The core values of Hearts Ignited Ministries International are (1) Generational Influence, (2) World Missions, (3) Relationships and Community, (4) Culture of Honor, (5) Naturally Supernatural, and (6) Giving. We desire to be a spiritual mother and father to the next generation by allowing our ceiling in ministry to be their floor. We want to see an entire generation set ablaze with the fire of God that burns away the presence of all evil and ignite hearts to the love of their soul: Jesus Christ. We desire to see authentic relationships built to help bring transformation to sons and daughters lives and to teach them Biblical truths in healthy community living. We value equipping others to be naturally, supernatural ministers of the Gospel and to be launched all over the world in their own unique calling and ministry. It is an honor to help give lavishly of our lives to see others soar and to go beyond where we could have ever gone in ministry.
GENERATIONAL INFLUENCE
Elizabeth and I are around the age of thirty which means that we tend to attract those who are anywhere between the ages of twenty to forty. This means our ministry reaches a wide variety of age groups and multiple generations. It is our passion to be able to minister to any generation and any age group. We believe the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2 was to bring a global reformation where God now dwells within humanity that is not biased to any specific race, gender or class. We desire for every nation, race, gender and age group to experience the love and presence of God and be transformed through a relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
However, we are extremely passionate about pouring into our generation and the one coming up who are younger than us. Jesus modeled pouring into children and breaking stereotypes by ministering to all genders, classes and nationalities. All of his disciples were young men who were the rejects of the society. He took them underneath his wing and taught them how to have a relationship with God, and then empowered them into their own ministries.
The first aspect of having a generational influence is to disciple the next generation so that our ceiling becomes their floor. It is the heart of any father or mother to see their child to be more successful in life than them. The best way to do this is to engrave in those children the DNA of the parents. The parents reproduce themselves, their core values, the way they experience God and their perspectives in their children. The children grow up watching how their parents interact, live their lives, how they talk, how they minister, etc…At the same time, children are becoming their own unique person developing their personality, ways of thinking and passionate desires.
We want to be a spiritual mom and dad that pour our lives into our own future children and many spiritual children. The picture the Lord has given us is that HIMI is like a massive tree with strong roots, a large trunk and very large branches that are able to bear much fruit. We want our ministry to be a platform for other ministries to be launched into their own unique destiny with the DNA the Lord has placed in us. We want to reproduce ourselves in our sons and daughters, but also help cultivate their giftings, personality and unique callings.
Most importantly, we want to see mature sons and daughters that resemble Jesus Christ in all areas. This includes character formation and humble conformity to the image of Christ. We want the generations to experience the love of God and to be set free from the bondage of the enemy in body, soul and spirit. This means helping them get healed in their hearts from past trauma, abuse and wounds and experience deliverance of any tormenting and afflicting spirits. Sons and daughters need fathers and mothers to love them to life and to love them unconditionally especially in their formational years. We desire to be that kind of spiritual mom and dad to help those God calls us to love. We have personally been discipled and loved by spiritual mothers and fathers who have helped bring transformation in our lives. Therefore, we have been trained and equipped to be this blessing to others.
Probably the greatest passion of ours is to equip the next generation. We have a unique gift set to equip other people in the power and love of God in many different areas. These include hearing the voice of God, signs, wonders and miracles, dream interpretation, healing, prophecy, words of knowledge, preaching, teaching, administration, worship, missions, theology, experiencing the Spirit realm, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, impartation, visitations of heaven, and angelic ministry. We desire to see the next generation know their God experientially, theologically, relationally, and in healthy community. This includes his nature, his character, his kingdom, his presence, his love, the fruit of his Spirit, and the power of his Spirit. We want to experience ALL of who God is and we want others to experience ALL of God because he desires all generations to reveal his glory (see Matt 5:16 and Hab 2:14) and be filled with the fullness of his love and presence (see Eph 3:19).
WORLD MISSIONS
We desire the Gospel of the kingdom to be preached in every nation so that every person has the opportunity to experience the love of Christ. If we could, we would be full time missionaries, but the Lord has not called us to be in the role at this time in our lives. However, we extremely value sowing into the nations of the earth. Elizabeth and I both have callings to travel to the nations of the earth to release the love of Christ to all who will hear. It is the number one prophetic word over our lives before we were married and now as a couple.
The Lord gave me Psalms 2:8 many years ago that “Ask me,and I will make the nations your inheritance,the ends of the earth your possession.” Elizabeth also received a powerful prophetic word in which she was told that the Lord was granting her the desire to travel to any nation of the earth she desired. The first vision I ever experienced was a picture of me sitting underneath a tree. Jesus walked up to me, grabbed a piece of fruit off the tree and began to eat it. He then said, “I am going to eat of the fruit of your ministry.” The scene then zoomed out and this tree was on top of a large hill overlooking a valley. There were millions of Africans in this valley and they were all facing some type of statue in the middle of the valley. As the scene zoomed in I saw that it was the top of a wedding cake with a bride and bridegroom. I knew that God was calling me to a ministry of bringing people to the wedding feast.
