THE GATHERING UPDATE (by Mark Mohr)
Nov. 10, 2004 - A whole lot has happened in the six months since the release of Lion of Zion's "Gathering" album. Last you heard, my wife Avion and I were living on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Although we were initially very curious as to why the Lord had brought us to Trinidad, in retrospect it all made sense. Through a Joseph-like experience, God brought us down there as missionaries to accomplish a host of things for His kingdom. I taught a class on the Gospel Music industry and mentored various Christian artists. I produced one album and executive produced another, counseled and discipled many individuals and started a weekly Bible Study. Avion performed and ministered with her family band, got her clothing company going again and then handed it off to her younger sister. We also got to spend some quality time with her family. However, our greatest accomplishment in Trinidad was birthing of a powerful ministry called "The Gathering".
In December, Brenton Cherrie, a good friend of ours came out to visit us. He is also a reggae playing dreadlocked Christian from California. He went to John MacArthur's Master's College and has a serious heart for reaching out to Selassie worshippers. He came out to fill in for me while I was on tour in Canada and New Zealand with Christafari. He loved it in Trinidad and his month long visit ended up being extended. After a few weeks back in California to get things in order, he returned to the island for an undetermined amount of time.
Once Brenton returned, he lived with us, and I trained him around the clock for the Gathering. I handed over all of the administration and leadership of the body of believers to him, yet temporarily remained the pastor and teacher. Then we slowly phased in local leaders, and Brenton and I began sharing each week's message, tag-teaming back and forth each night. At this same time, my wife Avion was granted permanent residence in the US by the American Embassy! Everything was in place in Trinidad and we felt the Lord finally calling us back to the States. It was bitter sweet, as Avion's family is there, we love the island and I really enjoyed teaching every week. However, from the very beginning, I had always had a plan to phase myself out and bring in local leadership as soon as possible. With Brenton in charge of the transition team, this was finally feasible and we were freed to focus once again on Christafari and Lion of Zion.
After going through piles of paperwork and red tape, Brenton was recently granted a one-year missionary permit with an option to renew. We are in conversation daily and I am very proud of all that he is doing. He is doing a great work for the Lord!
Weekly meetings have recently moved from Mondays to Thursdays and are still at the same location in St. James. On Friday, November 19th, the Gathering is hosting a massive concert with 14 artists including; Isaac Blackman, The Love Circle and Koen Duncan. This event is called "Craze Fusion" and is in celebration of The Gathering's one-year anniversary.
Earlier this year Lion of Zion Entertainment released a compilation of songs from various artists that had graced the stage of this fellowship called "THE GATHERING - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO." For details on this album, or to hear samples of select songs go to: http://www.lionofzion.com/store/albums/78dab3b4040000ad0073/Various+Artists/The+Gathering+-+Trinidad+%26+Tobago.html
Please pray for The Gathering in Trinidad. Ask God to grow the congregation and increase the local leadership. Pray that the Lord will speak through Brenton and that lives will be transformed for Christ through this powerful ministry.
To find out more about the Gathering, please e-mail: dreadlockedlion@aol.com
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