The
Spring 2013
MESSENGER AN IHOPU STUDENT PUBLICATION
MISSIONS
EDITION ON LOCATION IHOPU Externships Atlanta, Georgia Cuernavaca, Mexico Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Nations at IHOPU Photo by: Tyler Carr
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A Letter from the Editor
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The Nations AT IHOPU
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On Location
4 6 10 12
E T
S
Map highlighting the nations represented by our students An IHOPU externship series
Atlanta, Georgia
By Amos Chen
Cuernavaca, Mexico
By Rachelle Beauchamp
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
By Abby Newell
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
“Searching” by Trevor Carr
The Messenger Spring 2013
a letter from
the editor The Student Government Association Communications Committee is proud to present this groundbreaking edition of The Messenger magazine, which is devoted entirely to world missions. The heartbeat of this issue is to emphasize how IHOPU students are responding to Jesus’ call for the Church to be a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 21: 13) and to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 26:19). Articles focus on the experience of students who spent several months overseas as missionaries, and highlight our international students from all over the world.
Trevor Carr Intercessory Missionary Co-Chair, Communications Committee Student Government Association trevorcarr@ihopu.org
IHOPU SGA Communications Committee
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The Nations at IHOPU Switzerland
Canada Number of Countries: 34 Brazil New Zealand Italy Egypt Norway Taiwan Germany Hong Kong Australia South Korea United Kingdom The Philippines Singapore The Netherlands South Africa Belgium
(International students’ nations of origin are colored red)
Denmark Venezuela Costa
El Salvador Nigeria Mexico Poland Austria Panama Cambodia Mongolia India Russia China Turkey Tajikistan
An I HOP U E x ter n ship
ON LOCATION
International House of Prayer Atlanta—Lawrenceville, Georgia
Amos Chen Senior, FMA
T
his past semester I had the amazing opportunity 0f serving at the International House of Prayer, Atlanta. I was surprised to realize how much I had learned and grown in the knowledge of God from my time in classes and harp and bowl labs, and even from being in the prayer room and engaging my heart with the Lord. It was really encouraging to take everything that I had learned in my past three years at IHOPU and apply it in a ministry context in a house of prayer outside of IHOPKC. I’ve heard so many of my teachers say, “You won’t know how much you’ve learned until you are out of here.” It’s so true! I was able to serve in many different areas where I would not normally have had the opportunity to do
The Messenger Spring 2013
The externs led the
I returned to Kansas
Forerunner School of
City with a strong vision for
Ministry (FSM) chapel
the house of prayer, and a
once a week. We led
renewed vision for IHOPU,
worship, gave exhor-
realizing all of its benefits.
tations, preached mes-
Everything that we learn
sages, and were able to
in school can and will be
minister to and disciple
used to fuel the prayer
a handful of students
movement across the world.
who had come from different walks of life, young and old. Two of the externs, including myself, were teaching assistants for a harp and bowl lab that all FSM
The Lord opened my eyes to see that as He establishes night-and-day prayer around the world, there will be a huge variation in the expression of prayer and worship.
5
I
encourage
my
fel-
low students—throw yourself
wholeheartedly
into
your time here. This is an amazing missions training center, where the Lord is equipping us before sending us out. It’s not just
students and interns were required to attend. We were able to encour-
school, because we’re so much more than just stu-
age and train the singers and musicians, share
dents. I love what Corey Russell says: We’re not stu-
our hearts on worship and prayer, and teach the
dents who go to the prayer room on the side. We’re
harp and bowl model of worship and intercession.
intercessors who take classes. Take yourself and
One of the most impacting things for me was our
your occupation seriously, because the Lord does.
participation in the prayer room. Most of the externs Atlanta, either leading intercession and worship sets, or singing and prayer-leading. It was interesting to see the different gifts in me that I didn’t know existed being used. Arriving in Atlanta, I came face to face with the reality that houses of prayer are different in different places. The Lord opened my eyes to see that as He establishes night-and-day prayer around the world, there will be a huge variation in the expression of prayer and worship. The worship will be different; some will have a lot of people, others very few—but He’s worthy of worship and adoration in every city. His name shall be lifted up. I felt so different at IHOP Atlanta. I felt the hunger of those who prayed, not
WRITER’S BIO
were able to be a part of the 24/7 prayer room in Amos Chen Senior, Forerunner Music Academy Amos came to Kansas City from the sunny state of California. As a senior at Forerunner Music Academy, he encourages the IHOPU student body to take their time of study seriously—they are being equipped for the Lord’s purposes, to be sent to the nations and bring glory to His name.
because they had to, but because they wanted to.
