Update

Dear friends,

We have wanted to write an update for some time, but have been finding it hard to put our experience in California to words. It has been that good. J Nearly five years ago, Amy had a dream that we moved to CA. Though at the time she was pregnant with our first child, in the dream we had a two-year-old son and two daughters. Four and a half years later, as the idea of moving to CA resurfaced, we realized that our circumstances (two daughters and a two-year-old son) now exactly matched the dream. It was the confirmation we needed. Without going into all the details, the end of the dream showed us in a place of freedom, fulfillment, and joy—a place of destiny. That describes perfectly what it has been like for us to be here. God has been blessing us with His presence, with community, with healing, with opportunities, with supernatural encounters, and much more!

Our lives are busier than ever, and it would be impossible to describe all we are experiencing. But we’d like to give you a peak.

Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry

I (Mark) have been having an unforgettable time at BSSM! In the couple of months that I have been in school, God has done more in my life than I would have expected in an entire year. I have personally experienced His love restoring me from many hurts from my past. He has restored a boldness and confidence to me that I had lost. I know now that I am fully secure as a son of God, and that identity is affecting the way I live. I am making better choices when temptations come, I am stepping out in ministering to people, I am dreaming with God again.

House Church

One aspect of BSSM is outreach. I am part of a team that is planting a house church in a local apartment complex. Part of the complex is devoted to transitional housing. It is run by a multi-church ministry that takes people who are struggling with various addictions and/or homeless and helps them get on their feet. Dozens of people have been set free from addictions and moved on to a place of their own after graduating the program. Our church will be serving these people right in the midst of their transitional season. It has always been my dream to be a church-planter, so I am thoroughly excited about this opportunity. It is a safe place to take risks and to learn and grow in my gifting and call.

Georgia Trip

In March, I will be going on a mission trip to Georgia (the state, not the country). About 15 of us will be going to release the manifest presence of God to several churches. We will also be ministering on a large university campus to many world-changers. Our whole mission is to see the Kingdom invade the Bible Belt! I had a powerful time in Birmingham, AL, after high school, so going back down south is special for me.

Financially, we have been doing well. God has really been blessing the work of our hands. At the same time, we would like to invite you to partner with us for my tuition and mission trip. Right now, I need $1170 to cover the mission trip and $2000 for the rest of tuition. Missions giving is tax-deductible; gifts to tuition are not. However, both come with the same heavenly rewards. We would appreciate and value your support in this season of our lives. God is restoring our foundations and speaking to us about our destiny. The beauty of partnership in the Kingdom is that those who give get to share in the rewards of those to whom they give. Here is the web address where you can make a donation: https://www.ibssm.org/a/donate.

Love After Marriage

LAM is a 36-week marriage workshop at Bethel, led by Barry and Lori Byrne. The large group is divided into tables of four couples, and the class consists of listening to teaching as well as participating in personal sharing and discussion with your table. We have been incredibly blessed, not only through what we’ve learned, but especially through building relationships with the three other couples at our table and through watching Barry and Lori do couples counseling with various couples in the class. It has been incredible seeing people experience real breakthrough in their relationships with each other and God. Our experience of community and honor in this settling has also been very healing for us.

Raising Tomorrow’s Leaders

When we moved here, I (Amy) was thrilled to discover a mom’s group at Bethel. RTL, which meets every other Thursday morning, is comprised of a large group time, with worship and a speaker (often one of the Bethel leaders), and then a small group time where we discuss our reading assignments and pray together. My small group (12 ladies from four different nations) also meets once a month in the evening to build relationship and community. It has been just incredible to learn from so many amazing moms, and already I have been stretched and challenged in so many ways.

Aurora Writing and Editing Services

God has been blessing my (Amy’s) writing and editing business in amazing ways, and since we’ve moved, many exciting doors have begun to open for me (check out my new website at www.aurora-pub.com). Some of the projects I have had are literally a dream come true for me! I am so thankful for the work and so blessed, at the same time, with the revelation that God is really our provider. In the past, sometimes I have lived from a place of striving and always feeling driven to work harder, but it was rooted in fear and a lack of trust. God really challenged me on that, however, and now I feel free to work hard and trust Him simultaneously. It is amazing!

