This Sunday, February 5, 2012, the ARC will launch two new churches in Florida and Kentucky. Please join us in supporting these pastors and their church families with prayer, support and encouragement.
Emerge Church
Wade and Cynthia Moran
Real Life Church
Brandon and Autumn Cannon
Lights. Camera. Action!
Resident creative-brain, Seth Tindol, sets up shop in the ARC office. As the newest member of the ARC Team, Tindol will be contributing new perspective to the world of church planting through the art of video and photography.
“I love the idea of documentation,” Tindol said.
“The local church is the hope of the world. I love how the ARC embraces this idea and is working to plant life-giving churches across the country. I have seen these churches not just preach the word to their cities, but serve their communities with amazing acts of compassion and love,” he said. “There is a huge story to be told here.”
Tindol says working at the ARC has given him a huge appreciation for these pastors and the price they pay to begin a church from nothing. “They are the unsung heroes of the church.”
To Tindol, visual media plays a key role in linking together generational voids and creating awareness.
“This generation is so into visual media. I don’t see the church fully reaching this generation without some kind of media element incorporated in their Sunday experience. My goal is to show church planters that, they too, can produce videos on a small budget with out sacrificing excellence.”
In the year to come, Tindol will be documenting the ARC, their pastors, and the dynamic world of church planting.
By | Staci Bledsoe
This Sunday, January 29, 2012, the ARC will launch two new churches in Florida and Oklahoma. Please join us in supporting these pastors and their church families with prayer, support and encouragement.
The Shore Church
Sarasota, FL
T.J. and Leah Hankey
Website – Facebook – Twitter
CrossCulture Church
Owasso, OK
Jamie and Rachel Varnell
Twitter – Facebook
This Sunday, January 22, 2012, the ARC will launch five new churches across the US. Please join us in supporting these pastors and their church families with prayer, support and encouragement.
Frontier Church
Leesburg, FL
Steve and Chineta Yates
Synergy Church
Winsor, GA
Bronson and Lindsay Crawford
Middletree Church
St. Louis, MO
Brian and Mary Schmidgall
CrossPointe Community Church
Jefferson, WI
Russ and Courtney Walker
The Hills
Nashville, TN
John and Kristin Ragsdale
Below, Philip Wagner, pastor of Oasis Church in Los Angeles, gives a fantastic break down of 21 days of prayer and fasting. Pastor Philip and his wife, Holly, are authors, national and international speakers and the founders of Generosity Water, a non-profit organization committed to bringing solutions to the clean water crisis. You can follow Pastor Philip’s blog here.
We are beginning a time of 21 Days of Prayer and fasting. We are excited about what can happen over these next 21 days and what can happen this year because of this time of prayer and fasting. We are anticipating God moving in our lives and the life of our church.
We believe that God will work in ways we could never have imagined. Together, we will take this journey.
What Is Fasting?
Fasting is substituting our regular food intake with Bible reading, praying and reflection. The ‘big idea’ is to experience a genuine hunger for spending time with God.
Fasting is redirecting the attention normally spent on food, to focus our hearts and minds on Christ and His plan for our lives. When you experience hunger or a craving, this is your reminder to pray or turn to Him for your needs. Ask God to help you see things as He sees them, and how you can be used to impact your family, community and world.
The goal is to focus on God. Don’t let yourself get bogged down in the legalities of what food is right or wrong. Just do your best to follow some of these guidelines. You will find that even the smallest change to your diet will bring great rewards, both physically and spiritually.
*If you have any known medical conditions or suspect such conditions, consult your doctor before beginning the fast.
Types of Fasting
There are many types of fasts. I will tell you about three of them.
1. Normal Fast –
no food only liquids for 24 hr period or a certain number of days.
2. Partial Fast –
is eliminating certain foods from our diet
The Daniel Fast - is a partial fast, which means that we eliminate some common things from our daily diet, but will have options available. We focus on eating fruits and vegetables that are pure and simple. Below is a list of foods to eat and foods to avoid.
Foods To Eat in the Daniel Fast -Whole Grains, Legumes, Fruits, Vegetables
Foods To Avoid in a Daniel Fast- Meat, Poultry, Fish, White Rice, Fried Foods, Carbonated Beverages, Refined Sugar, or Sugar Substitutes, White Flour, Margarine, Shortening, High Fat Products, All Breads, Dairy (milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, etc.)
Remember, the details are not as important as the spirit in which you participate.
3. Lifestyle Fast – What is a Lifestyle Fast?
Choose something from your daily routine, for example, specific foods or beverages, television, other technology or an activity that normally takes a lot of your attention and ‘fast’ in that manner for a number of days in the next 21 days.
This is about fasting from those things that may consume our time and resources and stand in our way of truly connecting with God.
For some of us, this will mean fasting from technology. Not necessarily all technology, but those things that keep you from spending time with God. Maybe you watch too much television or surf the web aimlessly.
