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DREAM WITH US

Just imagine…a prayer room, a worship room, a center for encountering the beauty of Jesus, where there is space to experience that beauty in creative ways and express love back to Jesus. A small prayer room feel with the heart of adoption where people walk in and feel like they are part of the family – from the screaming infant to the defiant toddler to the detached foster child, to the oppressed teen; from the artist who comes alive creatively when a worship service begins, to the dancer who has given up a professional career because sitting at the feet of Jesus is the only thing that makes her feel like truly moving, to the mom who loves to take her kids to the local play place but misses her days sitting at the feet of Jesus; from the outdoorsman who feels the Lords presence most in an outdoor fall walk to the kid who is still learning drums but has the skill to start learning how to play with a team; from the islander who moved 2000 miles inland and just wants to hear some steel drums and wear leis in worship in the middle of a February snow day; from the neighborhood kids whose single mom works full time while they are on the brink of getting caught up in the worldly culture because it’s exciting but they feel the deep groan for something so much more exciting. 

 

Sounds pretty chaotic, right?! Ha! 100% certainly messy for sure.  So many dynamics to work through to make something like this a true Resting Place for the Lord’s presence. But 100% prime real estate for a powerful creative move of the Lord.  We need a prayer room where there is the vision and empowerment to love and be loved in creative expressions that point back to the Artist.  And He will provide all the answers and resources that are needed to make it work.  (ie You don’t have to have the screaming babies in the same room as everyone else for them to still be part of the corporate experience…think kids “playing in the presence” side room)  There are creative solutions just waiting to be unearthed. And no, it won’t be perfect, neat, and tidy, but holy and pure to be sure.  A small prayer room and worship center where kids can receive training that activates them in real time and space to perform for the audience of One.  A small prayer room where artists can create from encounter and bring forth breakthrough art.  A small prayer room where adopted kids can receive creative art therapy in a worship drenched atmosphere and that “young man can find deliverance.” A small prayer room where the creativity of the Lord shines brightly in the activation of multicultural worship expressions. 

 

We have some incredible, beautiful prayer rooms in Kansas City that are fulfilling powerful, necessary visions and assignments in the Kingdom.  From the IHOPKC Global Prayer Room that leads the workers in rice paddies at the ends of the earth in 24-7 worship and prayer to Hope City Prayer Room that provides resources to the homeless and the inner city neighborhoods. But the need for another prayer room with yet another mission and assignment is significant.  There is a generation of creatives arising who need a smaller feeling, local expression of a prayer room where there is space and freedom to create and incubate unto all that the Lord would birth in and through them.  And the time is now. The groan is here. The need is real. And whether our capacity and resources are a little or a lot, the Lord is clearly saying to be faithful in stepping forward in obedience with the small beginnings of the A.B.B.A. Prayer Room – a space where Artists (All [people]) Behold the Beautiful Artist and have space (permission and empowerment) to creatively express their love back to Him together.

OUR MISSION

ABBA Prayer Room desires to make space for and empower the artistic expression God put inside each of us, to encounter His love and express that love back to Him and others through creativity and the arts in prayer, worship, and preparing for Christ’s return.

A.B.B.A. stands for “Artists Beholding the Beautiful Artist” and also keeps us rooted in the ultimate source and goal of it all - the love of our Father God (Abba). We are excited for the myriad of artistic multigenerational, multicultural, and multifaceted expressions of Gods love to find space to develop and flourish in the context of day and night prayer and worship.

OUR PRAYER ROOM VALUES…

  • ADOPTION

…you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15

 

“…For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him.” Isaiah 56:7-8

 

We want everyone feeling welcomed, wanted, and empowered to encounter the Beauty of their Father in creative ways; in the ways He uniquely made each one to experience and express His love.  The Spirit of Adoption breeds confidence in the love of the Father and produces fruit accordingly.  An orphan never has enough and always has to steal, beg, compare, envy, etc. A son or daughter who knows that their Father who gave it all owns it all, is empowered to walk in the sacrificial love of the Servant King and lift others up.  We want this to be a place to encounter the Father’s love.

 

  • BEAUTY

One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple. Psalm 27:4
 

It’s the Lord’s beauty that compels us – in all its multifaceted, multicultural, multicolored ways.  His beauty of the throne room, of His artistry, of His image bearers, of His infinite self and all that He is.  This must stay our “one thing” in every way possible – we must guard against the accusations of the enemy and maintain zeal to hold fast to Titus 1:15: “To the pure all things are pure…”.   “Holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is filled with His glory,” says Isaiah and the angels around the throne.  But not all the earth knows it yet, says Habakkuk 2:14 (but one day they will!).

