United collaborative effort. Blessing the neighborhood. Praying for the in-breaking of the Kingdom. Disciple making training.
These are some of the phrases that come to mind when I reflect on the PUSH initiative training that took place over the weekend of Feb. 8-9. It was truly a collaborative initiative – co-organized by Novo Canada, Outreach Canada, Fellowship International, Church of All Nations, and 24:14. Eighteen people from all over the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, from different churches and organizations, came together for this training.
What exactly is a PUSH initiative? A PUSH initiative is where followers of Jesus, being led by the Spirit, UNITE in a focused time of prayer, sharing, and healing for a particular neighborhood
The acronym PUSH stands for the following:
P – Prayer: Praying for the in-breaking of God’s kingdom in the spirit of Luke 10:1-12
U – Unite: Co-laboring together with other followers of Jesus to engage and bless communities. This means that at a PUSH you are never alone.
S – Share: Sharing the gospel in word, deed, and power
H – Heal: Proclaiming and witnessing healing that comes from receiving Jesus
What is the objective of a PUSH initiative? The objective of the PUSH initiative is two fold:
- To intentionally engage our communities in search of potential persons of peace (someone who is open to seeking Jesus)
- To train others in this particular type of community engagement
Some of the training that we covered included the following: how to share the gospel by sharing a story of Jesus; prayer walking; blessing prayer; how to get started in disciple-making.
In a time leading up to the event, the host church (Church of All Nations in New Westminster), spent time asking the Lord and listening for His guidance as to which neighborhood near the church was to be the focus of our prayers, blessing, and potential engagement. The Lord led them to a 10 x 1 city block perimeter directly next to the church. On the Saturday, after an extended time of training, all the participants scattered throughout the designated neighborhood with the goal of just praying blessing over the neighborhood and to practice listening for the Spirit’s directing should He highlight any specific area.
The following day, after a time of praise and worship together, we ventured again into the same neighborhood but with the intention of blessing people personally with prayer. We did this in pairs as we knocked on doors, visited businesses, and spoke to people in the street along the way. We do this in partnership with the Holy Spirit to find “persons of peace” – spiritually interested persons, prepared by the Holy Spirit to receive blessing and the gospel.
Though we did not find a person of peace that day, we had over 50 conversations and 20 people willingly received prayers of blessing from us. One of the greatest joys for me was seeing several attendees, who had never engaged non-believers in this way, filled with great joy at the experience of engaging with and praying for strangers in the community. When you look at our objectives, we accomplished everything we set out to do. We look forward to building on this momentum in the near future. Stay tuned for future PUSH initiatives and we hope that you will consider joining us!
