What To Expect For Spark 2015

AUTHOR: RICHARD GOODPASTURE

I can't believe that Christmas is around the corner, and that Spark 2015 is almost here.

The other day, the message at church was a Christmas message. It laid out how the stars speak of God's plan and His will for His children, us. There was one part that showed how the stars talk and speak His message in a real way. It sounds cheesy, but all I could say was WOW! How He orchestrates His will, our lives, our story. 

This year at Spark we are praying for the experience of God's WOW. Like last year how His spirit was so evident with all on their knees raising voices to Him. Like the story that He wove through all of the messages delivered and how He expressed the theme of "Jump" in the content of each...WOW. It was like everyone got together and planned their talks before they gave them. Bob Goff telling of how he jumped into the prosecution of witch doctors, how David Nelson jumped to Haiti to love it's children and how, during Veronica Tutaj's message, the entire auditorium fell to its knees as they experienced God's presence. I am so excited to see how He does it this year...how He uses this years theme, Awaken. Finally, we can't forget how God loves laughter. So, I know you're as excited as I am to see what Mo & Sloop have for us to laugh at. Let me give you a hint..,'First World Focus'.

So, I hope to spend the weekend with you in Roanoke, VA at the 2015 Spark Conference : Awaken (Christian Conference).

As the sun rises, from the east coast to the west coast, let us Awaken to see what God wants to say and do March 27 & 28.

The Power of One

AUTHOR: MIKE MASSEY

Lately, I have been reflecting and asking the question: "Does what we "DO" in this life really matter?" or even more relevantly to me, "Does what I "DO" really make a difference or matter?" 

Our early bird discount is about to end!

This may be a depressing thought...we are born, we live and we die...and most of what we do in between birth and death is forgotten moments after the last shovel of dirt is put on our casket. If we are really exceptional like a Billy Graham then maybe we will have a building named after us or be written about in text books, but, by and large, most of us will become forgotten relics or footnotes in history.  

So, I ask again, does what we "DO" in this life really matter? The question can be overwhelming and daunting if one were to dwell on it for too long, but I believe each of us secretly or openly asks ourselves this question at different stages in our lives. 

The reason we each ask this question, is because all of us long to have purpose and meaning. Innately, we all have a deep yearning to be a part of a big story that really matters and makes a lasting impact.

The movie and book, "The Power of One", follows the story of Peekay, a young english white boy raised in South Africa during World War II and the racial oppressions of apartheid. Even at the early age of seven, living a life of wealth and privilege, Peekay finds himself confronted with asking the question, "What can I do? Will anything I do really matter?" It is in relationship with his boxing coach that he sees a need where he can help. He began to fight for the right to teach a handful of black men and women the ability to read and write. One day he was trying to reason with an adult in order to be allowed to do so.

Peekay said to the adult, "how will they ever be included if they can't ever read or write English." The adult responded,  "I quite agree with you, Peekay, but at the end of the day, it's only about a dozen people you're talking about teaching. How much difference will that really make?" To which Peekay said, "a waterfall begins from only one drop of water, sir. Look what comes from that."  

Stop and grasp this truth: You are a drop of water that can begin a waterfall!!  

Your and my life matters! What we "DO" makes a difference! We are vital to God's Kingdom! God may not need what we offer, but He sure does WANT what we offer! Whether we are a drop of water that begins a waterfall or a Spark that ignites a blazing fire, you and I are uniquely gifted, called and placed by the God of the Universe to make a lasting and eternal impact on this Earth! 

Spark 2015: Awake Theme

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Author: Richard Goodpasture

We spend the majority of our lives looking for meaning, purpose, who we are, what we have been created for…as we are looking the light fades, clarity goes, distraction creeps in and we can find ourselves sleepwalking through life.

This may sound deep but it is reality…and when I say we I am talking about myself.

The reality is that we or I am asleep. I don’t want to be asleep. I want to be awake. I want clarity. I want light…we want light. With light comes recognition, realization, understanding and the ability to AWAKE from sleep.

Last year, our first year, we were blessed by the gift that Spark brought us. It moved. It was something that stirred emotions. In some ways it happened spontaneously, or at least it felt like it…we know that nothing is an accident. But it sparked - no pun intended, well maybe a little - experiences that left a mark. That is exactly what we pray for. That Spark leaves a mark on everyone that comes. Everyone.

