Relay For Life, Faith & Hope Center Tent Report

Dear Friends: The closest thing I've come to feeling like Anna in the Temple, night and day with the Lord and His people, happened at the Faith and Hope Center this weekend. What a rare privilege I had to witness you and your groups as you prayed on the grounds of the Relay for Life...each in your own style with your own God-given focus.

As I made a report to our church Sunday morning, these words were highlighted:

UNITY: When the Body of Christ came together in one place, honoring each other, there was great power released in prayer. One brother who is very sensative in the Spirit, but did not know this relay was for cancer, felt there was a strong annointing to pray for cancer. I love it!

FOCUS: The Holy Spirit gave each group specific things to focus on. Often our prayers were, "Lord, let everything You want prayed be accomplished by the end of this weekend." One team prayed that the big "C" (as we often call cancer) would be replaced by the bigger "C" in Christ.

TRUST: I trusted each team that came, and together we built trust with the American Cancer Society and the local Relay leadership. They definitely want us back again next year! Sometimes one of the leadership team would let me know what they needed prayer for as the event went along.

STATS: We figured there were about 175 people of all ages from 25 churches/ministries who prayed in the tent. There wasn't a lot of other traffic through the tent, but it became obvious numbers were not the issue. I believe we were priming the pump and drilling for oil...in other words, going down deep into the fight against cancer.

RESULTS: Of course we won't know until heaven all that went on as a result of our prayers. But I believe we will be getting some feedback, and I will pass that on to you. Financially, we asked for $600,000 and $641,000 was raised. We had our beautiful weather, but we are going to have to clarify what a slight breeze means. :) We had 40 mile an hour gusts by the last two shifts and had to vacate the tent. The final group prayed in a circle on the 5 yard line in front of God and everybody. My guess is that about 90 percent of us had never been to a Relay before.

THANKS: This word does not cover the gratefulness in my heart for all of you. May the Lord reward you greatly for your time and prayers. Please extend my thanks to each person on your team.

I trust we will see more of each other through the coming year. Carry the Light!
Sherry Varkonyi

posted by Roderick of TMin @ 7:55 AM 0 comments

Familiarize Yourself With New Song

Pastor Wayne Smith of Harvard Covenant Church writes, "I have had some fairly regular contact with New Song and believe that God is greatly at work through that ministry."

New Song is impacting Tacoma's 20-somethings, so we encourage you to familiarize yourself with their ministry and listen to some of their sermons at:

posted by Roderick of TMin @ 6:39 PM 0 comments

Successful Ministry to Goths

Pastor Tom Goetz of Rainier Hills Christian Fellowship and Kit Hackett report that their youth pastor, Paul Majack, has been granted entree with the local Goth community. We are endeavoring to meet with Paul, and look forward to reporting more specifics about how God is at work among Goth young people.

posted by Roderick of TMin @ 5:36 PM 0 comments

A Stronghold of Insignificance?

Pastor Wayne Smith of Harvard Covenant Church, suggests that a stronghold in Tacoma is an assumption of insignificance. Are believers in our city asking, "Can any good thing come out of Tacoma?" If so, we need take a stand against this defeatist attitude.

Please comment on this issue by clicking on the word comments just below this posting, or by e-mailing me.

posted by Roderick of TMin @ 5:21 PM 1 comments

Relay For Life, Faith & Hope Center Tent

Fellow ministers in Tacoma and Pierce County, here is a great opportunity that God has opened for us. We know that God is at work when He allows us to have a presence and opportunity to bless in a secular program!

American Cancer Society's Relay for Life was born in Tacoma 21 years ago. For the first time here, a Faith and Hope Center tent for prayer will be on site at the Mt. Tahoma High School stadium. It will serve survivors of cancer, family members whose loved one has died, medical and research personnel, caregivers, fund-raising walkers and others. Hourly, starting at 6:00 p.m. June 23 through 6:00 p.m. June 24, a different church or ministry in Pierce County will provide its members to comfort, encourage and support those with needs. The fight against cancer has always had praying people, but now for those who desire it, there is a place to address the spiritual component of this cure. A reflection tent is also provided for those who wish to be quiet alone. For information on the Faith and Hope Center's schedule, go to tacomarelay.org/faithandhopecenter.html.

posted by Roderick of TMin @ 12:07 PM 0 comments