THE BURDEN

The Gathering of the Eagles is an annual gathering of believers, young and old, who desire to know Jesus Christ, follow Him wherever He leads, and faithfully represent His life and gospel in their generation.

The burden is rooted in God's dealings with His people:

“The LORD'S portion is his people… he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye… As an eagle stirreth up her nest… So the LORD alone did lead him.”Deuteronomy 32:9-12

At the heart of this gathering is one desire: that the Lord Himself would lead His people.

We are gathering around Christ, not around a personality, denomination, ministry, or movement. We come to feast upon Him through His Word, to pray, worship, wait upon Him, and receive fresh strength for the work He has committed to us.

Isaiah declares:

“They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles…”Isaiah 40:31

We therefore come away for a season from our different fields of labor to wait upon the Lord together. But the gathering is not the destination. We receive strength so that we may return to the places where God has planted us as faithful followers of Jesus Christ and makers of disciples.

Jesus said:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations… Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”Matthew 28:19-20

The Gospel must not end with us. What we have received in Christ must be faithfully entrusted to another generation.

“The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”2 Timothy 2:2

This is why the Gathering is intentionally intergenerational. Older believers who have walked faithfully with Christ are called to strengthen and help form younger believers. Younger believers are called to receive the Word with humility and hunger, grow into maturity in Christ, and become faithful disciples who will also disciple others.

“One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.”Psalm 145:4

Our goal is not simply to produce another annual Christian meeting. Our burden is the formation of people in whom Christ is increasingly known, formed, lived, and faithfully transmitted to others.

“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.”Galatians 4:19

THE FIRST GATHERING: THE DAY OF HIS POWER

The theme of the first Gathering of the Eagles is:

THE DAY OF HIS POWER

“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool… Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power…”Psalm 110:1-3

Psalm 110 points us to the exalted Christ, the Lord seated at the right hand of God, ruling in the midst of His enemies, with a willing people arising in the day of His power.

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter directly connected this prophecy with the death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Jesus Christ:

“Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted… he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”Acts 2:33

And after quoting Psalm 110, Peter declared:

“God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”Acts 2:36

The book of Acts gives us a powerful demonstration of this reality.

The crucified Christ had risen. The risen Christ had ascended. The ascended Christ was exalted at the Father's right hand. The exalted Christ poured out the Holy Spirit. And ordinary men and women became willing, powerful witnesses of Jesus Christ.

Peter, who had once denied the Lord, stood publicly and proclaimed Him. The disciples who had gathered in weakness were filled with the Holy Spirit. The gospel began to move outward. People were saved, disciples were formed, and a community arose that continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers (Acts 2:42).

This is the burden of The Day of His Power.

We believe the Lord desires to raise in our generation men and women who have been deeply formed by the revelation and transforming reality of Christ's death, burial, resurrection, ascension, exaltation, and present life in His people through the Holy Spirit.

We are asking God for more than excitement, meetings, or spiritual experiences.

We are asking Him for a willing people.

• A people who know Jesus Christ.
• A people formed into His likeness.
• A people governed and empowered by His Spirit.
• A people grounded in His Word.
• A people willing to follow Him wherever He leads.
• A people who will carry His gospel faithfully into their homes, churches, professions, communities, cities, and nations.
• A people who will make disciples who can make other disciples.

A JESUS GENERATION

This is the deeper burden: the raising of a Jesus generation.

Not a generation carrying the name of Dtransfer Fellowship, but a generation carrying the testimony and life of Jesus Christ.

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.”Romans 8:29

We desire to see mature believers pouring faithfully into younger believers, and younger believers growing into mature followers of Christ who will themselves strengthen those coming after them.

In this way, the life and gospel of Jesus Christ are faithfully transferred across generations.

We gather to feast upon Christ. We wait upon the Lord. We receive His Word. We yield ourselves afresh to the Holy Spirit. We strengthen one another across generations. And then we go back into the fields where God has placed us, to live Christ, proclaim His gospel, serve His purposes, and make disciples.

May the Lord raise again in our generation a willing people in the day of His power.

Gather around Christ. Be formed in Christ. Be strengthened by His Spirit. Go forth and make disciples.