As some of you know, Jesus Loves Kzoo held a “Healing the Land Advance” conference last month at Galilee Baptist Church followed by “OneWorship Encounter” in the evening. The conference was wonderful. The worship in the evening was holy. It was evident to all in attendance that the presence of the Lord was there and that we were on the verge of a visitation from the Holy One Himself. A group of us got together afterwards to debrief and discuss next steps and it became obvious to us that the word of the Lord to us was that we needed to “steward this movement” well. What does that mean though?

Part of this means we are committing ourselves to praying together to discern the next steps we need to take. So our JLK vision team has been meeting every other Monday to pray and ask the Lord for direction concerning this movement. As we have prayed we have together felt a need to hold another “OneWorship” event where we worship, repent, and pray as One Church in Kalamazoo. For what reason you ask? It comes from scripture and a discussion with a potato farmer.

In Mark 4:26-29 Jesus said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain-first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

This has been going thru my head as well as a discussion I had with a friend of mine who farms potatoes. We were discussing a time he and his team could come and do work on a facility in Benton Harbor and he said that he would be unavailable for the next several weeks because it was harvest season and he was working around the clock every day until the potatoes were out of the ground.

And it hit me.

Jesus mentioned it in verse 29.

“As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

Over the past weeks I have had conversations with three pastors all who have been ministering for over 25 years. Each one told me they have been praying for revival in Kalamazoo for at least 25 years and have been elated to see what has been happening in The Church of Kalamazoo in the past few years. They’ve all felt this is an answer to prayers. And if we’re listening to and watching the movement of the Holy Spirit and see what the Spirit is doing in the hearts of the people around the city then we must realize the grain is ripe! Like my potato farmer friend and like Jesus taught, it is time to work. It’s harvest time! So we sound the call to “OneWorship”.

It’s time to fan into flames the spark that is being ignited in the hearts of unbelievers all over this city. It’s time to steward what God is doing in our own hearts and recognize this is a very real visitation by our Lord that many have prayed about for almost three decades. It’s time to realize that what the Holy Spirit is doing in us is an answer to prayer and that to respond in a nonchalant manner would be misguided.

Let’s humbly join together and respond with the writer of Revelation, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

-Nate Bull, Vanguard Street Ministry

Jesus Loves Kzoo:

OneWorship Encounter

Sunday, May 18, 6-9pm

Hosted by Haven Church

5350 N. Sprinkle Rd, Kalamazoo 49004