The Kids

Our kids have settled in nicely. They love our house with a big back yard, their classes at church, and the beautiful weather. Abigail attends preschool at the same time that Mark is at BSSM, and she loves learning and making friendships. At home, she loves helping with cooking, playing imagination games, and feeding Susanna. Evan has finally shed the last of his baby pudge and is tall, thin, and long-haired. He is sweet and sensitive, yet also very rowdy, and he especially loves playing outside and getting as dirty as possible. Susanna has grown quite a bit since we moved and is now crawling and pulling herself up. She also has learned a few words and some baby signs. She is quickly leaving babyhood behind, and it is such fun watching her learn to play with her siblings. We are so thankful for our kids and the joy they bring into our lives. What a privilege to be able to share life with them and help them grow into their destinies!

So there’s your snapshot! J Hope you enjoyed it!

Love and blessings,

Mark, Amy, Abigail, Evan & Susanna Calkins

Honor

Yesterday in Revival Group, we had quite the experience. Over the weekend, one of the ladies in our group made some hurtful comments publicly on our group Facebook page. It caused quite a bit of commotion and was brought to the attention of our leader. Sheri, our Revival Group Pastor, decided to nip this thing in the bud to prevent any further hurt to our family.

Our friend who had made the harsh comments stood publicly before the entire group (around 70 of us) and tearfully apologized for what she had said. She was immediately forgiven and embraced by the main person she had offended. But this wasn't the best part. She, and the gentleman who had been hurt, sat on 2 chairs in the middle of the room. Then the other 65 or so people gathered around them. We released words of forgiveness, encouragement and healing to them. There were hugs, tears, and a real feeling of love in the atmosphere. You could almost reach out and touch it.

We talk a lot around here about being a culture of honor. It is a core value of ours. We believe everyone is worthy of being honored, having been made in the image of God and bought by His precious blood. It's easy to give honor to, say, Bill Johnson. Whenever he comes in to speak, we all enthusiastically stand and applaud. He's awesome!

Giving honor to a brother or sister who has just sinned is a whole different ballgame. What does honor look like when she just hurt us, very publicly?

Honor means that someone can confess their sin to us without fear of emotional consequences. We will love and treat you the very same as before you confessed. There is no probationary period in our relationship with you. We will continue to honor the anointing and destiny that is over your life, even when you screw up. (Note: I am talking about sin that is genuinely being confessed and repented of. I understand there is a time and place for discipline and correction, particularly for those in leadership with hidden sin.) God is not into punishing people who confess their sin! I wonder how many people could get free of shame if they felt safe confessing their sin to a brother or sister without punishment or emotional consequences?

I am so thankful to be in a place where we take honor seriously. Many people talk a good game about honor, but now I am watching it in action on a daily basis. Let's really love each other and believe the very best about one another. And when one of us stumbles, let us be quick to forgive and restore them. God has made each of us awesome, but we are all in process. I am committed to seeing the very best in each person. The call of God on their lives is much more significant than any past or current struggles they may have.

The best thing about this place is not the miracles, the prophetic, the numbers. It's the love, demonstrated by the honor we show for one another. All the power in the world can't hold a candle to love.

The First Week

So, I had my first week at Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry this week. There are somewhere around 900 first-year students in my class. Here are some highlights from this week:

-Worship and the Presence of God: This is number 1! There is such a hunger for God among this body that, on the first day, the front part of the church was filled with worshipers before the band was done with their sound check. Once worship started, all Heaven broke loose! The Presence of the Holy Spirit was so wonderfully evident. If you've experienced worship in this kind of atmosphere, you know what I'm talking about. If you have not (come visit!), it's kind of like describing what going under water feels like to someone who has never been. How could I put such a dynamic experience into words? (come visit...)

-Power: The first day of school concluded with dozens of people acknowledging that they had just been miraculously healed during a time of prayer. Our senior leader, Bill Johnson, was in the midst of teaching, when he stopped to have us pray for some medical conditions. Many many people who had pain from various accidents and injuries saw their pain leave their body and receive ability to move in ways they were previously unable. (I couldn't believe this was only the first day. Seriously, come visit.)

