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Why REVIVE Santa Fe?
About a month ago, a couple from Dallas approached our church’s senior pastor and myself about the possibility of doing something similar to what we did in Dallas last spring (www.dallasrevival.org), but this time in Santa Fe, New Mexico. What was it they wanted us to purse? They wanted Santa Fe to be revived!
I must admit, I was all smiles from ear to ear. God was working through the available and willing lives of a godly-couple who long to see people refreshed and renewed in their relationship with Jesus Christ - specifically in Santa Fe.
According to writer Richard Stolley:
As we all know, Santa Fe has multiple charms. It’s on everybody’s top 10 tourist destinations in the U.S., resulting in a million visitors a year. Outside magazine has called it the best place to live in the Southwest and one of the 30 best in the country. It’s the nation’s third largest art market, just behind New York and Los Angeles, with 300 galleries and dealers. It has a world-class outdoor opera. And at age 400, Santa Fe is the nation’s second oldest city – and maybe even older than Jamestown, depending on how you count.
Now imagine what the spiritual climax is within such a diverse and historic city? Well, as we went to scout out the land this past spring, all I can say is – “Dios de la alabanza (Praise God)!” From the time I arrived in the “City of Different,” to the time I left “Holy Faith” (meaning of Santa Fe) I knew without a shadow of doubt, the Holy Spirit was present and clearly guiding my thoughts and actions.
The first restaurant we walked into, the four of us (Mark, Joan, John and I) had the opportunity to eat at a community table. Little did I know, this would be a beautiful picture of how the people function in the city. The six other people were very open and relational with each one of us. In fact, just as Paul encountered the Stoics and Epicureans in the city of Athens (Acts 17), we too encountered people of intellectualism, specifically one individual studying philosophy at our table.
After eating and walking through the town, I had arranged a meeting with the local watershed association. The reason? Because I wanted to assess the root problem of why the Santa Fe River was the most endangered river of 2007 (www.americanrivers.com). Too me, this was a huge spiritual sign of the Holy Spirit not being present in the city. And as we discovered, the river began to show signs of drying up because of mankind’s sins. It was in the year of 1942 when the farmers went off to fight for our country, local individuals took the farmers’ irrigation supplies in order to control more of the city’s water supply. The same thing happened in the Vietnam War. Injustice and prejudice were becoming evident sins from the past. And the river was the symbol of their sinful actions. From my observation, repentance must take place from the people.
We then met with another agency in town that worked with the youth. The people that worked at the watershed association had said the youth were comparing themselves to the river. We needed to find out for ourselves. So sitting in active and busy trailer, we meet with some neat young adults who described to us why they compared themselves to the river that runs through the heart of town. They felt neglected. They felt forgotten about it. They were slipping through the cracks. They were dried up, and they felt no one cared. 70% of the kids drop out of school. Gangs are evident. Crime is present. And based on their own words, fathers were not around for their kids.
Strangely enough, these youth, when not in school, work on projects around the town sponsored by the city. And the project they are currently working on is…building trails that lead from the city to the river. Yet, there is no water in the river. It is completely bone-dry. I should know, I stood in the middle of the riverbed. As one local said, “Our hope is in the river. It is our life.”
From our perspective, many local Santa Feans put their trust in the river. You have to remember that this was a culture engrossed with Native Americans, Hispanics, and Catholics. Therefore, symbolism and ritualism is very important to these groups. Water has become a symbol of hope (nature for that matter). And because of this mentality of the locals, we began to look in the Scriptures. Where does Jesus talk about water? One instance in particular can be found in John 7:37-38. Here we have Jesus addressing the crowd at the last day of the feast. This feast is the Feast of the Booths. It lasts for seven days. And during this feast, each day a priest would bring a silver pitcher and pour water on the altar where the people would ask the Lord in prayer for a blessing of rain. But on the last day of this specific feast, Jesus let everyone know that He is the Living Water. All hope should be placed in Him. The Scripture says, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38). What a powerful image for this community!
Therefore in order to connect with the Santa Feans, the committee has decided to host a 7-day gathering, September 15-21, 2008. Here, we will be celebrating all that God has done in the lives of the church in Santa Fe (just like they did in the Feast of Booths). But more importantly, we will also be praying that those who are thirsty will return to the Lord…and allow their lives to be transformed by the power of Living Water - Jesus Christ Himself.
God has brought together a unique group of individuals to help steer this 7-day gathering and call the people back to the Lord. Some of the people willing to assist in this pursuit are from: the hotel industry, the art galleries, the oil fields, the music trade, the film business, and even pastoral staff. But regardless of our occupations, all are praying for the Lord to REVIVE SANTA FE. Will you please join us in prayer?
We long to see church of Santa Fe revived, and Lord willing, this will overflow into the community.
Keepin’ on,
Kyle
Fun fact - We saw the city of Dallas go from a physical drought of 2 ½ years, before the Dallas Revival, to Dallas receiving the most rain in over five decades – during/after the 40-day tent meeting. |
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"Moses used to take the Tent and set it up outside the camp, some distance away. He called it the Tent of Meeting. Anyone who sought God would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp."
- Exodus 33:7 The Message |
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