Spiritual Mapping is historical research combined with an understanding and application of the redemptive purposes that aid in informed intercession for the city.

1st Published May 1, 2000

Revised 5/10/2006

Revised & Addendum

5/16/2022

 

Forward

As I come to the end of this study, I am gripped with fear and trembling because of my responsibility before the Lord and to His people in releasing this publication.  It is with this in mind that I submit this information to the Spiritual Elders of the city for prayer and meditation.  My heart’s cry is to offer these things in the spirit of true servant leadership.  I believe that our corporate response to the Lord in light of this study will spark renewed unity in His Body.  Let us band together, as the rightful co-heirs with Jesus, and reclaim OUR land for the Kingdom of God.

As always, I am respectfully open to your discernment and wisdom from above.

For the love of His Name,

Jose L. Bosque

May 2000

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but for the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” (Proverbs 25:2)

 

 

The Format for Spiritual Mapping a City

God’s original intentions for a land and the people of a particular area are often referred to as His redemptive purposes.  They are like a believer’s personal destiny but in a corporate setting.  This pamphlet is not intended to be an exhaustive study on the variety of spiritual issues that affect Jacksonville, but rather a brief outline of five key redemptive purposes that have impacted and continue to impact this city.  Each redemptive purpose outlined in this pamphlet is presented in the following manner:

General Facts or Secular History

Pertinent historical facts that serve as indicators of how the redemptive purpose may have manifested in Jacksonville’s past are often revealed in positive ways in the secular arena.  Sometimes, they can be seen in demonic strategies that actually mimic the plans of the Lord.  If Satan cannot accomplish his will this way, he may also use the power of the prevailing spirit for his own purpose. If the enemy can’t attack you from the outside, he will join you and attack you from the inside.

(For example, if “First” is a redemptive purpose you may find historical facts of

“First” for the good of a city and /or “First” for evil purposes.)

Christian History

As recorded in Christian sources, we see further validation of each redemptive purpose as recorded in Christian sources. Often in our zeal, we believe that our approach is extraordinary or special only to find that other believers had the same approach long before us. For a complete outline of sources used and further study, please contact us.

Strategy

With wisdom from above given to Fathers and those gifted with 5-fold ministry for the purpose of bringing the Church at large back to God’s foundational principles are keys revealed by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of redeeming the land and restoring its inhabitants back to their original godly purposes.  The implementation of these strategies will also release the land and its inhabitants from any curses created by broken covenants in the past.

Jacksonville Beginnings

The spiritual history of Jacksonville can be traced back to the continent of Europe. In the mid-16^th century, France was in the middle of a spiritual revolution as Catholics were coming into the knowledge of the truth of the scriptures. Originally called Huguons (people who sing in the streets), the Huguenots represented a radical departure from traditional, organized religion and instead focused on personal, intimate relationship with the Lord.

Spain, the world’s leading power, had previously landed in Florida but showed no interest in colonization. On May 1, 1562, Captain Jean Ribault arrived on the shores near Fort Caroline and claimed the land for France.  The ship crew was comprised mainly of Huguenots fleeing persecution. They came to the new land seeking religious liberty and a new beginning. Upon arrival they thanked God and sang to the Lord.  This event marked the first recorded Protestant prayer and worship on the U.S. mainland.

 

Fort Caroline 1562

 

 

Spiritual Mapping

Redemptive Purpose #1. First/Foundational/Pioneer

The general facts speak for themselves as to the call on this City to step out as a model to the United States and the world in Kingdom principles.

General Facts

• First colony established for religious freedom in what is now America.
• First record of the birth of a white child in what is now America.
• First record of a free black man to colonize what is now America.
• Oldest highway still in use in America – Kings Road.
• First battle between white men in what is now America.
• First Thanksgiving in what is now America (June 30, 1564). – First written language in all North America – Timucuan language – New route across the Atlantic to what is now America.
• First professional artist in America – drawing of Jacque La Moyne.
• Oldest written history of any city in America (Spanish and French Journals).
• The First Martyrs in America in the name of Christianity.
• First attempt at Christian Colonization of the United States of America May 1, 1562.
• First Protestant prayer and worship. They sang a psalm of thanksgiving and asked God’s blessing “on our enterprise that all might turn to His glory.”