-Teaching: We have the privilege of having some of the most amazing teachers. Kris Vallotton and Bill Johnson were the main speakers this week, and they will continue to minister to us throughout the year. If you don't recognize those names, look them up, buy a book, or listen to a podcast (best idea: come visit).

-The school also emphasizes growing in community with other students. This happens in many different ways. We are split up into Revival Groups which meet regularly and consist of about 65 students. We have a Pastor and several others who serve our group. Our group ranges from age 17-60+. Some in our group have left 20-year pastoral positions to come be a student. Some have traveled from Mexico, India, and all over Europe just to be here. (Before you get too impressed with them, remember that we drove 6 days with 3 kids age 4 and under :))

Seriously, hundreds of people have paid a real price to be here. Personally, what I have received this first week has been worth every bit of sacrifice. I'm told it only gets better from here- I honestly can't imagine how! (maybe you should come visit)

Lastly, we are still in need of some tuition money. I have not brought this need to my friends and family yet, but here it is. We KNOW that God will bring the supply we need. Even as the sun rises faithfully every day, He is faithful to His word. I'm just asking that you would consider whether it would bring you joy to give to us in this season. If so, please make a gift of any size here: https://www.ibssm.org/a/donate. Just click the link and follow the instructions. God loves a cheerful giver, so if you can smile while you give, give! He is our supply and yours and He loves to use us to bless one another! Ha ha!

We are so thrilled at what God is doing in our lives since moving here. We are soaking in every moment we have, because the day will come when He sends us out from here to reproduce this amazing Kingdom culture in cities around the world.

Many blessings to you!

Mark, Amy, Abigail, Evan, Susanna

Back to the Future, part 1

Last night I watched Back to the Future for the first time. Now, I don't generally go looking for spiritual lessons in movies (let alone those featuring Micheal J. Fox in ungodly tight jeans), but something struck me as I watched this masterpiece of American film-making.

In the beginning of the film, the aforementioned tight jeans-wearer is with his family. His parents marriage seems rocky, his dad is a wimp, and his mom drinks a lot. Later, when the young man goes back in time, he encounters his parents when they were in high school. True to form, his dad is a wimp, and his mom has already begun drinking.

SPOILER ALERT**** If you haven't seen the movie and don't care to have the plot ruined for you, turn back now! In reality, after about 15 minutes of the movie, the plot is very predictable, so it shouldn't ruin your movie-watching experience much.

When Marty is in the past interacting with his parents, he convinces his dad that he is strong and confident. He also suggests to his mom that she stop drinking.

When he gets BACK...to the....FUTURE! he finds that his parents are still wildly in love, much wealthier, and his dad is confident and successful. The man who bullied him in high school is no longer his boss, but is working for him!

What's the point of all of this? Marty was able to bring encouragement into the lives of his parents in their youth, and it brought about drastic change in their future.

Here are a couple ideas to chew on from this:

*Look around at those you would consider deadbeats, losers, criminals, etc. Is it possible that they did not have someone in their lives as youth to encourage them in their true identity and potential? Perhaps no one looked them in the eye and called them into their destiny. Perhaps most of the people in their lives spoke down to them, saying they would never amount to anything. Before we judge, criticize, and condemn them, let's consider their probable history.

*Consider also the potential positive impact of an encouraging word.

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." (Ephesians 4:29)

According to the Bible, the things we say can actually release grace to those who hear us. Grace is God's empowerment to live victorious lives. We can actually impart His power to people through our words. When I tell someone who is discouraged, 'You can do it', I am actually giving him the power to accomplish his task by my words. God has given us that much authority by our words! (Now, people can resist that and nullify the power of the encouragement by not agreeing with what we say, but that's another story.) Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a word in due season (see Isaiah 50:4,5) that could shape the course of someone's life today!

There are other spiritual treasures hidden in this movie, but you'll have to pull out your VHS player and watch it yourself to find them :)

Settling In

A couple of weeks ago, my family set out on a drive across the country, from Rochester, NY to Redding, CA. We braced ourselves for the joys and frustrations of driving 40+ hours with 3 kids (aged 4, 2, and 10 months). It ended up being a phenomenal experience. The kids had their moments (so did Amy and I) but they actually did extremely well. It was a real privilege to be able to see our great nation up close and personal for a week. The view ranged from the spectacular (Rocky Mountains) to the...boring (pretty much all of Nebraska). America is really, really big and beautiful. (I almost broke out in patriotic song at least once)

We have been settling in to our new home in Redding. The kids have a yard for the first time (though with temperatures over 100 degrees, they have not spent a lot of time outside- we also have central air for the first time :)

We had purchased an entire household of items from a family, mostly sight unseen, prior to moving out here. So, our house was pretty much set up for us when we arrived.

