Since 1991 the primary way that PRMI has been fulfilling its vision initiative of equipping spiritual leaders is through the Dunamis Project. Following is a short history of the development of this equipping approach by Rev. Dr. Brad Long.

Beginnings at Jesus Abbey in South Korea

Founded in 1966, the original building at Jesus Abbey is now dwarfed by the large new buildings. Thousands of guests go to the Abbey each year to share in the life of the community, prayer, receive teaching and ministry to grow in Jesus Christ.

The beginnings of the Dunamis Project go back to my formative experiences from 1966 - 1975 at Jesus Abbey, which is an intentional prayer community in South Korea. This place of prayer and equipping for Christian living was founded by Archer Torrey, the grandson of R. A. Torrey. Archer founded the Abbey as a laboratory in which to grow in intimacy with Jesus Christ, delve into the Word of God, learn to pray and be filled with the Holy Spirit. In this context, I grew in my faith, received teaching on the Holy Spirit, and experienced firsthand a highly effective model for developing spiritual leaders and for equipping ordinary Christians through practical discipleship. The Dunamis Project seeks to utilize a number of the principles that I saw in operation at Jesus Abbey. The Dunamis Project teaching on the Holy Spirit is based on the biblical teaching of R.A. Torrey.

Spiritual Formation through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

In 1977, while I was serving at the Asbury Presbyterian Church, my wife Laura and I took an eight-day directed retreat in which we used the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. This was a profound experience of encountering God. This Jesuit model for spiritual formation has also contributed to the Dunamis Project.

A Move of the Holy Spirit in Taiwan and the Presbyterian Lay Training Center

(From 1980 until 1989 Brad Long served as a Presbyterian missionary in Taiwan. He was Vice President of the Presbyterian Bible College and Founder and Director of the Presbyterian Lay Training Center in Hsinchu. He has made many trips back to Taiwan over the years. Here he is teaching in Mandarin Chinese with John Chang translating into Taiwanese, teaching through the Dunamis Project for Presbyterians at the Swang Lynn Presbyterian Church in Taipei Taiwan. The teaching fits well in the formal classroom lecture setting, which suits the people in Taiwan with their high educational standards.)

In 1980, I arrived in Taiwan as a Presbyterian missionary. I stepped into a move of the Holy Spirit that was touching the Presbyterian Church. My calling in Taiwan was two-fold. First, I was called to be a catalyst for Holy Spirit renewal through teaching, preaching and ministry. Second, I was to equip leaders for the renewal. I was called to do this through the founding of the Presbyterian Lay Training Center.

At the Lay Training Center and in revival meetings in different parts of Taiwan, I taught a series of courses on various aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit. I also put in place a special intensive training event called the “Christian Soldiers Training Camp.” (The name sounds a lot better in Chinese!) All this took place in a Presbyterian and missionary context. The fruit of this equipping was a fellowship of Taiwanese leaders who could provide leadership for the movement of the Holy Spirit in Taiwan. It was in this very practical context of equipping leaders and intensive engagement in power ministry that I hammered out what have become the basic contents and form of the Dunamis Project.

The Call to PRMI and the Need for Leadership Development

In August 1989, upon returning to the United States to become Executive Director of PRMI, I became aware of a crisis in PRMI’s future. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, there had been a great move of the Holy Spirit in which many people were blessed. The primary program of PRMI in those days had been the conferences in which there was a heavy reliance on well-known speakers who did the teaching and the ministry. We had no program for systematic leadership development. As these conference speakers aged, or for some reason had been taken out of leadership, PRMI and the movement that it embodied was beginning to face a leadership crisis.

During a period of intensive prayer in Montreat, North Carolina from August 1989 until January 1, 1990, I believe God gave me a new vision for PRMI. This vision was shared with the Board of Directors and received their whole-hearted approval. A central piece of this vision was that of leadership development for spiritual renewal and for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

The Original Dunamis Planning Team

In May 1990, I called together a team to pray for guidance on how PRMI was called to go about fulfilling the vision of leadership development. This original prayer team consisted of the following members: Clay Bostic (Presbyterian pastor) , Andy Buchanan (Presbyterian pastor and theologian with a PhD from Edinburgh in theology, Amel Whitaker (pastoral counselor) , Charles Bello (Vineyard pastor), Carter Blaisdell (Presbyterian pastor and PRMI Director of Spirit Alive) and Doug McMurry (Presbyterian pastor, historian and author). Together we conceived and developed the overall design and contents for the Dunamis Project.

Moving From Vision to Reality at Lake George, New York

Archer Torrey and Brad Long teaching together at Jesus Abbey in Korea. Archer Torrey is the great-grandson of R. A. Torrey, who taught on the Holy Spirit from 1890 to 1910 in worldwide teaching missions igniting a movement of the Holy Spirit. It was from R.A. Torrey through Archer Torrey that Brad received the teaching on the Holy Spirit that is both biblical and reformed.

The Rev. Cindy Strickler teaching at Jesus Abbey. Cindy was one of those filled with the Holy Spirit in the first Dunamis event at Silver Bay, NY in 1991. She is now an anointed teacher in the Dunamis Project.

Doug McMurry and I, with editorial help from Archer Torrey, wrote the basic Gateways to Empowered Ministry manual in 1990. We also started work on the other manuals. We conceived the design and some of the writing ourselves, but we also invited other authors to contribute their areas of expertise.

The first series of retreats was launched at the Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center at Lake George, New York in March 1991. My mentor and teacher on the Holy Spirit, Archer Torrey, shared with me and Doug McMurry in the teaching. At that first event, the Holy Spirit was poured out and this new equipping movement was launched.

Brad Long with Archer Torrey at the founding of the Dunamis Project at Silver Bay in 1991. They shared the teaching together. From these small beginnings, the Dunamis Project has spread rapidly to a number of locations in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Uganda and Brazil. It is now the primary equipping process offered by PRMI and the Dunamis Fellowship. Over the years, hundreds of pastors and thousands of lay people have been through the six equipping events in various parts of the world.

The fruit has been churches growing deeper in faith and in effective witness to Jesus Christ. There has also been the fruit of many lay people and pastors being called by God into Holy Spirit-empowered ministry that is grounded in scripture and takes part in the ongoing work of Jesus Christ as prophet, priest and king.

The Rev. Cindy Strickler and Mrs. Rinda Dean (seated), with translators modeling inner healing prayer ministry at the Dunamis Project Equipping on the Healing Work of Jesus Christ for church leaders in Hong Kong. The teaching is biblical, theologically systematic and very practical. Because the teaching is basically biblical, and taught by teachers who are experienced in cooperating with and have a passion to follow the Holy Spirit, the Dunamis Project has been effective in many different cultural contexts.

The Rev. Tom Willcox was also one of those first filled with the Holy Spirit at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Dunamis event in 1991. Now he is an anointed teacher in the Dunamis Project and a leader in the Dunamis Fellowship.