It was a brilliant morning. Ps Nathanael led worship with the team with great passion followed by an inspirational giving message from Ps Kristian. The main message was brought by Ps Joel on raising the arms of your leader from Exodus 17 and Hebrews 13. It was very well received. There was a real sense of cohesion between everyone and it was very inspiring for the team as it felt like they were at home!

One real highlight was the head security guard coming into the service. He had a scooter accident this week and had broken his wrist. During our time of prayer he asked that we pray for his wrist. It was completely healed! He then experienced the greatest healing in salvation. It was all captured on video where his wrist was broken and now a very happy man who encountered the power of Jesus for the first time.

We then all headed for our Sunday Family Lunch at flapjacks. The team shared the highs from the trip and what they have been taking away. It was very inspiring to say the least.

After a short turn around we headed back to Bosche ready for Youth Breakture event. The night was a first for Generation Bali. The pre-event outside included live radio broadcast, snakes and reptiles, skaters and breakdancers. Everyone headed inside to be treated to a fashion show by one of the local designers from Generation and then a few pre bands and then the team were on. Instantly the mood on the room shifted as everyone came to the front to enjoy the songs. By the end of the evening and a short word on the special passport by Ps Joel we saw over 80 people make their way down the front with even more hands going up throughout the venue and over 650 attend the night. Shirts for salvation was an absolute hit with the locals as people from everywhere got shirts and were so thankful. So many peoples lives were changed as tears flowed from people who walked in backslidden or were muslims, nightclub workers, etc. An amazing evening. Praise God!

The venue was about 15 mins from our hotel in sanur. Arriving for the evening  the team lead with great passion and enthusiasm and throughout the evening there was a strong presence of God. There were many prayers and words over peoples lives. As soon as the evening finished the team headed back towards the venue for Sunday night armed with flyers and new shirts to promote Sunday night and make their presence felt.

Saturday was scheduled as a full rest day to be fresh for Sunday. Some of the team headed to Ubud with the monkeys while others braved the kuta markets for a long afternoon of bartering and shopping.

We arrived to a room full of very shy kids but as the team came and said hello to all the kids and started giving out lots of gifts from the generous people in Australia they started to be more engaging. While they don’t have very much at all they have been donated a few musical instruments and before we knew it we were treated to an impromtu praise set. The kids were so passionate and quiet talented as the team jumped around and enjoyed the moment. The kids then insisted on the team getting up an leading some worship for them. Up got the guys and the place erupted into a massive praise party. The room was filled with laughter and joy like no other and also sweat like you couldn’t imagine. It actually looked like everyone had a shower. We then went further and had some worship and ministry time. It was exceptionally powerful as each child was prayed for.

Once we had finished all the kids showed us around the rooms of the home and then there facility. To describe the size the whole land space would have been about the size of 2 tennis courts and within that they had the actual rooms, common space, vegetable garden, 2 fish pools, a puppy farm (for eating when food becomes scarce for the kids) and a small make-shift soccer field. The team really saw the realities of a life with very little but we were also very moved at their passion and love for Jesus.

From there the boys all headed to a local futsal centre to have a game. Generation Gold Coast v Generation Bali. Bali were the comfortable winners but they became very uninterested when we suggested we have a second sporting fixture of rugby. They felt they had a size disadvantage which they could not handle. We also were able to hand out over 1000 flyers for the weekends events.

Tomorrow is a healing/encounter night in Denpasar and also a promotion day. Please be praying for lots of miracles and a powerful presence of God.

Phyd has also arrived safely and is ready to spearhead the worship over the weekend.

As soon as the final piece was transplanted and the team was cleaned up, the kids were allowed through the gate. The smiles began to be exhibited from ear to ear as each child made there way through the gate staring at there new brightly coloured toys, walls and real grass to run on. This was a stark contrast to the previous concrete war like zone that they had played in only the previous week. As each child made their way through, they were meet with our team with big high 5′s and gifts from Australia like hats, koalas and little key rings with Aussie icons on them. They loved them! We descended into a time of photos, photos and more photos as the kids loved posing and then seeing themselves in the picture. They were so thankful and it brought an incredible joy to everyones faces seeing all the little kids so appreciative and happy.