A few months later as I was almost asleep I heard the audible voice of God, “Isaiah 55!” I woke up briefly as I was startled, but then fell back asleep. The next day I forgot, but then I was reminded that evening. I was listening to a brand new CD while I opened my Bible to turn to Isaiah 55. It was an instrumental CD and it happened to be playing a song called “All Who Are Thirsty.” I was humming to it when I read Isaiah 55:1, “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters.” I was stunned! The presence of God filled my room and I began to weep under his presence. I then read further and was undone when I read Isaiah 55:5, “Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, and a nation which knows you not will run to you, because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified You.” The Lord was encouraging me and confirming the call of God on my life for the nations of the earth.
Elizabeth and I especially have a passion for social justice. What I mean by this is to see the unlovely loved, the homeless find homes, the broken be restored, the hungry fed, the orphans become adopted, and those in slavery set free. We highly enjoy spending our time in other countries ministering to the poor, the orphaned, the widows, and the lost. There is simplicity to life in many nations that we do not find in the Western world. When we go to these nations the ministry of Jesus becomes so real and alive as if we were living out the Gospel narratives.
One of the privileges we have is to help other missionary organizations fulfill their callings to reach their specific community, state and nation. I will touch more in the next core value about relationships, but we believe that in our era through technology and transportation that we have an international ministry. Our desire is to set foot in every nation and either (1) establish a work in that nation that can spread the gospel or (2) support a kingdom relationship that already has a work in that nation. Our desire is the see the kingdom of God advance, not our ministry. Therefore, if the kingdom of God is being advanced through a different ministry other than ours, then we will do our best to help support the mission in order to see lives experience the kingdom of God.
As we pour into the next generation, we want to teach them that we have a mission on the earth. Our mission is the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) and it is on the heart of the Father to find his lost bride (see Luke 15:13-17). We have been given a ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19) and we want to pass that heartbeat to those we have influence over. We value raising up ministers who will go into the nations and many who will become missionaries. It is an honor to lay down our lives for others and to give away our lives for the advancement of the kingdom of God.
RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNITY
We value kingdom relationships and cultivating healthy communities for believers to walk together in life. God has been so faithful to place us in incredible relationships with our ministry that are in strategic for our destiny. God has surrounded us with amazing mothers and fathers that have helped shape us to be the best son and daughter to the Father, prepared us to be the best husband and wife, and equipped us to be the most effective witnesses for Christ. We know that these are lifelong relationships and have seen the fruitfulness of placing ourselves into strategic kingdom alliances.
We believe that the kingdom is founded on relationship. Jesus taught us to relate to God as Father. This shows that the hierarchy of heaven is a family between the Father and the Son. We have been adopted into this family and have now become friends of God, but most importantly sons and daughters. How we live life, how we relate to God, and how we minister to others must come through this lens that we are no longer orphans, but we have been adopted by the God of the universe.
Since God revealed himself as Father, then all of humanity are his children. Some know that they are his children through salvation, but there are billions who are his lost sons and daughters. The Church, then, is a community of interconnected family members. A part of the Gospel is to bring God’s lost children into the family.
We value specific communities of church families that God has ordained to walk in kingdom relationships to walk through life together. Every believer is not called to live in every family community. It is okay to say that one particular community is my home, my family, and my tribe. Elizabeth and I know that we have amazing potential over the course of our lives. But we recognize that we need help to be the best us. We need others to love us, encourage us, challenge us, rejoice with us, and confront us with the truth of Christ.
At the same time we have many things to offer as well. Therefore, we want to teach the next generation what it means to be family. There are so many broken family relationships in the world and especially in the United States. There is an incredible need for healing of family issues between children and parents, between spouses, and between siblings. We value Malachi 4:6 that, “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” We believe that in order for healing to occur it must be in healthy relationships that is in a familial community.
Not only have families been broken a part through divorce in the United States, but also the body of Christ is divided. Many churches split and divide over doctrinal issues. However, we have an apostolic belief that churches should rally around father and mothers. This allows a unity in the midst of diverse perspectives because the church is committed to family, not to doctrines or traditions. We desire to travel and minister in a wide variety of church denominations and regions of the United States and the world to help model and teach Biblical truth on the foundation of family communities. These communities are committed to the team because it is a family. This means when one suffers, the community has a responsibility to help. The family also has to work through family issues especially relationally. If the family is dedicated to one another, then there is no need to divide over disagreements because there is a mutual honor for one another.
CULTURE OF HONOR
The “culture of honor” has been established and modeled by Bethel Church in Redding, California.1 It has become more and more relevant and fruitful since Danny Silk published a book with this title. Honor is a foundation for the kingdom of heaven because it is a court system of Royalty. God is a king and he rules on a throne. This means that another aspect of the relationship of the kingdom of heaven is honor through royalty.
When there is a table in a royal palace, it is not round, but rectangular because there are positions of honor and leadership. There is an aspect that we are all created equal in the image of God, but there are specific people who have been called to lead people. It requires leaders to know how to honor and empower the people they lead, but it is also requires followers to learn how to honor their leaders.
