God is not impressed with numbers.
3 people. 300 people. 300,000,000 people. They’re dust on the scales to the God who spins galaxies on his fingertips. And yet, He’s moved in an enormous way by one prayer, one act of sacrifice, one heart beating in time with His.
God wants to see whole cities, regions, and nations worshipping Him.. His desire for nations doesn’t spring from love for a crowd. It’s out of his attraction to one devoted heart that He longs for 2 or 3 and ultimately millions and billions.
ten days small
We want to see entire cities doing 10 Days together. Big cities! Lots of people! But sometimes a vision like that can actually keep people from doing the “little” thing that is actually huge in the Kingdom. What does 10 Days look like where just a few gather together? When a dozen gather daily to dream and declare God’s purposes over a rural region? When 3 or 4 gather each morning to pray together and watch the sun rise?
We want to highlight how God moved in some of these smaller gatherings this year and hopefully inspire more of these “mini but mighty” gatherings in the future. God’s evaluation is not based on numbers: it’s based on hearts responding to Him in faith, which allows His grace to flow!
Great Barrington, MA (The Berkshires): Restoring Foundations
A band of a dozen or so devoted believers met twice daily at Calvary Christian Church in Great Barrington, MA and began to pray big things over the Berkshires. Mimi Caban Ross, who catalyzed the gathering, shared how they experienced sweet fellowship and powerful times of prayer and worship with young and old. They felt God inviting them to dream His dreams over the region and write down what they wanted to see God do in their region. In a spiritual and intellectual atmosphere that is often hostile to the gospel, this group came away from 10 Days filled with faith and declaring, “this land belongs to God”. When Mimi shared that statement with me after 10 Days, I almost fell over. It was a declaration tangibly soaked in faith.
Near the end of the gathering, a sign appeared in the heavens...a church floating in mid-air!
One of the old, historic church buildings in Great Barrington was literally hoisted in the air during 10 Days by a crane and then placed on stilts in order to completely replace its foundation. The group who was praying saw this as a sign. God was hearing their prayers and was restoring the proper foundations of the church in the Berkshires.
New London, Wisconsin: A Tree by the River
From Paul Franzmeier, New London Wisconsin
24 men from 13 different cities and 11 different Churches gathered at Steve Hansen’s barn to pray on Saturday the 12th of September from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. We brought into the meeting the theme He was impressing upon us - God being the light and His will that we be His lights in our community...
On Sunday the 13th of September through Wednesday the 23rd of September as few as three and as many as 7 men and women prayed at the Sewall’s fishing shack next to the Embarrass River in New London from 5:00-6:30AM. We had people praying from age 21 – 72. We were able to enter in darkness and exit in light every day. We watched God faithfully raise the sun each morning as we praised and petitioned God on behalf of the city of New London.... It was great to see God make glad the city as we prayed by the river.
The group that met daily later shared a report on their daily prayer time in several area congregations.
Long Island: Meeting God with Hunger
From Teresa McCarthy, Long Island NY
From my point of view, I think we made headway...Last year, I was the only one who did all 10 days. I was deeply impacted though and knew that then that the only way to really grow in this was to do all 10 days. This year I had an unexpected companion...A "father" in the faith joined. The synergy of commitment made for great depth as well as fun. We fasted, prayed in all sorts of different ways, studied healing during the 4-6 slot, had lots of drop-ins to practice on, and most importantly, we met with the Lord with hunger.
We had some remarkable times with the Lord but it was all so personal that it wouldn't make sense to get into the details. I, for one experienced a deeply painful and troubling week relationally yet at the same time, was overpowered by Father's love in the midst of it all…
Charleston, SC: Serving the Least
The tent gathering in Charleston wasn’t as small as some of the other gatherings mentioned here. There were a number of people devoting considerable time and resources to this gathering. But, it was certainly focused on the “small”, on serving the least and preaching the good news about Jesus to the poor and homeless. Here’s a testimony from Tent Charleston organizer Matt Pridgen. You can read more testimonies here.
“Perhaps the most incredible testimony of all is how the Lord has moved in such a mighty way to provide for the homeless individuals who put their trust in him under the tent. In the past week alone, the Lord has made a way for six homeless individuals to get out of tent city and off the streets. One returned home to family, two went to stay with friends, one is in a hotel, one went to a shelter in Myrtle Beach and one now has enough work to rent a room...I got a call from one of them while I was writing this email who told me that he feels like a million bucks. "I was already at the bottom," he said, "so it's nothing but up from here."
That is eight hurting people who were impacted by the hands and the feet of Jesus reaching out in the streets for just three short weeks. This is not something that I or anyone else coordinated, but it has been (and continues to be) a joint effort of the body of Christ all pitching in, helping one or two here, one or two there.
Can you imagine if the whole church was mobilized for this work?”
Think Small:
God says to us “If you’re faithful in a small thing, you’ll be faithful in a big thing.” It’s my hope that over the upcoming years, we’ll see more and more small groups of people saying “yes” to 10 Days, laying a foundation of faithfulness for greater things to come.
Yours,
Jonathan Friz
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That was amazing!...now can someone help me describe what just happened?
It’s hard to put 10 Days into words. The sons of Korah knew the wonder of being in God's presence and described it this way:
“One day in your house is better than a thousand days anywhere else.” (Psalm 84)
Based on their math, my calculations are that 10 days in God’s presence must be better than 10,000 days anywhere else. Jesus, God present in the flesh, multiplied time in a similar way in His earthly life. John's gospel says, "the whole world would not contain the books" if every story about him were told. There's a lot that happens when Jesus is present. One day seems like a thousand and we can only tell a few of the stories.
