GN 1177 FD/MM/FM

By Peter 3600 6/06

Dear Family,

1. Mama and I are so proud of you! We're proud of you for how you love the Lord, for how dedicated to His service you are. We're proud of you for growing, changing, fighting and progressing. We're proud of you for striving to become winning teams, for getting stronger in spirit both personally and as a Home. We're proud of you because you are what makes the Family great. It's an honor to serve the Lord with you!

2. These last two and a half years have been difficult years for all of us. In late 2003 we faced a crisis: The Family was in a desperate state. Our future as the Lord's Endtime army was in jeopardy. We had allowed the Enemy to overrun our ranks. Compromise had taken hold. We were operating in defeat mode and were on the defensive spiritually. Our Husband told us that if the Family didn't drastically change, He would have to raise up others to take our place. We were facing defeat at the hands of our Enemy.

3. At a Summit meeting held at that time, the Lord led us to enact a number of major changes throughout the Family, giving us a timeline of when and how to bring about these changes. As a result, the Missionary member category was initiated, the minimum Home size was increased, and Home accountability was introduced. The board criteria and Home reviews were created and instituted. At the beginning of 2005 the VS program, which had become ineffective‚ ended; the coach program was established and a new Home governance program—the Steering Council—was implemented, which provided an avenue for greater emphasis on spiritual shepherding.

4. To bring about these monumental changes required the combined effort of every Family member, as well as leadership at every level. Not only were monumental changes enacted, but the Lord asked us to take on new mindsets that would strengthen and prepare us for the future. A colossal amount of effort, work‚ desperation, time, resources and prayer has gone into the Family's restructuring!

5. Fighting for our survival has required a great deal from each of us—our time, our prayers‚ our resources, our spiritual, physical and mental energy‚ day in and day out‚ for the past two and a half years. It has taken the joint effort of every one of us to save the Family. Each of us has played an important role in the Family's survival and each of us shares in its success.—And successful it has been. Thanks to our wonderful Husband, the Family of today is much different than the weakened Family of 2003.

6. We may not have won the war yet, but we have won major battles that have turned the tide of the war, taking us from an almost defeated and routed army to the position of stopping the Enemy's attacks, strengthening our Family Homes, and setting up a structure whereby individual members can, and are‚ gaining new ground in the spirit. We haven't set the Enemy completely back on his heels, but we are no longer capitulating to him and his tactics. Significant progress has been made, and over the last years, the Family has been changed, renewed and strengthened.

7. For an army that was in the extremely weakened state we were in, to have not been totally defeated and overrun, but on the contrary, to have won a number of major battles, is an outstanding victory! All glory and credit to our wonderful Commander in Chief‚ Jesus! We can only praise and thank Him for giving us the instructions, the vision, the courage and the faith to fight through to victory. And we thank you for the role each of you has played in helping to change and strengthen the Family!

8. While there have been numerous battles, tests, difficulties and obstacles to overcome—including sustaining and repelling a major assault of the Enemy against us in early 2005 with the deaths of Ricky and Angela and the media war that followed—we can now look back on these last two and a half years with joy and praise‚ even satisfaction, at having accomplished the mission the Lord gave us and that we set out to do. Our collective efforts have brought about a tremendous victory!

9. Mama and I are very happy with the progress that has been made. Although we must continue to progress, to consolidate our gains, and while there are more battles to fight, and advancement needed on a number of fronts, we feel that, overall, the restructuring effort has been a success. The Lord has confirmed to us that it has accomplished its purpose in making the Family spiritually stronger.—And though there is more to do and our spiritual strengthening is not yet complete, what Mama and I are most thankful for is the Lord's assurance that we‚ as a Family, have held onto our place as His Endtime Bride and army. This is something worth celebrating! This is a major victory!

Are we still in wartime?

10. Some of you have asked, "Are we still in 'wartime?'" The answer is an unequivocal "yes." As disciples, as "good soldiers of Jesus Christ" (2Tim.2:3), we have signed up for the duration, which is for the rest of our lives. Our Enemy will never give up and neither will we. It is our belief, however, that the tide of the war has changed, that from here on we will no longer be on the defensive. When we were at the edge of defeat we had to use every means possible to survive, which meant dealing with emergency after emergency; basically everything was timely and urgent‚ for if it wasn't done immediately, we might lose the fight. However, there's a huge difference between being the defeated army of yesterday that was losing ground day by day, and the army of today that has halted the attacks of the Enemy, has regained ground, and is preparing to launch a winning counterattack.

11. This fight isn't completely over‚ but we're no longer a retreating army under the onslaught of the Enemy's attacking force. From Mama's and my perspective, we have stopped the Enemy cold in his tracks when it comes to the problems we were facing before. We've rallied our forces, and the Family is now in the position to move from fighting for survival to the point where we can prepare for and eventually launch the offensive attack on the Enemy's strongholds.

