PrayBC Anounces Prayer Campaign for Municipal Election

What would happen if we asked God to use our current and upcoming elections for His purposes and plans? Over the next 8 months, British Columbians will elect leaders at every level of government. I see a tremendous opportunity for the church to shape the future of our communities and province simply by giving ourselves to prayer in a strategic way.

Over the past number of months, we have developed a strategic prayer strategy for the upcoming civic and provincial elections. Our vision is to establish an effective and strategic prayer network across BC that will pray without bias or prejudice for God’s will, direction, and purposes to be accomplished during the municipal and provincial elections.

Our goal is to see God use the municipal and provincial elections for His purposes in communities all across BC.

Our hope is to partner with churches, prayer groups and other prayer organizations to establish a prayer network that will be linked together to pray through the use of email and the PrayBC website. Each participant will receive a daily email with a specific prayer focus, scripture verse and prayer points for each day of the campaign. We want to make it easy for people to participate in this initiative so we have designed the emails so that it will take no more than just a few minutes to read through the email and pray along with many others all across the province.

We will run our campaign for the municipal election from October 15 to November 16. Our intent is to send periodic updates as we build towards the Provincial election. We will launch the Provincial prayer campaign on same day that the election is called and will conclude it on the day after Election Day. By that point we are hoping for a Provincial Prayer Network of 10,000 people.

I’m writing to enlist your help with this project. This is an ‘opt-in’ email initiative. Our commitment is that we won’t be using this list for anything other than the prayer campaigns that I’ve just outlined for you, but you won’t receive the daily email unless you register. I believe that we can have a tremendous effect on the upcoming elections and consequently on the years to come just because we pray now. First of all, REGISTER to participate in this incredible opportunity yourself.

Then forward this page to pastors, prayer group leaders, ministry leaders and ministerial group leaders asking them to participate as well.

PrayBC is a ministry of Leading Influence Ministries. For more information, visit our website(www.leadinginfluence.com) You can reach us by phone at 250-483-5403 or by email at tim@leadinginfluence.com Leading Influence Ministries is a registered Canadian Charity based in Victoria, BC.

I can hardly wait to see what God will do with this...

That's a Tall Order....

This comes from Donna Pechie, one of our board members and the prayer coordinator for PrayBC. This story inspired me and she's given me her permission to share it with you.

As you know, Sunday was British Columbia's 150th birthday and the Snowbirds were here to put on a show. As I was walking my dog through Royal Roads University and having a devotion time with the Lord all of a sudden I heard the thunderous roar of the engines over head. I gazed upward hoping and praying I would see them and as I came into a clearing my prayer was answered and they flew in prefect formation over my head. It actually took my breath away and made my heart beat faster. The Snowbirds remind me of 'tall orders', of the impossible, and of God's heart to see his children rejoice when he gives them the desires of their hearts.

Why the Snowbirds you ask? We have to go back to October 1991 when our son was turning 7. We had been to all the air shows that summer as a family and he loved the Snowbirds. He had gotten many of their autographs and posters. So for his 7th birthday when I asked him what he wanted, he looked at me and said "Can we have the Snowbirds come to my party"!

I looked at him in disbelief not realizing that for a 7 year old it wasn't too much to ask. " As I looked at his little freckled face all I could say was "Well that is a pretty tall order sonny" and with that I let it be.

Well October 18th arrived and all his little rambunctious friends ran rampant around the house. I had made pin the tale on the lizard for them to play and we went out into the backyard with lizard tails in hand. Then on a perfect sunny day as we gathered for the game there was this great thunder coming from the heavens. We all stood in the back yard gazing up to see what all the noise was about and then in perfect divine formation the SNOW BIRDS FLEW OVER HEAD!!!! Not over the neighbors house to the right, not over the neighbors house the left, but in perfect formation over our house. Then they circled and did it one more time!!!

All of a sudden a lil red headed boy ran and wrapped his arms around me and proclaimed "Thanks mom you're the best mom ever"! I stood jaw slacked and new that our Great God served up one little boy"s Tall Order. He did the impossible because he loves to make our day, to give us the desires of our hearts and show how much he loves us.

But there is something more, it shows us that Tall Orders are easy for God, that nothing is too difficult no matter how absurd it may seem to us. HE MOVES MOUNTAINS, HE SENDS THE NOWBIRDS! You may have some Tall Orders today that seem impossible and unattainable, but as I stood on BC's birthday with the Snowbirds flying over head, God reminded me of Tall Orders, of how much he loves us that he is watching over our children and moving mountains for them. That is why I was breathless with a pounding heart, because the vocabulary of God is everywhere and always flying in perfect formation reminding us of his greatness.

