Prayer Walking, Prophetic Words and Acts

In February 2003 I was prompted by the Lord to develop a website and begin to test some of the concepts and ideas that the Lord had given us.  Within just a few weeks of beginning the tests and before I had submitted our site to the search engines Dr. Willis Johnson of Galilee Ministries International from Nassau Bahamas found us and he caught the vision of CONECT.  By June of 2003 he extended an invitation to us to come and minister by offering a "CONECTing the Church Conference" in the Bahamas August 24-26.

Just two weeks prior to our departure I was praying and the Lord spoke to me about Columbus and destiny.  I knew that it was on San Salvador (one of the many islands in the Bahamas) that Columbus had landed and I knew that his discovery opened up the New World to the gospel.  However, I was unsettled and sensed that the Lord was trying to say something about our destiny with Watchman Ministries International.

Discovery on a Prayer Walk

Dr. Johnson arranged our stay at the British Colonial Hilton.  On the last day of ministry I was scheduled to speak with government, business and church leaders about CONECT and transforming cities.  I awoke early in the morning before the sun arose and I went out to walk and pray.  After praying for about 1.5 hours I came back in the lobby of the hotel by the elevators and a painting caught my eye.  It is titled the "Caravels of Destiny."  Next to the painting was another painting with an explanation of the picture.  It was written by Tellis Bethel.

Immediately, I thought "Tellis Bethel."  Bethel means the house of God, so "tell us" about the "house of God."  As I continued to read I so sensed the presence and power of God.  It went on to say that the Spanish names of Columbus' three ships combined with the name of the island on which they made land fall prophetically spoke of God's intent to shape the destiny of America through His "Gateway to the New World."

"The Apple of God's eye (Nina) is the Sign (Pinta) that the Blessed Mary (Santa Maria) conceived and brought forth.  His name is Holy Savior (San Salvador).......the Gateway to the New World.

The explanation went on to describe how the testimony paralleled ancient prophecy and made reference to Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1.:21 and 25.  Then the explanation went on to say:

'These Caravels of Destiny testify of Christ being God's "Gateway to the New World of Eternal Life."  Isaiah explains: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way..."  Today, humanity continues blindly in its quest to discover the gateway to Paradise.  Christ told His disciples: "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."  Accepting Christ and allowing Him to have complete control of one's destiny in life is key to discovering that long sought gateway to eternal paradise.  

Gateway to the Americas

When I saw the artwork and read the explanation the Lord spoke to me.   It all became so very clear why I had to start with CONECT in the Bahamas.  It is the "gateway city" to the Americas.  One of the key scriptures from which CONECT is based upon is out of 1 Peter 2:4-6.

4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, 

"Behold, I lay in Zion 
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." 

7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 

"The stone which the builders rejected 
Has become the chief cornerstone,"  NKJV

America, a Destiny Unveiled 

Upon return from the Bahamas we discovered that Tellis Bethel had also written a book called (click link to order your book) “ America , a Destiny Unveiled.”  

The Destiny of the Church in America

In Tellis' book he says on page 62:

“In Bible days, every name carried a meaning that was indicative of ones authority or desired character trait or outcome……….the name United States of America , is also symbolic of an intended destiny for America in view of this understanding.”

“Derived from a Germanic form, the name America means leader.  It also denotes heroism.  Others claim to have traced its meaning to love…. When interpreted and fused within the context of Biblical light, the name, United States of America , reflects Christ’s desired outcome for believers under His authority, which is to be:  “One body (United) formed out of many members (states) under the leadership ( America ) of Jesus Christ.”

“The historical unification of fifty individual states to form one nation is therefore representative of God’s desire for individual believers to function as one body with Christ as the head.  It should also be noted that America has always played a role in uniting the military forces of her allies.  Her bringing together of allied nations was crucial in driving out Iraq ’s invading army out of Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War.  This “power unity” created solidarity on the home front that culminated in the release of power on the battlefield.  As a result, the “enemy” was expelled and the lives of the “oppressed” were restored.”

