We’re just two weeks from the Restore New England Convocation on October 12.  This Friday, Roberto Miranda, pastor of Lion of Judah and lead convener of the NE Alliance, shared the following about his sense of excitement for Restore:

“We’ve had many gatherings of unity throughout the New England region over the years, but of all those gatherings, none has filled me with a sense of anticipation and potential as this one has.”

Because of Roberto’s history in this movement, through all the ups and downs, this struck me.  I’ve heard that idea echoed by many others around the region, and I think I could add my own “amen” to that as well.  Take a minute to watch Roberto's invitation for yourself!

  

Restore: October 12 at the Moody Campus (1 Moody St. Northfield MA)

Restore is something of a New England church family reunion.  We’ll begin with a picnic lunch at the Northfield campus at 11, with historic tours, worship, and workshops beginning at 11:30.  Don’t miss the main event starting at 3pm with representatives from the six-state region!  Plan ahead to take the day off work and enjoy the drive in the midst of beautiful fall foliage!

October 12 Schedule: (1 Moody St. Northfield, MA)

11-3pm: Workshops, Revival history tours, Picnic Lunch, Worship (some food will be provided, but bring something as well)

3pm-6:30: Restore Convocation in the 2,500 person Moody Auditorium! (No registration, no cost)

10 Days Starts Sunday, October 12: 

Together, we are mobilizing prayer throughout New England.  

There are 15 regions of New England participating in 10 Days this fall, part of more than 30 cities participating in the nation and globally.  This includes:

3 in Maine

3 in Connecticut (including a state-wide effort)

4 in New Hampshire and

5 in Massachusetts

Please see 10days.net for a complete listing of cities/regions.  More importantly, please join us in fasting and prayer starting this Sunday evening, October 2.  As someone said to me recently, “We have an appointment with God, and God is going to honor the appointment!”

Share and Invite others to Restore

The New England Alliance is a network composed of state and city-wide unity networks.  As a network, we have little central infrastructure; our strength is in like-minded lovers of Jesus like you!  Together, we can mobilize New England and Restore God’s inheritance in this region.

Blessings,

Jonathan Friz, Coordinator, NE Alliance

RESTORE Resources:

Vids: Here is a series of five videos that have been produced...share whichever ones are most helpful!

Charisma Article on 10 Days: Written by Rabbi Grant Berry: http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/standing-with-israel/60085-holy-spirit-inspired-prayer-movement-catching-fire-in-the-u-s

RESTORE: Encouraging Vision

It’s exciting to see what God is doing in New England.

Please Read the Vision Related Below!! 

Since I move in prayer circles, I get to hear a lot of dreams and visions.  I rarely share them via this group but I received one a few weeks ago that directly touches on what we're doing this fall with Restore and applies to us as a region.  I receive it from Mike Thorton, leader of the North Carolina team that's bringing a tent and 70 people to pray for 5 Days.  Take a minute to read it (below and attached)—I think you’ll be encouraged that God is really serious about this idea of Restoration not only at this historic campus, but for us as a region!

Northfield: A Quick Update and Request for Prayer

-----We now have over 100 people coming for the 5 Days in the tent at Northfield.  God has been moving on people’s hearts and they’re coming out.  We anticipate this number growing over the next month. We’re rejoicing that so many are coming. We need prayer for housing and accommodation for so many people during a busy holiday weekend.
-----The Alliance Convening team is meeting tomorrow to discuss the RESTORE gathering.  Please pray for us to have wisdom as we plan this “New England Family Reunion”.
-----Participating Ministry: We’d love to hear from you if you’d like to sign-on as a participating ministry for Restore.  We’ll circulate a letter, written by Dr. Miranda, with all of our signatures in the weeks leading up to October 12.

Here’s the Vision from North Carolina!

Vision Background: Michael Thorton, who is leading the team from North Carolina that is bringing the tent shared this remarkable "open vision" from a woman in her early 20's named Laura Johnson, someone who is an intern at their church.  She had been away on a missions trip to Trinidad and shared this vision with Mike on returning. 