We headed back to the hotel quickly for a quick shower and dinner before heading straight back out to host Fusion with the Generation Bali team. Straight away the team Lead worship and you could sense the excitement and passion in the room. Tiger lead exceptionally and had a word from Psalms 66 which was very inspiring. We then headed into
specific musical and vocal training but only after the Bali team got up and blessed us by playing Generation’s own ‘Real Life’. It was quite amazing to hear our own songs being played perfectly in one of our overseas campuses. It actually choked up a few of the guys to see how inspiring that was. We finished off the night at Kuta having some late night frappacinos and shopping.

May it be said for the record the girls were exceptionally impressive the last two days. It was hot, humid, dirty, muddy and unhygenic, yet there was not one complaint once even in the final afternoon when we were all covered in mud and dirt from head to toe. A real credit to them all.

Tomorrow we head to visit a number of local mercy orphanages with kids who have been in them from a very young age. We are taking lots of presents ad then we head of to play in a local futsal tournament against the locals.

We headed into Denpasar really not sure of what would be confronting us today. Upon arrival we were greeted by a very rundown building that could hardly be described as habitable and an outside play area that looked more like it had been involved in a war than a educational centre for little orphans. Each week this place hosts 590 children at different stages and between the 3 classrooms it would be lucky to hold 80 students. There was much to be done.

Brodie assigned working areas to all the Aussie team and I must say it was an impressive first few hours. Kristian, Tiger, Joel, Nathan, Joe and Azza Q were in charge of the outside walls. To give some context, it felt like the equivalent of 50 degrees outside and we were sweating incredibly. On average we would have consumed between 6-8 litres of water each. We worked at a rapid pace while Aaron Dyson went to measure up for the building tomorrow. The girls were not to be outdone who shone in the oppressive heat. Kelsi, Megan, Leah, Carly and Anji repainting all the play equipment bright and colourful colours. As the afternoon wore on, it was looking a far better place but the troops were also fading while they painted their way through oppressive heat. After 5 hours of labour intensive work, it was time to call it a day and head back to the hotel for a well deserved swim and freshen up. We then headed into Denpasar for some authentic Indonesian cuisine of mainly seafood. The average cost for the meal was around AUD$5 including entree, main and drinks. Not bad after a big days work!

Day 3 is in sight where we finish off the renovation and get to meet lots of the little orphans. We have lots of Aussie gifts, like koalas, Aussie hats, etc that are awaiting them, so we are excited to see there faces an give them some big hugs from the other side of the ocean. Your generosity has made this reno all happen and 590 kids lives will be changed by the end of tomorrow!

We arrived safely after a small holding pattern because the airforce decided they wanted to land 10 of there fighter jets before we could land. We felt pretty special that they would give us a military welcome. Having cleared customs and baggage we were greeted by our Generation Bali family who had all cone out to the airport to greet us. Each team member was garnished with a traditional orange flower necklace. We jumped in the mini buses and headed to our hotel where we are staying for the duration of the trip. It’s in Sanur the opposite side of the island from Kuta. To celebrate our arrival we headed into kuta for our first team dinner of the trip and then went to reborn massage for a 2 hour massage. Everyone felt relaxed after paying the equivalent of $12 each for the experience an we headed back and everyone slept very well.

In many senses, the expectation that we bring to our worship leading should be no different. While for many there may not be a physical line waiting to get in, but you can sense an environment where peoples hearts are ready with anticipation and expectation that the worship time is about to burst into life. As a worship leader there are a few things you can do before and during that can help increase this sense, in the atmosphere of a worship time.

Wherever Jesus would go large crowds would gather often in environments that were hot, uncomfortable and many times for days on end where hunger would set in. Why would people do this? Simply cause they had such expectation that anything could happen  when He was there. Healings, manifestations, miraculous provision, great teaching and unique story telling.

All these very things that Jesus did are available to us today.  Actually in John 14:12 it tells us …”I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Imagine if each Sunday we went into our worship times with the expectation that right in the middle of worship people would be getting healed, revelations of his goodness and purpose were being revealed, relationships were being rebuilt and that provision was being enacted. After all the Holy Spirit is right there in our services ready to do what he does best. There is no reason that it can’t happen, so if we increase our level of expectancy I pray we may start to hear and see of miraculous things taking place all because we arrived believing that its possible.

