This past summer while our family was in Ireland, one of the most fun things for me was going to some of the Vineyard Churches over there. (Of course, Liz & I also attended a mid-week church service on our honeymoon, so that tells you probably a little bit more than you needed to know about us.)

One of the things I got really excited hearing about was a ministry called Healing on the Streets. Basically the idea is that people from the church go out into the community (similar to one of our coffee give-aways) and offer to pray for healing for anyone who would like it.

It hit me as I heard this discussed how we have seen a number of people healed over the life of our church, but in general, unless they come for a Sunday service, and then decide to go into the prayer room and receive prayer, nothing is going to happen. But if we could give people in our community an opportunity to encounter the Holy Spirit, and be healed…wow!

So when I got back to Ithaca, I shared this with some of the leaders of the prayer team, and they were all excited.  So we contacted the people who oversee Healing on the Streets in the UK, got a ton of amazing resources, and…well, here we are.

This weekend we are kicking things off!  On Friday from 7 pm to 9 pm, and Saturday, from 9 am to 12 noon, we will go through the Healing on the Streets training together. At noon we’ll break for lunch, and then at 1 pm to 3pm, we are heading down to the Ithaca Commons to pray for healing!

While this will be our first time going out, we are planning on this being a regular part of the ongoing way that we serve out community here in Ithaca. And we are looking forward to having some great stories to share as God begins touching people’s lives.

If you are interested in attending the training, and going out with us this weekend, send me a note and we’ll get you more information.