12. The face of the fight should radically change, because we'll be the ones on the attack. We'll be fighting from a position of strength, on our timetable, attacking when we're ready. We'll be the ones bearing down on Satan, routing him from his strongholds. We'll have the attacking advantage. The type of battles we'll be engaged in won't be ones where we're fighting for our spiritual survival, or to preserve the standard of Family discipleship. We'll be fighting proactive battles that will hurt the Enemy and overrun his territory, as we win the lost‚ as we raise up strong disciples, both from within our ranks and from the new members who are won. Our warfare will be proactive and offensive instead of reactive and defensive, and this change will make the tone of the war entirely different, because there's nothing like fighting and winning.

13. However, we're not quite ready for this offensive attack today. We've stopped the Enemy in his tracks, we've gotten stronger, we have won major victories, we have made tremendous headway, but the Family is still transitioning to the future. While we've made changes and have started to get stronger, the changes aren't yet firmly rooted. There hasn't yet been enough strengthening, training, and preparation for the type of attacks and battles that we'll need to launch and to win in the future.

14. Mama and I feel that we are in need of continued training and strengthening in order to ensure that when we launch our offensive, we will be ready to win it. Tremendous progress has been made in the strengthening of the Homes; you are becoming winning teams, but more time is needed to become the proficient, well–trained warriors needed to fight and win the offensive war which the Lord wants us to launch. He showed us that continued training and strengthening is needed until somewhere in the latter part of 2007‚ about 18 months from now.

15. It's vital that we focus on consolidating the gains we've fought so hard to win. The Family is still adjusting to the changes which have been enacted. Homes are still working on making their Steering Councils work, on having more consistent spiritual shepherding, on properly managing their Homes. Homes are becoming winning teams, working to find needed personnel, and striving to pass Home reviews by improving in the criteria of all the boards, but we're not there yet. We're working toward it, and we've made wonderful progress, but we're not there yet, so trying to launch an offensive attack now, trying to rally everyone to another vision right now or in the very near future‚ would be premature.

16. You need time to become the finely tuned winning teams you want to be. You need time to work out the kinks in the governance of your Home. The Family needs time for further strengthening in the board criteria. The Family needs time to adjust to the revolution we have just been through. Asking you to immediately focus your main attention on a new push would be counterproductive.

17. We all want to get out there and win, we want to get the Enemy on the run, and most of us want to do it right now! But when we launch the attack‚ we have to be fully prepared to go the distance and win. We have to be ready for it in every way. We're not at that stage quite yet. All of us are going to continue to need patience and faith—patience to take the needed time to get stronger, to become winning teams, and faith to trust the Lord that as we take this time, He will fully prepare each of us, as well as the Family as a whole, for all He has ahead for us.

18. The time is going to come when the overall focus of the Family is going to change. These past few years, the major overall Family focus has had to be internal.—Not completely, of course, but for the most part. We had to work hard to keep the Family from failing. We've had to focus on defeating compromise, on getting stronger spiritually, on helping our FD Homes to reach the discipleship standard. It was absolutely necessary to do this‚ for if we hadn't, we would have lost our place in the Lord's plan. We've all worked hard at this and great progress has been made.

19. But in the not-too–distant future, the overall Family focus is going to shift. We will be putting much greater emphasis on the main job the Family has: reaching the lost, winning and training converts, and making disciples of them. We will continue to give attention to all the vital aspects of Family life—our children's care and education, the needs of our JETTs and teens, shepherding our Homes, etc.—but we'll be putting much more emphasis on reaching the world and making disciples of all nations than we have in recent years. And we'll be able to do this because we will be spending the next 18 months focusing on strengthening our Homes in all of the pillars.

20. To be successful in this outward, offensive thrust, our Homes have to be stable. When your Home has 50 or 100 or even 200 General, Active and attached Missionary members to minister to, to train to be witnesses, to counsel and to teach, that's not the time to be figuring out how to properly shepherd your JETTs and teens, or how to have a stable Home. You need to work on those things now. The time to make your Home a discipleship Home is now, because once we move to the offensive in this war, every member of your winning team is going to need to know their job and be able to do it well.

21. Things are going to change and the Lord is giving us time right now to prepare ourselves for that change. The way to prepare is to get stronger spiritually as an individual disciple, and by strengthening your Home and by getting further trained. I'll talk more about the training aspect a bit later.

22. In these next months, it's imperative that the Family grow stronger in every way—every individual, every Home, every board, every leader—everyone needs to do all they can to become stronger and more prepared, so that when the time comes to launch our witnessing and winning offensive‚ we won't have to be constantly focusing on repair work within the Homes or the boards or the regions. We must all learn to stand strong now, so that when the focus shifts we will be able to stand strong then.

