The Apostolic Inheritance of California

 by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D. and Revival Historian

For those who have eyes to see, there is a powerful prophetic destiny over California. As the saying goes, “As goes California, so goes the nation.” The influence that comes from California has the power to impact the world. Just imagine what would happen if the entire state of California was on fire with revival, it could transform the world.

I never realized calling out the gold in a region could be so controversial, however, it must be done, and the truth must be told. California is an anointed land of revival. It is a land where revivalists are born and where many are launched into their destinies.

I freely admit that I was born and bred in Southern California, and I truly LOVE this state because I am able to see it through heaven’s redemptive lens. I grew up under John Wimber’s ministry in the Vineyard, enjoyed the in-depth Bible teaching of Calvary Chapels, intersected with Heidi Baker when I was a student at Vanguard University and later was ordained by her, and later spent seven years under Bill Johnson’s ministry in Redding before returning full circle back to Southern California. All that to say, I don’t believe it’s an accident that God placed me here for such a time as this. And whether you are from California or not, I pray this small offering will shift your perspective to see and call out the gold of this apostolic state and inspire you to dig to find the gold in your own region as well.

 

“Hot Furnace”

The name California is derived from the Spanish origin to mean “hot furnace.” California truly is a furnace with revival fire ready to catalyze another great awakening. God’s heart for California is for redemption and alignment in accordance with its truest identity and destiny. God’s heart is burning to touch the nations through yielded lovers fully surrendered to His call. This land is pregnant with yet another great awakening.

 

Economic, Media, Natural

California is a place where apostolic Holy Spirit revival movements are birthed. When I use the term apostolic, I am referring to something that has great influence, is exponentially multiplied, releases impartation, and is exported around the world. Not only are there deep wells of revival in California that have watered the world with the rivers of living waters, but there is also an apostolic anointing on the economics, media, and even physical land.

Aside from looking at anything spiritual, California alone, if it was a country would have the 5th biggest economy in the world ($3.1 trillion). Some of the big name companies that have influenced the world started or found their home here: Apple, Facebook, Wells Fargo, McDonalds, and more. The technology that influences our generation is housed in this state. Hollywood, the pioneer for media that shapes the world, found fertile soil in California. Disneyland, “the happiest place on earth,” was also born here. Whatever gets birthed or makes its home in California, knowingly or unknowingly, is tapping into the apostolic nature of this land. What people plant here has the potential to grow exponentially and be exported around the globe, whether good or bad.

Even in the natural, this land yields a great harvest. This state is the 5th largest supplier of food and other products to the entire world and is the largest provider of food to the nation. The diversity of the land allows for over 450 different crops to be grown here. California produces and exports the most almonds than any other place in the world. It is also the fourth largest producer of wine in the world and provides for over 90% of the wine in the U.S.A. It also leads the nation in providing strawberries. And the list could go on.[i] 

California is unique in other ways. It has the highest population of any other state. California also has the highest point (Mount Whitney 14,505 ft) and the lowest point of 282 feet below sea level (Death Valley) of any other states on the mainland. The Golden Gate Bridge that was built in San Francisco in 1937 was at the time, the world’s longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world. It was said to have been an impossible feat.

 

Spiritual

Aside from the significance and influence this state has in economics, natural resources, and influence in both media and technology for the world, there is a great spiritual inheritance in this land. California is a place where revivalists are born and a place where budding revivalists come and are then birthed and launched into their apostolic destiny. Many Holy Spirit movements that have impacted the world found their beginnings in California. This land of pioneers has seen spiritual pioneers paving the way for us. 

  • Carrie Judd Montgomery (1858-1946) pioneered some of the earliest healing homes in our nation when she moved from New York to California. She established the Home of Peace healing home in Oakland, CA in 1893, over 20 years before John G. Lake’s healing rooms. Her ministry was catalytic to launch missionaries, revivalists, and healing homes across the nation.

  • The Azusa Street Revival which birthed American Pentecostalism which has impacted more in our generation with encountering the Holy Spirit than any previous generation. This apostolic revival movement that is still impacting us today began in a little home with a handful of people in Los Angeles in 1906.

  • Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944) left her hometown in Canada and came to California when her ministry was launched. She was the first evangelist on the radio in 1922 and pioneered the first Christian radio station in 1924. She built her Angelus Temple in Los Angeles in 1923 and launched her apostolic movement International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in 1927. From her ministry base, she fed more people in the Great Depression in Los Angeles than the Red Cross.

  • Billy Graham (1918-2018) was relatively unknown until he ventured to California to do a tent meeting in Los Angeles in 1949. When publisher William Randolph Hearst sent a telegram to all his newspapers to “puff Graham,” the newspapers gave him free publicity, he extended his meetings for weeks, and the evangelist Billy Graham became an overnight celebrity.

  • The Jesus People Movement with mass baptisms of hippies at Corona Del Mar was in part catalyzed by a hippie preacher named Lonnie Frisbee (1949-1993) who allowed himself to be used by the Spirit in his day. He not only impacted the Jesus Movement, but he was also catalytic for the Calvary Chapel and Vineyard Movements.

  • John Wimber (1934-1997) launched the Vineyard Movement to new heights and spread healing, signs and wonders, intimate worship, and a heart for the poor around the globe from Anaheim, CA.

  • Heidi Baker (1959-present), who has since gone on to transform the nation of Mozambique, was born in Orange County, went to Vanguard University (fruit from the Azusa Street Revival) where she met her husband Rolland, and through pioneering Iris Global, has touched nearly every nation in the world.

This is only the TIP of the Iceberg. I don’t have time to share about Keith Green who established The GreenHouse in L.A. where he lived with his family and then opened their home to those in need. They later opened other houses and launched their ministry to help drug attics, prostitutes, and those in need. His music shaped a generation. Henrietta Mears was a Sunday school teacher at Hollywood Presbyterian Church from  1928-1963 who impacted Bill Bright who launched Campus Crusade for Christ, Jim Rayburn of Young Life, Billy Graham and more. Chuck Smith launched the Calvary Chapel movement from Costa Mesa, CA.

Loren Cunningham founded Y.W.A.M. (Youth With A Mission) in 1960 in his parent’s California home. Trinity Broadcasting Network that has released Christian media around the globe was founded in 1973 in Southern California. Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life, led Saddleback Church for many years which touched the globe. Bill Johnson led Bethel Church in Redding, CA in releasing impartation of the revival culture there around the globe. Revival Culture. Lou Engle birthed The Call while in California. And the list of revivalists and/or global apostolic ministries that have been birthed in California could go on and on.

 

There is an Inheritance Awaiting

I have only just scratched the surface here but I do notice a pattern. This is a land of apostolic inheritance. The wells of revival are deep in this land. These waters are freely available for all who can choose to honor the past and see the gold. This land is pregnant yet again with another great awakening. I pray your perspective, prayers, and understanding of California has shifted and become more aligned with heaven’s perspective. May God not only reveal the gold from this state to you, but also the gold in your home region, your family, and even deep inside yourself.

To learn more about this theme and dig even deeper, join us Sept. 1-3 in our online School of Revival training for our more in-depth training on the Apostolic Inheritance of California. Learn more or register here today!

 
 
Jennifer Miskov