Invitation for the Glory of God in New England

The Glory of God in New England:
Invitation to the New England Solemn Assembly
Saturday, October 4, 2-6 pm

Harvest Ministries of New England
East Weymouth, MA

"Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a solemn assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders. Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, 'Spare your people, O Lord, and do not give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' Then the Lord will be zealous for His land. Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nation." (Joel 2:15-19)

Dear pastors, ministry leaders, intercessors, and brothers and sisters in Christ,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We are pastors and leaders from various denominational and theological backgrounds and various locations in New England. We share a common vision and desire to see the Glory of God in our midst and the subsequent outbreak of revival in our communities. This vision, along with our beliefs, is articulated in the following website: http://www.newenglandalliance.us/

We are writing to you because the Lord has stirred our hearts with a burden for New England, the place where God has sovereignly positioned all of us at this time. As you know, the Bible speaks of "the sons of Issachar, who understood their times, and knew what Israel ought to do" (1 Chr. 12:32). Also, the Lord Jesus taught us to discern the times, and He rebuked the Pharisees for not doing so: "You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times" (Matt 16:2).

We collectively share the conviction that we, the church, currently live in a condition similar to that of Israel during the time of its Babylonian captivity. The body of Christ today is in a fragmented, weakened state, lacking the authority that comes from the manifest presence of God among His people. This is because of our own weakness, compromise, and lack of unity.

As you well know, when the Glory of God is upon His people, even the heathens recognize who God is. An example of that is Rahab who told Joshua and Caleb: "For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath" (Joshua 2: 10, 11).

In contrast, when the glory of God lifted off Samson, "the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes.They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison" (Jud 16:21). Similarly, when the glory of God lifted off Israel because of its sin, Israel went into the Babylonian captivity. "By the river of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion." (Psalm 137:1). "Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'" (Joel 2:17).

In essence, what the world is telling the church today is, "Where is your God?" We are mocked and trampled upon like Samson was, because of the lack of the glory and manifest presence of God in our midst. We are in a state of spiritual Babylonian captivity, resembling the ruined walls of Jerusalem. "And they said to me, 'the survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire'" (Neh 1:3).

However, the Lord has stirred our hearts. We believe He is calling us and all His pastors and leaders across New England to come together in corporate unity, humility, and repentance in the spirit of Daniel 9 and Nehemiah, in order for His glory and manifest presence to dwell among us. We believe this will lead us out of this weakened state of spiritual Babylonian captivity.

So, in essence, our call and invitation to you is this: "Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem together, that we may no longer be a reproach" (Neh 2:17).

The Lord has stirred us to call pastors, ministry leaders, and intercessors across New England, to come together in a Solemn Assembly on October 4th, from 2-6 pm, at Harvest Ministries International in East Weymouth, MA (details and poster). This will be a time of corporate repentance, intercession, worship, renewal of covenant, and united action.
We will stand in the gap together for New England, crying out collectively for what we currently lack: the presence and the glory of God among us, and the subsequent outbreak of revival.

We believe this is one critical step on the journey that the Lord has stirred us to embark on together with Him. We share the conviction, that as we respond to the Lord's call, we will corporately enter a time of Isaiah 60:

"Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the Glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise over you, and His Glory will be seen upon you"
(Isaiah 60:2).

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this, please feel free to contact one of us below.
Please register for the Solemn Assembly. Registration is free and not required, but it helps us to plan.

May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you and continue to cause his face to shine upon you.

Signed by,

Josiah Armstrong, Youthstorm (Windham NH)
Craig and Deb Bensen, Cambridge United Church (Cambridge VT)
Steve Boyce, New Life Worship Center (Smithfield RI)
Richard Brink, Eastgate Apostolic Center (Oakland ME)
John Eckhardt, Stauron Ministries (Topsham ME)
Jonathan Friz, Ten Days of Prayer (S Hamilton MA)
Dick Germaine, Barnabas Ministries (Hopkinton MA)
David Hill, Abundant Grace Church (Brighton MA)
Paul Jehle, New Testament Church of Cedarville (Plymouth MA)
Dick Kiernan, Alpha New England (Manchester NH)
Elijah Kim, Emmanuel Gospel Center (Boston MA)
Mike Kriesel, Community Bible Church (S Burlington VT)
Barbara Lachance, Connecticut House of Prayer (Mystic CT)
Jeff Marks, New England Concerts of Prayer (Beverly MA)
Keith Marsh, Grace Children's Home (Grantham NH)
Kris Mineau, Massachusetts Family Institute (Woburn MA)
David McCahon, Ten Days of Prayer (Deerfield MA)
Audrey Church McIntyre, Connecticut House of Prayer (Hartford CT)
Roberto Miranda, Congregacion Leon de Juda (Boston MA)
Raffoul Najem, Community Christian Fellowship (Lowell MA)
Edson Porto, Joshua Project (Wellesley MA)
Mamdouh Riad, The Glory of God on Cape Cod (Dennis MA)
David Rosen, Partners in Transformation (S Burlington VT)
Rob Shepitka, Northeast House of Prayer (Albany NY)
Colleen Sherman, Emmanuel Gospel Center (Boston MA)
Al and Diane Shimer, Christian Renewal Church (Topsfield MA)
Brian Simmons, Gateway Christian Fellowship (East Haven CT)
Bethany Temple, Justice House of Prayer, Boston (Cambridge MA)
Gail Thomas, Institute for Hebraic-Christian Studies - New England
(Woburn MA)