23. In order for this to happen, you need to continue to have the vision, the conviction and initiative to invest in your spiritual life, in the life of your Home, and in the Family overall. You've been doing this, and Mama and I are proud of you for it. We know‚ however, that it can become rather wearying. You can start to wonder why we're always leaning on you to get stronger. You may wonder if we're trying to bring about perfection, if we're getting too focused on rules and criteria to the neglect of the primary reason we're here on Earth—our commission to win the world for Jesus.

24. Mama and I have desperately prayed about this, as we have been burdened about the great need to reach the world and to get the Family into position to become the reapers of not only the many lost and desperate souls in the world, but also to become the reapers of disciples, Active members and General members that the Lord has said is a key part of our future. Reaching the world IS the goal. Spreading the message IS our aim. Winning lost souls, bringing in more FD disciples, and establishing strong churches of Active, General, and attached Missionary members is part of the bright future we have to look forward to. And Mama and I are very much looking forward to it. We're excited about it! We know that all the wonderful promises the Lord has given about our future won't just be dropped in our laps; we're going to have to work for it as a Family, and fight for it. And this strengthening process is part of that work and fight. The Lord has shown us that one of the keys to launching a successful offensive into Satan's territory is to complete this strengthening process, which He has indicated will run till the end of 2007.

25. It's important that you understand why Mama and I, along with your RSs and the international boards, are continuing to focus on strengthening the Family, and we hope this explanation will give you the vision for putting your all into the remainder of this strengthening period. As a Family, we're in the "strengthening process." And you should be encouraged‚ because you are getting stronger! We see it, the RSs see it, and I believe that for the most part you all see it.

26. The Family is getting stronger, and that's because we are all working at it. And as you know‚ the goal of the strengthening is so that we can win the world. It's not strength for the sake of strength; it's strength so we can get out there and win. It's strength so that when we go full blast into winning, teaching, training and reaching the world, we can do it without caving in, without our Homes crumbling because they are weak.

27. This is training and strengthening with a purpose. We're soon going to launch a major new offensive, and we need to be prepared for that. Thankfully‚ our wonderful Husband has given us this time to train and prepare. Our prayer is that we will all put this time to the best use, and that by the end of this period we will be ready, willing, and able to win.

The goals

28. Mama and I have desperately sought the Lord concerning where we're headed. What is the Lord's vision for us as a Family? What goals should we be aiming for, and what should we do to achieve them? How can we use the progress we have made over the last two and a half years to propel us into our future destiny? In praying about this, the Lord made clear what our direction is supposed to be.

29. In brief, He gave us two goals. The first goal is to prepare the Family for the future through continued spiritual and practical training.—In short, to get the Family ready to successfully fight an offensive warfare. In order to achieve this, we must continue to consolidate our gains and to train so that we become the elite forces we need to be in order to successfully fight any battle the Lord sends us into.

30. As a second and more long-term goal, He clearly stated that it is His desire and will—once the Family is spiritually strengthened and prepared, as well as better trained with more tools and know-how to do the job—that we launch a major attack in preaching the Gospel, witnessing, disciple winning, building our church, and preparing our new converts and disciples to also become elite troops, so that we can truly win the world. That's where we're headed.

31. As is the case on all board fronts, Mama and I feel that there has been great progress made on the CGO front over the last few years. New outside levels of membership have been established and you've been working toward winning and feeding those members. The Link magazine has also proven to be a great tool for not only feeding the Active members but making them feel a part of the Family as a whole. CGO board members at all levels have done a terrific job in praying about and implementing new initiatives, seminars, retreats and other programs‚ and the message is getting out, thanks to their efforts and to all of you, our Family missionaries around the world.

32. As with all boards, the CGO board will continue to promote witnessing in each region‚ along with providing what assistance and training it can to help you do the job during these 18 months and beyond. And while the primary focus of these 18 months will be for each Home and winning team to be strengthened, trained‚ and prepared for the witnessing and winning offensive, that doesn't mean you should stop or pull back on your witnessing now, thinking that you need to give all of your attention to building your Home, improving in the areas that the Home review showed need improvement, etc. That's not the message we're giving. The primary focus is strengthening, training, and building your winning team during this time, but witnessing and reaching the lost is still an important part of your daily lives, and shouldn't be neglected.

33. And remember, a major factor in having a stable Home is having a stable base of financial support, and this is achieved through faithful, uncompromised witnessing, active tool distribution, and the more labor intensive but very rewarding fruit of diligent follow-up.