Go ahead and ask God for the impossible put in your Tall Order (he doesn't mind, he loves to fill them)

Getting Ready For the Fall

We just got back from a fantastic weekend in Kelowna, BC where our youngest son (Tyler) was playing in a baseball tournament. His team placed second but had a very strong showing. We hope to meet the same team in the Provincial Championships in a few weeks.On Saturday afternoon we took a break from the heat and found comfort by going to the mall. The summer clearance sales were in full swing which seemed kind of premature, especially in light of the fantastic weather outside, but we shopped anyway... well, Barb and Brittany shopped, I watched a football game and enjoyed a cup of coffee in one of those nice soft chairs provided for waiting husbands and fathers. While I was waiting I started thinking about my own plans for the fall. My August schedule is already full and I have 6 engagements scheduled for September. It's going to be a busy fall season, but I am SO excited about the possibilities and opportunities. Over the next few weeks, I'll provide some more specifics about what we'll be doing. I believe that God has given us some very clear direction about our next steps here in BC and where our focus needs to be over the next year. I also believe that the results of what we will undertake will be historic for our province.Delerious ranks among my favorite bands. In one of their versions of 'Did You Hear?' they rhetorically ask if it's true that God can shape a nation. My emphatic answer is YES HE CAN! HE WANTS TO AND HE WILL, AS HIS PEOPLE PRAY! The question is will we??

Premier Campbell Names New Cabinet

Premier Campbell announced an anicipated Cabinet Shuffle today. Listed below are the names and ministries of the members of the new BC Cabinet. On behalf of the partners, friends and supporters of Leading Influence Ministries, I want to congratulate those who have been named to the cabinet, those who have been re-assigned roles and those who will continue on in their capacity. I also want to encourage our prayer network, friends and supporters to begin to pray for the new cabinet as they assume their responsibilities on behalf of the people of British Columbia.

NEW MINISTERS APPOINTED TODAY INCLUDE:

MINISTER OF STATE FOR INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS - HON. JOAN MCINTYRE

MINISTER OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - HON. BLAIR LEKSTROM

MINISTER OF HEALTHY LIVING AND SPORT - HON. MARY POLAK

MINISTER OF LABOUR AND CITIZENS' SERVICES - HON. IAIN BLACK

MINISTER OF TOURISM, CULTURE AND THE ARTS - HON. BILL BENNETT

MINISTERS WITH NEW PORTFOLIOS INCLUDE:

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND LANDS - HON. STAN HAGEN

MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINING - HON. GORDON HOGG

MINISTER OF FINANCE AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OLYMPICS - HON. COLIN HANSEN

MINISTER OF FORESTS AND RANGE - HON. PAT BELL

MINISTER OF HOUSING AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT - HON. RICH COLEMAN
MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS AND REVENUE AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR DEREGULATION - HON. KEVIN KRUEGER

MINISTER OF TECHNOLOGY, TRADE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ASIA-PACIFIC INITIATIVE - HON. IDA CHONG

MINISTERS RETAINING EXISTING PORTFOLIOS:
MINISTER OF ABORIGINAL RELATIONS AND RECONCILIATION - HON. MICHAEL DE JONG

MINISTER OF ADVANCED EDUCATION AND LABOUR MARKET DEVELOPMENT - HON. MURRAY COELL

ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR MULTICULTURALISM - HON. WALLY OPPAL

MINISTER OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT - HON. TOM CHRISTENSEN

MINISTER OF STATE FOR CHILDCARE - HON. LINDA REID

MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR EARLY LEARNING AND LITERACY AND DEPUTY PREMIER - HON. SHIRLEY BOND

MINISTER OF ENERGY, MINES AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES - HON. RICHARD NEUFELD

MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT - HON. BARRY PENNER

MINISTER OF HEALTH SERVICES - HON. GEORGE ABBOTT

MINISTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SOLICITOR GENERAL - HON. JOHN VAN DONGEN

MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE - HON. KEVIN FALCON

Video from Victoria PrayBC Event

Brittany (our daughter) made this video from pictures she took at the Victoria PrayBC event. She's added in some pictures from our MLA Prayer Breakfast and a few from our partner BBQ. I think she's done a fantastic job. I hope you enjoy it.

More Than A Day...

PrayBC is based on the question of 'what if' and the premise that 'Anything can happen when God is in it'. We began with an idea. I guess it was really more like a question. What would happen if the church all across BC came together to stand in the gap as a people of blessing? That question sparked a series of prayer gatherings across the BC on June 8.

Have you ever noticed how things can morph from one thing into a bigger and more exciting thing when God is in it? That' s what's happening with PrayBC. What began as a vision for a single day is becoming so much more. Here's what I mean...

I received a call a few weeks ago from someone who basically does what I do but in another part of the country. As we were getting to know each other he told me a fascinating story about what is happening in his province. They had a provincial election a while ago. He saw an opportunity for the church to make a difference on it's knees. What they did was begin to pray that God's choice of candidate in each riding would rise to the forefront. Their next prayer was that God would put his favor upon that candidate and would make him/her appealling to the electorate. Then they prayed that the candidate would know God's protection throughout the campaign and would be kept from making costly blunders. Through a series of conference calls, small and large prayer gatherings across the province, God answered their prayers!

The result today is a Christian Premier and Speaker. Many members of the Cabinet and government Caucus are believers as well as some members of the Opposition. There are other things that I can't tell you about in this forum, but I assure you it's amazing.

I confess, I'm jealous. I don't think it's a bad kind of jealousy though. I'm jealous to see God do the same thing in my province, with my government and among our leaders.

So... here's what I'm thinking .... In light of the fact that we have 2 important elections (municipal and provincial) within the next 11 months, do you think that God might be willing to do something in BC as powerful and profound as what He's done in another part of our country?

I think He just might.... How about you??