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An I HOP U E x ter n ship
ON LOCATION
Cuernavaca, Mexico
Rachelle Beauchamp
I
Senior, FSM re c e nt l y
spent six months in Cuernavaca, Mexico, with a fel-
low student, Donna Oh. We were partnering alongside a team
of young people at the Ven Pronto House of Prayer (ven pronto is Spanish for “come quickly” or “come soon,” quoting Revelation 22:17). The house of prayer began with a few young people meeting together before and after school because of the love they had for Jesus, and their desire to know Him, experience His presence, and see His activity in the lives of those around them. Today, there are about fifteen people on full-time staff at the house of prayer. As a team, our goal was to help establish structure that could function in the house of prayer for years to come. We worked to establish good structure and administration within the prayer room, cast vision for the prayer room, compile a staff manual, create staff applications, establish departments, organize existing departments, and create opportunities for people to come to the house of prayer through internships, weekends, and conferences. As unimportant as they may seem, these little details must be attended to, and they are actually vital to the functioning and strengthening of the Body.
The Messenger Spring 2013
One thing I personally learned in this time is the importance of having a prayer life, both inside and outside of the prayer room, as well as the importance of consistently seeking to love the Lord and His presence—the first and great commandment. Boarding an airplane and leaving the country does not equate to greater intimacy, greater holiness, or greater maturity. The Lord is much too kind and merciful to us to let it be as easy as getting on a plane. He desires our heart, because He wants us to experience Him in all His fullness. We know that having depth in God and a vibrant life of prayer only come from making consistent choices over time. When we are in times of pressure, what has been cultivated in our hearts and minds through time, choices, difficulties, and perseverance will come out. Maturity and wisdom are valid and important in our ministry to others, yet nothing compares to our personal knowledge of Jesus. From intimacy with the Lord come greater maturity, gifts, and wisdom. As we walk in the assignments the Lord gives us—whether it be working in a local church, having a job in the workplace, or being a husband or wife, father or mother—it is our knowledge of the Lord and our love for Him that sustain us. All our labor must come back to the person of God: being loved by Him, loving Him, and making Him known.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment.” (Matthew 22:37–38) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21–23) One major way IHOPU prepared me to work with the Ven Pronto House of Prayer was by teaching me
The knowledge of the Lord and love for Him is what will sustain us.
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The Messenger Spring 2013
We find joy and strength in knowing that across the world a bride is being prepared for Jesus.
5 seeking to love the Lord wholeheartedly. You will find that three years of hard work have been of great benefit to you. You will discover strengths and gifts that the Lord has put in you that you are unaware to be faithful in the prayer room. Currently, most houses of prayer are not filled with hundreds of people at any given moment. Most are filled with one, three, or sometimes forty to fifty people. It can be difficult to remain faithful and consistent with very few people around. The questions and the accusations come: how important are my prayers right now? But through having daily time in the prayer room as part of the curriculum at IHOPU, having to tell my discipleship coordinator when I miss a prayer room set, and being exhorted and encouraged
of, as well as learning that the Lord is your strength when you encounter your weakness. Most importantly, you will gain perspective on what the Lord is doing around the world. When we see other expressions of the Body of Christ in distant nations we find joy and strength that across the world a bride is being prepared for Jesus. We realize that we are part of a grand and beautiful story. Jesus’ name will be made great in every nation, and He will be loved and worshiped by every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.
about the importance of showing up to the prayer
“For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name
room, the muscle had been worked, and there was
will be great among the nations, and in every place
grace to remain.
incense will be offered to my name.” (Malachi 1:11) n
It is sometimes difficult to be faithful when there are fewer people in the room, because we find so when we remember that we are living before the eyes of One, we find that His grace abounds to us and He supplies generously of His Spirit (Philippians 1:19). IHOPU helped me to keep showing up day after day at Ven Pronto House of Prayer, and to remember that we are living before the audience of One. I would encourage seniors at IHOPU to participate in an externship, whether working with a local church or a ministry or house of prayer in another state or nation. You will be encouraged as you discover fellow believers in the Body of Christ who are
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WRITER’S BIO
much strength and encouragement in the Body; but Rachelle Beauchamp Senior, Forerunner School of Ministry Originally from Arizona, Rachelle has discovered that abiding peace comes from a relationship of intimacy with the Lord. She has a heart to encourage believers to be faithful in prayer.