She knew that the Jesus Tent was going to Massachusetts from a posting online, but didn't know anything about the location, DL Moody, Northfield, etc.  I double checked and their posting didn’t mention Moody.  Here's what she saw: I've lightly edited for grammar.  Pay special attention to the fourth and final paragraph:

God showed me a vision of The Jesus Tent in Massachusetts on 8/24/16. The vision goes as follows:

The tent was set up on the field and it was the first night of the five days it would be set up. The worship team had already begun worship and the tent was full of people. The Lord led me outside of the tent and I was now standing in the field looking back at the tent. In the spirit I saw a Dam that Satan had built to halt the move of God and His plans for the region. 

On the Dam, demons had graffittied their assignments, which were:  witchcraft, social injustice, racism, riot, hate, etc... I then asked God, "How do we break this Dam?" God then replied back to me, "2 Chronicles 7:14." I now go back to the tent and Pastor Mike Thorton hands me the mic to lead prayer.  The prayer begins and all that are under the tent are warring and breaking generational curses and strongholds. The Holy Spirit was moving, people were getting saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit. We all lifted up our voices in Unity and cried out for healing in the region.

I then again was led outside of the tent. I saw in the spirit the Dam break and when that happened it sent Satan into a tantrum. He fell down and whaled in agony, flopping his hands and kicking his feet. This sent his demons into confusion and they started beating each other up. I now go back to the tent and everyone is worshiping. Each person had a stream of water flowing from their belly. Each individual stream met up in the air and formed a river. This river flowed up to heaven, to the throne room, and rested at the feet of Jesus! Then, a multitude of Angels descended from Heaven and they were flying over the tent and were running their hands through the river. They were singing praises unto God, "Holy, Holy, Holy!" They were rejoicing! 

    

The vision now changes. The Lord showed me a man (during the 1800's period), sitting at a desk. A piece of paper was on the desk and he was writing with ink and a quill pin. He began writing a vision, a story that God had given him for this region. Each line on the paper represented a generation. After a few lines were written, this man stopped writing. The pen was put down and the ink dried up. Then I saw a young hand. This young hand picked up the quill pen, dipped it into the ink - which was revived, and began writing the vision again. "" End of vision. 

When the vision was over, I wanted to know who the man was in the vision that started writing the story. I then did a google Image search and found it to be D. L. Moody! 

As Michael told me, Laura was completely amazed when he told her that the Tent would be set-up on the campus founded by DL Moody.  She had no idea, but that was a powerful confirmation of her vision. 

I'm encouraged by this that God indeed wants to revive and restore not only the campus, but also the regional legacy of DL Moody.

- Jonathan Friz

RESTORE Gathering and The Case for A Bus!

We're in a season of real excitement and acceleration on many of our collective endeavors.  Let's walk, and even run in the grace God is pouring out right now!  Today, we had the NE Alliance convening team working out plans for the Restore Convocation on October 12.  I wanted to highlight a couple of key next steps as we prepare for this "New England Church family reunion" on October 12. 

Key Strategies: Share "Restore" and The Case for A Bus!

Please continue to share and invite those in your circle of influence to join your city's 10 Day gathering and especially to join in RESTORE on October 12!

A number of enterprising leaders around the region have decided to bring a bus to Northfield on October 12.  To my knowledge at this point, there's at least 3 buses coming.  I think it'd be great to have 20 more come!  Here's why a bus is a good idea: 

1) The bus allows you to multiply the effectiveness of the day, building community and entering into prayer and worship on the journey!

2) It will help with our limited parking at Northfield

3) The bus provides a tangible goal for mobilization and communicates to others "this is really happening!"

4) Buses are fun...anyone remember field trips?  Enough said!

If you decide to bring a bus, let me know!  We may have some kind of a fun and informal contest on who can bring the most buses...

Vision Gatherings:  One of the best ways to share vision is to meet in person.  This allows hearts to connect like nothing else. Here's a couple that are happening next week.  Consider coming to the gathering that's nearest to you next week in Connecticut or Massachusetts.

In CT: Impact CT 10 Days Summit (part 2)

Date/time: Wednesday, September 21st, 11am – 2pm (lunch provided)
Location: Wellspring Church, 222 Lincoln Street, Berlin, CT
RSVP: Pam Zinn at pam@wellspring.net or 860-225-0661 x117

In Massachusetts: 10 Days/Restore Vision Night 

Date/Time: Friday, September 23, 7pm-9pm

Location: Lion of Judah (20 Reed St. Boston MA--4th floor of new Sanctuary)

RSVP: Jonathan Friz 10daysofprayer@gmail.com

It was great to be together last Thursday!

