Resurrection Power in Our Families: A Night of Worship, Repentance, and Healing

On the evening of April 4, a sacred gathering took place in Pasadena, CA—a group of people from different churches, ages, and family stages came together with a common burden: to seek God’s heart and healing for our families. What unfolded was not just an event but a holy encounter that marked us with deeper repentance and resurrection faith.

We gathered to worship and pray for the places in our families that feel heavy, painful, or hopeless. We set the table with prayer, worship, and Scripture—and the Lord prepared us a feast.

From the start, we came as we were: broken, hurting, weary, longing. The first notes of worship created space for raw honesty. No one needed to pretend. We remembered together that there is no shortage in the Spirit of God—no lack of mercy, no limit to His power. 

Repentance Before Resurrection
Joy opened our evening with a vulnerable, Spirit-led time of confession and repentance. Her honesty pierced the atmosphere. “We want fire,” she said, “but we do not want to repent.” With great humility, she modeled confession—acknowledging her sin, pride, and need for mercy. This act opened the door for all of us to lay our hearts bare before God.

She reminded us that it is easy to point to the brokenness in our families—our prodigals, our disappointments, our strained relationships—but God was asking us to begin with our own hearts. Where have we grown bitter? Where have we resisted God’s Spirit? Repentance is not just a personal act; it is the gateway to generational healing. Joy’s courage helped create a safe space to do that work together.

Jesus at the Tomb of Lazarus
The Scripture anchoring the night was John 11—the story of Lazarus’s death and Jesus’ response. Lisa walked us through the narrative of Mary and Martha, two sisters who had sent for Jesus but experienced his delay. When he finally arrived, their brother had been dead for four days. The stench of death had set in.

Mary and Martha had faith in a future resurrection, but they were disappointed in the present moment. They didn’t yet know that Jesus was about to reveal a deeper truth: Resurrection isn’t just a future promise—it is a present person. Jesus declared, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Jesus was deeply moved. He wept. Not because he accepted death as the final say—but because death was wrong and grievous. Death was never God’s design, and Jesus had come to undo it.

Then came the turning point: “Lazarus, come out!” With that loud command, the once-decaying Lazarus walked out of the tomb, alive and restored. But Jesus didn’t stop there. He invited the community to “unbind him and let him go.” Lazarus needed help removing his grave clothes—remnants of his old condition that no longer belonged to his new life.

This picture struck us. Sometimes, resurrection begins with obedience: rolling away the stone, even when it risks the stink of disappointment or decay. Sometimes, resurrection requires community: helping one another remove what still binds us to death.

Praying Resurrection into Our Families
As we moved into intercession, we did just that. We rolled away the stone, named the places that felt dead, and invited Jesus to speak life. We prayed boldly for our families: for broken marriages, distant children, strained generations, mental health struggles, addictions, and spiritual numbness.

We also turned to the generational storylines in our families. We remembered that we stood in a long line of praying mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers—many of whom labored in prayer, even when they didn’t see the whole fruit of their efforts. We took our place in that legacy, choosing to walk in that blessing rather than any curse or plan of the Enemy.

Together, we sang a familiar refrain: “May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations,

And your family and your children, and their children, and their children.”

Grandparents, Pastors, Parents: All Called to Pray
One grandfather stood to speak a blessing over all the grandparents in the room. He reminded them that discipling their grandchildren to know and love Jesus is not just a nice idea—it is a divine calling. His words stirred vision and purpose, especially for those who sometimes feel unsure of their role in today’s shifting culture.

Pastors who minister to youth and families affirmed the power of parental prayer. Rufus shared the story of a mother's timely, Spirit-led discernment that led to saving her child's life. Christy, another leader present, boldly declared, “We do not have to accept death.” In Christ, we have been given authority—not to control outcomes but to pray from the will of God for healing. Resurrection doesn’t ignore death—it overcomes it.

The Golden Thread: Intergenerational Healing
As the evening drew to a close, there was a quiet invitation to come forward for healing prayer. We remembered that Jesus said He came for the sick, not the healthy. He came for the sinner, not the righteous. He is the living water—and we drank deeply. 

If there was a golden thread woven through the night, it was this: God desires to heal us from the trauma that impacts us as the intergenerational family of God. Whether that trauma is personal, family, or church-related, it does not have the final say.

Jesus is calling His Church to remember the power of His resurrection—not just as an Easter story, but as a present reality. There is nothing in our lives, in our families, or our generations that the power of Jesus cannot transform.

Though we did not yet have our name or 501(c)(3) status, it was fitting that the official public ministry of All Gen Movement began on this night with a prayer and worship event, envisioned and planned by our founder, Lisa Liou. The evening embodied our name by bringing all generations together in a movement of the Spirit, open to the type of spiritual surgery we are asking God to perform in us.