Why Are We Doing a Word of the Lord Process?
As we prepare for 2024, we want to enter into a special season of seeking the Lord for the upcoming year for five important reasons:
1. Spirit-led Direction
In Revelation 2.7, Jesus said, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” While this verse has many implications, one important one is that Jesus wanted His churches to have a posture of listening to and being led by the Spirit. As we engage in this process each year, it helps us to live in this heart posture as a people.
2. It Builds Unity
This process helps us to walk together in the unity that comes from a shared vision.
3. It Builds Faith
As we look back at how God has led us in the past, it builds our faith for the future.
4. It Builds Focus
This process helps to build our focus and spend our best energies on what God is calling us to rather than drowning in a sea of good opportunities or the tyranny of the urgent.
5. Course Correction
As we humble ourselves and seek Him, this process can help us course correct in places we could be drifting from His calling on our lives.
What is our Word of the Lord Discernment Process?
We have three parts to our discernment process: discerning revelation, discerning interpretation, and discerning application.
Discerning Revelation:
As we seek to discern what the Spirit is speaking, we want to enter into a season of special prayer during November. At the end of this season, we want to facilitate listening to the body, as well as to our prophetic and apostolic ears.
- Listening to the Body: We have created an input form for those in our church to share anything they sense in prayer.
- Listening to the Prophetic: We will be receiving input from the prophetic team in our church .
- Listening to the Apostolic: We will be receiving input from our lead pastor and elders as to what they and their teams and the church are sensing from the Lord.
Discerning Interpretation:
The Eldership Team will meet to weigh what has been shared and to seek the Lord together to interpret the revelation God has given to us for the year ahead. We will work to distill this into a simple word or phrase as well as a one-page explanation to share with the church.