The Better Place exists to provide leadership to network the Body of Christ for the purpose of receiving the promise of Second Chronicles 7:14.
This hopeful Second Chronicles promise is a familiar verse of scripture to most Christians and Jews: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (NIV) The sad flip-side of this promise can be found at Zechariah 7:11-14. And the flip-side of that wonderful promise of a healed land is where most people live. Never-the-less, God is faithful to keep his promise whenever and wherever His people will put Him to the test and order their lives according to the promise. To do this, leaders must step forward in the Church and lead the way forward into God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. This is one role of The Better Place.
At the present, the Director of The Better Place servers as the chairperson of the New York State Prayer Summit Servant Leader Team and as the facilitator at this annual gathering. The purpose of this Summit is to bring together leaders of ministries that are prayer based and that are enabling the transformation of their city or region to the end that the cities or regions resemble more and more the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus in every respect. The primary focus of each Summit is simply to hear from God as we seek Him in prayer and as we give witness to what the Spirit is currently doing in the many cities and regions of the State of New York. The goal is to see the “The Empire State” transformed into “His Kingdom State.”
The Better Place serves as the corporate and spiritual umbrella for Chautauqua Healing Rooms In the Southern Tier; located in Jamestown, NY. The Healing Rooms brings together believers from many fellowships of the Church for the purpose of ministering healing to anyone who asks. This ministry takes place in the rented space of a building downtown during specific posted hours. – Also, training in healing ministry from a Biblical foundation is offered several times each year.
How good and pleasant it is when [believers] live together in unity! … For there the Lord bestows his blessing,.. – Psalm 133 – Unity; the unity for which Jesus prayed (John 17:20-23), is hindered when our primary emphasis is put on denominational distinctives and when our priority is the specific mission of our own immediate congregation to the exclusion of other congregations of the Church. A sure way to break down those barriers that hinder the unity of the Church is interdenominational Pastors’ Prayer Groups. Therefore, The Better Place helps to form such groups in places where they do not exist and promotes participation in such groups by providing a listing of the ones we are aware of in The Better Place region. The Better Place Director is also ready to meet with pastors to share models of pastors’ prayer groups and other information that could strengthen the life of any pastor’s prayer group.
The ministry of intercession is a vital ministry of the Church to which some individuals are specifically called. Through our Intercessor’s Connection we provide an avenue for the sharing of current prayer concerns. Also, similar to the pastor’s prayer groups, we will help intercessors to find each other and to form groups that meet together regularly for intercessory prayer. And we offer training to intercessors.
As the Spirit moves among His people, there will always be Timely Initiatives taking place that pull the Church together in unity for a common cause that furthers the Kingdom. As we are made aware of any such initiatives we will post them in a bulletin board fashion.