 

Out of the almost 4,000 nautical miles of coastline of the eastern seaboard of the United States, this first ship of Protestants landed at the mouth of the St. Johns River (then called the River of May for the May 1 landing date).  Surely the winds of God blew the ship to its chosen location, making the “First Coast” more than the First Coast of Florida but also the First Coast where God, in His Sovereignty, chose to establish the First Christian settlement in the United States of America.

“First” General History

• Jacksonville’s native son, James Weldon Johnson (co-authored Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man with his brother Rosamond), composed “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the first national anthem for African Americans.

“Lift Every Voice and Sing”

• James Weldon Johnson

 

Lift every voice and sing

Till earth and heaven ring,

Ring with the harmonies of liberty;

Let our rejoicing rise

High as the listening skies,

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,

Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,

Bitter the chastening rod,

Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;

Yet with a steady beat,

Have not our weary feet

Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears have been watered,

We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,

Out form the gloomy past,

Till now we stand at last

Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,

God of our silent tears,

Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;

Thou who has by Thy might

Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, Our God, where we met Thee;

Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand.

True to our God,

True to our native land.

• Stanton became Florida’s First African American high school with James Weldon Johnson as its first principal.
• Around 1919 Jacksonville was the First city in America that owned its own light plant and water works.
• In the 1970s, there was no hotter city in America for homegrown musical talent than Jacksonville. The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackfoot,

Grinder Switch, .38 Special and Molly Hatchet, some of the biggest names of the Southern rock movement that dominated FM radio in the late ’70s, all have roots in Jacksonville.

“First” Christian History

• See page 265 in The Story of Liberty for more information about the history of the Huguenots.
• The most famous female evangelist of her time, Aimee Semple McPherson started her career in Jacksonville in 1917. The Canadian came to town with her husband, a traveling revivalist, but ended up captivating the town herself. “She was a real character,” says Jim Crooks, a professor of history at the University of North Florida. “She was very attractive and quite sensational.” Within just a few years, she had her own 5,000-member church in Los Angeles with its own radio station, a Bible school, and a ministry with which she frequently toured the United States, Canada and Australia. She became a household name.
• In the early spring of 1937, Billy Graham preached his first sermon in Palatka, a farming community in the outskirts of Jacksonville.
• After five marches starting in 1992, Jacksonville March for Jesus in 1998 was estimated at 30,000 marchers strong which placed first among all marches in the U.S that year.
• May 1999, Jacksonville Christians influenced the School board to initiate a plan to allow prayer in school graduations. This Duval Plan became a “First” and a model for the entire country.  Although it was initially attacked, it was finally upheld by the courts, releasing this freedom of worship and prayer to other areas of the United States.
• Some examples of musicians and worship leaders that were born in

Jacksonville and are leaders in forming new (First) styles of music, good and bad are:

Phill Driscoll – Mighty Horn Ministries, Leonard Jones – Morning Star Ministries

Kevin Prosch – 7^th Time Music

“First” Strategy

Participate again with the Holy Spirit to make the Lord’s Church in Jacksonville a first in the areas of prayer and worship. The Church at large should take advantage of this redemptive purpose and pioneer new ways of citywide (in mass and regional) worship and prayer rallies.

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Spiritual Mapping

Redemptive Purpose #2 Multicultural Unity

There has always been a struggle to maintain unity in Jacksonville, but it is one of its greatest redemptive purposes.

“Unity” General Facts

• There have been eighteen ethnic governmental changes in the history of the city including Indian, French, Spanish, British, Confederate, Union, and U.S.
• After WWI, Jacksonville was the state headquarters of the Realm of Florida’s Grand Dragon of the KKK.
• At the peak of its power, the local Klan laid siege to American Beach, a resort operated by and for African Americans on the ocean north of Atlantic Beach. Established in 1907, it boasted a restaurant, dance pavilion, bathhouses, and merry-go-round.  Following a pitched battle with the Klan, the resort was torched never to rise again
• In January 1968, after much governmental corruption in city politics, the city consolidates government services in Duval County to form the new Jacksonville called the “Bold New City of the South”. (The sad note is that while for governmental purposes, public works and city agencies were consolidated; as a people the city is still very much divided.)

“Unity” Christian History

– Prior to the civil war, the first Christian services were integrated, and all Christians worshipped together.

