One Thing, Once Again

Here we are, ready to take a group back to Kansas City to the International House of Prayer's One Thing Conference. This will be the fourth time we have taken a group. The first time we went was in the winter of 2005. We have grown so much and have seen several different ones come and go through the group in these few short years.

Each year the conference holds different expectations and the kids and leaders have different expectations as to what God is going to speak in the short time we will be there. This year is no different, yet this year is totally different.

I began feeling so excited for the conference back in the summer and as the elections approached, I began to feel an impending heaviness about what the conference would entail this year. Last year ended on such a somber note with The Call and God's call through Lou to pray for the elections and for a Godly man to lead our nation. As the population kept leaning toward what we now have, I knew that Onething would be very strategic in setting the prophetic atmosphere for the next four years. My excitement changed to anticipation. I need this prayer strategy more than ever. I feel that the body of Christ needs a strategy at this point in time more than ever. Where do we go from here? What do we do now? We must pray for our leader, but what else can we do? Our president aligns himself with a death covenant, so what should we do? To be neutral or misaligned on the issues of life, abortion, and gay marriage is to be useless. What is the strategy?

Several weeks ago Mike Bickle released a statement encouraging young people to come to the Onething conference this year. This is atypical of Mike since he is opposed to hype and never asks people to come to conferences. He stated that this year will be unique and that there is a certain weight on end times teachings. Instead of the usual break out sessions, there will be a panel of teachers and an open mike question-answer session with 100 small groups each night.
Part of the statement was that God was going to release strategy for the end-time prayer movement. Was this a coincidence that I had these mixed feelings about the conference this year? I don't think so.

There is much to be excited about, but there is much to prepare for. We will have fun, but I hope that more than anything, the seriousness of the hour will sink in with our youth. I hope that those who have not been touched by the urgency of the times will wake up and realize that time is limited - that time is precious. There isn't time to goof off with life and walking a gray moral existence. Other people are watching the body of Christ more now than ever. They are watching us because we are supposed to be watching Jesus. If we are watching Him, following Him, listening to Him, OBEYING Him, STANDING for Him, and doing what we know we should do, we will be shining the light that the world so desperately needs now. It's so dark out there. They need this light. We need this strategy.