregations are using the course as a library for:

• Home groups
• Small groups at church
• Youth discussions
• Evangelistic gatherings in restaurants and pubs
• Workplace evangelism

You can afford it ($7/week).

We will help you run it. This is nothing you have to figure out on your own. The Course is relational and so is the national movement. Let’s set aside some time to talk. Contact me at hbhous@gmail.com or call/text to 714 907 3835 to set up an appointment and we can help you get this running in your church in less that two weeks.

The benefits for your church will start right away!

• A place to which you can invite your new people and visitors.
• A fresh course for long time church members. Good for morale.
• Adult conversions and adult baptisms in increasing numbers.
• The Senior Pastor only has to bless it. Course can be run in a small church with about 1 and ½ volunteers.

One of the many wonderful blessings God has given us in the ARC are a large number of gifted and emotionally, relationally, and spiritually healthy young leaders. On September 7th, one of those young leaders was ordained. Brendon Fairley, an associate pastor at Bridgewood Community Church in Blaine, MN was set apart for leadership and service as an ordained pastor in the Alliance of Renewal Churches. The service that day was a wonderfully anointed time.


 Brendon’s father and uncle, Brian and Joel Fairley, both ordained pastors, were among those who spoke to Brendon as part of the service. After sharing personal words with Brendon and his wife, Shanna, they laid hands on him in prayer and placed his grandfather’s ministerial robe on his shoulders. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place. ARC Pastor Sean Kelly, a longtime mentor and friend to Brendon, shared the message, speaking from his heart to Brendon and to those gathered. I was honored to preside over the service and Bridgewood senior pastor, Mark Spencer, opened in prayer. ARC worship leaders Chris Barrett and Matt Schurr led a gifted team who invited us into worship and enjoyment of God’s presence during the day. The day was made especially meaningful as many members from Brendon’s previous church assignment at Penasquitos Lutheran Church in San Diego, CA made the trip to join the members of Bridgewood in celebrate his ordination.

Before the ordination Brendon had encouraged those of us leading the service to listen to anything Holy Spirit was impressing us to do or say and then to step out in faith in obedience. As a result, a prophetic word was spoken over Mark and Morgan, the two young youth pastors at Bridgewood whom Brendon has trained and mentored. This was a particular blessing for Mark Spencer as the senior pastor at Bridgewood who following the service said, “It was great to see Morgan and Mark get ministered to. They are integral to what's happening at Bridgewood. Furthermore I am believer in that when one part of the body is being recognized (i.e. Brendon) all the other parts better be ready to be impacted!” Of the service Mark also noted, “I was really touched by the Father's blessing from Brendon’s dad...what an incredible inheritance Brendon has!”

When asked what the day had been like for him, Brendon said, “I was overwhelmed, moved, and taken back by the loving encouragement from Sean. His message was dead on! I was emotionally destroyed by my dad's blessing over me; and by my uncle and dad passing my grandfather's mantle on to me. It was a life-changing moment. It is rare for a father to bless his son in the way my dad blessed me. That will surely be a moment I will never forget. Having my family there to celebrate with me in what Jesus is doing was something I'll never forget. The whole service has become a pivotal highlight of my life. Lastly I was overwhelmed and humbled by all of the love and encouragement of not only my friends and family, but of my Bridgewood family. What a wonderful church to be called to!”

Congratulations, Brendon! Your fellow pastors in the ARC rejoice with you and look forward to many years of being beside you as we seek to live on the radical edge with God, kicking at the darkness until it bleeds daylight!

God is sending leaders from the Alliance of Renewal Churches (ARC) around the world to minister His love and healing touch to others. As these leaders go, they are taking the non-negotiable values God has given us to make real to Christians and non-Christians alike. ARC Leader, Joe Johnson, is one of those God has sent overseas, having recently returned home from ministering at the Oase Conference in Norway. Joe is the Director for Heart of the Father Ministries and has been a longtime friend and mentor to many of us in the ARC (including ARC Director, Mike Bradley). Following are some of Joe’s reflections on his time in Norway.

Oase conferences are held annually in Norway. For the last 15 years I have been teaching and praying during Oase conference and weekend seminars. The last two years I provided inner healing counseling prayer ministry during the conference. I am also doing this at home in ARC churches like Living Water, Sacramento and Wonderful Mercy, Gilbert, AZ.

Summer Oase is a wonderful setting to do healing prayer ministry. Everyone is soaking daily in worship and teaching with hearts expecting to hear from God for five days. It is like a Bible camp with ministries for all ages. Many of the 3,000 registered for at least part of the week are living in tents right next to the meeting hall and eating together with family and friends.

Beginning on July 10th, I taught on healing and overcoming shame. I shared with those gathered that joy and honor heal shame, encouraging them to remember a time they received honor. Then I asked them to tell someone, and smile at them and enjoy the smile they returned. When someone is glad to see me I experience joy and this joy can impart God’s healing touch within.

On Saturday of the conference I invited everyone who longed for a father's, mother's or sibling blessing, love, affection to come forward to be held by whomever Jesus reveals is holding them. About 80 participated in being held and holding one another. During the sharing time after this experience one man expressed gratitude for receiving healing of a sister's love (she died from suicide). During my teaching I shared that part of healing of my father wound happened when I forgave my father for dying. After the seminar a young adult was very excited to tell me that when I prayed with him during Oase 2012 I invited him say to his mother, "I forgive you for dying and leaving me." After we prayed he had been set free to sleep after years of not sleeping well or very little. How blessed I am to participate with Jesus' healing ministry.

Following Oase I preached Sunday morning at Mortensrud Lutheran Church in Oslo. Wonderful friend and Senior Pastor Trond Løberg asked me to speak on “Father’s Love.” This is my life message. When fathers walk out the front door of our lives by being absent, unavailable emotionally or do nor give us affection or express delight in being in us shame walks in the back door. We believe something is wrong with us, it is our fault, we are to blame. I taught on how to receive healing for this shame. Tears in saying goodbye to Norway surprised me. Tears also surprised me when I flew into Tromsø (after Oase) and saw the beautiful mountains coming down to the sea and when I saw the Midnight Sun for the first time. Tears for me are a response to the manifest presence of God. I also believe tears are a sign people are l praying for me. I appreciate all you who have been praying during a wonderful ministry time in Norway.