34. Many Homes are presently in the "fledgling" stage of building a church, and if you keep at it during this time, even if your progress seems slower than you would like, due to the fact that you're investing more time in building a stable Home, giving your Steering Council time to get on their feet, get organized, and have time to study the training that's been provided for them, etc., you'll be ready when, in 18 months‚ the Family shifts more focus and priority to winning the world. Continuing to witness and get out Activated and the meat of the Word during this time is what will propel us into the greater works and more abundant fruit the Lord has promised will be ours through activating, discipling, and training outside flocks and churches to help us to win the world for Jesus.

35. The Lord also said that the tide of battle in the future can change, depending on world conditions, outside attacks, persecution‚ and other factors. Therefore, over these next 18 months we must work to achieve our first and shorter-term goal—that of training, strengthening and preparing the Family across the board for any battle the Lord calls us to fight. The Lord said, "Not only will this [18-month plan] prepare the Family to be the sharp point of the witnessing and Activated spearhead that I'll thrust into the Enemy's side, but the Family will also be strengthened for any eventuality—persecution or a sharp decline in world conditions—which would make it more difficult for them to do their job and would require that they be stronger than they are now."

36. To achieve the second goal, which is the most important one, we must first reach our first goal, that of getting ready. Our present focus must therefore be to further train, equip and prepare Family members at all levels for the offensive. Once this goal has been reached, our Husband said that we'll be prepared to fight any battle that comes our way. But He clearly stated that the main thing He'll want us to do when we've achieved this first goal is to build our church. New factors may come into the picture in the future that could require us to shift some of our efforts and energy toward other things—for example, persecution or dire world conditions—but regardless of what we're faced with in the future, this is the Lord's overall plan and goal for the future of the Family: to witness and to win like never before.

37. So how are we going to reach that first goal? All of us are going to have to work toward it. Reaching this goal is going to have to be the number-one priority at all levels of the Family.

At the RS level

46. At Summit 2006‚ which was held in March of this year, we explained to the RSs that their roles are changing and that they need to prepare themselves spiritually and practically for the future. About ten months ago we asked the RSs to begin pulling back from being so intimately involved in the running of their Homes, so they could focus on the jobs that only they can do. They have all been working on this with the goal of eventually being virtually free from day-to–day involvement in the Homes in which they live so they will have the time they need to attend to the multifaceted job they have. In order to achieve this, they need to work on stabilizing their Homes. Just as you need to have a solid, well–functioning Home, so do your RSs.

47. They are also evaluating the personnel makeup of their Homes as well as those who help them to run the regional services, so they will have a well-rounded and sufficiently staffed team to work with, which will help them be effective in their ministries. The RSs have a number of jobs‚ including being members of the Family Policy Council‚ which helps Mama and me in the formulation of Family policy; they are responsible for their region; they head up the Regional Council; in most cases they are regional board chairpersons (RBCs), so they are responsible for their board within the region. In order to be able to do the work they are responsible for, they need others to help them. We have commissioned them to make sure they have a team of capable folks to assist them, and have asked them to train those helpers to really help carry the load.

48. We've also asked them to make sure their Regional Council is an effective body. We've instructed them to strengthen and stabilize their regional desks and their shepherding desks‚ as both of these desks are relatively new but play a big role in serving the Family at the regional level. In their role as regional board chairpersons, they will be working hard to carry out the decisions made by their respective international boards—decisions that are working toward helping the Family achieve the goal of getting ready for the witnessing and winning push in 18 or so months—as well as of course carrying out regional initiatives.

At the board level

49. At the recent international board meetings, each board made plans to create or implement training programs that are geared toward helping the Homes progress in the pillar of Family life that their board focuses on. The boards will be working hard throughout this year and next to provide you with the tools and the training to help strengthen your Home in the boards' criteria. Board initiatives will, Lord willing, be coordinated more through the RC and the NCCs so that they are spread out more and don't put too much burden on your Home. For example, the timing of meetings or camps or seminars will hopefully be coordinated on a regional level, so that all the boards aren't pulling on your Home's personnel at the same time, etc.

At the WS level

50. For the past year WS has been working to rearrange its structure in order to align its publications more with the needs of the boards, as well as to beef up the boards' ability to follow through on their decisions. In order to accomplish this, we have created "board teams" within WS. The idea has been to build teams of people to work with the international board chairpersons (IBCs), enabling them to better carry out the decisions made by their boards. The goal is that each team will be well rounded with secretaries, helpers, and those gifted in writing and the use of prophecy. Among other things, these board teams will be responsible to produce the publications needed for their boards, including the regular monthly magazines which are sent out to the Homes, with the exception of the GNs (which have been and will remain Mama's and my responsibility, and are worked on by us and our secretaries).

