Joy Best

JESUS SAID TO THEM, “MY FATHER IS ALWAYS AT HIS WORK, AND I TOO, AM WORKING.” JN.5:17

Gary and I just returned from a trip to Scandinavia, visiting 4 Vineyards over there, doing 2 Naturally Supernatural weekends. In the early 90’s we had quite a few trips there as well as to Russia when it opened up to the West, seeing the Vineyard get established there, and begin planting churches. Last week Gary had his birthday while there and as it was a very busy time before we left,  I didn’t get around to buying him a present for his 62nd!

So, I asked the Lord to bring him a present. I had never thought of anything like that before moving to Atlantic Canada, but then I’ve never been as stretched as I have been since being here!  Being encouraged by the last 3 years, each year the Lord bringing an awesomely creative gift, with the culmination of last year bringing a grandson for a gift, born on his birthday, I decided to ask again!

This year the gift was also very creative.  He was in Copenhagen Vineyard doing a Naturally Supernatural Conference on his birthday. It was really his ideal crowd.  Young, lots of vision, lots of outward focus towards their city, and the world. Although it was lots of energy, he was doing what he is born for, and that is exhilarating for anyone! So the privilege of serving is a gift. The rest of the story is one that has taken shape over 20 years. I will fill in the background.

About 20 years ago, we were in Copenhagen with a God Rock team of teens and early 20’s. They were trained to be good pray-ers, and ready for anything. God gave me a picture of an old cathedral with all 4 walls and as I watched, they opened outward so that everyone on the outside could see what was going on in the inside.  The idea was none of these people would go into a church, so many misconceptions and reasons why they wouldn’t want to go to church, but if they really knew what went on there, they would love it.  What we did in response to that picture was to take ” church”‘ to the Town Hall square so that everyone could see  one Saturday night.   We had a wonderful worship time , there was a short teaching about the Father heart of God (5 min.)… Gary had some words for people who had physical problems and then there was prayer for them…a couple of  Muslim guys prayed to give their lives to Jesus and we got someone to continue discipling them. A Swedish unmarried couple who came to Copenhagen to go to the sex bars just sat there all evening, the girl with tears coming down her cheeks, because she had once been a Jesus follower and had gone to Bible school.  She was very open to drawing near to Jesus once again in prayer.  It was a wonderful time of seeing Jesus coming to the streets. We prayed for a church in Copenhagen that would be a church that these people could thrive in.

Last week we were in that church. That was the birthday gift. We hadn’t been in Copenhagen in 20 years, just planted the seeds of prayer and had little knowledge of what was going on there in response. What an awesome gift, to encourage us that God doesn’t  forget and He never stops working!