Our first couple of weeks at Bethel Church have been great! The first week we heard a testimony of someone from the church (presumably a woman) being miraculously healed of an Ovarian Cyst. Today we heard a testimony of a dead baby that had to be removed from the womb. After the procedure, the baby was raised from the dead. For real. The parents now have a perfectly healthy baby, no ill-effects from the procedure at this point! This just happened this morning! It's awesome to be in a place where the evidence of God's hand is so strong! More, Jesus!

We have been able to pick up our routine that we had in Rochester. Amy is editing and I am with the kiddos about 40 hours per week. We are praying about other potential income sources. (We can and have lived on Amy's editing, but more wouldn't hurt :)

I will be starting school mid-September. In the meantime, please pray with us for some new friendships. We don't really know a single person out here, other than our landlord. We'd really like to meet some people before school starts. If you know any cool people in Redding, let me know.

We will be updating this page regularly, so go ahead and subscribe and you will have the posts emailed to you when they are ready!

Blessings!

Mark, Amy, Abby, Evan, Susanna

A Powerful Seed

"Thank You Lord for not giving up on us." ---Amy Calkins, this morning in prayer

You ever feel like you might be on the brink of God giving up on you? You know He has great things for your life, but you just seem to fall short repeatedly?

Yeah, we know that feeling.

This morning, as Amy prayed that prayer, I had an unmistakable impression from the Father:

"How could I give up on you? I've got too much invested in you to ever give one thought to giving up on you."

The impression came with a sense of warmth and tenderness that touched my heart. My soul found rest in the notion that He is fully invested in my life and destiny, and He doesn't make unwise investments. He sowed a most lavish Seed into my destiny:

"He who did not spare His own Son..." (Romans 8:32) 

Be encouraged today that Your success in carrying out the plan of God for your life is more determined by His investment than yours. Yes, we have a responsibility to steward that which has been entrusted to us, but the power of the Seed in you is far greater than your power to screw things up. If your heart is His, and you are diligent to pursue His plan for your life, He will see it through to completion. So work hard, but be at rest in His grace today.

"He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but he (He) who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." (2 Corinthians 9:6)

New Doors

At the end of June, our family will be relocating to Redding, California. Mark will be a student at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, under the leadership of Bill Johnson. If you are not familiar with Bethel Church, I strongly encourage you to visit www.ibethel.org and listen to a sermon on their site. We've been impacted tremendously by the ministry of Bethel Church. Whenever we've listened to a message or heard a live speaker from there, we've felt transformed and inspired. 

For a number of years, it has been in our hearts to go, but the Lord has stirred our hearts that the time is now. We feel a strong call to church-planting and leadership and are moving to Redding to be further equipped to pursue our destiny. 

We will be using this page to share updates from our journey as well as things that the Lord is teaching us as we go. Our desire is that you would be blessed in reading this blog in the days and weeks to come.

One last note: If it is on your heart to support us financially, there are a couple of ways for you to do so. We know that He is our Provider, but if you feel stirred, here's how to give:

1. For a non tax-deductible gift, you can use the paypal button on this page. This will go straight to us, after paypal collects their transaction fee.

2. If you'd like to give toward my tuition for school, go to: www.ibssm.org and follow the instructions. 

3. To receive a tax-deduction, you can mail a check, with a note attached specifying that it is for us, to: New Hope Community Church, 3355 Union St., N. Chili NY, 14514.

4. Lastly, I will be posting some links on this site to books from some of the leaders at Bethel. Please use these links to buy them. In doing so, we generate a commission (it's not much, but you get an awesome book and we get a little cash :) For starters, here's a link to Bill Johnson's first book, When Heaven Invades Earth. If you have not read it, it will absolutely rock your world!

Blessings friends and we promise to stay in touch!

Mark, Amy, Abigail, Evan, and Susanna Calkins