Discovery…

Arriving early at the campus, which is quite large (40 major buildings/200+ acres), we took time to reconfigure the room and wipe down the chairs that had been out of use for some years.  As people started to arrive, I enjoyed hearing people’s first reactions to the campus.  Usually, something along the lines of “wow” or “I had no idea this was here" or "I had no idea it was this big”.  I pointed out Moody’s grave 150 feet away to someone and they were shocked—“Really?”  The view from our meeting room in Hibbard Hall, one of the highest points of the campus, was stunning. The property has not been in regular use since 2005 but does not appear old or worn down.  

I was pleased that we had about 60 folks show up, especially considering the distance and the fact that we had the gathering in mid-August.

We sat in a circle...just a bunch of kids in God's living room!

Worship and Prayer…then Sharing and Casting Vision

As we worshiped and prayed together, the presence of God was strong and it was accompanied by that sense of “family” that is I think one of the most precious characteristics of what God is doing here in New England. 

We were all just kids in God’s living room.

We had prepared to hear from several people, sharing about Northfield’s history, some key “words from the Lord” that had defined the journey, and just catching people up on the story that had been unfolding behind the scenes.  However, as I tried to transition us into this more formal time, there was an overflow from the heart as person after person shared moving testimonies of what that moment in prayer at that place meant to them. It was powerful seeing how significant the moment was for many who had gathered and sometimes traveled great distances to be there.

We wrapped up this time of sharing with 10 minutes of prayer and worship “Korean style”, consciously submitting and giving ourselves over to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Yes!

Roberto shared vision for this fall and several of the other planners shared some of the ways God had been explicitly guiding the journey thus-far through visions, dreams, and confirming signs.  There’s definitely that sense of being “on track” with something God is doing, even if we don’t see the full extent of it yet.  Our morning session finally wrapped up at about 1:30 and we shared a meal and ongoing fellowship together. 

Aaron Reeves of YWAM Boston leads worship

What’s Next?

I was blessed by the tangible sense of excitement over what God is doing this fall.  As was shared in the meeting, we’re doing this.  There’s no outside group putting this on—we’re doing this as the New England Church and for the New England Church. 

So, we’re open to your insights and ideas for the event.  

We’d also value your participation and help in spreading the word. 

I’ve attached the basic flyer here and will follow up in the next several days with other promotional materials that can be printed and distributed as you see fit or used as online images.  I'll be sending an email with info on how to help out early next week!

In conclusion, thanks to all of those who attended, the volunteer staff that prepared lunch and helped make the space inviting, and our friends at the National Christian Foundation and Moody Center for opening up the space for us to use.  It was a memorable day and an encouraging step forward to what God has for us this fall!

-Jonathan Friz

Roberto Miranda casting vision for RESTORE: A New England Convocation

A New Thing: RESTORE New England Convocation on the Northfield Campus

10 Days is doing a new thing this year!

This fall we’re inviting everyone participating in 10 Days to come to a culminating gathering on Wednesday, October 12 called Restore: A New England Convocation. The gathering will be in Northfield, Massachusetts at the campus founded by DL Moody. We’ll also have 5 days of 24/7 prayer in Northfield for the last half of 10 Days starting Friday evening, October 7.

10 Days is a decentralized network.  We want to see you uniting the Church in your own city, bringing glory to Jesus Christ right where you live.  We know not everyone who participates in San Antonio, Chicago, or Washington State will be able to attend a gathering in Massachusetts.

