He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar,
And will whistle to them from the end of the earth;
Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly.
Isa 5:26

A Call from Melbourne, Australia to the Nations

As I have been considering the church and this generation I have been stirred by the cry, "God, where are the Martin Luther's and John Knox's - the prophets and reformers of this generation? Where are those who will lay down their lives - their material comfort, reputation, and dreams for the sake of the gospel and the reformation of the church - those possessed by a cry for the nations?"

We are, therefore, putting out the call for 30 young radicals like David's '30 mighty men' (2 Sam 23), who are serious about the kingdom of God and are committed to moving into it with uninhibited spiritual force (Mtt 11:12). We are asking for those who will sell their lives for the gospel without asking, "What's in it for me?"

In consultation with several leaders from Australia we are issuing a call to the nations for 30 mighty young men and women of God (in the 18-35 age group) to come to Melbourne, Australia for the advancing of Christ's kingdom.

Melbourne  as a multicultural city of 4 million people serves as a gateway to the nations. God's design for Melbourne as a fountainhead of revival and as a gateway to the nations is imprinted in its history. The famed Welsh revival of 1904 can be traced to its roots here,¹ which in turn helped spark the 1906 Los Angeles, Azusa Street revival and the 20^th Century global outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The call is to radically follow Jesus and sow your life into the gospel. As an expression of this, you are being invited to partner with us in the vision of 'The Gathering - Melbourne'. In doing so you will serve a 6-month internship. While only God calls and commissions we will do everything within our power to equip you as an emerging prophet and reformer.

Forsaking status quo institutional religion

If like the great prophets and reformers of yesteryear, you are willing to fully follow Christ in this way, "bearing his reproach outside the camp" (Heb 13:13), we want to hear from you. Responding to this call means forsaking your friends, your reputation, and the status quo constraints of institutional religion. It means forsaking the securities of this world and the systems of men.

We, therefore, can't promise you an easy time - you will not be entertained, nor baby-sat. What we can promise you is the soul-travail of selfless obedience to Jesus in the pursuit of a cause bigger than yourself. We cannot guarantee popularity or advancement in institutional religion. But, if you fearlessly play to an audience of One in the current reformation, we know that your life will count in heaven and that "fire will fall on earth".

Training as revolutionaries & forerunners

This is a call to revolution. It is neither for the timid nor the faint hearted. As a new generation of prophets and reformers you will be trained under intense conditions as a band of revolutionaries and forerunners. You will be supernaturally equipped to blaze new trails and take new territory for Christ and his kingdom.

In addition to supporting yourself financially and paying your intern fees, you will provide your own accommodation (although shared accommodation with other interns may be available), and serve the vision of the Lord for the reformation of the church and the taking of a city. You will be a self-starter - fully committed to putting in the spiritual hard yards to be a history-maker. 

If you choose to respond to this call you will engage in a vision of God's kingdom coming to earth in this generation; and also in a unique strategy for a city (Melbourne) and for the nations. You will receive impartation from the Lord through the  Leadershift War Room team , several spiritual fathers and grandfathers from this nation (e.g. Paul & Bunty Collins , Kevin Conner ), and myself; plus other international ministries such as Marc Dupont.   Craig Kirkby of CrossWave Global will serve as the program coordinator.

An army of post-denominational kingdom-church pioneers

You will be on the ground floor of The Gathering - Melbourne - a strategy to revolutionise the church and take a city.  This is a vision from God to blaze the trail for a proto-type city-church, bringing the kingdom of God to earth. We see an army of post-denominational kingdom-church pioneers led by the Spirit invading a city and sowing it with rapidly multiplying simple churches. We see Daniels and Josephs being raised up by God as prophets and seers to disciple the nations in business, arts, media, and politics. We see the old categories of secular and sacred demolished as a new world emerges, governed by Christ's supernatural kingdom. Imagine a city without a 'temple or a priesthood' - a city, which itself becomes the city of God - one without the baggage of institutional religion and its constraints. Imagine instead, a city loved into the kingdom of God through a people who are spiritually free - filled with the agape nature of God and moving in his supernatural power.

A lifestyle of prayer, fasting, and saturation in the word of God

You will be committing to a lifestyle of prayer, fasting, and saturation in the word of God. There will be large amounts of time carved out to create a space for God in extended times of worship and waiting on him. There will be loads of opportunity to learn how to flow in the prophetic - in prophecy, dreams, visions and miraculous healings. We are firm believers in impartation - you will have hands laid on you by proven men and women of God from around the world.

As God leads, teams will be thrust from this city into the harvest of the nations.

It is time for fire to fall on the earth - but are you ready?

Yours for this generation

David Orton

The Gathering - Melbourne Internship
Sponsored by Lifemessenger School

 ¹ Revival - A people saturated with God by Brian Edwards (Evangelical Press 1990)

OBJECTIVES and OUTCOMES:

Objectives

The objectives of The Gathering-Melbourne Internship are two-fold:

1. Personal Destiny
   
   Through this internship, our aim is that each intern grasp a clear and profound sense of God's calling upon their lives and develop an immediate and practical strategy of how to walk into God's vision for their lives.
   
2. Global Impact
   
   Through this internship, we aim to see many simple/organic churches birthed in a Kingdom-advancing thrust into all three spheres of influence: from saturation church multiplication in neighbourhoods (of Melbourne and Australia), to definitive impact into niches of society (mind-moulding areas such as education, commerce, etc.) and to apostolic strategies into particular nations of the earth (international mission and church planting).

Don Atkin