For others, it could be shopping, sports or another hobby or pastime that can distract you from what’s most important.
Whatever that thing is for you, take a week off or take 21 days off. And instead, give that time to God.
Our 21-Day Plan
Our Focus:
The fast is a spiritual discipline and act of devotion. The purpose of fasting is:
1. to better connect us with God.
2. to deepen our relationship with God and to walk in step with His plan and purpose.
3. to bring breakthrough in our life
Our Timeline: Sunday, Jan 8th through Saturday, Jan 28th
Areas of our Prayer Focus –
Look at my blog for the ‘January Bible Plan’ http://tinyurl.com/73qefrs for 21 specific areas that we are praying for. I also include some scriptures to read on that day.
In addition to those 21 areas – Please pray for:
Preparing Yourself for a Fast
One of the foundations of fasting and prayer is repentance, humbling yourself and pursuing God’s best.
Unconfessed sin will hinder your prayers. Here are several things you can do to prepare your heart:
* Ask God to reveal to you sins in your life.
* Confess every sin that the Holy Spirit calls to your remembrance and accept God’s
forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
* Seek forgiveness from all whom you have offended, and forgive all who have hurt you
(Mark 11:25; Luke 11:4; 17:3,4).
* Make restitution as the Holy Spirit leads you.
* Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit according to His command in Ephesians 5:18, Acts 2.4 and His promise in 1 John 5:14,15.
* Surrender your life fully to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Master; refuse to obey your
worldly nature (Romans 12:1,2).
* Meditate on the attributes of God, His love, sovereignty, power, wisdom, faithfulness,
grace, compassion, and others (Psalm 48:9,10; 103:1-8. 11-13).
* Begin your time of fasting and prayer with an expectant heart (Hebrews 11:6).
* Do not underestimate spiritual opposition. Satan sometimes intensifies the natural battle between body and spirit (Galatians 5:16,17).
Spiritual Benefits of Fasting:
Scriptures About Various Kinds of Fasting
– Moses (Exodus 34:28; Deut. 9:9,18),
– David (2 Samuel 12:16), Elijah (1 Kings 19:8),
– Jesus (Matthew 4:1-2), the early church (13:2).
– Jesus taught on fasting – assuming people would fast. (Matthew 6:1-18).
– Anna (Luke 2:37),
– Paul (Acts 14:23),
– Jesus said that there is a time for fasting (Matthew 9:15).
– Paul says we should give ourselves at times to prayer and fasting (1 Corinthians 7:5).
– Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:4); Esther (Esther 4:16), Daniel (Daniel 1:12)
– Isaiah 58
Miscellaneous thoughts…
Many people experience emotional frustrations during a fast, inner arguments about continuing to fast. Some times it’s just our ‘flesh’ or carnal nature trying to be in charge of what we do in our life. Often we just need to make a decision in our heart and stick to it until that ‘voice’ in our emotions quiets down.
Fasting can bring mental, emotional or spiritual toxins to the surface. Let them go. Turn them over to God.
(BTW – Fasting will also bring physical toxins to the surface so having sugar free mints handy would be wise)
Thank you for being a part of this time of prayer.
Through out the year, many ARC churches across the US will embark on a 21-day corporate prayer and fast. During this time, participants will seek spiritual renewal and enlightenment by uniting in prayer and by fasting worldly distractions. The goal is to hear less of the world and more of God.
Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And now hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, “Here I am.”
Isaiah 58: 6-9
Stovall Weems, ARC Pastor and author of the book Awakening tells us, “Prayer connects us to God and fasting disconnects us from the world.”
This month the weplantlife blog will feature additional insights on prayer and fasting and behind-the-scenes footage on the revival taking place during this three-week journey.
Excellent resources to equip your church for 21 days of prayer and fast are:
Awakening by Stovall Weems
7 Basic Steps to Successful Fasting and Prayer by Bill Bright
This Sunday, January 8, 2012, two new churches will launch in the southeast kicking off the spring 2012 launch season. Cultivate Church will launch in Alabaster, Ala., under the co-leadership of Brandon and Jennifer Matthews and Brandon and Danielle Doss. Compassion Church will launch in Smyrna, Ga., under the leadership of Jason and Pearilya Thomas.
Cultivate Church
Alabaster, Al
Website – Facebook – Twitter
Brandon and Jennifer Matthews
Brandon and Danielle Doss
Compassion Church
Smyrna, Ga
Website – Facebook – Twitter
Jason and Pearilya Thomas
ARC Report 2011 from WePlantLife on Vimeo.
Share with Your Church
The Report video, printer-friendly worship guide insert, and personalized introduction are great resources to share with your church.
Click the links below to access the information and plug your church in on what is happening at the ARC this year.
Click to Download
It has been an amazing year here at the ARC. Thank you so much for your dedication, hard work, and continued support.
It’s here! The ARC has an iphone app! Use it to find an ARC Church near you. Here are some screen shots:
