Wonderful Mercy is an ARC church in Gilbert, AZ (the Phoenix area) led by Pastor Graeme Sellers, and for the sake of full disclosure Debi’s and my home congregation. We love being part of a church that seeks to embody the mission and core values of the ARC. The atmosphere Wonderful Mercy seeks to create and sustain certainly is a safe place for the dangerous kind.

The mission God has given us here is to “Raise up ordinary people to be extraordinary followers of Jesus by loving them, training them in the Word of God, and equipping them to do the ministry of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.” In order to carry out this mission we have identified a set of core values that guide and influence all that we do. One of our core values is being a House of Prayer. Our core value statement puts it this way: “We are committed to prayer saturating every part of the individual and corporate life in our church, consumed with passion for intimacy with Christ and a habitation for His glory.”

This core value has taken on physical form in the building of a prayer garden at Wonderful Mercy that is open to the public. The project was envisioned years ago, was bathed in prayer, withstood numerous obstacles, and now, has become a reality. Wonderful Mercy members, leaders from other churches, and civic and state leaders gathered for the dedication in October. I asked Graeme Sellers to share with us about the prayer garden and the dedication. He writes:

“We at Wonderful Mercy Church are rejoicing! After years of faithful, sacrificial giving by members of our faith community, we have completed construction of our Prayer Garden. This project includes the Prayer Garden itself, landscaping the remainder of our property, additional parking on the west wide, and creating a new west side entrance to our building.

Some may ask, ‘Why a Prayer Garden?’ In Isaiah, when God announces the new thing He is doing, He describes it this way: ‘I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.’ The Lord’s declaration is unmistakable: I’m taking what’s barren and making it fruitful. I’m bringing rivers of My life to dry, dusty places.

We believe the Prayer Garden aligns precisely with this expression of God’s heart. Specifically, we believe that what is at stake is the spiritual irrigation of Gilbert, and beyond. Through the prayer and worship that rises up like a fragrant offering from the Prayer Garden, God will release rivers of His life—into our community and into the world. Moreover, the Prayer Garden goes to the heart of our identity as a church. We know God has called us to be a house of prayer, a people who are experiencing God deeply and personally as we seek His heart, cry out to Him, and see transformation as we unite in fervent intercession. Once we know our identity we must walk in it; the Prayer Garden is one way that we will consistently and faithfully walk in the identity God has given us.”

You can catch a glimpse of the Prayer Garden in the accompanying photos. Pictured in one of the photos is Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon from the U.S. House of Representatives, District 5 who was one of the speakers for the Prayer Garden dedication, along with the mayor of Gilbert, and Cheryl and Hal Sacks, directors for Bridge Builders International.

The ministry of Jesus continues in the world today through the churches and ministries in Alliance of Renewal Churches (ARC), all of us empowered by the same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus. As a result, the gospel is being proclaimed, healing is taking place, people are being impacted with God’s love and power, and captives are being set free. It is with the latter in mind that we want to introduce you to the work of New Dawn Ministries, lead by ARC member, Kurt Koestler. We asked Kurt to tell us about New Dawn and he writes the following:

“The mission of New Dawn is to set captives free in Christ’s name; to represent a safe place for the vulnerable, wounded and oppressed; to serve and minister in a spirit of unity, humility, love & compassion (1 Peter 3:8). New Dawn (NDM) is a healing ministry called to serve the body of Christ through safe, gentle, deliverance prayer. We deal with issues of victimization, trauma, generational iniquity and personal sin that may open doors to spiritual wounding. We also address the deeper areas of oppression that occur based on the scriptural truths and results of curse and breaking of God’s laws. NDM ministers primarily through individual prayer, teaching, discipleship, and equipping Christian leaders in these areas of ministry. We never cease to be amazed at the love, power and lengths our Lord will go to bring freedom to his people. The greatest blessing and measure of healing, however, comes through life-changing encounter with Jesus. He truly is mighty to save in every way!” 

To learn more about New Dawn Ministries and meet Kurt Koestler, check out their website www.newdawnministries.net, email them at info@newdawnministries.net, or call 651-330-1913.

In October, an ARC team led by National Leadership Team member Robert Walter ministered at Bridgewood Community church in Blaine, Minnesota. Robert, who recently founded a new ministry—On God’s Trail—led a seminar titled Grace for Shame. In addition to the seminar presentation, he and other team members facilitated inner healing prayer appointments where many people were impacted by God’s manifest presence, love, and power. Asked how the seminar went, one staff member said she could sum it up it two words: Joy unleashed. That is what those who attended the seminar saw and experienced.

