“One of the most extraordinary characteristics of the harvest will be the youthfulness of the laborers. Teenagers will be the backbone of the revival, and preteens will be some of its greatest evangelists. Young children will cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, and divert raging floods with a word.” (Rick Joyner - MorningStar)

The Vision

The vision of Generation Benjamin is something that God has guarded in His heart for many years, but recently has decided to reveal it to men so that they could understand and prepare themselves for what He is going to do with and through this generation.

More than 10 years ago, Pr. Donald Shaffer came to Brazil with his family to serve the Lord with Project AmaZon (PAZ), involving himself with the “Igreja da PAZ” (PAZ Church) in Santarém as one of it’s pastors and establishing a Bible Institute, MTI (Missions Training Institution).

One of the first areas in which he worked was with the youth. For years he was the college and careers pastor, dealing with youth from ages 17-30. (He is currently back in the United States working with INLC). Yet, his heart continues to burn for them.

Six years after Pr. Donald’s arrival in Brazil, Jeff Fromholz and his family arrived; also desiring to serve the Lord. God first put these two men together to plant a church in the village of “Alter do Chão” (near Santarém).

Everything in their lives was going well, but God had something more for them to do together. As a result of three prophetic words that were spoken over the lives of Pr. Jeff and his wife, the direction of their lives and ministry began to change. The emphasis of these three prophetic words was “Youth! Youth! Youth!” And this caught the attention of Pr. Donald. After almost two years working together, they didn’t know of the common passion burning in their hearts.

On a certain occasion, when Pr. Donald was invited to minister at a youth camp in the city of Boa Vista (Roraima), he, after speaking with Pr. Jeff, decided to invite him to go along.
The two simply thought that they were going to minister, like they had done other times before, to the youth. They had no idea of what God was preparing for them, the real reason for their trip, the vision that God had planned to reveal to them.

On their first day in Boa Vista, Pr. Donald and Pr. Jeff started to speak of some of their opinions and ideas that they had in relation to working with the youth. Pr. Jeff started to share with Pr. Donald some of the things that God had spoken to him about how to impact and win this generation; things that until that moment he had guarded in his heart for fear that no one would understand. So, Pr. Jeff began to share these things, but every time that he would start to share an idea, Pr. Donald would interrupt him and finish the thought, saying exactly what was in the heart of Pr. Jeff. Without saying anything, Pr. Jeff just looked at Pr. Donald in unbelief of what was happening. Then, Pr. Donald began to explain to Pr. Jeff that God had given him the same vision almost eight years before while he was still working with the college and careers age group. But that God had told him that it wasn’t for him to do, but for his “Solomon.” At which point, Pr. Donald, full of emotion, looked at Pr. Jeff and said, “You are my Solomon.”

They then spent the next few days seeking the Lord, through the scriptures and through prayer, to try and understand what it was that He wanted from them and for them to do. During one of these times, the Lord spoke to the heart of Pr. Donald the name “Benjamin.” The two of them then began to search out everything in relation to Benjamin in the Bible, and with each passage, the light became brighter. They began to understand, through the person and life of Benjamin, what God has and wants for this generation; this chosen, loved and anointed generation: The Generation Benjamin.


What is it?

It is a move of God. A youth movement that doesn’t emphasize any church or denomination. A movement in which all youth can identify and be united, with the purpose of knowing God in a very intimate way and with the intention of impacting and winning this generation for Christ.


Goals

1 - To give an identity to this generation.

An identity so that they can understand their reason for being and know what their purpose in this life is. “You have to know who you are in order to understand what it is that you should do.”

2 - To raise up and train/equip this generation.
To raise up this generation, in the sense of, to help them recognize who they are and to assume the calling that God has on their lives. A call to win this generation, this country and the world for Christ. Then training and preparing them in the local church – a blessing for the Body of Christ.

3 - To create a new sound and style of praise and worship.
A youthful sound with which this generation can identify – the sound of the Generation Benjamin.


Covering

GB is a movement under the covering of Luz às Nações (Light to the Nations - www.luzasnacoes.com ) in Volta Redonda - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil, led by head pastor Eduardo Nascimento.


The Pastor

Jeff and Lisa Fromholz are north-american missionaries to the country of Brazil and the parents of Taylor (10), Tianna (8) and Jordan (6). They have a burning desire in their hearts to see the youth of the nation of Brazil, as well as the rest of the world, turning their hearts and eyes towards Jesus and becoming true worshippers of Him.

Jeff and Lisa currently live and hold an associate pastor position with a church in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro as well as their full time role as leaders of the Generation Benjamin movement. This past year saw them travelling all over Brazil and doing over 40 conferences as well as writing books and creating material for youth leaders.

Having spent the last six years in pastoral positions, three as the head pastors and one as the youth pastors, and now continuing on in Volta Redonda, they feel that they are able to bring a balanced message to the church. A message that understands not only the energy and potential of a generation that is special to God, but also the logistical side of how a church works and how things are seen from the leadership side, thus bringing a nice blend of youth revival with practical ways in which they can serve their local church.

Jeff speaks at various youth camps and conferences throughout Brazil and in the United States. He has recently authored his fifth, and soon to be published, book, "No Sex: Por que esperar?" (No Sex: Why wait?). He is also responsible for the websites www.geracaobenjamim.com, www.gbinterligados.com and www.generationbenjamin.com


Ministry Times

Jeff and Lisa have a unique ability to bring a very hard message of holiness and taking up your cross daily in a way that the youth cannot only understand it, but embrace it. Fresh ideas, a common language and a shared passion have become the very things that have identified and set apart this ministry and added to it's effectiveness.

There are two things that are going to set this generation apart: Passion and Power.

The passion that this generation is going to have for the Lord is, in and of itself, something that is going to cause people to turn their faces toward God.

This generation is going to experiment and walk in the manifest presence of the Lord. They are going to know their God and His power. We are going to see this generation walking and acting in an anointing that is going to be frightening to many. We are going to see them doing things that we never imagined or thought possible. Sick, blind, deaf and paralytics are all going to be healed; even the dead are going to be raised. Signs and wonders are going to be something considered normal. These are the characteristics of the Generation Benjamin.