For these weeks of the Easter season I have been reading Eugene Peterson’s Practice Resurrection, a lively reflection on the book of Ephesians. This morning, I read a section about Paul’s articulated prayer in chapter 3; it made me realize that I often don’t pray boldly and “bigly” enough for all of you as co-laborers in the GFM mission:
I pray that, according to the riches of [the Father’s] glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Here’s Peterson:
As [Paul] prays…his intercessions exude generosity…. We pray in a household of extravagance…. [Paul’s] prayers of intercession flow out of the plenitude of God…not the penury of the human condition…These intercessions are shaped and energized by God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Oh to pray big prayers that draw from the plenitude and extravagant generosity of God!
When we talk about longing for revival or seeing campuses renewed or seeking signs of shalom, we are praying the big, resurrection-aware, your-kingdom-come prayer that Jesus taught us. Along with the GFM Leadership team, I am being invited to press deeper into such praying. I invite you to press in with us.
GFM Leadership Team in L. A.
Two weeks ago, the GFMLT met in Pasadena. Reviewing our four-year GFM Strategic Plan, we noted progress this first year and chose our priority goals for next year.
This year:
- We planted 22 new fellowships, 15 on new-to-GFM campuses
- We appointed 23 new paid or associate staff, 13 of them staff of color
- We reported 73 decisions to follow Christ, up from 56 last year
Next year:
- Prayer: increase small groups, student or faculty, praying on campus for campus; increase number of GFM staff with trained intercessor teams
- MPD: foster a culture of abundance, generosity, and prayer; strengthen practice of exit interviews with all grads finishing their programs; provide staff with upgraded MPD tools
- Partnership: lay a relational foundation for partnering with our undergrad staff colleagues on campus
- Host a morning Epiphany gathering for GFM staff at the end of SC 20 (January 6, the travel home day) for blessing, encouragement, and camaraderie.
For the two-thirds of us who were at Mundelein, you perhaps notice that these emphases for next year build on the thematic focus of our March gathering: Joyful Partnership in the Gospel, with specific application in prayer and MPD. (View or listen to our plenary sessions.)
In Pasadena the GFMLT studied Luke 11:1-13 (with Luke 10 as backdrop) where Jesus teaches his followers about prayer: what to pray (“Father…), how to pray (audacious persistence), and to whom we pray (a generous Father). As a team, we’ve committed to this spiritual foundation next year: Jesus, teach us to pray, Father, give us the Holy Spirit.
And we have identified four things to ask of God with audacious persistence:
- Greater evangelistic fruit on campus
- More coworkers for the mission, paid and volunteer, especially staff of color
- An abundance of resources secured by increasing levels of community in our MPD efforts
- Signs of revival and shalom on campus.
Longing for Revival
As a simple gesture toward the longing for revival, the team visited, in L.A.’s Little Tokyo, the site of the famous Azusa Street revival (1906—1915) which gave rise to the worldwide Pentecostal movement. We found the historical marker and prayed for a few minutes. What might God do in the coming years if we, and all of InterVarsity, and thousands of others long for revival while faithfully giving ourselves to the mission on campus.
Which brings me to the conclusion of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian disciples:
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
