"You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again." - Isa 58:12 (MSG)
At the 2015, Global Conference, Graham Cooke spoke at the Leader's Summit on the difference between "family" and "army." He reinforced and expounded on this statement at the 2016 US National Conference by stating, "Think of the last 50 years...Think of all of that as training for now, for our present day. All of that has been our apprenticeship for now. Because now the world really needs an army, a people who will rise up and fight wickedness, and fight hate, and fight judgment." Everything we have heard, learned and experienced in life and refined through Aglow, is for this exact time in eternity. The Lord gave me the scripture verse Isaiah 58:11-12, for my family, but I believe it is for our Aglow area as well. WE ARE IN A TIME OF BUILDING!
At last year's, 2016 US National Conference, Jane made this statement, "I will say to you, in thinking about this event, this conference, I want to say, this is not a conference, it is not an event, it is an assignment. We are at war with an enemy who has set himself against the will of God." Each of us have been given an assignment in our communities, workplaces, lighthouses and areas. Jane also said, "It is time for our territory to begin to expand in the earth in an unrestricted way and to begin to extend the Kingdom of God." God has entrusted us with His people and it is our duty to bring them into the kingdom, equip them as game-changers and fall into ranks as the army of God!
East Central Florida Area Aglow, covers six counties on the east side of Florida. Below is a map, along with the populations for each of the six counties.
As we step into 2017, our area has only one community lighthouse, located in Winter Park. We have a **new** community lighthouse forming in Melbourne, which is in Brevard county. However, with a total area population of 4,123,205, we have A LOT OF BUILDING to do!! Graham also stated at conference, "...the way in which we build our lighthouses drastically needs to change because we need Kingdom communities, not just places where we hide out from the world and encourage one another. We have got to do something different." If you are someone who is interested in building "Kingdom communities," I hope you would prayerfully consider forming a lighthouse in your town!
At the end of Jane's message at the 2016 US National Conference, she left us with this charge:
- Be in the Word.
- Know the Word.
- Rise to the full stature of your identity.
- Know how you are known in heaven.
- Rise in the fullness of all that that means.
It is time for Aglow to be known as "those who can fix anything," rebuilders and renovators...making our communities livable again, because His presence is there!
Building Aglow in 2017,
Rebecca Alpizar
Area President
