Over the past two years I’ve been captivated by the Scriptures and conversations with other Christians about the reality of authentic revival and spiritual transformation of our city. The discussions were usually filled with passion and restlessness. Leonard Ravenhill says in Why Revival Tarries, “The two prerequisites to successful Christian living are vision and passion, both of which are born in and maintained by prayer.”

A deep longing for a fresh move of God was evident in those people. I began to intersect with others from many perspectives and walks of life, which had passion, vision, and compelling prayer lives. Truly a revolutionary spirit was emerging in Durham.  Chris Rice and Emmanuel Katongole called this a “deep restlessness about what it means to live faithfully in a broken and divided world” in their book, Reconciling All Things. Embracing this reality I began to investigate my ministry history with CEF as well as my own life.

Reflection

Despite the great work of churches and ministries over the years, why was I not sensing an imminent revival ― a change in apathetic attitudes outside or inside the church? Why was there little evidence of biblical transformation, in which I believed in and hoped would come? Was it too late? What was missing? Was I even thinking clearly or biblically?

I had no conclusive answers for these questions. I self-examined my own vision, passion, and prayer life by asking: Was I contributing to this spiritual malaise? Could in fact, our ministry be partly responsible for God withholding His blessing to our city? But during this struggle, I was soon reminded in another discussion, “Do not mistake God’s presumed inactivity as His lack of involvement or interest in our city.” His Words in Psalms 11-19, Isaiah 57-61, Mark 8, Luke 10, and John 4 as well as from trusted friends began to bring me needed wisdom and a clear understanding about what troubled me. I was also blessed with how to evaluate our ministry teams and an action plan to implement  ― it was simply ten biblical expressions of God’s Kingdom.

Realization

After the evaluation, questions were answered like: What was missing?

1. Focused prayer for spiritual transformation of the specific communities where we ministered.

2. Godly relationships with the indigenous people living in those communities.

3. A comprehensive, collaborative, and biblical ministry plan that fostered sustainability and Christian community development.

Evangelism with follow up and some special outreach events had been our plan through Child Evangelism Fellowship® for many years. It was done well. 80,000 lives were touched and heard the Good News and many of those received Christ as Savior during the past 17 years. But it was incomplete. Even when we conscientiously followed Micah 6:8 and Mark 16:15, I realized we were  falling short of expressing the Gospel as Jesus had instructed His disciples to do when He sent them out to every town and place where they were to go.

Refocus

I realized the focus of Jesus ministry and the heart of God was on people. Their worth, dignity, and living situation dictated ministry. My vision was sharpened on how God valued the people we were reaching, even in the most resource-challenged communities of Durham. As our team refocused, no longer were the people seen as objects or goals of our ministry, but essential conduits and leaders for the transformation of their own communities.

During the past two years, both ministers and residents have been enriched when they prayed, blessed, listened, learned, and ate together. This biblically relational approach has allowed us more effective evangelism, discipleship, and leadership development. Spiritual transformation becomes evident when these ten expressions of the Gospel are implemented. Now everything CEF Durham does will be community-based and guided by these 10 Keys of the Kingdom.