- An I HOPU E x ter n ship -
ON LOCATION
The Lighthouse, YWAM—Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abby Newell
W
Senior, FSM alking
the
of
shame cover her, as she now feels known.
acknowledge
The next ten minutes are laced with angry
that it is Christ who dwells within us.
and condescending tones in an attempt to
Amidst hordes of men, we catch subtle
throw me off by the madness in her mind.
glances from eyes filled with confusion,
I listen, and I wait with a smile, expressing
lust, and shame. Taking in our surround-
the way my soul feels anchored in the Lord.
ings, we are confronted with real women,
Slowly, she recognizes that her masks
countless in number, each with their
cannot overwhelm the God who came to
own inner world. They move their bod-
meet her. She suddenly reaches out to grab
ies to invite sales —trapped behind win-
my hand, and says, “You carry hope, and you
dows and clothed in attire unmentionable.
see hope for everyone around you. You mean
On my left I am drawn to one woman who
what you say, and you say what you mean. You
is beautiful and full of worth that she does
carry peace—I never want to let go of you.”
not perceive. As our eyes meet she cracks
She let out a deep sigh, communicating
open her window to greet me. I hand her
that she had caught a glimpse of her Maker.
a rose and gently speak out a few phrases
The brothel had become a place of encoun-
about the love of God. Immediately pride and
ter with Jesus.
Amsterdam,
red-lit we
streets
The Messenger Spring 2013
Looking at His beauty in the place of prayer is what strengthened me to minister to people walking in darkness. n
n
n
n
From every hour spent praying through the red light
when we carve out space for Him to move through
districts of Amsterdam, to every precious moment
our prayer. The Lord is truly equipping a praying
spent in brothels with the prostitutes—I can say with
bride who, being yoked to Him, will go into the dark-
confidence that I will never be the same.
est places and minister in an Isaiah 61 anointing, set-
My heart is full of gratitude as I remember the
ting captives free.
daily invitation I was offered: to walk yoked to the
What we are doing here at IHOPU—spending hours
Man who puts on righteousness as a breastplate, sal-
in the place of prayer, cultivating the presence of the
vation as a helmet, vengeance as a garment, and zeal
Lord, and daily contending in the place of interces-
as a cloak (Isaiah 59:17). Walking in friendship with
sion—is far more powerful than we realize.
Jesus is the substance by which we are equipped to
In years to come, whether you’re laboring in the
minister true justice to the oppressed. Friendship
darkest of places or raising a family at home, prayer
with Him can only be birthed from a place of com-
will remain the primary means by which God’s king-
munion and intercession.
dom will come on earth as it is in heaven. As we hasten His return through our lovesick ache, labor with
Lighthouse ministry of YWAM Amsterdam, I was as-
Him in intercession, and cry out for justice day and
tonished by the reality of missions and prayer com-
night, let us take heart, knowing that we have a prom-
ing together. Missions and prayer were never meant
ised, eternal hope of glory. n
to be separated, and the Lord is zealous to join them together. Looking at His beauty in the place of prayer is what strengthened me to minister to people walking in darkness (Isaiah 9:2). At the International House of Prayer we often hear the phrase, “If it’s not Jesus, it’s not justice.” Personally, it was not until my trip to Amsterdam that I experienced living understanding of this phrase. It was in moments of prayer inside the brothels, seeing many women in tears as they encountered the love of a real, beautiful, and holy God, that I saw justice come. Justice comes when Jesus comes, and Jesus comes
WRITER’S BIO
Spending three months working with The
Abby Newell Senior, Forerunner Music Academy Abby grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She has given herself to pouring out her heart to God in worship for four years in the Forerunner Music Academy. Her testimony is that her friendship with Jesus is her dearest relationship.
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The Messenger Spring 2013
A RTIST SPOTLIGHT
This hand-drawn pencil sketch began with the revelation that God’s eyes are searching. With eyes of love He is looking for those who will “stand in the gap” as intercessors for the nations and as witnesses of His name throughout the earth. The wrinkles around the eye indicate that He is looking down in joyful expectation. When He finds those who love Him, He will strengthen them.n
Searching
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)
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y ARTIST BIO
Trevor Carr, from Michigan, is an FSM junior. The Lord has placed a desire in his heart to minister to junior high and high school students, in order to help them walk in the fullness of what God has for them.
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Magazine compiled and designed by SGA Communications Committee