51. What this means is that the content for almost all the publications which WS sends out will be created by these board teams. Those who presently create the content for these pubs will soon become members of the various board teams. In practical terms this means that pubs for the JETTs/teens, such as Xn, will now be created by the JT board team, in counsel with the international board. Those who presently work on Xn will become members of that team. Pubs for children and/or parents will be created by the CP board team, etc. Since each board is in touch with the needs of those the board serves, the Lord has confirmed that it is best if they are the ones who determine the direction and content of the pubs which fall under their jurisdiction.

52. Please pray for the board teams. Some of them are pretty much fully formed or will be shortly, as new personnel have recently joined WS in order to be board team members. The JETT/teen and CGO teams thus far only consist of the IBC and a secretary, so they are in need of more team members. Please pray that the Lord will raise up team members, those who have the gifts and are willing to join WS.

53. The oversight of music production for the Family and GP is also being aligned with the boards, with the respective boards determining the direction for the music for the audience they are responsible for, as well as approving the lyrics and recordings that are produced for that audience. A new Family Audio Department has been formed within WS to maintain responsibility for coordination and communication with the musicians‚ producers, and the respective boards, and to facilitate the music production.

54. WS is also beginning to prepare a Home Managers Training Course in order to offer training to the Home managers. At the Summit, some of the RSs spent a considerable amount of time helping us plan the course topics that would be most helpful for the Home managers. Like the Home shepherds, the managers play a major role in the running of the Homes. The Home manager job is a relatively new position, but is an extremely important one. Much of the success or failure of a Home revolves around the way the Home is managed, and therefore we want to give the managers training to help them be successful. Creating this training course is a major undertaking. Our goal is to get out at least the beginnings of the course by the beginning of next year. Please pray that we are able to achieve this. (In the meantime, Home managers, please check the eight audios of the HSTP that are available to you, as those provide good training that you can avail yourselves of immediately. You can get these from the Home shepherds of your Home.)

55. Mama and I will continue to give spiritual and practical training through the GNs. Throughout the next 18 months we will focus on topics that will help train and strengthen you as disciples and winning teams. We will also continue to train Family leadership through our communications and shepherding of the RSs, the IBCs, and in time‚ the Regional Council body, Lord willing.

At the Home level

56. Over the next 18 months the Homes need to stay focused on the goal of building their winning teams. You will need to continue making progress in implementing the criteria, specifically targeting any areas where you need improvement, so that by April 2007 you are passing your Home review, and from then on, maintaining that level of professional discipleship. As I said earlier, this is vital, because in order to be successful in our offensive witnessing attack, our Homes must be spiritually strong, well shepherded and managed, and able to withstand the extra weight of ministering to new converts and members.

57. Our and the boards' goal is to provide you with the tools and training so that you can get prepared. I believe we will be able to provide you with the training material as the months go by. However, just receiving this training material doesn't mean that you will be trained.

58. The success of the Family's future hinges on whether our Homes can do the job of winning and teaching new members. We can't truly win the world unless we have more laborers. As Jesus said, "The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few" (Mat.9:37). The harvest of the world is getting riper by the day, but it far surpasses our ability to reap it. We need help, and thus we must win and train that help.

59. The winning and training of that help is going to have to be done by you, by your Home. It's going to take a concerted effort by every Home and Home member to make that happen. In order to successfully make that effort, each Home is going to have to be ready and well trained so the Home will be strong enough to continue to run well while being focused on winning and feeding your flock. In fact‚ it must run professionally, so it can take on the coming much bigger job of reaping, training and discipling.

60. To get prepared for this you will need to make a commitment as a Home to put forth the effort to get trained. This means studying the training material. It means implementing it‚ experimenting with it, and making it a part of your everyday life. It's hard to study, it's hard to implement new ideas, and it's hard work to change and grow. But if we, as a Family‚ are going to be a success, then we are all going to have to work at it.

61. We have this time ahead of us for training. But unless we each apply ourselves to this training during this time, we won't be ready for the future; we'll miss the mark. This is where you, as a Home, must make the decision to study, to progress, to strive toward professionalism. This isn't just studying for the sake of getting smarter; it's studying so you can do the job, so that together we can launch a successful attack, so we can win! The only winning armies or winning athletes are those who train, who apply themselves and who work toward winning. And they train with a vision. They want to win and they know that all of the work of training brings them closer to winning. We need that same vision and determination.

62. Translated into practical terms‚ this means making time and taking the effort to study. It means applying what you study to your everyday lives. It means reading, studying and applying GNs and series like "The Art of War," "Training Winning Teams," "Show Me the Money," etc. It means continuing to target the weak areas within your Home‚ going to the Word for the answers on how to strengthen those areas, and then applying that Word until your weak areas become your strong areas.

