Justine and I (Chris) grew up as native Oregonians and were raised in Lane County. From the age of 5 until 20 I went to every home Duck game, and I briefly played football at the U of O before leaving college to join the Army in 2008, spending about 8 years in the Seattle region. Justine has had many generations come out of the Eugene and Lane County area, and still has probably 30 family members living here. Eugene is simply “home” in the deepest sense.

After my military service was completed and our family began to grow, we decided to move back to Oregon. From 2017 to 2021 we deeply enjoyed our time back home in Eugene, growing our family there. Then in October 2021, our home in Eugene was for sale/under contract and we were a month away from moving to Dallas Texas because of work. During my private prayer time, I heard the Lord whisper (which at the time was not at all normal for me) a very precise and detailed phrase into my heart. It was something like “Buy the domain name sparkprayer.org”. Totally perplexed and caught off guard I asked, “What for?!”. He said, “You’re going to use it for a prayer movement”.

Considering prayer wasn’t a big part of my walk with the Lord up until that point (regrettably), my response to him was something along the lines of “Are you crazy?!” But I ventured over to my computer to do a quick search of the domain name so that I could prove to myself that it wasn’t available and this was all in my head. But it was available. So to engage in what felt like obedience at that moment, I bought it. With zero clarity about what it would be used for, I sat on it for almost 2 more years.

For those 2 years while in Texas, our hearts longed for home. Additionally, the Lord was faithful to bring so many amazing friends and mentors into our lives who equip us and spur us into a deeper prayer life. We also began to see the world through a different and more optimistic lens. Believing more deeply that Jesus was in fact Lord and that He could transform our hometown. As our work responsibilities wrapped up, we began exploring if we should be moving. After a season of fasting and prayer, it was clear the Lord was calling our family back to Eugene, and that now was finally the time to rally together the Church of Eugene to create a citywide prayer effort - as we seek revival, formation, and renewal in the town we all love so much. There has been no greater time than the present, to pray with hungry hearts, for God to move in a powerful way.

I hope you’ll consider joining us in prayer!