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Ron Ford October 18, 2022

Power Ministry with Jesus? What is that all about?

If this is your first time hearing the phrase Power Ministry, you might be puzzled. Let us explain.

First of all, notice that the phrase Power Ministry is made from two words, Power and Ministry. When we say “Ministry” it’s important you hear the idea of “serving.” Like a waiter or a waitress bringing good things to eat and drink to your table from the kitchen, those who “minister” have the privilege and the responsibility of bringing good things from the presence of God to the people they meet; things like God’s presence, healing, the voice of God, freedom, and eternal life.

If this sounds like an impossible task, well, it is. That’s the reason for the second word, “Power.” The impossible becomes possible when the Power of God himself flows through the little things you say and do when you “minister” to people.

Consider Jesus’ own example. In Acts 10:38 it says, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

You may be thinking to yourself, well sure, this is Jesus – he is God isn’t he? Of course, he can do things like this…but I could never do anything like that.

But not so fast. As you will learn in this course, this is exactly what Jesus’ disciples are called to do. We’ll explain more about how you can be a participant as you get deeper into this course.

So, whenever you hear the phrase “Power Ministry”, just know that we will be talking about what you get to do when God, the Sovereign King of all Creation uses you to serve people with his transforming love and mercy in the Power of His Holy Spirit, just like Jesus did.

7 Big Ideas that will change your life forever

Woven through the 6 lessons of this course are 7 Big Ideas that we hope will become the foundations of your understanding and the normal experience of your life as you follow Jesus with us.

Introducing Your Instructors For This Course

This introductory course includes pre-recorded teachings by several Christian leaders. Some of these leaders are older, experienced, and wise father-like figures who have a lot to pass on. Each of them has a proven track record with God and has remained faithful through both many years but also intense suffering. Why is that important? Because suffering, while not to be sought for its own sake, is nevertheless a powerful filter God uses to purify and mature his sons and daughters so that he is able to speak and act through them well. We can think of no better foundation to lay in your life than the hard-won wisdom and experience of those who have pioneered the way before us.

To learn more about our presenters explore the information below.

John Wimber

 

John Wimber (February 25, 1934 – November 17, 1997) was an American pastor, Christian author, and musician. Initially ordained as a Quaker minister, he became an early, pioneering pastor of charismatic congregations, and a popular thought leader in modern Christian publications on the third person of the Christian Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit’s action in modern churches through miraculous phenomena referred to as miracles, or signs and wonders. Wimber was a founding leader of the Vineyard Movement, a Christian movement that Ken Gulliksen began in the United States and that later became a wider denomination.

 

John grew up outside of a religious or faith-based belief system until he became a Christian at the age of 29. Wimber was recognized as a talented musician, and he first played as a professional at the age of 15 at the Dixie Castle in Orange, California. John was a talented keyboardist and vocalist. He was a pianist and singer in The Paramours group, later known as The Righteous Brothers, from 1962 to 1963, as well as a manager for The Righteous Brothers during this period.

 

John converted to Christianity in 1963, immediately enrolled in Azusa Pacific College, and majored in Biblical Studies. Upon graduating he was ordained as a Quaker minister. He then took a pastoral position with the Yorba Linda Friends Church. By 1970, he was leading 11 different Bible study groups that involved more than 500 people. He was the Founding Director of the Department of Church Growth at the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth from 1974 to 1978, which was founded by the Fuller Theological Seminary and the Fuller Evangelistic Association.

 

John eventually left the Quaker denomination after being discouraged from operating in the gifts of the Spirit. He formed a house church that would eventually grow into the Vineyard Christian Fellowship (VCF) of Anaheim in 1977, from which emerged a global church planting movement named the Association of Vineyard churches. At the same time, John was very active in church renewal around the world helping many leaders to transition their churches and train their people to be Kingdom of God-oriented and active participants in the Power Ministry of Jesus.