63. It means pulling the newly arrived board handbooks off your shelf and having your criteria monitors and others who are involved in that area of Family life within your Home read them, study them, and make suggestions as to how to apply them. Those handbooks contain a wealth of information which, if applied‚ can help to make your Home successful. But they won't do any good if no one studies and applies them. The same will hold true with any future training materials that you receive.

The stability factor

64. I want to highlight the importance of putting continued focus on building a strong, stable winning team. When I and several of my counselors studied all the mitigating circumstances reported by Family Homes throughout the world during the October 2005 Home review, it became clear that something that made it difficult for many Homes to pass the review was the fact that so much movement was taking place within Homes—frequent personnel changes in a short period of time, resulting in Homes needing to spend time, manpower and resources on finding new personnel and new accommodations, not being able to fulfill the criteria, feeling overwhelmed, etc.

65. Building a successful winning team that is able to carry on a fruitful work and live the FD standard requires a measure of stability. And in order to have that foundation of stability from which you can launch your Home's goals and initiatives, you need to find where the Lord wants you to be, bond as a team, and make a commitment to the Lord and each other to stick to the place and work He's called you to.

66. We understand that many of you are still working on forming your winning teams and finding the place the Lord has for you, and we realize that there will always be some measure of change taking place. But it's important to understand that a lack of stability in our Homes works against us. It creates hardship in your Home when your personnel are in a state of flux. It causes a lack of continuity in almost every aspect of your Home, and makes it difficult, if not impossible, to live the board criteria, which then just seems to become an extra burden in your already busy lives.

67. To achieve the goals the Lord has given us for the next 18 months, you've got to not only build, but stabilize your winning teams, so that you have the strong base you need to launch out into the victories the Lord has for your Home.

68. We only have about 18 months for this training period. This is time the Lord has given us to "sharpen our scythes." We must apply ourselves to the task so that we will be ready to reap. As a Home you need to invest in the future by studying and applying the training that you have in your hands today, as well as that which will come in the future.

On the individual level

69. It's important that as an individual you have the vision to become proficient in your ministry or ministries. It's important to understand that if we succeed in our offensive witnessing/winning attack, things are going to change drastically for the Family. If your Home cultivates a flock of just 50 GMs, AMs or other sheep you feed and shepherd regularly, then your Home, the way it functions, and the Home's focus will be very different from today.

70. To keep those folks inspired, witnessing, tithing, and well connected will mean that you have to invest in them. They will become part of your life on a daily basis. Not only will you be teaching them the Word and how to witness, you'll be witnessing with them. They will have teens that are interested and will need to be witnessed to and fed. They will have young children whom they will want to bring to your Home. You will be teaching the parents how to spiritually feed their children, how to care for their babies. You will be teaching them about health issues, childcare‚ home schooling, eating right, etc. You will be shepherding them and their children. Not that they will be living right in your Home‚ but they will all need you and your counsel and hands-on help on a regular basis.

71. As you are witnessing to them, they are going to have all kinds of tough questions—questions about the Family, about their lives, their work, their studies‚ their relationships with others, their love lives, depression, politics, finances‚ and a host of other things. They will test you and probe you and watch you to see if you are the real deal, if you practice what you preach. They will want you to meet and witness to their friends. They will come to love you and become part of you.

72. All of this will be a big change. These new people will expect a lot of you as a person. You will be their teacher, their elder in the Lord, no matter how young or old you are. You will become their spiritual mentors, their counselors‚ their confidants. You will become their friends, their brothers and sisters.

73. We all need to get prepared for this. And you, as an individual, need to understand the important role you will be playing in all of this in the not-too–distant future‚ and start getting prepared for it now. This means making a concerted effort to progress in your spiritual life, to grow in the use of the spiritual weapons‚ to overcome weak areas in your life. It also means becoming proficient in your ministry, so that you will be able to teach others. It means making a commitment to the winning team the Lord has called you to be a part of. It means striving to become professional in your work, cultivating a solid work ethic and seriously studying the training material available so you will have what you need to make disciples out of the soon-to-be-reaped harvest.

78. It's been almost two years since the renewal period was launched, a time when the Lord asked each of us to reevaluate our spiritual lives, to forsake the things that were causing compromise and spiritual weakening in our personal lives as well as within the Family‚ and to make permanent lifestyle changes in line with 100% discipleship. In many ways, the renewal was the onset of the strengthening of the Family, and in order to maximize the benefits of that strengthening, we should continue to strive to live the spirit and goals of the renewal.

79. Mama and I would like to ask you to make a personal commitment to use these next 18 or so months to progress personally. Ask the Lord what areas you need to grow in and then apply yourself to improving in these areas. No matter what your ministry, ask the Lord to help you have the conviction and desire to learn more about your ministry, to become more proficient, more knowledgeable, better prepared to teach others.

