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Purpose & Vision -
A Letter From Ron Juncal
Greetings Saints!
As you know we are preparing a weekend
together in the Mountains outside Los Angeles in
October. It has been some time since we have
come together in a larger group and many have
asked about it. We are calling it Festival of
the Son Revisited and will have a rich time of
worship and fellowship around the Lord with the
special privilege of joining with Dacie Durkin
to celebrate her 90th birthday.
Back in the early 70’s when I was doing a
lot of traveling around the West Coast, I
thought how great it would be to have a festival
where all the different ministries in all the
towns up and down the coast could come together
and get to know one another. A festival that
would be centered on the Son of God, thus the
name was born. My heart has always been for the
Body of Christ and the thought of helping to
fulfill His prayer in John 17 where he asked the
Father to make His People One was a real
motivator. We all know by now that human nature
moves in the exact opposite way toward division
and separation. This has been seen throughout
history. Pride, arrogance, fear or just
immaturity seem to get in the way of the real
Unity the Father desires. What a force it could
be if, by love, we were to stand as His Bride.
That brings us to the Festival of the Son
Revisited where we will take some time to
reconnect with those we walked with and
ministered with as young men and women. We will
also meet others; many form a younger generation
who are looking to our experiences for insight
into walking with Christ. As I travel around the
Body I see the amazement when I share the joy of
walking together with the friends of my youth.
They are often confused as to why when they no
longer attend a specific fellowship they are no
longer contacted by those they ministered with.
Were those gifts and friendships only attached
to that group? Sadly, they all too often are.
Our prayer is that this festival will allow
us to see the variety of gifts and ministries
that God has placed in His Body. Our purpose for
coming together is a simple one. To love God and
one another as Jesus commanded. It is not a
seminar, conference or concert, but a time to
refresh old friendships, make new ones and use
them for the Glory of God. We have seen over the
years that these gatherings create bonds that
lead to a strengthened commitment to God’s
purposes. The younger disciples are learning the
value of continued friendship in the journey as
they join with us and at the same time bring
their fresh perspective to what God is doing
among His People. Praise God for the younger
generations and their commitment to the Body.
They are looking to the older ones with honor
and respect and really desire our input into
their lives.
So many of us are using our life experience
to make a difference. There are few salaries or
titles involved, just the pouring out of the
life of Christ. Sounds like our original plan
back in “The Day”. We had a great foundation in
the Jesus Movement and those coming up now are
hungry for a genuine experience of the Lord, not
just “ministry”. Maybe this generation could
make the words of our Lord come to pass, “That
they may be one, so the world will know you have
sent me.” For too long our division have sent
the wrong message to the lost. They see us
ministering without the ability to love one
another. Now we are returning to what drew us to
Christ in the beginning, LOVE. Jesus calls us
friends and that is what we are to be to one
another. These times together help to bring that
about and what we learn we can take back to the
places where we fellowship regularly.
In our region these gatherings have built a
regional network of fellowships that honor and
respect one another and we meet regularly,
enjoying working together and seeing the flock
of God in the region excited about the unity. It
has had a dynamic effect on the area and I have
had the chance to share so many of my old
friends with my new ones.
The October weekend will be designed to
facilitate building relationships. We will break
into small groups and have lots of worship and
prayer. As our time will be short, I encourage
you to seek the Lord as to what you want to
share and be concise. This is not the place to
come expecting to “preach”. We have all been
long down this road and each has insights to
share.
We are hoping the musicians will come ready
to bring a song they wrote or were know for to
share with the larger body as well as making
music on the lawn, around the campfire or at a
picnic bench with a handful of worshipers. We
hope this simple format will bring us back to
our roots when songs were written daily and
shared simply as a devotion to God. As I
originally envisioned the Festival of the Son,
years ago, it was more about the brethren
sharing in this simple manner than anything from
“the stage” Teaching, encouragement, songs and
laughter. No stage necessary for those things.
Each one of us has a story to tell of this
wonderful journey in Christ, none better than
the other, submitting to one another in love.
And the cherry on top will be celebrating
Dacie’s 90th birthday. Remember to
bring a photo or a memory to share with her. It
will make her day!
Well, saints, we are trusting God and are
praying for this pray with us as we only want
His will to be done. Pass the word to those who
you know might be interested time together.
Please pray for John, Joy and myself as well as
the other volunteers as we seek to prepare a
great weekend for the Body.
Your friend in Him,
Ron Juncal |