So, this year I am extremely excited to see, hear, even feel the marks that are left on all of us. We are blessed in having an incredible lineup of Speakers : Hugh Halter, Bob Sorge, John Richmond, David & Patrick Nelson, Beth Guckenberger, Veronica Tutaj, Pat Goodman, Noel Brewer Yeatts, Roger Bain and Mike Massey. Start imagining the sweet moments that will arise as each speaker, Christ Follower, allows Christ to have His way with their time and bless all of us with a divine touch. The coolest part is that He has laid the plan. He has created the lineup for this year. We get to sit back and be in His presence. How cool is that? At a Christian Conference in Roanoke, VA, on the east coast, you can sit and not have to work for His presence. Sit and wait - better yet - bask in His presence. We are and will be blessed.

Getting back to the distractions that I was mentioning before…if we are asleep, what do we want? We want to be AWAKE. We want to be awakened from the sleep that distracts us from the life that has been laid before us and that has been beautifully and wonderfully made. Wow, can you imagine what is going to take place? If you can’t start to imagine what is going to happen, how HE will show himself, how HE will Wake us up!

Join us this year, March 27th and 28th 2015, and experience the theme at Spark – AWAKE!

- Richard

The Spark 2015 Vision

"To the degree that we give our lives away for the cause of Jesus Christ, is the degree to which we will experience true and full life."

"Spark is NOT a destination, it is a LAUNCHING PAD!"

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Author: Mike Massey

What is Spark? Why would anyone want to come to a christian conference called Spark? Why would any Christ follower or believer of Jesus want to journey to small town Roanoke, Virginia, for something started by a no name lawyer from no-wheresville?

These are all great questions that deserve an answer. So, let's begin with the birth of the vision that is now Spark...

In my lifetime, I have had the opportunity to go on some thirty mission trips around the world to India, Africa, China, Albania, Mexico Yemen and Iran (just to name a few).

Over the years, one might say I have become a short-term missions trip "pro".

On one of my trips in 2008 to the D.R. Congo, a friend of mine, who has become a brother to me, came on his very first mission trip. As we laid hands on him to pray for God's favor, blessing and anointing during the trip, I expressly prayed that he would embrace every experience and that he would really “see”, “feel” and “hear” everything the Lord placed in front of him. I prayed that my brother would release all control and be abandoned to how the Lord wanted to move in his life.

It is so true in my life, and I wonder if in yours, that the heartfelt prayers I genuinely pray for others often become meant and intended for me.

On one particularly hot day, we decided to visit a feeding center that fed a limited number of orphans. Truly, and I am not being cynical when I say this, visiting an orphanage is often the kind of thing we Americans “do” on mission trips to feel like we are “doing” something worthwhile.

This was my second trip as I had visited this same site in 2002. On this visit, I came face to face with the same poverty I had witnessed before; I smelled the unforgotten stench of oppression that I had breathed before; and I encountered the same hunger that had confronted me in the past. The experience was not new to me.

Remember, I was an “expert” at missions.

The scene felt so familiar. Comfortable really. I felt almost mechanical as I moved amongst the children. I had become a "technician" of sorts.

In the midst of the familiarity, I was struck by something peculiar. I saw something for which I was not prepared.

I suddenly began seeing this familiar scene through the eyes of my brother. A brother whose heart I have come to know well. A heart full of compassion, mercy and love.

What I began to “see” through his eyes took me off guard.

I saw with eyes that were shocked, disgusted, dismayed and almost helpless. I saw through eyes full of anger at the injustice. Most of all, through these newfound eyes of mine, I could suddenly see the scene with renewed compassion.

A thought occurred to me as I began to "see" through this fresh set of eyes; eyes that were looking at the scene for the very first time.

I was “seeing” this starvation, this injustice, this oppression, through the eyes of Jesus.

No, my brother is not Jesus, but as we stood in a run down orphanage in The Congo, he could really "see" as Jesus sees. 

This thought occurred to me in that moment: it matters not the number of times Jesus watches injustice, encounters starvation, or witnesses oppression...It is always as if it confronts Him for the very first time...and it makes Him very angry!

It fills His nostrils with disgust and His heart with dismay!

Most of all, the hurts, longings and wounds of the broken hearted always move Him toward compassion....and He invites us to do the same! He invites us to be His hands and feet to a hurting world.

Thus, Spark was born. From that experience birthed this vision: "To the degree that we give our lives away for the cause of Jesus Christ, is the degree to which we will experience true and full life."

From that moment until now, my wife and I, and the team at Spark, have embarked on a journey to do our part to engage and unleash fellow Christ followers into their God-given gifts, talents and callings, in order to experience full life the way God intended. Spark is NOT a destination, it is a LAUNCHING PAD!

I hope that answers the question of why your presence is vital and needed on the east coast this March 27-28, at Spark 2015 in Roanoke, Virginia!

- Mike