 

  • CREATIVITY

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27

 

“Let all the skilled artisans among you come and make everything that the Lord has commanded: [that is a picture of the heavenly realities (Exodus 25:40) and a tool for the priest*] …to serve as priests.” Exodus 35:10,19 *purple text/reference added for context

 

Everyone is an artist from birth! We are made “in His image” which encompasses the many facets of who God is but especially His nature as Creator and Artist – the thing He was doing MOST in the moment He said we were made in His image. The ultimate purpose behind our creativity and artistry is first and foremost communication and connection with God (and THEN people). Apart from music in the worship and prayer movements, this is largely missing in the arts.  Most art is done for the sake of performance or at best for the sake of evangelism/messaging. We want to make space in the context of corporate worship and prayer for creativity and artistry to thrive – to lead into and flow out of encountering the LORD’s Beauty realm.  The art that the Lord commanded be made for the tabernacle was meant to escort the priesthood into the beauty realm of heavenly realities which Moses had seen on the mountain (Exodus 25:40) and it was necessary for them to fulfill their role and tasks of priesthood (Exodus 35:10-19).  Intimacy and relationship with the Lord can’t help but to create and express. His commission to all of humanity first and foremost was always go “be fruitful and multiply” …in essence to create.

  • DIVERSITY

Even those I will bring to My holy mountain,  And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples (nations). Isa 56:7

 

Embracing the artistry of the Lord as it pertains to the diversity He created in humanity is a limitless treasure to be uncovered. We want to make space to activate the Body in the Lord’s Artistry and Creativity as it traverses across different nations, ethnicities, languages, and cultures.  We aren’t afraid to work through the tension of juxtaposing expressions of the different cultures.  We need a smaller feeling prayer room where we can figure out together how we work together to make a resting place that can contain things like different denominational and cultural expressions.  Some people like to sit still and others like to dance. Some people like calm and collected somber worship songs and others like a little yelling and clapping mixed in. Those are cultural preferences. And when we get a vision for the artistry and creativity of the Lord – and for His Spirit of Adoption – we can work together to get to know and enjoy each other’s different styles, preferences, and cultures – and the way each one points us to our Beautiful, Creative Artist.  And we can prepare for the Day (capital “D”) when Jesus does Isa 56:7 in its fullness!

  • EXCELLENCE & EXTRAVAGANCE

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people Col 3:23

 

“No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price; for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 2 Samuel 24:24

 

There sometimes is an effort in Christendom to pit extravagant expressions of artistry in worship against training for excellence and skill.  But the Lord says to give it your all – not just your wild and crazy.  We are to work heartily unto Him.  David refused to give the Lord an offering which didn’t cost him something (2 Sam 24:24).  We want to see a place where training in the arts is intertwined with encounter and extravagant love (of Jesus first and then others). Its not ok that the world owns the excellent artistry and creativity motivated by a man-pleasing performance spirit. And the church settles with lukewarm effort in the name of grace. Everything we strive for should be motivated by the Lord’s extravagance towards us and flow out as an extravagant offering from us.  From the mom with the “widow’s might” worth of time to invest in developing her skill to the youth with abundant time and energy to give it their “all” in a class.  We want to provide training that produces excellence in skill while also breaking off a performance spirit from the very beginning.  Our vision is to train and activate students in a worship-drenched environment where they find themselves wanting to offer an extravagant offering to Jesus over showing off for people.

  • FAMILY

And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” John 2:16 

 

The house of prayer is the Father’s house for His family.  We want to be relational over transactional in everything we do and in all of our interactions with each other.  We want to make room at the table for everyone.  If the Spirit of Adoption and our Value of Adoption enlists the Love of the Father to drive all that we do, our value for walking as a family is the vehicle through which we walk this out practically with one another.

  • GENERATIONAL INTEGRATION

“…young men and women, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.” Psalm 148:12-13

 

‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. Acts 2:17

 

We want a place where the toddler begs his mom to go to the prayer room because we have an activation area where children’s play and imagination is pointing them to encounter their friend Jesus! We want a place where the teenager can’t wait to go intercede for the nation of Israel with his friends because he gets to explore new rhythms that the Lord gives him as he plays drums on the worship team with his friends. We want a place where the spiritual grandma who never had any biological kids can come pour into the next generation and show the love of the Father to the fatherless.  We want the ladies who used to do Jewish circle dances but were told they needed to be phased out to make room for the younger generation of dancers, to find they are still desperately needed and wanted in leading congregational, corporate dance expressions that tie our hearts to the celebratory ways of the Hebrew culture.  We need young and old to be not just present but activated.  We need an incubator for young and old to creatively experiment, explore, and grow into all the Lord is calling them to for the days to come.

  • HEALING 

And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. Luke 5:31

 

It’s important to remember that if we want people to be healed, saved, delivered, we need a safe space where they can come to us when they are sick, unsaved, and oppressed.  Creativity and artistry affords an especially unique vehicle to help aid in therapeutic aspects for restoration.  If we couple this with the place of the Lord’s presence, we can continue the mission of partnering with Him in building that “prayer room in town where a young man can find deliverance” (a quote from IHOPKC’s prophetic history).

  • INTERCESSION

Even those I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” Isa 56:7

 

The intercession piece is not last and least, as you see here on this list. It’s a SUMMATION of all of the above! We want a prayer room where intercession is flowing out of and being fueled by all of these values listed above. They aren’t a distraction away from the intercession. They are a tool of calibration that produces growth in intercession and partnership with the Lord.  If He has placed a value for these things in relation to His house of prayer than we of course want to build this prayer room with them in mind.  And as a smaller prayer room expression, it affords us the ability to get really practical, tangible, and creative in how we do so. 

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