Homepage | News & reports | Notes | Prayer groups | Prayer letter | Contact us

Purpose | When & where | Endorsers | Add your voice | Get the video

Reports from Cape Town Community Transformations Consultation .... Posted 10 November 2000 Background: What the Speakers at the consultation said George Otis, Jr A researcher who has led the research into community transformation and produced the best-selling Transformations video. Otis works with the Sentinel organisation in the United States. George Otis, Jr, says that over 40 communities in the last three or four years have been 'dramatically impacted' by community transformation. These are no longer isolated cases -- they are mainly being experienced in Africa and Latin America, to a lesser extent in Asia and North America, and eventually Europe will get there, he says. He says that this process of transformation is affecting neighbourhoods, hamlets, to small towns, to cities, to large territories like the Arctic. "What is unique is the magnitude of what we are discovering today," he declared to Anglican leaders in Cape Town. "I truly believe that this gathering will prove to be a historic occasion in the life of the Anglican Church. Probably most of you have sensed in your spirit that something is happening here. This is a moment that the Lord has been leading us towards." Ruth Ruibal The assassination of Ruth's husband Julio, prompted the pastors of Cali in Colombia to seek greater unity based on a pattern of united prayer. As a result she points to massive changes in the city, including the fall of the notorious Cali drug cartel. "We need a paradigm change. We must learn to live in the centre of his God's will no matter what the cost may be," she says. "We must have answers not only for individual salvation, but for cities and nations that have discovered that the ways and philosophies of this world do not work. The answers will be found in the church, united in Jesus Christ," she says. Most of all, Ruth Ruibal emphasised unity among Christians and their leaders. "You can't do 'unity'. It is a revelation from God. With Julio's death there was no choice in Cali and we realised our deep need for each other. No single one of us had the whole of the truth, instead the body of Christ together has the truth." Alistair Petrie An Anglican minister, who has worked as a parish priest in England, Scotland and Canada, Alistair Petrie now works with George Otis, Jr on community transformation. "The Anglican Church is one of those churches that God has raised up to understand, endorse and apply transformation," says Petrie. He believes that because the Anglican Church is a territorial church based on the parish system, it has an added advantage in understanding the issues raised by 'transformation' research. Reconciliation between the people and the land is a vital part of community transformation, he insists. Harold Caballeros Leader of a rapidly growing network of independent churches in Guatemala, Harold Caballeros, was the first to research the massive transformation that occurred in the small town of Almolonga in Guatemala. He discovered that as a result of a movement of prayer and deliverance, alcoholism rates fell dramatically, the prisons were closed because they were no longer needed and the town and surrounding land changed dramatically. "We need to renew the culture and thinking and change the mindset," said Harold Caballeros, who made gave a series of keynote talks at the consultation. The worldview of each culture has spiritual connections, and these need to be challenged, he argued. The western worldview of humanism does not understand Biblical realities and western Christians, in particular need to recover an understanding of spiritual territories and the 'powers and dominions' which the Bible talks about. "Transformation is not something spontaneous. It will happen as a result of leadership and strategy. When the leader has a vision, he will achieve transformation," declared Harold Caballeros.   SOMA is a worldwide mission agency working in every continent for the renewal of the Anglican Church.   Released by Andrew Carey and Miles Giljam Media Co-ordinator for Cape Town Consultation: Miles Giljam Tel: 27 21 465 1557 Fax: 27 21 465 1571 Cell: 082 713 0276 Email: goodhope@ctdiocese.org.za Index of news & reports

Homepage | News & reports | Notes | Prayer groups | Prayer letter | Contact us

Purpose | When & where | Endorsers | Add your voice | Get the video