For individuals, the culture of honor is seeing the best in each other. Christians have a tendency to look at the issues in others lives and complain. However, Jesus taught us to see from the Father’s eyes. The Father is always for us. Therefore, our goal in a culture of honor is to see to gold in each other and call it forth. This also means there is a healthy level of confrontation in order to see the best in people come forth. If the community is established in a family culture, then the person confronting is not doing it to manipulate or control the person. The confrontation is done out of love because they are committed to each other in family. In order for the family to grow and move forward, then issues need to be lovingly resolved because each person has an important role to play.
One of the greatest roles to play in a culture of honor is being a child of God. Since he is a king, then his sons are princes and his daughters are princesses. This means his lost children are as well, and we get to go tell them about their Father who is a king. The mindset of royalty is crucial to fulfilling one’s destiny. This fuels are way of thinking when we go on the streets to serve prostitutes and tell them that their Father loves them and wants them to know they are a princess in his eyes and they don’t have to live that lifestyle. The mindset of royalty influences how people connect with God knowing he is approachable at his throne. His children can trust him to provide for them and that in his kingdom there is never any lack.
We value the culture of honor because it has personally changed our relationship with God, changed our marriage, and influenced how we relate to leaders and those we oversee. As we are honored for our greatness, we are able to honor others for their greatness through the grace of Jesus Christ. We desire to see the next generation know how valuable they are in the kingdom of God and how incredibly awesome they are in their Father’s eyes. We want individuals and churches to live out of a royalty mindset and walk in the authority they have on the earth through the kingdom of heaven.
NATURALLY SUPERNATURAL
God is a supernatural being and he lives in ordinary people. This makes ordinary people extraordinary in Christ. We have a value to show people how to live a powerful life through a relationship with Jesus Christ. We have a conviction that all Christians are to walk in the fullness of the Spirit that includes fruit, but also power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 says, “For the kingdom of God does not consist inwords but in power.” We want to share the truth of God’s love that is shown through the Bible. However, we also have the desire to give people an encounter with the God of the Bible because his kingdom is best revealed through power encounters.
We value Matthew 10:7-8, “And as you go,preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.” We believe that this is a command given to us by Jesus Christ to demonstrate his kingdom message wherever we go. This is not refined to church service or missions trips, but everyday life. As individuals go to the grocery store, to their vocation, or to school they should reveal the love of God and back it up with power. We value what God values and he demonstrated through the life of Jesus his desire to heal people of sicknesses, diseases and demonic oppression. If we are not doing the same things that Jesus did, and even greater (see John 14:12), then we are not walking in the potential God has destined us for.
Naturally supernatural is a term where the power and presence of God becomes normal. It should be abnormal for people not to get healed when we pray for them. It should be abnormal not hearing the voice of God. We value living a lifestyle of focusing our awareness on what our Father is doing in heaven (John 5:19). We value tuning our spirits to hear what he is saying for other people and being led by his Spirit. We desire to see individuals and churches equipped in order to bring influence to their community, region and nation through the love of God and demonstration of his power.
The Eastern world has a grid for the supernatural power of God. However, in the Western world Christians have been deceived to believe deceptive doctrines that God does not heal or do miracles. Our desire is to be a part of the greatest awakening the world has ever seen of the bride of Christ arising to her hour of greatest glory as King Jesus demonstrates his love and power. Witchcraft is on the rise especially in the United States and we have a conviction it is necessary for the church to be equipped to walk in great discernment to know the difference between good and evil. We want to develop healthy Biblical teaching on the gifts of the Spirit and help lead people into developing their spiritual giftings in healthy communities. As they develop their giftings and practice them, then they are able to take overflow of their relationship with God wherever they go.
GENEROSITY
We value generosity in the kingdom of God. It is important to know how to receive as much in the kingdom of God cannot be achieved, but only received. As individuals learn how to receive from God, it is important to learn how to give those blessings away. That is why we believe Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 10:8 to freely give away what they have received. With HIMI, we desire to bless other ministries, churches, sons and daughters with the blessings the Father has given us. This includes sowing financially into our sons and daughters, blessing churches and ministries that we feel God calling us to partner with. The Bible teaches that it is better to give than to receive (see Acts 20:35).
Our Father is a generous giver. The ultimate gift he gave to humanity was his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and pay the price for the sins of the world. When people were hungry, God multiplied the food in the ministry of Jesus (see Mark 8:19). However, the return of 5 fish and 2 loaves of bread were 12 baskets full of food! We have this mindset in our giving that God has the ability to grant increase in others lives even if it is a small seed. We desire to honor people in our lives who have poured into our lives through extravagant giving.
Several years ago the Lord told me to begin partnering monthly with an apostolic ministry and a prophetic ministry. He showed me that as I sowed into those individuals, there would be a return of blessing on my life. We have been doing that faithfully for years and we want to continue to partner with others who are having significant influence in the earth.
We value helping those who are less fortunate experience the generosity of our Father. We value sowing into ministries that are ministering to the lost, broken, hurting and dying around the world. We are passionate about seeing children set free from slavery, prostitutes taken off the streets, and the orphans and widows taken care of. The vision of our ministry is to build homes for the homeless and to establish bases around the world where children can receive education, be fed, and be loved by foster parents who will show them the love of our Father.