This is a vision for the total culmination of what not only Soteria is doing, but the entire body of Christ in this area. We strive to bring unity to the body so that the world will know God and His son, Jesus Christ.

Beauty for Asheville

1. A time for the church to band together in Love.

The foundation for all things we do is in Love. We must begin to see everything we set forth as goals, everything we utilize as ministry gifts, and every objective we set out to accomplish from a perspective of Love. We must Love one another, as an example to everyone else and to help us learn intimacy, beyond what we’ve ever been able to before. We must be the Lovers that cause others to be jealous of who we are. They will want to know how and why we can be so free from judgment, condemnation, and complacency.

 

2. A time for each part of the body to band together as God’s Army of Love.

As in an army we must begin to form ranks. There is hierarchy and there is a chain of command. This allows freedom to everyone to operate in the authority given them. It also allows for the execution of a War Plan that everyone can follow and pray into. It gives coordination and sense of purpose as we march forward and see the accumulative effects of what we’ve set out to accomplish. Although there is accountability to someone that doesn’t mean we have dictators above us. We are all on the same level in God’s eyes. He’s no respecter of persons.

 

3. A time for each one of us to individually take on the mantle of Love.

Love is more than a feeling. It is a presence. When you have the tangible presence of the power of Love upon you, it is the most powerful weapon against evil you could ever have. We must demonstrate we are willing to lay our lives down for anyone. We must demonstrate we Love our enemies. We must physically put our Faith into everyday action. Faith without works is DEAD. There can be no witness to anyone without actual hands-on application of Love to those in need. We have an authority that is above all other demands on our heart; Love.

 

 

4. A time for us to surrender our lives to Love, completely.

We must lay down the agendas that do not concur with the escalation and advancement of Love. We must focus our attention on what we’re called to do by the Lord to fulfill the destiny He has for each one of us. We must sincerely seek His will and His plans and purposes for each of us and confirm where we’re supposed to be and what we’re supposed to be doing as ministers. We must walk through those doors by Faith to meet the calling God has for each individual. We are ALL called to be ministers. God has an agenda for each one of us. If we are to be like Jesus, all of us will feed the poor, heal the sick, no matter what your “position” or calling is. We must ALL commit to corporate and personal continual prayer and fasting. It is the only thing that will bring the Glory of God here!

 

 

5. Each church body will begin to reach out in Love to other churches.

We are not an island amongst ourselves. Although each individual makes up the church, not a building, we must form relationships and become intimate with those that are part of other congregations. We must realize that we are all part of the same body and we must begin to break down any walls or barriers that keep us from praying, worshipping, or communicating with anyone else in the Body of Christ. We need not ask or pre-determine what differences there are between what, how, and when we exercise our Faith, but find commonalities with those of other congregations by which to build upon. Then we must get together and work together in the community to share resources and our gifts to encourage and equip each other for the work of the ministry. We must learn to take disagreement to prayer and ask God to show us how to get along despite our own opinions, beliefs, and desires. We must unite! We must Love one another despite differences.

 

 

6. We will begin to exercise our Love for them as no one else ever has.

Making an obvious gesture without seeming a little crazy is a delicate proposal. But I believe the Lord will open the doors of communication via prayer and fasting. You see, we must constantly work not only to introduce the Kingdom of God to those whom have not heard the good news, but we must also be vigilant to tear down the walls of division within our own body. The enemy has done such a good job of keeping the Bride of Christ divided. It is now up to us to not only recognize that fact but begin to reverse it! The foundation we must build together is one of Love, trust, and mutual respect. As an entire church community we must show unity for those who are afraid of “church”. It is not enough to have meetings and talk about anything. We must go OUT and DO what the gospels and Jesus tells us; preach, teach, heal, feed and clothe, together!

 

 

7. We will use each one’s gifts and talents as an expression of Love to teach and reach those disenfranchised from churches and the lost.

Starting immediately we must spread Joy ! It is the one gift that we all have that is the best introduction and first impression. Since we are full of Christ and the Holy Spirit we must allow Him to shine through our own frailties constantly. The best way to "kill" yourself and allow Christ to come forth is to present yourself to others as an ambassador of constant joy. Practice makes perfect and continual application of the spirit of joy will eventually fill all your own empty spaces and those taken up by unwanted traits.

We must allow our spiritual fruits as well as ministry gifts to be shared by those who have not understood how to use them, if they have them, or even that they even existed. We will set up training classes to cover not only the gifts and talents that are available in the Bible, but also practical application classes. These would include things like church etiquette, cultural diversity, and emotional sensitivities. We need to teach our people how to get along without making or taking offenses. We need to teach EACH OTHER how to really Love one another and get along before we can have a foundation for the lost to rely upon. The main thing to remember is to minister all the gifts of the spirit and the administrative gifts through the eyes of Love. All functions of the church when teaching others are to be done with the Love perspective, even if it’s tough Love.

 

 

8. We will train others to teach what we teach.

We must replicate ourselves. Cross pollinate. As we are training others we must have trainees set up immediately to begin to take over our position. We train others to replace ourselves. This is in ALL levels of ministry. We cannot dilute or dismember good training by specific denominational beliefs. It is time for consistent and open Kingdom teaching. There is an opportunity here for ministers and teachers from different congregations to preach, teach, and share amongst different churches outside denominational boundaries. It IS time we all begin to listen to the Word from other’s perspective no matter how we FEEL about it. We must learn to eliminate decisions, reactions, and relational conditioning based on emotional feelings.

 

 

9. We will use things like “cross-connections” (www.acrossconnections.org), a cross-denominational newsletter, to communicate to each other. We will set up communication media, web sites, fliers, etc so that the entire church community can keep abreast of what each other is doing and how they all can work together for the benefit of the entire community as well as each individual needs. We need a “command center” downtown so that we have a centralized point of reference and physical location for many ministries to utilize. This will also be an obvious sign of unity when all parts of the body of Christ can get outside their own walls.

 

10. We will begin to share in corporate events across the area that will raise the level of awareness and the presence of God here. We will set up a year-around schedule for any and all church organizations to participate, sponsor, and be in prayer over. We invite the many different talents and gifts to circulate around the city and be utilized at many various events and theme driven gatherings. We will strive to raise up local talent as well as bring in well known talent and mix them with our local flavor. We will utilize flea markets, swap shops, musical and theatrical events, as well as ministry gatherings to promote area wide unity. We must begin to invade our retirement centers, apartment buildings, and poor neighborhoods with bands of worshippers, teachers, and evangelists to reach into the enemy’s territory with the Light.

 

11. We will have a yearly gathering of churches and ministries in downtown Asheville that will be held just before Bele Cher, called “Beauty for Asheville”. This will be the culmination of an entire year of unity in the body of Christ. The theme is a year around one but climaxing as close to the beginning of Bele Cher as possible. This is to help eliminate the atmosphere and any buildup of expectation, temptation, and realization of the gross sin and darkness that wants to come in via Bele Cher.

The entire three day event will be centered on all the ministries in the Western NC region and bring in other well known talent and ministries. We will have 72 hours of continual praise, prayer, ministry, healings, prophecies, and all the other gifted talents in use throughout.

 

 12. The focal point for all this ministry will be to bring forth Jesus Christ and  the Kingdom of God in a way it’s never been done before. Our continual yearly focus will be reaching out to the lost, the homeless, the disenfranchised, and the spiritually bankrupt in Love, without recourse, without judgment, without discrimination, without prejudice, without levels of acceptance, and without the walls of our traditions and apathy.

We must set ourselves on FIRE with passion!