The Journey to Transformation

April 18-20

•Thursday 6:30 – 9:30 PM
•Friday 8:30 – 5:00 PM
•Saturday 8:30 – 5:00 PM

Westpark Golf Club

59 Clubhouse Drive SW

Leesburg, VA 20175

What is the Journey to Transformation?

The Journey to Transformation (JTT) is a process that is designed to prepare a community for divine visitation and subsequent societal transformation — a condition otherwise known as spiritual awakening.

The process itself can last anywhere from three months to a year — depending upon a community’s readiness to free itself from competing distractions. This time is spent understanding God’s expectations, counting the cost to proceed, building individual and corporate faith, confessing and repenting of known sin, and prevailing with God in prayer.

Who Should Take this Journey?

Many Christians talk longingly about revival, but then get lost in the fog of doubt and uncertainty. They grieve over the condition of their community, but can’t seem to find the pathway to genuine change. They suspect that God is concerned about their plight, but are conflicted over his apparent reluctance to intervene. They do what they can in his absence, but it never seems to be enough.

The JTT process offers a powerful solution to people who are desperate for genuine results. The process employs combination of biblical teaching, inspiring examples, and clear action steps.  The JTT rebuilds godly expectancy that leads to health and wholeness.

Having spent more than a decade examining hundreds of transformation success stories, we are convinced that proper preparation — which begins with counting the cost of such a venture — is essential. While it is sometimes true that a journey is its own reward, in the matter of transforming revival, success is all about reaching our intended destination.

How Do We Start?  The Discovery Weekend…

The Discovery Weekend is the first step on the road to transformation. Open to all comers, it begins by establishing the need for transforming revival, moves on to define what success looks like, and ends with a thorough discussion of both the process and cost of preparing for a divine visitation.

In short, the Discovery Weekend sets forth the core considerations on which a community must reflect before committing to pursue the Journey to Transformation. Those who count the cost and elect to continue move on to a 12-week journey of Preparation: Welcoming the Presence of God that amplifies transformational principles and provides extended time for personal and corporate application.

If you are from Leesburg, VA area and would like information about the local transformation movement, contact Clancy Nixon 703-819-2585 or Lyman Eddy 703-505-2315.

For more information visit Loudoun Awakening at http://www.loudounawakening.org/Home.

If you are interested in bringing the Journey to Transformation: Discovery Weekend to your community, contact Intercessors for America at 1-800-USA-Pray.

Seven Keys to Changing Your Community

By George Otis, Jr. (Sentinel Group)

Only God can transform a community, but there are several things we can do to prepare for his arrival. Here’s a short list of considerations.

Key #1 — Picture True Success

In short, a transformed community is…

•A neighborhood, city or nation whose values and institutions have been overrun by the grace and presence of God;
•A place where divine fire has not merely been summoned, it has fallen;
•A society in which natural evolutionary change has been disrupted by an invasive supernatural power;
•A culture that has been impacted comprehensively and undeniably by the Kingdom of God;
•A location where kingdom values are celebrated publicly and passed on to future generations. 

Key #2 — Discern Your Condition

Obscured Jeopardy Syndrome is a condition that prevails in communities where serious ills are not readily discernable. The primary symptom is a false sense of security, and the only remedy is to ask God to help us see things as they really are. This revelation helps us avoid superficial assessments based on how circumstances are affecting us personally, and what prior experience has taught us is normal.

Key #3 — Work Up An Appetite

We all possess a long list of life hungers. Some are base appetites — food, sex, sleep — that are essential to our survival as a species. Others are unique to us as individuals. These might include a hunger for reputation or security. The salient question is: “Where on this list do we rank our hunger for the presence of God?” The process of transforming revival is triggered when our appetite for God’s presence trumps all other hungers.

