In January of this year my family and I were invited to participate in leading worship at “The Gathering” - a time of worship, repentance and restoration, otherwise known as the Malachi 4:6 conference, held at Orama on Great Barrier Island, New Zealand. A precious Swiss brother recorded the meetings and captured some lovely worship moments, which I am in the process of editing. This month’s free mp3 download is a totally spontaneous and prophetic song that came from a reflective moment of worship, where the Lord encouraged us to lay our burdens down.
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The conference itself had Malachi 4:6 as a theme – “To make ready a people prepared for the Lord”. There was considerable emphasis on repentance and turning hearts of parents and children back to one another, as well as times of prayer and repentance for our nation.
There was quite a contingent of YWAM-er’s there from all over the globe. My family enjoyed meeting so many different people from overseas. We had the privilege of meeting the captain of the Anastasis (YWAM ship) and his wife and hearing their many stories of adventures abroad. John Dawson, David Demian and Peter & Donna Jordan were keynote speakers for the conference. It was a wonderful time.
The Lord is calling forth his people in the spirit of Elijah, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. The conference was a multi-generational gathering centered around the family unit-physical and spiritual families, recognising our mutual need for the Lord and for one another across generations.
The family unit, which was created by God and is foundational for a healthy society, has rapidly broken down and has become dysfunctional. God's heart breaks over this and He is yearning for the fathers, mothers and children to be restored to Him and one another, walking in unity and purity. He is calling for spiritual mothers and fathers to 'stand in the gap' for those who don't have a family and who will create a place of safety where God's love is demonstrated.
Orama, on Great Barrier Island is 600 acres of isolation and beauty in Karaka Bay on the northern end of the barrier, and is a wonderful place for refreshment and restoration. Orama is a place that has been consecrated to God from its early days of being founded by Neville and Dot Winger and is experiencing a whole new phase of vision and development with their son Norm Winger and his family, as well as Bob and Lynne Mitchener recently moving there. Towards the end of the conference there was time of commissioning for the future ministry of Orama.