80. Eighteen months is not a long time, not when we know that this might be the last such time we have to prepare for the major ministries of our future. Let's use it wisely, shall we? Let's commit to preparing for our witnessing offensive. Let's commit to getting ready, so that when we march against the Enemy, we will overrun him. Let's commit to winning the world for our loving Husband. Let's prepare today, so we can win tomorrow!

81. As Dad told us so many years ago, the Lord gives the message, which gives us the vision, the faith, and the courage to move forward. So let's listen to the following messages the Lord gave about this training period and our future:

You're preparing for the era of discipling!

82. (Jesus: ) I'm getting you ready, My loves, to take your place on the world stage as My Endtime prophets‚ the reapers of the final harvest. I'm preparing you to take on your anointing as "the people of the keys," "the miracle workers," "the intimate brides of the King," or, as was prophesied so long ago, those who will be strong and do great exploits (Dan.11:32).

83. You're doing well, My loves. You're on schedule with your preparation. This time of preparation will pass quickly, however, and when it is over‚ there will be no turning back. At that time I want to be able to push you out in front, where you will have the attention of many, and all will be in place for a time of great reaping, great harvesting, great discipling.

84. This time of discipling and reaping will not be the final stage of your witness. It will, however, be the stage when you are prepared in spirit, when you are strong in your testimony of discipleship, when you have learned how to live My Word in your own Homes‚ and you are ready to teach it to many. It will be the days of teaching and training many to help you, before the final dark curtain is pulled, and the days of darkness cover the Earth. In those final dark days you must have many by your side—many who are strong, many who are instructed and who can turn around and instruct others.

85. You are preparing now, not for the final stage of your reaping, but for the time right before the final stage—a time just as crucial, for it is the time I have set aside for you to make disciples of all nations. This will be the time for you to teach many how to stand beside you in the final great and terrible days so that My children of faith and light and truth will stand victorious against the Antichrist and his forces.

86. In yourselves, the Family as you know it now, you are not strong enough. You must be strengthened, and I also need many more of you in order to fill the key roles that I have ordained for you to fill. So I have been purging you, strengthening you, testing you, making you white. And now you must prepare to bring many into your Homes, into your lives, into your folds, and instruct them while it is yet day. For the night comes quickly, when no man can work.

87. In the days of darkness, there will be great reaping, great miracles, but they will be miracles of salvation‚ miracles of survival. In those days of great darkness, there will not be time for extensive training and discipling. It will be "do or die," and many will cleave to you only because they have nowhere else to go. So you will have great‚ great flocks, and many to care for, and you will need the help of those you are going to win and train throughout this witnessing offensive, in this next era of your history.

88. So now, My loves, is the time to prepare for this next era of discipling. I'm asking you to prepare by strengthening your Homes‚ by working out the kinks so that you are smooth–running winning teams; by pouring into your children so that they can then help you to make disciples of all nations; by becoming more loving in your interactions with those in your Home; by strengthening yourselves as individuals in My Word; by taking My Word and examining it and living it.—Because very soon, sooner than you care to realize‚ you will be called to teach it. And I would not have you be like the churches, who teach My Word but live it not. No, I will only bring the flocks to those who are living it, who are examples of it, who can teach through their actions, who have become well versed in working out problems through My Word and through prophecy.

89. My loves, your future is great‚ glorious‚ busy and fruitful! But you must prepare now, you must work hard now, so that when it comes, you will be ready. You have been preparing for years, and little by little the vision has come into clearer focus. Now it is very clear‚ and also very close, and you must put your whole heart and mind and soul into finishing this lap of the race on time‚ so that you are ready for the great and mighty things I will do for you! (End of message.)

Forward to the future!

90. (Jesus:) In laying before you this "pre-attack plan," I'm also clearly showing you the length of time that I'm giving you to prepare and to get ready for what is to come—the future that I've promised you. Your future is at the door, and these 18 months are a threshold which you must cross before you can receive the full fulfillment of My promises.

91. The fulfillment of My promises to you about your fruitfulness and the miracles that I will do through you will climax during the days of the Great Tribulation—those last three-and-a-half years before I return. But there are many miracles, signs and wonders on the horizon before you, My loves‚ before the final countdown begins. I wish for you to walk boldly forward and to claim what is rightfully yours. I want you to steal from under the very nose of your Enemy the souls and captives that are presently within his clutches.

92. The skill, the boldness, the faith and the vision that you need for the daring rescue missions and thrilling miracles I will call you to perform will not be possible unless you use the time I have given you wisely, stocking up on the oil of My Spirit, preparing as a "wise virgin" (Mat.25:1-13), so that you will be ready to move forward at the sound of My bugle call.