In 1866, after the civil war, the whites (the minority in the church) attempted to remove the African Americans throughout the courts.  However, the issue was not resolved through the court system and soon after, due to the on-going opposition, they divided.  The white members formed the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, and the African Americans kept the original name of Bethel.  This is how Christian segregation in Jacksonville began.  The African Americans were given approximately three-hundred dollars to build a new building due northwest of the original location.  The entire city has taken on that pattern.  The Northwest quadrant is black while upper class whites have moved to the extreme Southwest.  This pattern continues to this day, and churches have remained extremely segregated in the city as well as for citywide events.

  “Unity” Strategy

Bridges have been a sign of bridging the gap between parts of the city in the past.  One way that reconciliation could begin is if we performed a symbolic act (prophetic) on Main Street Bridge (the oldest bridge still standing).

Of course, a city permit would be required for this and the backing of the Mayor and the Sheriff. This could be done by inviting African Americans from every Church to line up at the north side of the bridge and have the believers from the white community to line up on the south side of the bridge until they meet in the middle.  Due to the fact that the Hispanics were the first to unleash the spirit of war and disunity – when the Spanish Catholics attacked and massacred the French Huguenots – we would have them (Hispanic Christians) meet both groups at the top of the bridge and pray healing into this age-old conflict.

Much lip service has been given in this area, but little has been done.

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Spiritual Mapping

Redemptive Purpose #3 Servant Leadership

The Church of Jacksonville has been called to be Fathers to the next generation and to be a model of true apostolic leadership to the World.

General Facts

Examples of the opposite spirit are:

• East Florida, as Metropolitan Jacksonville was then called, voted against becoming a state in the United States in 1837 but was outvoted by residents in the middle and western parts of Florida.
• Florida was the third state to withdraw from the Union and join Confederate states of America in 1861.

Christian History

– The insignia of the Huguenots is the Cross of Languedoc.  The twelve rounded points signify the ministry of the twelve apostles.

The Huguenot Cross

History

The Cross shown here which has been adopted as the insignia of The National Huguenot Society is both beautiful and symbolic. It is not, however, exclusive to the Society. It is being used more and more throughout the world as a sign among the descendants of the Huguenots. Many designs of the Cross have been worn by Huguenots throughout the years. This particular design was discovered by the Reverend Andrew Mailhet in the province of Languedoc, France, and dates from at least the eighteenth century. It has, therefore, become known as the Cross of Languedoc.

 

It is impossible to know exactly when the Huguenots adopted the Huguenot Cross as a symbol and confirmation of their faith. However, it is believed to have been a sign of recognition among the French Protestants as early as the 17th century. It was patterned after the Order of the Holy Spirit insignia worn by Henry IV of Navarre, who issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598 to protect Protestant freedoms. The Huguenot Society of South Africa provides the following information as to its history:

“The Huguenot cross was designed and first manufactured by a certain Mystre of Nîmes in 1688. It has as its predecessor the badge of the Hospitaler Knights of St John of Jerusalem also known as the Knights of Malta, a religious and Crusader order founded in Jerusalem in the 7th century AD. In 1308, they occupied the island of Rhodes after the collapse of the Crusader states, and in 1530, formed the order of the Knights of Malta after Rhodes was surrendered to the Ottoman Turks. They lived for 4 centuries on the island of Malta, hence the name Maltese Cross for the central part. (The Maltese Cross is generally associated with fire and is the symbol of protection of fire fighters in many countries).”

 

“Other predecessors of the Huguenot Cross include the so-called Languedoc Cross, and the order decoration of the Order of the Holy Spirit which Henry III established on December 31st, 1578.”

Significance and Meaning

The gold Cross of Languedoc, with the official ribbon of the Society which is white, edged with stripes of French blue and gold has become the official insignia of The National Huguenot Society worn by members. The Cross of Languedoc consists of four elements:

The insignia consists of an open four-petal Lily of France — reminiscent of the Mother Country of France — in which each petal radiates outward in the shape of a “V” to form a Maltese Cross. The four petals signify the Four Gospels. Each petal, or arm, has at its outside periphery two rounded points at the corners. These rounded points are regarded as signifying the Eight Beatitudes.

The four petals are joined together by four fleur-de-lis, also reminiscent of the Mother Country of France. Each fleur-de-lis has three petals. The twelve petals of the four fleur-de-lis signify the Twelve Apostles.

An open space in the shape of heart is formed between each fleur-de-lis and the arms of the two petals with which it is joined. This shape — a symbol of loyalty — suggests the seal of the great French Reformer, John Calvin.

A descending dove pendant representing the Saint Esprit or “Sainted Spirit” — the guide and counselor of the Church — is suspended from a ring of gold attached to the lower central petal.