Here are a few practical things as a worship leader that may help you to lift the expectancy in your worship atmosphere:

• Personally come prepared and expectant. If you don’t as the leader how can you expect that others will as well?
• Before you even begin your rehearsal on the Sunday morning bring your team together and remind them and encourage  them that anything could happen this morning. It straight away takes the teams focus off themselves and onto the purpose of why they are there.
• As you are preparing during the week actually ask God to reveal to you words of knowledge and direction for the worship time, that while your leading you may see those things come into being.
• Start to declare and speak out to your team that this morning we are going to have the most incredible worship time, God is going to show up this morning and do amazing things, I believe that during the worship we are going to hear of people being healed etc. In your team it begins to remind them of there purpose and if your team has a big expectation very quickly the church will also sense it as the team leads them.
• If you wait for congregations expectation to increase your expectation you have missed the point of why you are a worship LEADER. You are there to lead and not be lead by peoples reaction to the worship good or bad. Remember you are setting the tone for the atmosphere not having it dictated to you. So easily the mood of how people are can bring a worship team back to A sense or reality where it’s our job to lift the spirits of people and make it as easy as we can for people to connect with there heavenly father in such an intimate and powerful way.

As people come in and see a team that is full of expectation they too
will follow and before you know it you will have dynamic worship times
where faith and miracles can take place.

Our first worship song ‘captive heart’ will be released in a few
weeks. I have a great expectation that this song will truly impact
your life as new, fresh worship sound emerges.

Have a brilliant week

Joel

1. The heart… It’s a non negotiable. A heart that is teachable, soft, after Gods own heart and can be moulded quickly.
2. Gifting is important but only if they have the character to sustain it. There are lots of very gifted and talented musicians and singers in this world but if there heart and character isn’t there you have a lot of work ahead of you. Well worth it though!
3. Leadership: Does the person lead people off the stage in every day life. If they do they will more than likely be able to lead people into worship if they don’t this can be developed but you need to be very intentional.
4. Commitment: Before you ever have anyone up to lead have you actually assessed there commitment. When they say things do they follow through? When they say they will be somewhere do they turn up early? Are they committed to the vision and DNA of the church.
5. Do they reflect the heart of the church and the Senior Pastors?
6. Look for the rough diamonds. I find that the people who aren’t necessarily the ones looking for the opportunities are the very people who are being refined in the quiet place with God?
7. Finally, do you sense that God has actually placed an anointing on the persons life for this particular office? I find that at times when the hand of God is someone’s life you don’t have to send out a search and rescue team to find it- it’s obvious and hits you right in your spirit.

There are probably, to be fair many other things that would and can help you identify those future worship leaders around you. The first step always through is to be actually looking for them because if you get comfortable and just settle for what you have right now you will always be caught short in times when you need to bring through the next generation.

Be intentional you will see outcomes. If you just let things unfold, you will find that momentum and new team members seem to be in scarcity.

The next generation is all around you, who will you invest into?

Be Blessed

Joel

Worship that comes out of an experience is often motivated by being in the moment whether at a worship service, an event or a conference. Other types of worship that stem from experience can literally be the experiences that we face in our every day lives from the highs to the lows. While there is nothing wrong at all in bringing my worship in these moments I find the biggest challenges can be the in-between times. The moments where maybe there isn’t a low or even a high. The times where it feels like the every day, the mundane, the 9-5. How about those moments when it can sometimes feel like there is a wall up in my relationship with God? Is it me? Is it my experiences or is it that I need to go back to my motivation for worship and maybe in that process I come back to my convictions?

When I speak of convictions it could conjure up so many different interpretations or thoughts for different people. Let me be clear and simple in the angle I’m coming from. Convictions are the very marker posts that I have in my life, the non negotiables, the Holy Spirit breathed alignments in my life that keep me anchored to his word and to his purposes.

In Psalms 9:1 it says “I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders”. Here the psalmist gives expression to his convictions. See when someone has all of your heart they have all of you. If God has all of my heart then I will praise him in the Good times, the bad and the in-between. See the conviction as I see it is this, when you worship him for who He is as opposed to what He has done or even what he can do, in that very moment my worship doesn’t just stem from an experience but a revelation of who He is and from there everything else is surrended to his purposes.

In Proverbs 3:5-6 it says “Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart and in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight”. In my life I have found that there could be no truer statement. It’s always a great thing to stop and think about whether our worship comes out of an experience or out of conviction of his lordship.

A few years ago Matt Redman released an incredibly anointed worship song called “the heart of worship”. Nothing could be truer, it’s all about him.

Be Blessed

Joel