However, we hope that many from the Northeast will be able to join us and realize that some of our friends around the nation and world will want to come as well, especially given the significant history of the location and timing of this Convocation.  Let me explain…

 

After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord..  (Acts 15)

An Historic Moment for an Historic Campus Nestled into the idyllic New England country-side, among green mountains and the winding Connecticut river is the 200+ acre Northfield Campus with 40 major buildings. Founded by famous evangelist D.L. Moody in 1879, the campus originally housed a secondary school for girls.  During the summers in the late 1800’s, 30 trains a day would come back and forth to this little town, bringing people to the Northfield Conferences where they spent time in prayer, bible-study, fellowship and hearing from some of the most-recognized Christian leaders of the day. Northfield was renowned as a place of encounter, considered a “Mount of Transfiguration” by contemporaries where the summer gatherings were called “heaven on earth”.  In 1886, the young men’s conference launched the Student Volunteer Mission Movement.  In a generation, the Student Volunteers had sent 20,000 missionaries overseas.  To this day, busloads of Korean Christians come and visit the campus and the grave of DL Moody as a kind of pilgrimage.  Because the Student Volunteers were the ones who brought the gospel to Korea, they see Northfield as a kind of spiritual birthplace for the gospel in their nation. Since 2005, this campus, amazing both for its beauty and its history has been sitting almost entirely empty. In 2009, in answer to the prayers of many, the campus was bought by a Christian organization, Hobby Lobby. Originally listed in the tens of millions, the campus ended up selling for an incredible mere $100,000.  Since then there have been numerous efforts to bring in new owners, but nothing has been able to work up to now.  For years, the campus has just been sitting there, resting, waiting.  I’m convinced that God is reserving this spot for a special purpose and that this incredible location will once again be known as a light to the nations and a gathering and sending center for the global body of Christ!

Students from the ONE10 Intensive by the graves of D.L. and Emma Moody

Restore: A New England Convocation + 5 Days of 24/7 This summer, the New England Alliance, approached the current owners, the National Christian Foundation about renting the Moody Auditorium, a 2,500 person venue on the campus, for a special event.  We shared with them our conviction that having the New England Church and others from around the nation uniting in prayer on this property could be a key step towards bring fresh life to the campus. Amazingly, they agreed to have us come and do an event this fall. As we’ve shared with some of our partners around the nation, it’s been incredible to see how God has confirmed this call and gathered others.  You might say there’s a fragrance around this place and this moment that is attracting people.  Michael Thorton and the “Jesus Tent” are coming up to Northfield with a group from North Carolina to sustain 24/7 prayer and worship for the second half of the 10 Days starting on Friday evening, October 7.  Other groups are also planning to come from out of town and invest in prayer and worship for all five days.  If you’re interested in coming out for all or part of that time, let us know! In conclusion, we’re beyond thrilled to invite you to join us at Northfield for Restore on October 12.  We believe it has the potential to be a historic moment for a historic campus.  We hope you’ll mark the date on your calendar and plan to be with us. -Jonathan Friz www.10days.net/restore Like us and share on Facebook: 10 Days of Prayer

RESTORE: A New England Convocation

Invitation to Restore: A New England Convocation on October 12, 2016

Dear Friends,

I hope you're having a great summer and getting what I'm sure is much-needed rest.

Just wanted to invite you to reserve the date of October 12, 2016 for Restore: A New England Convocation in Northfield, Masachusetts to celebrate our unity as the Church in New England, and to seek God's greater anointing for ourselves and our communities. We will come together on that date to worship and pray, to lift the name of Jesus together, and to intercede for our nation in a time of extraordinary need.

We have chosen the Northfield location because it is central to many ministries and congregations, because it takes us away from the usual Boston locations of past meetings, and especially because of the huge historical significance of this place.

As many of you know, The Northfield/ Mount Hermon campuses were founded by the well-known evangelist and apostle Dwight L. Moody in the late 19th century. Northfield especially served to unleash the Student Volunteer Missions Movement and for many summers served as a gathering place for college students from campuses all over the United States and the world. The spiritual conferences that took place there brought together the most famous Christian leaders and speakers of their time, such as A.J. Gordon, John R. Mott, A.T. Pierson, and Andrew Murray.

For decades Northfield embodied the spirit and anointing of the great evangelist and incorporated the salient elements of his vision--his passionate love for souls, his acute sense of social justice, and his inclusive attitude toward women in ministry, children, minorities and the poor. In many ways, Moody was ahead of his time, establishing enduring institutions such as the YMCA, Moody Bible Institute and Moody Press. Moody was the quintessential spiritual entrepreneur, toiling incessantly to advance the interests of God's Kingdom, and seeking fresh, creative ways of communicating the Gospel to a rapidly changing world. I cannot think of a better model for the Church in our time.

