There are few things that bring me more joy than seeing God’s kingdom at work through the body of Christ in a profound, world-changing way. I believe that you, as a senior pastor, also feel the same way. I know you desire to see the members of your congregation released into all God has called them to be!
In just a few months, we will have the opportunity to experience a unique visitation from the Lord during a gathering that will include our entire Foursquare family. Immediately following Connection 2012, we will meet for The Foursquare Global Summit, June 1-3, in Phoenix. More than 200 Foursquare leaders from around the world and the U.S. will come together in unity and with fresh vision to seek God’s will.
I believe this will be a historic moment in our movement. This is my personal invitation to you to help us communicate the news of this event. As a way to get the word out to as many pastors as possible, we have created a four-minute video about the Summit. I think you’ll be touched by the comments of leaders you’ll see in this short film, who communicated their hearts about this event. It’s available in both high-res and low-res versions, and the link includes instructions on how to download the video to your computer. I encourage you to watch the video today!
This event is borne out of our movement’s early heritage, as the U.S. church pioneered the Foursquare work around the world through the global vision of our founder, Aimee Semple McPherson. Recognizing our call to take the gospel to the nations, we have seen the work established, supervised and facilitated. Now we see the fruit of our labor—the U.S. church is a full-fledged partner with national works in 140 nations! Our philosophy of releasing indigenous leaders to serve within their nations has accelerated the mission of our movement.
Deeply important to me is the very present leading of the Holy Spirit in our midst. In fact, this is so significant that I did not want any of our churches to miss this moment. Dr. Leslie Keegel, the Foursquare national leader of Sri Lanka and a respected apostolic voice, received a clear and prophetic picture of what the Lord intends to do through this event, even now as we prepare.
Briefly, the Lord showed him that when we gather from around the world in worship, prayer and unity in June, it will be as though we have joined together around a campfire. Each of us will take home a burning arrowlike stake that, in turn, will light up each nation with revival fire and enemy-defeating power! Please take time to read Leslie’s prophecy in its entirety.
This is God’s plan. This is our opportunity to partner with His purpose for a new day whereby The Foursquare Church can, as our Connection 2012 theme states, “Speak—Reclaim Our Voice!”
Would you consider inviting your church to partner with our global Foursquare family? Here are two distinct ways to engage those you shepherd in being part of this unique moment:
- Join with us in prayer. Invite the Lord to guide each and every step we take in the planning and preparation. Pray also for open doors for the national leaders, so they can attend without financial difficulty or scheduling conflicts. Ask for God’s revelation and an outpouring of His grace to give us profound guidance for the future of Foursquare. We also encourage you to go online to participate in our Global Summit Prayer Strategy Devotional. Each week, a devotional blog is posted, written by one of our national or global leaders. This blog will be ongoing through Sunday, May 28 (just before Connection 2012 begins).
- Join with us in giving. The executive committee of the Global Council, which is the Summit steering committee, has chosen Sunday, March 4, as the day we’ll set apart for the Global Summit Special Offering Sunday. Across the world, we will take an offering to help raise scholarship-assistance funds for leaders who could not otherwise attend this event. Your giving can help sponsor a pastor to meet with us in Phoenix—while answering a prayer request and fulfilling a dream! To participate in this special offering with our international brothers and sisters, we recommend taking the following steps:
a. Dedicate about five minutes of your service to this Special Offering Sunday. Show the video, and invite prayer partnership and donor involvement.
b. Take an offering. Please ask for checks to be written to your local church. When the funds are collected, write a check for the amount from your church to ICFG. Write “Global Summit” in the memo field and send the check to P. O. Box 26776, Los Angeles, CA 99026. If there are those in your congregation who would like to give a special gift or an ongoing gift, please direct them to our Global Summit donor link for that purpose: give.foursquare.org/globalsummit2012.
Thank you for reading this rather time-sensitive information. I’m aware of the multitude of responsibilities you carry, and I am ever thankful for your heart, commitment and faithful service as a pastor. It is my strong belief that the front lines are right where you are—meeting the everyday demands and ministry concerns of a local church. There is no higher calling; and I honor you, pray for you and thank God that I have the privilege to serve you in my role.
Thank you for listening, and for responding as you feel led by the Holy Spirit!
By: Glenn Burris Jr., president of The Foursquare Church
