Freedom Blog

Recently, I was sharing with a trusted friend about how God seems to always show up whenever I share my story. To elaborate a little on this, what seems to always happen is: when I testify about God, He shows up and confirms my testimony about Him. So, my friend simply said to me, “Well, that’s what you need to be pressing into.” At first what came to mind was that I needed to start pressing into my network and seeing where and when I could find more opportunities to share my God story. But now, I’m sensing that to really “press into this” means also forming a ministry team to accompany me when I speak, in order to maximize transformation.

Let me explain, God moves in very supernatural ways in my life and every time I’ve been given the opportunity to share about this, He shows up in supernatural ways to confirm my testimony. I often hear from people that when they hear my God story, it stirs in them hope, faith and a longing to draw near to God. What comes to mind is the woman who had an issue of blood, “Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed’” (Matt 9:20-22). To many people, when they hear my testimony God’s grace, love, mercy and power becomes tangible enough for them to reach out and touch. So what ends up happening is people get saved and healed. God’s kingdom breaks through into people’s hearts and lives bringing eternally lasting transformation.

What this means for the 420 Prayer Movement is that people who are actively moving in the “phanerosis” (manifestation) gifts of the Holy Spirit of 1 Corinthians 12:8-10: message of wisdom, message of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning spirits, tongues and interpretation need to be part of this ministry team. I understand that this may be limiting, but my heart on this is about “pressing into” how God moves when I share my testimony. I also believe that the 420 Prayer Movement ministry team can also help equip and empower existing ministry teams at the various locations that God calls us. This way, the 420 Prayer Movement ministry team can encourage and build up the whole Body of Christ.

So, please be in prayer that God would form this ministry team, that He would draw together those He desires to be a part of this team. God has been continually reminding me that this is His work and ministry in which He has entrusted to me. So, I want to be as faithful a steward as I can. As Jesus told His disciples when He sent them out to ”heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt 10:8 NIV). I’ve taken this to heart and believe that the supernatural ministry of the 420 Prayer Movement ministry team must always be held as a gift that is freely given away. Thanks & Peace, Gerry Ching.

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So, as I’ve been praying and had others praying about direction for the 420 Prayer Movement, we’ve been sensing more and more that the next move is to officially become a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. This would involve lots of paperwork, but also forming a board of directors which would help give greater stability and accountability. I’m pretty excited about this because I fully believe in team leadership which favors more of a group decision making approach where the leader stimulates group discussion and then makes a decision based on what the group as a whole has prayerfully and strategically decided. I see great value in the collective strength of a small team that understands one another’s gifted roles and whom are actively yielding to Jesus’ lordship over their own lives and His headship over the Body of Christ.

With that said, I am highly relational when it comes to leadership. Jesus’ own life was one where He connected deeply with people. He did this with everyone, but most notably His disciples. Jesus modeled the way (John 14:6) and inspired a vision (Luke 8:1). He challenged the process (Matt 5) and enabled others to act (Luke 9:1; 10:1) while all along encouraging the heart (the Gospels). This is the leadership style I strive to emulate and model because leadership should encourage faithfulness to God and Christlike transformation. Leaders are those who encourage transformation in those that they serve. The overall component in transformational leadership must be redemption. For me, the term redemptive leadership encompasses best my philosophy of leadership. The reason I favor the term redemptive, more so than servant is because redemption assumes servanthood, but also transformation. Redemption must be integral to who a leader is and how they live. This is how I view my leadership style.

What this style of leadership emphasizes is transparency through authenticity and openness that is bold in speaking truth and life to others in love. This happens only through a consciously dependent walk with Jesus and heavy reliance on the Holy Spirit. Redemptive leaders are not interested in making others dependent on themselves; rather they seek to empower others by calling out the new thing Jesus is doing in their lives and encouraging dependency on the Holy Spirit. I lean towards team leadership with a strong emphasis on delegating tasks (authoritative) and sharing responsibilities, seeking to empower others (democratic). Within this framework, I do believe that there needs to be someone who takes the lead, but this does not necessarily mean the same person would lead every task. Gifting is important in discerning the various roles of the team members. Ideally,  the fivefold ministry of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher (Eph 4:11) would all be represented within the the 420 Prayer Movement board of directors.

So, please be praying that God would provide the funds to pay for the processing fees to become a 501(c)(3) and that He would draw those He desires to be on the 420 Prayer Movement board. Thanks & Peace, Gerry Ching.

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Over the past 10 years, God has taken me on a pretty amazing spiritual journey. But, in reality it has been more than just a spiritual journey because my whole life has also been transformed. It all began the day I gave my life to Jesus Christ. On that day, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into me and the way that I saw the world was forever changed. Life became more real because the missing spiritual dimension of life came alive to me. The way that I experienced life changed because the Holy Spirit became the driving force in my life. I learned to live, move and have my being in Him and began to see the world from an eternal perspective.

Since that day 10 years ago, God has been untangling my heart from the drug lifestyle that was my comfort zone. Drugs were my security in life. Now, it has been a knock down drag out fight to break me free, but it is truly only by God’s amazing grace that am I living a drug-free life with a bright future ahead of me. But, very early on in my faith journey, God let me know that He had bigger plans for me than to be just another productive member of society.

Over these last 10 years God has been showing the importance of walking at all times in the strength of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now this has been a huge challenge in and of itself because nobody likes to admit that they are in constant need of help. My pride fought every step of the way. But, God was patient and kind with me. Everyday He purposefully moved me forward on this rocky road of redemption as He purified my heart and mind of all my twisted perversions and selfish aspirations. 

Fast forward to today. I feel like I’m coming to a new juncture in my faith journey. I feel like an explorer who has come to the edge of the civilized world and is now looking out across a vast unknown land. But, even so, the Spirit of God who dwells within me is reminding me that God is with me, that He will never forsake me and that I need to be strong and courageous. The Word He is bringing to mind are God’s words to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 2:9). This is a good reminder that: it’s not about me trying to do all this on my own, but about embracing my weakness, and leaning on God’s strength to help me endure the many coming hardships.

So, I am filled with both a little bit of anxiety mixed with a whole lot of excitement as I take on this endeavor to make a difference in this world for Jesus by prayerfully standing in the gap for those who are in bondage to addiction. I feel like this 420 Prayer Movement is a gift from the Lord to me that touches the very depths of my heart, the very depths that God entered into with His loving light and powerful truth in order to redeem and restore me from my own addictions. But, it’s more than just a passion. It’s a calling that God has placed on my life. Overall,  I am filled with the hope that comes from knowing the truth of the Gospel and the light of Christ. Soli Deo Gloria. 

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