Key #4 — Find Faithful Companions

It is important to pray with others who share both our desperation for God and a genuine spirit of unity. In looking for these qualities, we do well to remember that God’s choicest servants often come in unconventional packages. In addition to pastors and intercessors, our initial core might very well consist of tax collectors, shepherds or even children.

Key #5 — Touch the Real Thing

Got memories? One thing can be said of genuine revival: it changes you. And there is no better way to stoke faith than to visit a community where God’s transforming touch is on exhibit. In the words of one Hebridean saint, “Once you have tasted revival, you always want to see it again.”

Key #6 — Pray With Focus

It goes without saying that prayer is the incubator and furnace of revival. If it is neglected or dies out, all forward progress will cease. For this reason, and because today’s wealth of information often leads to a poverty of attention, mastering our digital life and calendar is essential.

Key #7 — Get on the Clock

Lastly, if we are to realize transforming revival, we must migrate from wishful hoping to biblical expectancy. This means temporarily shutting down aspects of “normal life” so that we can prepare for something extraordinary. And just as the actions of elite athletes are motivated by, and measured against, the looming prospect of the next Olympiad, having a timeframe is required (see Proverbs 13:4, Hosea 6:3).

The Journey to Transformation

Over the past fifteen years, Sentinel Group researchers have identified common threads running through hundreds of transformed communities. In 2011, the ministry distilled these observations into a transactional training process called the Journey to Transformation.

Mark Gunderman can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

“In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” - Acts 20:35.

Church seeks 1,000 volunteers to package 150,000 meals on Saturday April 6.

Who: Round Hill United Methodist Church
What: Third Annual Western Loudoun “Stop Hunger Now Meal Packaging Event”
When: Saturday, April 6, 2013 - 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Where: Round Hill Elementary School, Cafeteria and Gymnasium
Why: Opportunity to package 150,000 meals to support needy people

The Round Hill United Methodist Church (RHUMC) will host the Third Annual Western Loudoun Community “Stop Hunger Now Meal Packaging Event” in Round Hill, Virginia on Saturday, April 6.  RHUMC Pastor Jeff Witt confirmed that this year the event plans to package an ambitious 150,000 meals in only four hours.

According to church representative Michele Jones, RHUMC learned about Stop Hunger Now in 2010 at the United Methodist Churches Virginia Annual Conference.  “It was such a great event that we thought we could bring it to our church and more importantly our community at large,” Jones said.  “Everyone from four years old to well into their nineties can participate.  It is a great community service activity that attracts teenagers too.”

Jones praised the event as being really gratifying and fun and said people are drawn to it.  Getting folks involved in neutral facilities where they feel comfortable actively helping others is a powerful way to show them the results of God’s love.  It’s a great way to reach out to those who do not currently attend church.

In 2011, RHUMC and its host of 100 volunteers packaged 25,000 meals to send to Kampala, Uganda.  The following year, the event tripled with 300 volunteers churning out 50,000 meals for a school in Manila, Philippines.

Pastor Witt cited this year’s goal is to provide a whopping 150,000 meals for the people of Burkina Faso in West Africa.  There are certainly enough eager volunteers.  In 2012, the church actually had to turn helpers away because the floor space was already filled to capacity.  In order to get the most meals out of the most volunteers, more floor space has been acquired with the approved use of the Round Hill Elementary School Gymnasium.  Based on previous years, Pastor Witt believes it will take between 600 and 1,000 volunteers to reach their goal in the four hours allotted.

This entirely volunteer operation is broken down into an efficient assembly line.

First, at the funnel stations the rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and vitamin pack are placed into bags.

Second, at the weigh stations the bags are weighed to make sure they are within the acceptable range.

Third, the bags are sealed at the sealing stations.

Finally, the bags are boxed, sealed and packaged for shipping.

The church has volunteers maintain the funnel stations supplied with the rice, soy, veggies and vitamins and move the “product” from station to station until each meal is ready to go out the door.  Stop Hunger Now ships the food product to a warehouse in Lynchburg, Virginia. Through their partners at LeSEA Global Feed the Hungry, these meals are then shipped to a third world destination.

