How do you find "people of peace"?

One year ago, I interviewed Maree Watson from Australia at the National House Church Conference.  Maree shared how she found a "person of peace" who became her CO2 (church of two) partner.  See the video below.
  
Since that time, Maree has become a LK10 Coach and has just finished leading a Foundations Course (previously called The Apprenticeship) where she is teaching others become practitioners of CO2 rhythms.  She also regularly prays the prayer in Lk 10:2b which, we believe, is our part in finding "people of peace".  See below for a recent story where Maree was surprised to find an answer to her prayer right beside here in an Organic Market.


For more on the "10:2b Prayer", see the posts collected here:  http://storiesfromtherevolution.blogspot.com/search/label/10%3A2b%20Prayer




















This is a photo of my new friends at the Organic Market where I have a stall on Sundays. After 18 months spending most Sunday mornings at my stall where I sell my shampoo and ask God to show me people of peace and pray for the harvest of mostly hippy, health conscience, new age types, my last Sunday before heading off on holidays was an overwhelming experience of PREVENIENCE.  ("Prevenience" means "before" as in God is at work in each situation before we show up.)


To my great surprise my regular neighbour "the coffee tent" was not there but instead a group of harvest workers come to offer Jesus as an alternative to the fortune tellers ,tarot, and crystal ball readers. These guys were low key and covertly offering dream interpretation and spiritual encounters and healing.

I witnessed some of the regular characters agreeing to be prayed for after being listened to and loved. God in action right in front of my eyes! I joined them in prayer and was blessed by a healing word from the Lord. The leader thanked me for preparing the way for them and for ushering them in, I felt like I was passing on a baton for the next season. 


I know now first hand the power of praying LK102b. Oh yeah, Mark, the smiley Man in the photo, wondered if I knew of any courses that were good for establishing small groups, the Lord has told him to prepare for a big harvest in his area!!! Just so happens I do. Praise God!

Kent Smith (3): Conditions for Community Formation

What conditions are needed for vibrant families of Jesus to form? This is a big question—but a great place to look for answers is to notice what Jesus actually did and taught. Two factors he seemed to think were important are:

· People of Peace: God-prepared individuals and communities who are ready to receive the life of God. This just makes sense when you think about it. God initiates, God invites his Bride. No kidding—He will build His church. No kidding—apart from Him we can do nothing. When we go casting about for other options we are wasting time and effort.

· Kingdom Carriers, Peace Bearers: Little communities (especially pairs), who carry the vision, message, power and life of the Kingdom as they listen to and follow the King into his work.

This is what Jesus did. This is what he taught his disciples to do. And this was standard practice in life of the early church as vibrant (and flawed!) families of Jesus permeated the Roman Empire (see the map).

So—what do you think about this? In the final post in this series, I’ll suggest some tools that can help people wanting to better engage this life. For now, I’m wondering if these conditions seem as important/possible today as they did two millennia ago? Are there more important factors for multiplied, vibrant families of Jesus in our time?