 

Christian History Continued

• In 1596 a Hispanic priest by the name of Father Pareja successfully converted

Indians to the Gospel by translating parts of the Bible in the Timucuan language.  He also established eight area mission centers.  An Indian rebellion in 1597 was turned back by the converted Indians.  The main mission was called “San Juan del Puerto” which means “St. John’s of the Port” in English.  This mission thrived for about 70 years.

• An Episcopalian priest J.J. Daniel started a quarantine hospital, a care center in the San Marco area. He gave his life during a yellow fever epidemic in the City.
• The failure of the establishment of Fort Caroline as the first continuous settlement in the United States can be traced back to issues of fear, mistrust and deception between its leadership and the settlers.

–  Many churches in the area have been co-pastored by a father-son team until the father, who had pastored for some time, left the church to the son.  In many cases, these father-son teams have been greatly afflicted by the spirit of division resulting in split congregations because of the action of the sons.

Two major reasons for the prevalent influence of the spirit of division have been that:

1. the spiritual father originally birthed the church out of a division with another spiritual leader and is now seeing the same fruit in his own ministry, or,
2. the spiritual son has not been willing to submit and has become openly rebellious.

Some healthy examples of blood & relational spiritual fathering in Jacksonville are:

Dale Zink fathered Paul Zink

Cecil Wiggins fathered Gary Wiggins

Homer Lindsey Sr. fathered Homer Lindsey Jr.

Bob Gray fathered Tom Messer

Willie F. Faust Sr. fathered Leon Seymore, Lawrence Callahan, Rushie Dixon,  and C.D. Kinsey

Rudolph Mckissick Sr. fathered Rudolph Mckissick Jr.

Leonard Love & Fred Newbill (sons are also sons of pastors)

– In 1998 Rick Joyner, nationally known and recognized prophet, has said that God revealed to him the major principality over the city of Jacksonville as “Unfounded fear”.

 

Strategy

• Establish mentoring schools and training centers for the purpose of laying biblical foundations to foster true five-fold ministry. This would be an excellent way for the city fathers to take their “place at the gate”, instructing by word and example under the anointing of a true fathering spirit.
• Raise awareness by instructing our (spiritual) sons regarding the pervasive spirit of division and its roots. This will help them to fortify themselves against an attack of that nature and encourage them to remain where they are planted until they are released by the Lord and their spiritual father.
• Seek the Lord for opportunities to repent for past wrong doings and for being a tool (our participation as fathers or sons) for this spirit to continue and increase.
• There is no way for a spiritual son or daughter to learn true fathering, true leadership without a John 13 example who lives what he teaches before them. May the Lord raise up healthy son-producing fathers. See https://godsleader.com/healthy-fathering-gods-original-design-for-making-disciples/

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Spiritual Mapping

Redemptive Purpose #4. Sent to the Nations

Our history as a mission-sending city and as a supporter of global outreach and revival is a heritage that should compel us to go!

“Nations” General Facts

– The St. Johns River is one of the two rivers in the world whose waters flow north and out.  It was widely known that the Timucuan Indians of the First Coast had great trade networks reaching as far North as the Great lakes.

 “Nations” Christian History

In Jacksonville, both churches and para-church ministries have had a worldwide influence for years.  They have been involved in many different types of global ministry including training and sending missionaries, providing financial support for native pastors, constructing churches overseas, and holding international crusades.  Through her continued involvement in missions, the city of Jacksonville will be one of the cities used by the Lord to be a catalyst for world revival in the coming years.

Some of the local churches and ministries with large extensive missionary networks are:

New Life Christian Fellowship

New Covenant Fellowship

Evangel Temple A.O. G.

First Baptist Church

Florida Baptist Convention                                                                                                                  Calvary Ministries International

Logos College and Seminary

Luther Rice Seminary

Christ for the Nations

Trinity Baptist Church Independent

Joint Heirs Christian Fellowship

Hear O’ Israel Ministries

Revival Partners International

 

“Nations” Strategy

• Raise awareness about God’s heart for one Body in all the Nations
• Train indigenous (native) leaders and support teams
• Increase prayer and financial support for international projects
• Let Jacksonville’s citywide revival be a spark to ignite a flame in the heart of every believer in the city to “Go North and Go Out” and impart everything the Lord gives us to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Spiritual Mapping

Redemptive Purpose #5 A Place of Turning & New Beginnings

Jacksonville has been chosen by the Lord as a City where Christian servants and their families can get a fresh start “A New Beginning”.