Stories from 5 Cities:
10 Days is a corporate journey. This year, it involved believers in more than 25 cities coming together to worship, pray, repent, humble themselves, and meet with God. It’s also a highly personal journey, especially for those who set-apart the days to meet with God in fasting, prayer, and repentance.
In this email, we'll give brief snap-shots of five of those cities, linking to some more detailed accounts. Over the next weeks we’ll be sharing stories from even more cities and also some more personal takes on what 10 Days has meant.
Bellingham, WA: Church Leaders Unite
Bellingham had an amazing time of prayer, repentance and unity involving 40 local churches partnering in twice daily prayer hosted at Light of the World Prayer Center and evening gatherings in multiple locations. 10 Days was a significant time of gathering for church leaders in the area:
“On Tuesday the 22nd, prayer coordinators of 35 different churches gathered to repent and pray for our community! On the following and final day, Sept. 23rd, 70 pastors gathered to repent and prayed for one another’s churches! We were honored to have a team from Eugene, OR and Bakersfield, CA with us and it is our desire that God would do more in their cities than our own.”--Jason Hubbard, Director, Light of the World Prayer Center
Wilmington, NC: The Tent!
I spent the first half of 10 Days in Wilmington. It was a taste of heaven on earth! I would highly recommend reading Mike Thorton’s full recap of the gathering. Highly recommend! And there’s lots of pictures too!
The Wilmington gathering took place in a tent on one of the main streets in Wilmington, outside of Legion stadium. 24-7 worship was the heart of the tent, fueled by local and visiting worship leaders. God was tangibly present and many people were drawn by that presence from outside into life-changing encounters with Jesus.
Just a few samples of some of the amazing testimonies:
Most 10 Day gatherings have moved from location to location. There was something very powerful about being in one place and in public. I believe that the Wilmington gathering is something that’s going to inspire other cities and change the expression of 10 Days for years to come.
Hollywood, CA: Going After the Depths of Jesus
This was the third year 10 Days was hosted in Hollywood. Karen Covell and Melissa Haskin did an amazing job organizing 18 different gatherings over the 10 Days. They had a special focus on praying for the arts and artists in Hollywood.
Here are just a few testimonies: "We had an incredible celebration yesterday bringing in Rosh Hashanah…Most of our "Hope in the Hills" family were in the house from 12 – 4 PM, and a few of us were able to hang with Radiance [a partner congregation] all the way to midnight for the 12-hour burn/fasting/prayer. The last couple of hours turned into a full-fledged, packed-out praise party as we sang and danced before the Lord. Hallelujah! God met us on the Hill yesterday.” Naima Letts, Hope in the Hills
"I believe the 10 days were significant in getting God's people to pray & worship. The Holy Spirit increased our desire for Jesus and to see the ministry of Jesus manifested. Prayer and worship is like the Air Force that always makes it easier for the ground troops. Our troops happen to be actors, directors, writers, producers, and others behind the camera crew. We need more times of consecration like this. Being relevant will not be enough. We must go after the depths of Jesus to touch the depths of humanity." Ajay Samuel, PiHOP
Denver, Colorado: One New Man
I love the way that God moves and inspires each 10 Days gathering in a distinct and unique way. Denver took a fascinating but very appropriate approach to the fall 10 Days this year. They saw it as an opportunity to give preference in honor to Messianic congregations in the Denver area. Messianic congregations were invited to host and teach and the entire 10 Days had a distinctly Jewish flavor. The link above has a day-by-day summary. Here are just a few highlights below.
Father Phil Eberhardt writes:
“This fall the 10 Days of Awe was observed by Denver churches and ministries, hosted primarily by our Messianic brethren. Rabbi Stew Lieberman and Rabbi Michael Walker of Church in the City / Beth Abraham hosted our Sundayevening kickoff service for Rosh Hashanah, the feast of trumpets. About 300 were in attendance as we came together in worship and prayer for Israel and for our nation and state….
We thank God for the hospitality and unity among our Messianic brothers and sisters. Many were awakened to the deep roots of our faith in the root of the Jewish Olive Tree. Many times we came back to the passages in Romans 9-11 about Paul's heart and passion for his own people, the root of the Olive tree into which we as gentiles have been grafted. We felt a deep connection to one another through prayer together and I know that our city will experience the favor of God as a result of these One New Man expressions during the 10 days of AWE. “
Boston, MA
God has been doing an amazing work within traditionally Protestant churches over the last 50 years, breaking down walls between congregations and denominations. However, there are still significant barriers both culturally and theologically between Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox followers of Jesus.
Kelly Steinhaus has been very intentionally pursuing bringing those walls down in Boston. This year half of 10 Days Boston was hosted by Catholic and Orthodox Christians. This fact alone is worth celebrating! It’s something that was literally impossible as recently as 2012.
Please see the Unite Boston Blog for some great video testimonies from 10 Days. We’ve included one below as well.
When Jesus is around, He does more amazing things than books can hold. These are just a few of the stories from five cities that gathered together during 10 Days this year. It’s my prayer that you are grateful, encouraged, and inspired by what God is doing! Thank you Jesus!!! We’ll be sharing more good news in the days to come.
Blessings,
Jonathan Friz
*Photo Credits to Melissa Haskin, Anita Perry and David Therrien
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