 

See also this online biographical page: https://www.vineyardchurches.org.uk/resources/john-wimber/

Books by John Wimber:

  • Power Evangelism (co-author) (Harper & Row, 1986) ISBN 0340561270
  • Power Healing (co-author) (Harper & Row, 1986) ISBN 0060695412
  • Signs and Wonders and Church Growth (co-author) (Harper & Row, 1988) ISBN 978-0060695378
  • Power Points: Your Action Plan to Hear God’s Voice, Believe God’s World, Seek the Father, Submit to Christ, Take Up the Cross, Depend on the Holy Spirit, Fulfill the Great Commission (co-author) (Harper Collins, 1991) ISBN 978-0060695392
  • The Way In Is The Way On: John Wimber’s Teachings and Writings on Life in Christ (Ampelon, 2006) ISBN 978-0974882574
  • Everyone Gets to Play (co-author) (Ampelon, 2009) ISBN 978-0981770574

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wimber

Jack Deere

 

Jack Deere grew up in Ft. Worth, Texas, and was the oldest of four children. When Jack was twelve years old, his father unexpectedly took his own life. The sorrow and great impact of this loss (which included great financial strain on the family) impelled him at first to be a rebel, but then at age 17 to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ. The profound change in him revealed a bent toward scholarship, so he attended Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, where he majored in Philosophy. While there, he started working with the ministry of Young Life, leading high school students to the Lord.

 

After graduation from TCU in 1971, he attended Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) concentrating in Greek and Hebrew study of the Bible, and earning both a Master and a Doctor of Theology degree. In 1976, he was invited to join the DTS faculty, teaching Hebrew and Old Testament. During his tenure at Dallas Seminary, he started and pastored two churches.

 

In 1986, Jack had a transformative encounter with John White, a Canadian Psychiatrist and Christian author, who challenged Jack’s assumptions about the Holy Spirit and the present-day ministry of healing in the church. After a thorough re-examination of the scriptures, Deere reversed his position on the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit (such as healing and prophecy), arguing that all the gifts of the Spirit are for today, and did not cease with the formation of the New Testament canon. Later on, this experience became the basis of his two companion books, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit and Surprised by the Voice of God.

 

At the end of 1987, Deere left the Dallas Seminary faculty and joined the staff of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church in Anaheim, California, pastored at that time by his friend, Vineyard movement founder John Wimber. In 1992, Deere left the Anaheim Vineyard for Montana, where he began a ministry as a writer and conference speaker.

 

Tragically, in December 2000, his 23-year-old son Scott, who was home for Christmas, ended his life in the family home after many years of struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. This led to an almost immediate relocation back to Texas for a long period of recovery.

 

In the spring of 2004, Deere began Wellspring Church in North Richland Hills, Texas, a church he pastored for many years. In his book “Even in Our Darkness,” Deere writes at length about his wife Leesa’s struggle with alcoholism and his own personal failures. More recently, he relinquished all leadership positions to be able to devote himself to full-time care of his wife, and they moved from Colleyville, Texas to Tennessee.

 

The Deeres have two grown children, Stephen and Alese.

Books by Jack Deere

  • Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Zondervan, 1993)
  • Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Voice of God (Zondervan, 1996)
  • Deere, Jack, The Beginner’s Guide to the Gift of Prophecy (Regal, 2008)
  • Deere, Jack, Even in Our Darkness: A Story of Beauty in a Broken Life (memoir, Zondervan, March 6, 2018)
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    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Deere

You might also like,  https://www.woodsedge.org/jack-deere/ for a number of teaching sessions recorded there.

Todd Volker

Todd W. Volker is an author, conference speaker, and urban missionary. He started his professional career as a public school teacher for about twenty-three years before being called into the ministry.

 

After graduating from St. Stephen’s University with a Master of Ministry degree, his calling took an interesting turn. Not a position as a pastor in a church, but a dedication to minister to ordinary people on the streets and in the marketplace. Since then he has prayed for thousands of people he has met in unique situations, from street markets to the parking lot at Walmart. (See more information about that ministry here.)

 

He is now helping to equip others to do the same sort of ministry: Taking the love and power of Jesus outside the walls of the church and into the streets and marketplace. He has pioneered a unique outreach platform called the “Need Prayer?” Booth. These booths are located in parking lots, empty lots as well as farmers’ markets, and street fairs. People come to receive the ministry of prayer and are often powerfully touched by a loving Creator with healing, hope, and salvation.

 

Todd has been married to his wife Pam for over 35 years, and they have two adult children, Joel and Bethany. His hobbies include collecting and restoring (and playing) pinball machines, playing the ukulele, as well as slow-cook BBQ!

 

Todd has written two books (so far). Both are available on Amazon.com.

Street Level Prayer: Loving Your Community Through Prayer Outreach (2018)

Street Level Prophecy: A Guide for Non-Prophets (2021)

Benji Horning
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Ron Ford
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