In the seminar Robert unpacked the toxicity of shame and how cultivating joy in our lives overcomes shame and in fact releases more joy. In a description of the seminar, he writes:

“Where would we be without the grace of God? Nowhere. Running the race of faith often doesn’t seem to be getting us any closer to God. It feels like someone keeps moving the finish line. In this seminar we explore a dimension of grace that is often left out of the story of the Gospel. And we’ll see how recent discoveries in brain science confirm what the Bible has been saying all along about the source of our strength. With stories, scriptures and small group sharing, people are helped to take a giant step forward on the journey of faith.”

Sharon Franta, an associate pastor at Bridgewood shared: “The effects of shame are toxic and no one is immune. In our communities, lives, and churches, shame doesn’t allow us to see all that we are in Christ Jesus, Instead, it focuses us on what we don’t have or how we are not measuring up. In this seminar, we learned how to begin addressing this epidemic. We were able to see God move through the teaching, prayer ministry and worship to undo what shame had done. It was a powerful and grace-filled message from the One who created us to live with abundance and joy.”

Seminars and teams such as this are one of the many resources the ARC has to offer you and your congregation. If you would be interested in bringing Robert in to teach and minister on this topic you can contact him at: ongodstrail@gmail.com. If you have need of another team or focus of teaching for your congregation, contact ARC Director Mike Bradley at: safeplacemb@gmail.com

You can find Robert Walter's website at: www.ongodstrail.com

God effecting a shift in the atmosphere for good; people receiving a gift of repentance from the Lord toward one another and a desire to be set free from sin; numerous prayers for the baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit; prophetic words of encouragement; relationships being reconciled; equipping in moving in the gift of prophecy in a responsible manner and training in praying for others for the baptism of the Holy Spirit; and prayers for a wide variety of needs in their lives or in the lives of people they know and love. All this and more marked the Spiritual Renewal Weekend at Celebration Lutheran Church in Regina, Saskatchewan.

The ARC sent a team comprised of Fred Thoni and Mike Bradley to be with and serve the leaders and people of Celebration on October 3rd through 5th. Members of the congregation and visitors from the community attended the renewal weekend, which was comprised of keynote sessions and workshops, personal prayer appointments with church staff members, worship, personal prayer and prophetic ministry following the keynotes sessions, and divine appointments over coffee, tea, or meals shared together.

A gifted young adult worship team led by Nick Kelm filled the atmosphere with harp and bowl worship. On Saturday morning, Fred taught two workshops, one on “A Responsible Use Of the Gift of Prophecy,” and the second on, “Praying for Being Baptized in the Spirit.” Mike shared keynote sessions on “Don’t Settle For Less,” “Everyday Encounters,” and “What’s In The Air Makes A Difference” during the weekend.

When asked his thoughts on the weekend, lead pastor Cory Illingworth said: “After having Mike and Fred here I have had a smile on my face that just hasn’t been there for a while. These two faithful servants of the Lord were such a rich blessing to our staff, our congregation, and me. Mike spoke three times while he was with us and all three times the laughter and joy in our sanctuary was refreshing. He spoke with honesty and sincerity, and shared biblical truth. Fred did two teaching sessions with us on Saturday morning. He was so filled with the Holy Spirit’s presence. If you are looking for an incredible resource to facilitate a renewal weekend at your church, then you need look no further then Mike Bradley as a main speaker and Fred Thoni as a great resource in teaching on the Holy Spirit. They were a gift to a weary shepherd who needed a fresh wind at the right time.”

Looking back on the weekend Fred said: “God’s message of his Scandalous Love of God, the topic for the weekend at Celebration seemed truly relevant and extremely timely for Celebration. It was so touching to see how the Father poured out his love and grace on the staff members. The anointing of the Holy Spirit was powerfully tangible during the ministry times each evening and Sunday morning. It was obvious that God was moving as so many times tears were flowing down the faces of these precious brothers’ and sisters’ faces.”

It was a great time with a wonderful group of God’s people. We are very thankful to have a congregation such as Celebration a part of the ARC network. If you would like an ARC Ministry Team to come to your church, contact ARC Director Mike Bradley at: safeplacemb@gmail.com.

By Eric Bluhm, ARC National Leadership Team Member

I had the distinct honor and privilege to represent the ARC as Calvary Church in Omaha, Nebraska installed their new Senior Pastor, TW Norman, September 7th, 2014. “TW”, as he is called, has been on staff with long time Pastor Noel Peterson for about 3 ½ years and is now stepping into the lead pastor role for a new season in the life of Calvary as a congregation.