Page 63 “More so then, a united states within the Body of Christ will inevitably release the power of God (or His anointing) on the spiritual battlefields of life, home, church, workplace and community.  This in turn, will result in the casting out of demonic forces and the restoration of the oppressed lives……”

CONECT - The Christian Outreach Network Establishing City-wide Teamwork

When I read Tellis' book I was extremely excited.  Why?  Because what he described as the prophetic destiny of the Church in America flows right in line with what the Lord showed me when He gave me CONECT in 1992.  CONECT stands for the Christian Outreach Network Establishing City-wide Teamwork.  Its purpose is to mobilize the body of Christ in a city or region to work together as an army.  The purpose of a natural military is to project power in order to enforce a political will.  The purpose of the army of the Lord is to "project power" to see the oppressed set free.  Why, God even used the same event (Desert Storm) to communicate to both of us God's intent for the Church.  

Other prophets have now begun to declare it is time for the Church to connect (click here for a word from a national prophet) Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone on which the house of God is built.  CONECT is based upon Ezekiel 37 and Joel 2 as well.  It is about forming up the army of God.  It is about CONECTing the church corporately (locally, in each city and nationally) to build a habitation for our Lord so that the church might show forth the manifold wisdom of God to principalities and powers in heavenly places.  It is about mobilizing the local churches in each city to work together to establish 24 hour prayer, praise and worship so as to begin the process of transforming their city.  

It starts with prayer because we can all agree that God has called His Church to be a house of prayer for all nations.  But while it starts in prayer, it goes on to encourage cooperation instead of competition between churches.  It encourages and facilitates teamwork and outreach into ever sphere of society: church, government, education, legal, professional, technical and more.

It is Time to CONECT

Then I understood why the Lord had directed Dr. Johnson to invite us there.  The Bahama Islands is  the gateway to the Americas where European explorers first introduced the Gospel to to the original inhabitants of the New World.  It was there that the Church in America was first introduced and began to be built.  As the capital of The Bahamas, Nassau stands as the “gateway city” of the Americas.  It was here that the Lord originally planned to spread the gospel in order to build a spiritual house for His glory.  This was why we had to go to the Bahamas to present CONECT for the first time in the context of a city.  We had to begin to prophetically declare that it was time for the body of Christ to CONECT.    

The Birth Place of the Charismatic Move - Seattle Washington

In January 2004 I was invited to present CONECT for the second time in the context of a city at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Seattle Washington.  This happens to be the birth place of the Charismatic Move.  On February 10, 2004, one year to the day that we began working on presenting CONECT to the world I ministered in the last meeting at St. Luke's.  During that time the Lord weaved His prophetic tapestry.

The week prior to the  last meeting I began doing research on the Charismatic Move that was birthed out of Rev. Dennis Bennett at St. Luke's in the 60's and 70's.  I discovered some amazing things.

So the first place God had me prophetically declare to the Church that "it was time to CONECT" was in Nassau Bahamas.  The Gateway City to the Americas.  The second place was in the birth place of the Charismatic Move.  If you look at the vision and purpose of CONECT, the  purpose of the Church in America that Tellis describes in his book, and the purpose of the Charismatic Move you'll see an amazing prophetic tapestry.  The theme and the intent is the same.

It is Time to Re-dig the Well at St.

On February 10, 2004 the Lord had me rehearse the history and combine all of the prophetic words in order to show forth our Lord's intent.  It led to this prophetic declaration.  The purpose of CONECT is to see the body of Christ come together  as it is prophesied in Ezekiel 37:1-11 so that it might rise up as an exceeding great and mighty army.  The purpose of that army is to project power in order to see the oppressed set free.  

The first place this was declared was in the Gateway City to the Americas and the second place is the birth place of the Charismatic Move.  Whereas in the Charismatic Move the intent was to empower the individual, now it is time to see the body of Christ come together as one Man (Nehemiah 8:1-2) in order to project power in order to set the oppressed free.  

Over the last 4 years the well was re-dug for the Healing Rooms founded by John G. Lake in Spokane.  This led to over 200 healing rooms being planted in countries around  the world, so it is here at St. Luke's.  There is a well to be re-dug but that well is not for St. Luke's, it is not for Seattle but it is for the body of Christ around the world.  The Lord would say, "it is time to re-dig the well and I am with you to re-dig it."  In  this well that you re-dig you'll see a corporate anointing, leaders and Churches working together in unprecedented teamwork.  This will lead to the Church coming together as one man in order to project power in order to see the oppressed set free. 

If you are interested in participating in making history and helping re-dig this well at St. Luke's then please email me at wmi@watchmanministries.org.  We are seeking those who'll  work with us to establish 24 hour prayer watch in order to re-dig the well.