Renewal Family, was originally Renewal Fellowship, founded in 1996, was made up of a group of pastors from different denominations, led by the spirit of the Lord. Pastor Gideon Chiu is the father among us, and we met on weekly basis to worship, share heart, support each other. We become a true family. Each year, we will have a joint service in the beginning of the year. We also hold retreats to have deeper relationship with each other. Our second generation also bear beautiful fruits as the two generations walk together. As we enjoyed our fellowship together, we also felt the need to pray together, therefore, we started a monthly joint prayer meeting.
It happens that one time, a pastor felt startled when she was at Church of Zion’s prayer meeting, that in their prayer meeting people were not praying for their own church needs. Instead, they were praying for the fathers that were traveling around the nations and their works. She started thinking that if one church like Church of Zion can serve nations and God’s Kingdom by kneeling down to pray for the gatherings in different nations, how much more it would accomplish if the churches in the city will come together to own the Kingdom vision by praying together as City of Zion!
As we visited different nations, we also witnessed that the Lord is doing great and swift works in Asia, Europe and different parts of the world. We long to see more of His deeds in Vancouver, this mother womb of the “gatherings”! We started City Prayer Altar by the confirmation of the fathers and Prophet Imeil’s words, in 2014. Although we already had monthly joint prayer meeting, the Lord increased our frequency to make it a weekly prayer gathering. The Lord also moved our hearts that it should start with pastors, just like Jesus is our King and He is now sitting at the right hand of God interceding for us as an intercessor. As Jesus is our example, we also called the pastors to stand at the position first. As the pastors stand in position, it would be like the anointing poured out on Aaron’s head, flowing down to his head and beard and whole body, and the praying anointing will flow to the churches we are pastoring.
As this group of pastors longed for the presence of the Lord, we started our weekly prayer gathering, and then the Lord led us to have a 12-hour worship each month, later becomes monthly First Fruit Gathering. Toward the end of 2016, we responded to Pastor David Demian’s call on “Awakening the Dawn” prayer. Since then, pastors from the city take turns leading the 5 am daily morning prayer meeting. Starting from December 25th 2016, this prayer meeting has not ceased for a day.
Around the same time at the end of 2016, the Lord also put a burden in our heart about this Vancouver Gathering. We started seeking the Lord daily, and our desire is to prepare for Him a dwelling place, not only in far away nations, but also in our very city and amongst our churches. Between the local churches and the nations, the Lord is raising up cities that are after His own heart. Just like the early churches, the Lord worked city by city. He broke down the walls between the churches, and released deeper anointing of loving one another. We are not only a family that pray together, we are also a truly family that walk together. We pray that the Lord will do greater things in your city. Beautiful things are bound to happen when we love and walk together!
Family Journey is a journey and a pathway. Where we join in is not important. What matters is where the pathway began:
Our Heavenly Father is longing for all His children to come home. No longer to be homeless. No longer to be orphans. Our Heavenly Father is calling: “Come home! Come back to my House!” If you are moved by the call of the Holy Spirit, and it stirs passion in your heart to respond, then arise and come home!
On the way “home”, we may wish for eveyone around us to join in. Though it is the Father’s heart for all, not everyone is prepared to go at the same time or in the same way. There is a different season in everyone’s personal journey, position, and timing. So we must let go and allow the Lord to do His work. It is not about the title, status, or name of those who are called to the journey, but about having the same heartbeat—the Father’s heartbeat. We are called to pursue Him on the same journey—a journey of turning our hearts toward Him (Malachi 4:6.) Unless we have the same heart, we cannot walk together. Unless we move in the same rhythm, we cannot dance together. We are not against a large number for unity, but we do not believe it’s based on the agreement of the majority.
With an unceasing longing for our Father’s Heart, returning to His embrace, and beholding His beauty, we worship Him and surrender fully unto Him. Therefore, this is not just another meeting, a series of activities, nor a ministry. Rather, this is a journey that requires us to pursue the glory of God corporately. It is a selfless road leading to revival. Our purpose is to become a family with one single desire that is to become a dwelling place for our Father’s glory. Such journey is revolutionary.
We cannot in our own strength or in our own way, create a dwelling place for Him. This shall be done according to His word in Isaiah 66:1 which says, “Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?” No one can plan, design, make massive investments, nor work to build a dwelling place for our Lord. It requires us listening and discerning corporately, laying down all individual or group interests, and offering ourselves as building materials for His dwelling place. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2)
Why do we practice “corporate listening”? It is because this journey is about becoming a family who listens together to the Father’s heart. In the last days, He will speak to His sons and daughters in visions, dreams, words of knowledge, and words of wisdom. He will release prophetic announcements and words pointing to signs and wonders. All these will be given by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better (Eph 1:17-19.) By walking together as a family, we can then realize the destiny and position of the Chinese church, inherit the land given by the Father, and fulfill Jesus’ promises to all nations.
Therefore, we come to worship the Father, wait upon Him, and align our hearts together with God and with each other, so that we can hear the words from the Holy Spirit. We have determined that unless we hear the Lord clearly and practice discernment, we will not proceed. Once we receive a clear instruction from the Lord, we will obey and follow through at all cost. A full surrender regardless of the cost is what brings joy to the Father’s heart.
Therefore, if you feel called to take part in the “Homecoming”, you must not only obey the call, but you must also take up the challenge to prepare by laying down everything. By obeying the Lord and submitting to one another, we can fulfill His desire for us to be in one heart and one way (Jer 32:39). If however, you do not feel called to participate at this time, it is important to obey the Holy Spirit as this is also an act of submission. We all must listen and obey the Lord as the Holy Spirit speaks to us. May all the churches who have ears, let them hear. Amen. May the heart of our Father be satisfied by having the submission and obedience of his children.
Pastor Lydia Wong
(This article is adapted from www.asiagathering.hk)
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