The past two years saw participation from church members from over a dozen churches; Boy and Girl Scouts; athletic teams of all sorts; school administrators, teachers, and students from many western Loudoun schools; attendees of a local dance studio; local police; fire and rescue personnel; and the local community at large including business owners and employees.

If you are interested in being a part of the 1,000-strong, meal-making machine, please register at: http://events.stophungernow.org/Roundhill
We also appreciate your donations in support of this event.  Each meal is a donation of only 25 cents.

For more information, contact:
Pastor Jeff Witt
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://roundhillumc.org
(540) 338-4445 Office

About LeSEA Global Feed the Hungry

LeSea Global is a non-profit 501(c3) mission organization dedicated to feeding the hungry around the world and providing emergency relief to those in need as a result of famine, drought, flood, war or other disaster. Since 1988, Feed the Hungry has delivered over $200 million dollars of relief supplies to over 94 nations worldwide.  As a Pastor-to-Pastor, Church-to-Church program responding to the biblical mandate to feed the hungry, they directly oversee the entire relief process, making sure contributions get into the hands of those in need without undue government intervention.

About RHUMC

RHUMC is a church congregation with deep roots in the community.  The church dates back to 1889 and for many years has been active in supporting the needy with food and heating assistance, Christmas in April, and the Appalachian Service Project (ASP).

Christ is revealed at RHUMC in very powerful ways.  First, God can be seen through the long history of this church.  We have inherited a legacy of outreach, sacrifice and vision.  Secondly, we enjoy a spirit of love and commitment.  The vitality of our church is due to Christ dwelling in the hearts and souls of all who minister here.  The passion and the spirit of this congregation are drawing those who seek to intimately know God through Christ.

Finally, God is in the future of this church and this community of faith.  God’s hand has put together all the pieces that make possible the vision of growing a congregation.  God is in our future as surely as God is with us now, and has been with us in the past.  Our vision is all about sharing God… sharing God’s love… sharing our faith… sharing the future.

RHUMC Mission: “We dedicate and commit ourselves to Jesus Christ who is our Lord and Savior and through our spiritual journey live as His disciples.”

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry” – Luke 4:1-2.

The Lenten tradition of the Church takes its inspiration from Jesus’ 40 days of solitude, prayer, and fasting in the wilderness.

Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

This year Lent begins on Ash Wednesday with services, February 13 and ends on Holy Saturday, March 30, the day before Easter Sunday. Some churches will also hold Shrove Tuesday pancake dinners, following the Lenten tradition of using up all the butter, eggs and yeast in the kitchen before Lent actually begins.

Some church denominations practice the wearing of ashes on the forehead in the sign of a cross on Ash Wednesday. Ashes symbolize true heartfelt repentance. More important than the outward symbol of ashes is the inner reality of a contrite heart. “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes” - Daniel 9:3.

Lent is a season of repentance, self-examination and quiet contemplation of the mysteries of God. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. Christians prepare for the forgiveness of their sins and fleshy lives with the death of Jesus on the cross on Good Friday as they follow his footsteps through Holy Week.

To learn more about Wednesday Lenten services, contact your local church. Lent is generally celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Greek Orthodox, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and some Baptist and Mennonite congregations.

Calendar of Dates for Lent and Easter 2013
Ash Wednesday - February 13, 2013
First Sunday in Lent - February 17, 2013
Second Sunday in Lent - February 24, 2013
Third Sunday in Lent - March 3, 2013
Fourth Sunday in Lent - March 10, 2013
Fifth Sunday in Lent- March 17, 2013
Liturgy of the Palms - March 24, 2013
Sixth Sunday in Lent
Liturgy of the Passion - March 24, 2013
Sixth Sunday in Lent
Easter Sunday - March 31, 2013

If anyone seeks to publish a faith article, please contact Mark Gunderman at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).