As you can see, Northfield is pregnant with spiritual significance. It truly is a sacred place, inspiring profound reverence and even awe, especially to those who are familiar with its extraordinary spiritual history. Holding an event there highlighting unity, worship, prayer and revival would be a marvelous way for the New England Church to keep alive the sense of fellowship that has held us together through all these years, as we've done our part to hear God's voice in this spiritually challenging region. It would also be a way to celebrate Moody's spirit and legacy in a timely way, and to reinforce those values among ourselves.

The Restore gathering will take place in the middle of the week, on a Wednesday afternoon and evening.  We're aware that this represents a potential challenge for those coming from a distance, but for many different reasons this seems to be the only feasible date that we have available for this year. It also happens to coincide with the end of 10 Days of Prayer.

I do believe that the potential significance of this meeting justifies an extraordinary effort. Many things are happening regarding the Northfield campus.  The National Christian Foundation that presently owns the campus is initiating a major effort, called The Moody Center, to promote the ideals of D.L Moody.  The Moody Center is partnering with us for the October 12 event, and officers of it will attend. It's a great opportunity to start exploring opportunities for ministry around this intriguing project.

So, there you have it! Please forgive the long missive, but I wanted you to have a clear sense of the importance of this initiative. I strongly encourage us all to reserve the date, and to put forth that extra amount of energy and effort to attend. Please encourage your congregations and friends to attend as well. The Northfield auditorium, where the event will be held, has great prophetic significance, and so will the event itself.

I look forward to seeing you on October 12 as we gather as the New England church to Restore a key aspect of our collective inheritance!

Roberto Miranda


RESTORE
Date: October 12, 2016
Time:
Workshops: 11 - 3 P.M.
Gathering: 3- 6:30 P.M.
Location: Historic Auditorium on D.L. Moody's Northfield Campus
1 Moody St., Northfield, MA

Gatherings at Northfield!

SAVE THE DATES!

• August 18 for the New England Alliance Gathering and
• October 12 for a New England Assembly on the historic Northfield campus.  

New England Alliance Gathering:
Thursday, August 18 in Northfield, MA at Hibbard Hall
You are invited to join us for the next gathering of a group of pastors and prayer leaders from around New England called the New England Alliance. This group meets a few times a year to share what God is doing throughout the 5 states of New England and pray together for revival in our region.

We have the unique opportunity to host the group out here in Western MA at the Northfield Campus. This is also a great opportunity to see this amazing property. This NE Alliance meeting will be a great opportunity to pray, fellowship, and prepare for the October 12 New England-wide gathering on the final day of the 10 Days of Prayer.

Time: August 18, 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.
Location: Hibbard Hall on the Northfield Campus
(use 1 Moody St. Northfield, MA for your GPS. Turn left at Winchester Rd. Hibbard hall is about 300 feet down Winchester on the left-hand side. There is a small parking lot that we will use.)

Objective: Worship and Prayer, Lunch, Tour the campus, and planning the October 12 gathering and other major developments.
*Please RSVP if you will be attending the lunch*

New England-wide Assembly: Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Time: 
11:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. - Workshops 
3:00-6:30 P.M. - Gathering

*There will also be a night & day worship and prayer tent leading up the Oct. 12 gathering from Oct. 7 - Oct 12 on the Northfield Campus!*

Location: D.L. Moody Auditorium on the Northfield campus.

This gathering will serve as the culminating gathering for 10 Days around New England this year.

The Auditorium was built in 1894 to hold the crowds that flocked to the campus for renewal and mission focused summer conferences. It holds about 2500 people. The Student Volunteer Missions Movement started during the Northfield Conferences in 1886.

Some of you have heard Jonathan Friz share about Northfield. This campus, founded by DL Moody in 1879, has been sitting empty since 2004. The property was purchased by Hobby Lobby in 2009. Currently, the property is owned by the National Christian Foundation. They are seeking to give the campus away to a qualified group.

The Northfield Campus is one of the hidden gems of our rich spiritual heritage here in New England and one that's waiting to be revived! Come check out this beautiful place and explore how God may be calling us, the Church in New England, to be a part of reviving this campus and the legacy of D.L. Moody.

Hope to see you August 18 and Oct. 12!