Empowered21 Celebration & Jerusalem Congress Update
Empowered21 celebrated Pentecost 2014 in more than 130 countries, and momentum is building toward the 2015 Global Congress in Jerusalem.
TULSA, Okla. – The celebration of the Holy Spirit around the world, coordinated and promoted by Empowered21, spanned a full week with thousand of believers marking the date that the Holy Spirit descended upon believers in the upper room. Regional Empowered21 celebrations were held in Canada, Ghana, Hong Kong, and the United States among others. Believers and churches from more than 130 countries participated in this year’s initiative with testimonies and reports submitted of salvations, healings, and baptisms in the Holy Spirit.
“The Pentecost 2014 week was amazing! Empowered21 ministry events of various sizes and shapes took place around the world. Thousands of Spirit-empowered Christians from every inhabited continent were involved with the E21 network in celebrating the Holy Spirit,” said Billy Wilson, president and global co-chair of Empowered21. “There is a growing hunger among new generations globally for a personal encounter and relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Pentecost Sunday initiative continued to grow this year, pushing us toward Jerusalem 2015 where we will experience the Holy Spirit together at the next Empowered21 Global Congress.”
Registration is open now for the Empowered21 Global Congress to be held in Jerusalem May 20-25, 2015 at www.jerusalem2015.com.
The Empowered21 Africa Congress was held on June 4-7 in Gomoa Fetteh, Central Region, Ghana and hosted 3,000 attendees from 30 nations. Africa Co-Chairs Opoku Onyinah and Frank Chikane hosted the conference. The conference took place at the Pentecost Convention Centre and focused on 2 Timothy 1:5-6, aiming to fan the flame of Pentecost for global impact to set generations ablaze.
Empowered21 Asia hosted a conference June 5-7 in Wanchai, Hong Kong and had 3,000 people in attendance from 18 nations. The program was conducted in English and Mandarin, with Cantonese interpretation available. Held at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium Arena, this program included daily workshops as well as evening sessions with speakers including Wilson, Cindy Jacobs, founder of Generals International and member of the E21 global council, and Lawrence Khong, senior pastor of Faith Community Baptist Church and E21 Asia cabinet co-chair. The goal for Empowered21 Asia is to bring together members of Spirit-filled churches from throughout the region to learn, encourage and experience the presence of the Holy Spirit and the love of Father God. The focus of this year’s congress was to build up a prayer network and to effect transformation in the different sectors of society for His Kingdom and glory.
The Empowered21 USA Congress 2014 was a two-day gathering of Spirit-empowered believers and also included a pre-conference hosted by SocialEcclesi focused on purposeful ministry engagement on social platforms. The Congress was hosted by USA Co-Chairs Alton Garrison, assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, and Greg Surratt, founding pastor of Seacoast Church. Individuals from many different denominations and backgrounds came together to celebrate the Holy Spirit, the significance of Pentecost and to pass on the importance of Spirit-empowered living to the next generation. This event featured a panel discussion of next generation leaders addressing issues on what is needed for passing the baton to the next generation and raising up spiritual successors. Attendees also participated in an outreach, led by the Atlanta Dream Center, to minister the homeless and those trapped in human trafficking and a block party for children in downtown neighborhoods.
Empowered21 Canada hosted a Pentecost 2014 experience and national webcast with cabinet member Ron Mainse and other Empowered21 leaders on June 8, 2014. The webcast was watched in 20 nations and shown via livestream at http://crossroads360.com/empowered21. The webcast will be available on demand beginning June 9. Churches across Canada were encouraged to show the stream to their congregations.
Enlace, Latin America’s largest Christian network, translated videos into Spanish and provided programming focused around the Holy Spirit the week of Pentecost. Materials and information were hosted at http://www.enlace.org/pentecostes2014/.
Free Resources on the Holy Spirit were and still are available at empowered21.com/pentecost/ and personal testimonies and reports can be shared from the Pentecost 2014 experience at http://empowered21.com/pentecost/testimony.php.
The upcoming Jerusalem 2015 Global Congress will be a pivotal event that will begin with a grand opening celebration in the Jerusalem Arena on Wednesday, May 20, 2015. The next day will feature general sessions and focused tracks including: prayer and intercession, discipleship task force, next gen youth leaders, pastoral leadership, scholars consultation, prophetic themes, missions/global evangelism, the land of Pentecost, signs/wonders/healing, marketplace and church planting, and the book of Acts.
On Friday, May 22, an outdoor worship event will be held in Manger Square in Bethlehem. This will be a time of praise, prayer and preaching focused on the coming of Jesus in Bethlehem.
There will be a special service on Saturday, May 23, at the Jordan River at the spot where it is believed that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. This part of the river also narrowly divides the nations of Israel and Jordan. Christians will gather on both sides of the river to pray and worship God together in unity.
Also, on this day and other points in the week, conference attendees will spread out to bless the land in an outreach called “Hope in the Holy Land.” Attendees will work on a variety of service projects including: blood drives, cleaning neighborhoods, feeding the poor and serving at community centers to show love and appreciation to the Holy Land.
Sunday, May 24, attendees will spend the entire day in continuous worship and prayer at several points around the city of Jerusalem including the King of Kings Community.
The Global Congress will end Sunday night in a grand Pentecost celebration at the Jerusalem Arena. Believers from around the world will unite to ask for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit to reach the ends of the Earth. This event is the celebration of Shavuot, occurring the same day as Pentecost Sunday on the western calendar.
The Empowered21 Global Congress, May 20-25, 2015, is a call to all believers from around the world to celebrate Pentecost in the land of Pentecost. Individuals can register online at www.jerusalem2015.com. Groups will get an 11th person free for every 10 people registered. Church groups of 25 or more can get special rates by emailing E21@sareltours.com.
About Empowered21
Empowered21 aims to help shape the future of the global Spirit-empowered movement throughout the world by focusing on crucial issues facing the movement and connecting generations for intergenerational blessing and impartation. Their vision is that every person on Earth would have an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit by Pentecost 2033. Get more information at www.empowered21.com. Registration is open for the Empowered21 Global Congress to be held May 20-25, 2015 in Jerusalem. The Empowered21 Jerusalem Global Congress is sponsored in part by Charisma Media and their Modern English Version (MEV) Bible. For more information about the MEV Bible, visit http://modernenglishversion.com/. Empowered21 is a Kingdom initiative served by Oral Roberts University, www.oru.edu.
####
Robin D. Cole
EMPOWERED21
Administrative Coordinator
rcole@empowered21.com
918-495-6057
Special Note to Canadian Registrants:
Our E21 Canadian based travel rep to register individuals or groups is:
Avie Esakov ~ International Heritage Tours
Email: avie@ihtours
Tel: 905-886-0232 Ext. 424
Toll free:1-877-999-8868 Ext. 424