In 1993, the Lord gave me a word: PRAYER COMMAND POST. I knew that it had something to do with an actual site that was strategic in nature, but that was all I knew in the beginning. Over the next couple of years, the Lord added to the word and I began to understand that He was leading me to establish a ministry that would serve as a headquarter, a “command post” that would serve all the various ministry streams of prayer. This service included  communications, equipping, networking and other aspects of prayer ministry.

After stepping down from my position in my local congregation in January 1995, the Lord had me step out in faith, with fear and trembling and the affirmation of leadership, and in March of 1995, open our offices of the ministry. The Lord established a board to give insight and direction and the ministry continues to this day. In 1999, we became an official NonProfit 501(c)3 religious organization.  It has been a journey of faith all along and we have seen His faithfulness in an abundance of ways. The Lord has added many friends to the ministry and given us a broader vision of ways to serve the people of God and those who do not know Him yet.

I continue to learn that being a visionary is not my biggest challenge. Staying true to the Lord, being faithful to the vision and continuing to love God and others in the midst of everything requires nothing less then divine grace and strength to fulfill all that He has called me to do. I have learned that serving the Lord based out of a heart of gratitude and joy gives me the daily strength needed to walk in His ways.

I pray that whatever vision the Lord has placed in your heart, that you will hang on to what He has told you, that it will come to pass in His timing and that you will bring Him much glory in the process of fulfilling the vision. Be encouraged, He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it ! (Philippians 1:6)

2000-2006

This season consisted of the ministry branching out from a Regional work to a State and National work.  We began to work with statewide prayer ministries in connecting prayer ministries all over the state of California with a host of other leaders. This led to hosting a statewide School of Prayer in 2004.  Later, I served with a National CityReaching team that would hosted consultations all over the country.  We began to pray and seek God for His strategy in blessing cities and the various sectors that cause a city to thrive.  Many friendships and networks formed over these years and we saw the Lord do wonderful works for His glory.

2006-2011

As we continued to pray for God to bless the sectors, God did a mysterious thing and sent me back into the workplace as a RN that worked in End of Life/Hospice care.  I had been a nurse earlier in my life, and God sent me back into the workforce to care for families in crisis and those experiencing their last days.  This would become very pivotal for me in setting values deeply in my heart on the value of faith and walking in the ways of God throughout life.  The outward work of Prayer Command Post events decreased as the Lord reinstructed me on developing leadership skills in the marketplace, specifically in the healthcare realm.  Amazing lessons and sacred moments filled these years and I remain forever grateful for all that the Lord imparted to me in that season as I continued to work part time in end of life care until I retired in 2020.

2011-2013

Just when I got settled into marketplace ministry, the Lord called me out again into citywide ministry.  This time it was more personal as He called me back into the city of my heritage, Riverside CA.  Although I still worked in a very limited basis as a  Hospice RN, the prayer focus was (and remains) on seeking God’s heart on how He wanted to bring His transformation to an individual city.  And He had us rent a home where my grandmother once lived,  in downtown, to bless and pray for the people and city of Riverside. We called it The Lord’s House.  We had many seasons of deep prayer and the Lord eventually led us to host some roundtables in the city where we saw God divinely connect people for amazing partnerships and Kingdom adventures.

2013

In 2013, the Lord began to share that we needed a new name that fit the new focus of blessing and pulling alongside leaders that would lead to a generous outpouring towards a city.  After prayer, we sensed Healthy Leaders Thriving Cities was to be our new name (dba under Prayer Command Post).  As we go about in the cities that God sends us to, we are asking God to give us His eyes to 1) Bless and Encourage the Leaders He has placed in the land and 2) Bless the Sectors of Influence so that the city will thrive for the glory of God.

2016  Love Riverside Begins!

In 2016, we began a new focus called LOVE RIVERSIDE   (a dba under our main Organization) to host annual serve days and also collaborate with leaders and organizations year-round within the city of Riverside, CA.  This has led to many beautiful friendships and partnerships as we are doing good together to benefit the city.

2020 Name changed!

We changed our Nonprofit name from Prayer Command Post to what was previously a dba…..HEALTHY LEADERS THRIVING CITIES to better reflect what we had become over the years.  Although prayer will always be a vital and foundational area for us, we felt we needed our name to  reflect more of what we have grown to be. It has been such an incredible journey.

Thank you for joining us on this adventure. I pray that the Lord encourages you greatly in the place He has positioned you in and may you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and overflow with His radiance, peace, hope and kindness to the people and communities you serve.

Thanks for listening to our story,

Living for His glory and smile,

Lynn Heatley

Healthy Leaders Thriving Cities, President and Director  www.thrivingcities.org