93. During these next 18 months you will be moving forward and progressing, yes, but your focus must be on consolidating and strengthening, so that when the offensive attack is launched, your forward movement will be accelerated, at light speed, and your efforts unified, as one body bearing down on the strongholds of your enemy.

94. Your attack must be coordinated‚ but this requires training today. It requires in–depth and concentrated study of My Word; it requires focused and consistent use of the spiritual weapons‚ so that when the time comes to strike, you will be a lean, mean spiritual fighting machine. To achieve this goal, each of you must train with the same weapons, with the same intensity. Each of you must absorb, study and obey the same New Wine that has been poured forth to all of you. Each of you must spend intimate time in the bedchamber with Me, your Husband, and Commander in Chief.

95. The days ahead will be days of concentrated training, concentrated input, concentrated stretching, and as a result, dynamic growth. If you feel the spiritual battles intensifying‚ don't wonder or fear, but see each battle as an opportunity to become proficient with your spiritual weaponry and to deal your Adversary a mortal blow. Rejoice in the battles‚ rejoice in the strengthening and the training that they afford you, which will ultimately result in your victory and triumph over Satan and the gates of Hell.

96. I'm excited about the next 18 months and looking forward to them, and you should be too! Training, strengthening, and stretching is a good thing. It results in stronger muscles, quicker reflexes, proficiency with your weapons, a greater knowledge and understanding of battle tactics, greater unity and camaraderie with those you're training with, a greater dependence on Me, and much more.

97. You will very likely not have such days of relative peace and the time to practice and train and hone your spiritual fighting skills again, for when the offensive attack is launched, it will be a declaration of all-out war against Satan and his system, and the battles will rage.

98. You're tempted to tremble and fear at the thought of such ongoing spiritual warfare, but if you use the time I'm giving you to become proficient in the art of war, and to learn and apply all that I'm revealing to you in My Word, you will truly enjoy the battles, you will enjoy fighting, you will love defeating your Enemy, because you will be winning.

99. I have called you not only to fight, but to win! This is the destiny of the children of David! This is the future that awaits you—a glorious future of conquest, triumph and victory over evil. Your future is to be conquerors, winners and overcomers, as you march forward from one field of conquest to the next, routing the Enemy and claiming the souls of men for My Name.

100. What you are preparing for during these next 18 months is the fulfillment of the promises of the future—power to work miracles, an abundance of finances so that you can enact the plans I give you, Activated becoming a household name‚ countless numbers flocking to you for the words of truth I give to you freely, foretelling the fate of kings and nations, etc. My loves, all that I have promised is yours, if you will do your part to obey My counsel and instruction to you to use these next 18 months wisely.

101. It's true that for some of you 18 months can seem like a long time, and you may think that you have time before you have to put serious thought into strengthening your winning team and your own spiritual life, and take action accordingly.

102. It is not given to the Enemy to foresee My plans for your future, yet he knows that as the End draws near, each day is important, and his biggest wiles against you will be those of procrastination and lethargy, and discouragement at seeming obstacles or hindrances. If he can get you to yield to the spirit of Lethargy, or to let Obstacon or Apotheon hinder you and weigh you down, if he can cause you to despair when you face unexpected challenges or battles, then he knows that he has a chance of hindering or delaying My will for you being fully performed.

103. So I ask you to rise up with the power of the keys and to give no place to his attacks of lethargy or discouragement. He has tried these attacks on you before and was very nearly successful in defeating you. Now that you are aware of his ploys, you must be all the more vigilant against him and active in your obedience to Me. Rise up with the power of the anointing of obedience that I've given you. Claim the anointing and use it in your lives. Make My Words a reality‚ for it is when you do that, that the impossible becomes possible, and the locked gates vanish into thin air before your eyes.

104. I have placed at your disposal all the power and strength you need in order to fulfill My will and to prepare yourselves in heart, body, mind and spirit. I have given you both the spiritual weapons and the practical aids you need, and I have given each of you the secret weapon of a personal direct link with Me, through which you can know My mind and know exactly which areas of your life you need to grow in.

105. I have given you My Word in great abundance, and I will continue to pour forth all that you need. So do not be weary of sucking and receiving and absorbing My truth, but open your hearts and spirits with even greater desire and focus to the spiritual truths I reveal to you. Each and every word I give is for a purpose. I am not superfluous. Every single word I give to you, My brides‚ is life and power, and will transform your life when put to use.

106. I am in control, My loves. I am your Coach, and I am your Commander in Chief. I will train you and give you all that you need, personally and collectively as a Family, in order to become the vibrant, skilled and unified disciples and warriors I need you to be. I will lead you on to great victories. I will do things for you that no man has ever done or seen in the history of the Earth. I and the hosts of Heaven are at your beck and call, for we fight beside you in this battle. You are not alone.

107. Forward to the future, I say! Forward, march! (End of message.)