J17 Ministries
in collaboration with various
ministries in Tucson and beyond
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IN THIS ISSUE
New
News about J17 Ministries
Harmony Hub
Collaboration Corner
Upcoming Events
LAST CHANCE
Pastors' Edge
LAST CHANCE
Silverman Worship Concert
LAST CHANCE
Holy Land Trip Info Meeting
John 17 Weekends
Church of the Week
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Greetings!
As a lifelong diehard Wildcat, this week's heading could be referring to the basketball LadyCats, two wins away from a National Invitational Championship, or the godly work our softball team did to the Tempe demons... But I'm not. Read to the end, friend!
Praise the Lord with me for all that's been accomplished through J17 Ministries since our beginning less than 6 months ago:
- From the outside, it might appear the transition that has happened with John 17 Weekends, Tucson Ministry Alliance, and the Pastor Prayer Summits has been seamless. From the inside, we can appreciate the miraculous strength God provided to make these transitions happen!
- As a result, three of the avenues God has used powerfully over the last ten years to unite the Body of Christ in Tucson are not only continuing, but expanding!
- God now has us connected with ministries built around John 17 on three continents, as well as multiple states and cities around the U.S.!
- Multiple tools are now inviting people to daily pay closer attention to what Jesus deemed most important (website, e-newsletter, Facebook, YouTube channel).
- God provided office space before we even knew we'd need it... every bill has been paid... every infrastructure need met..., right on time.
God has confirmed to me daily since I committed to Him that I was all in on Oct 20, 2018 that He's got this, and He's way ahead of us. Only He knows how far He wants to take this, and how quickly.
The new team sport? Our April faith-building final 30-day fundraising effort. Every time we hit another 5% increment of our total goal, the donor who crossed the line gets to choose from a growing number of gifts, all donated by friends of John 17 (the prayer, and this ministry). Every gift you give helps somebody else - how cool is that?! It's a thoroughly John 17 approach to equipping the called, our growing team who are here to serve by aligning hearts with Jesus' own.
Dave Drum, Founder
J17 Ministries
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New
News about
J17 MINISTRIES
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Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Last week we invited you to help us get over the halfway point in our funding needs and the Lord, through your commitments, has brought us within less than ONE percent! We are looking ahead to reaching the next big "mile marker" after that.
Today we are launching phase 2 of J17 Ministries' fundraising campaign. For each person who pushes the thermometer past the
notable
milestones (i.e., 50%, 55%, 60%, etc.), he or she will be invited to select a thank you gift from the available options that have been donated to the cause (check
HERE
for details). In addition, everyone who has partnered financially with J17 Ministries at any point will receive a special invitation to a celebration open-house in May!
We here at J17 are posing the question for everyone to consider: "How is God calling you to invest in Jesus' prayer in John 17?" We already have 62 donors but this isn't an exclusive group and there is room for more!
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Maybe the Holy Spirit is prompting you to bump your giving up to a higher level. Maybe the Holy Spirit is prompting you to simply start giving, with whatever amount you feel led. And maybe, today, you can't commit to a financial gift, but the Holy Spirit is prompting you to pray for J17 Ministries. We can't do any of this alone, nor do we want to! Can we count on your support? Click
HERE
to donate! And please, send along your prayers as well!
Who will be the person who will get us to the next milestone?
Will it be you?
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Leaders for Reconciliation
After spending time in the Rwandan refugee camps outside of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) in 1994 and listening to stories of hatred, anger, and animosity between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes, Chris Erasmus wrote an article titled “
Letter from Goma: The R
oot of Evils
” (Maclean's, August 29 1994).
In his article, Erasmus issued a warning to the western world by quoting the words of David Welsh, a professor of African political studies at South Africa’s University of Cape Town.
Rwanda is a modern-day object lesson of a timeless truth: ethnicity, in the guise of race, tribe or religion, can raise its head at any time in any society, even those in which it is considered to no longer be a fissionable force. . . it is already happening in Europe. Look at Ireland, the former Soviet Republics or what was Yugoslavia, not to mention the rise of neo-fascism in Germany, France and elsewhere. If we fail to heed the lesson, then we’re doomed to repeat the suffering of the past.
Leadership for reconciliation is needed more today in America than in Rwanda prior to the 1994 genocide. Our nation needs a new model of leadership for reconciliation. Our political, religious, public, and private institutions need servant leaders who will work to build unity and begin to reconcile relationships for the transformation of our communities. Uncensored racism, just like tribalism, is evil and dangerous to any nation.
Harmony Hub Contributor:
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A Big "both/and" for Tucson
As mentioned in the lead article, J17 Ministries is less than 6 months old, but the intentional work of transforming the world around us through a unified body of Christ dates back 10 years through 4Tucson, and 2000 years to Jesus’ John 17 prayer.
One of the questions I’ve received regularly in the last five months is, “Should I switch my support from 4Tucson to J17 Ministries?” And my answer every time has been, “It’s not an either/or, it’s a both/and.” 4Tucson’s sweet spot is biblical city transformation. J17 Ministries’ sweet spot is uniting the body of Christ for a divided world. While there’s certainly lots of room for collaboration, each ministry has plenty of room to work without duplicating one another’s efforts.
I had the opportunity last week to participate in several hours of meetings between 4Tucson and J17 Ministries, which included Mark Harris (4Tucson’s CEO) and board members from both organizations. The purpose was both reconciliation and collaboration: airing areas of hurt and misunderstanding, giving and receiving forgiveness, with the goal of bringing honor and glory to Jesus through our collaboration and unity with one another. I’m very grateful for those meetings and believe it was a win/win/win/win – for each organization, for each individual involved, and for the body of Christ and for the city we’re all called to love and serve.
If it was easy, Jesus wouldn’t have prayed for it. If Jesus thought the topic of unity was worthy of His primary attention at such a critical time, we can never neglect it and assume it will come easily without constant effort (for example: “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit…” Ephesians 4:3) and ceaseless prayer. Will you join me today in praying a prayer of blessing on our brothers and sisters in 4Tucson and around the city? God intends each of us to be a big both/and for our cities.
Click
HERE
to read Mark Harris' reflection on last week's meetings.
Collaboration Corner Contributor:
Dave Drum, Founder J17 Ministries
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Team and Participant applications are currently being accepted!
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Men's weekend: July 18-21
Women's weekend: July 25-28
Submit your application now and be a part this year's Tucson area Christian discipleship weekend that emphasizes the essentials of the Christian life and walk.
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Check out the latest opportunities to strengthen
your faith and connect with the community.
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What's happening for
everyone
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What's happening for
pastors
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If you are part of an area event promoting unity and collaboration among the citywide
Body of Christ and beyond and would like it included in an upcoming newsletter,
please click
HERE
to submit your request.
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