Calvary is a warm, inviting, multi-generational spirit-filled congregation. Before the service began numerous people in the congregation recognized I was a visitor and warmly greeted me. The worship, led by TW's wife Tina, was a great mix of traditional hymns and very spirited contemporary worship. During the greeting time I was given a prophetic scripture for myself, and not for the first time found someone had been praying for me before I came. What a sweet atmosphere!

After leading TW and the congregation to formalize their commitment to one another before the Lord, a very large number of congregants joined me in the front to lay hands on and pray over TW with heartfelt prayers and prophetic words. Then TW preached (and I mean preached) a sermon as part of a series, “Who are you?”, and the particular message for the day was on “You are Forgiven.” It was one of the finest words regarding our identity in Jesus, and on dealing with condemnation in our lives I have yet heard. Two people came forward to give their life to the Lord in response, and many others were prayed for where they were by the congregation for ministry to break free of condemnation in their lives. It was a wonderful, powerful service!

Afterward there was a spaghetti dinner with many staying to fellowship well into the early afternoon. Calvary is off to a good start in this new season with TW as their new Senior Pastor. Congratulations TW and Calvary!

Don’t forget to join us for the ARC Midwest Gathering and our Fall Life Together Days. The Gathering will be hosted by Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fridley (St. Paul), MN on November 6-8. You can register by going to the home page of the ARC at www.arcusa.org and find details under the “Events” link on that same home page.

Don’t forget our upcoming Life Together Days which will be hosted in three regions of the country this Fall. Our purpose for gathering is to provide a safe place where you as ARC leaders and friends of the ARC can meet as peers in an intentional manner to share life together in an atmosphere that is safe. In these times we are able to grow in authentic relationship with one another, worship together in freedom and in an unhurried and relaxed manner, and receive teaching and personal prayer-prophetic ministry that encourage and equip us.

Because we want these gatherings to be a safe place for you as leaders, please remember that these meetings are for staff level leaders only, and for your spouses. The times for this fall’s Life Together Days are 10 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. The dates and locations are:

• Minnesota – Thursday, September 25th at Bridgewood Community Church in Blaine.
• Arizona – Elevate Coffee Shop in Glendale on Thursday, October 9th 
• California – Radiant Church in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, October 14th

I am very excited to announce the launching of a new website by ARC leader Robert Walter. Robert is a member of our National Leadership Team and a dear friend. A few years ago he and I were talking about a writing project on shame and grace he submitted while studying at Fuller Theological Seminary. As he shared about it his passion for the topic was obvious. Something reignited that day for Robert and he began to give renewed attention to this important area of ministry. Now, based on his research on this life-transforming topic, Robert has launched a new website and written an eBook entitled Why Do I Still Feel Bad? I asked Robert to tell us about this new website, eBook, and ministry. He writes the following:

“Too many people are hacking their way through the jungle of life. Too many people are
living half the lives they were meant to live. Some get lost along the way; many get discouraged. Others are burdened by troubles; some are hobbled by the past. Many just give up. It doesn’t need to be that way. Like many Christians, I’ve been trying to explore what it means to live the abundant life Jesus promised. This search began over thirty years ago. Along the way I’ve discovered an often-overlooked issue that seems to be one of the major obstacles to a fulfilled life.

For years I put off writing about this obstacle because I wasn’t sure I really understood it or could provide a solution. But whenever I taught about it, people were intrigued and asked for more. So I started research to learn what the Bible, neuroscience, spirituality and discipleship had to say. It was about that time that Mike Bradley invited me to teach a class on the subject at The Master’s Institute Seminary. This gave me the impetus to dig in to it and wrestle with my questions. The result was the class called ‘Shame and Grace’ that I taught for the first time in September 2011.

After taking the seminar one pastor wrote: ‘It's rare to participate in a class that can do an equally good job of feeding your own soul and equipping you for soul care to others at the same time. This seminar is nourishing, refreshing, equipping, and empowering all at the same time.’ Because of this kind of response, and a little nudge from the Holy Spirit and dear friends, I sensed that God wanted me to write a book and blog 1) to help others who were stuck in their walk get moving again and 2) to equip pastors and counselors to help others step into their destiny.

So I recently launched a new website where folks can explore issues of discipleship, spirituality, brain science and emotional wholeness. The goal is to help ordinary people (and pastors - they’re not ordinary are they?) experience the riches of God’s grace and run the race marked out for them. You can access the website and get my new eBook Why Do I Still Feel Bad at www.ongodstrail.com. For the time being the eBook is available for free.”

As Director for the ARC I cannot commend Robert and his work highly enough. I encourage you all to go to his website, sign up to follow his blog, and download his eBook. I did and am being blessed, encouraged, and equipped as a result. Thanks Robert for all your hours of research and writing that is going to bless us all!