“New Beginnings” General Facts

According to the Hilliard Air Traffic Controllers there is a vortex (a place of turning) in the airspace over Jacksonville for all planes going north or south of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.  It’s located between Craig Airfield and Mayport Naval Base.  This pivot point crosses Ft. Caroline near the Queens Harbor area. Almost dead on the original landing of the Huguenots.

• Over 3,000 Union P.O.W. re-settled in the area after the civil war.
• May of the enlisted Navy personnel never leave the area after their tour of duty is up. The Navy in Jacksonville has very high percentage of enlisted personnel returning to the city to retire.

Since the Hosting of the Super Bowl Jacksonville has become one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S.

The present Real Estate boom cannot be curtailed because of the size of buildable land and the influx of people to this last piece of affordable Florida.

“New Beginning” Christian History

• In recent years many ministries, under divine direction, have relocated to Jacksonville to establish their home base here.
• Key leaders have received prophecies about revival coming to the city and God sending them here for a fresh beginning.

“New Beginnings” Strategy

Maintain an open posture, while continuing to walk in wisdom and discernment, to welcome those God is sending to the city.

• Understand the calling of God for the city as a place of new beginnings and renewal.
• Ask the Lord for specific ways to line up our ministries with His Divine will.

What should a Prayer Ministry do with this Information?

1. Read the information and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal strategic ways to pray for the First Coast and the Body of Christ here.
2. Discuss in a group Format the 5 Redemptive Purposes of the City. Have you seen or recognized other examples since 2000?

• #1 First/Foundational/Pioneer
• #2 Multicultural Unity
• #3 Servant Leadership
• #4 Sent to the Nations
• #5 A Place of Turning & New Beginnings

3. Go beyond prayer & worship and see what steps the Holy Spirit would give you to walk out a visible manifestation of Christ in the City. (Forgiveness, Love, Reconciliation, Restoration, Giving, Unity, Humility, and others)

 

4. Recognize the city elders by what they carry not by how many they attract and keep them in your daily prayer.

 

5. Daily lift up prayers of Thanksgiving for the privilege to intercede for the Lord’s purposes in this city.

Addendum May 2022

It’s been 22 years since the first publishing of this information. I have watched year after year as the Lord has confirmed what He gave us. No doubt the Lord gave us the correct purposes in our spiritual mapping, but at the time we didn’t understand that they were just a correct diagnosis. We sorely missed the solution which went beyond prayer and Christian events. We failed to see the love the Lord created among those who came together to pray. We failed to put Christ first, even and although He was always on our lips, He didn’t rule in our hearts. May the Lord raise up a generation that will bring His Love to the First Coast. May that Love birth the unity that makes the nations take notice. “They will know they are His Disciples by their Love”

 

References & Training:

What you have in your hands is the product of years of study and prayer by many Jacksonville Christian Leaders. The project to create this Redemptive Prayer Pamphlet (Spiritual Mapping) was began and stopped several times. The reason was always the same, extreme spiritual warfare and attacks on the participating leaders and their families. Jose was left as the “Last of the Mohicans” and understanding the value of this information asked the Lord for the grace and protection to finish it and get it in the hands of the Lord’s people in Jacksonville. The project was finished with the prayer and intercession of the only two International Houses of Prayer in 1998, Kansas City under Mike Bickle and IHOP-Jax under Jose Bosque. It was first published on May 1, 2000.

 

Jose L. Bosque received training on Spiritual mapping from Harvest Evangelism International Institute during an international conference in Mar de Plata, Argentina, South America in October 1996. His instructor was Rick Marshall a pioneer of spiritual mapping and the author of the Spiritual Mapping the City of London England.

 

Spiritual Mapping Resources:

The Sentinel Group

Lynwood, WA

Harvest Evangelism Inc.

San Jose, CA

CitiReach International

Colorado Springs, CO

Fort Caroline National Memorial

U.S. Dept. of National Park Service

Books & Articles

Florida Times Union Articles as follows:

– Top Stories “In the Spotlight”

A River of History 2/4/99

• Celebrate 2000

Portraits of our Past 2/20/99

Books: at the public library

-Old Hickory’s Town

• The Story of Liberty

For further information please send your email to JaxChristian1@ gmail.com

We hope that you have been blessed by this information and that it helps you to pray for the “First Coast”.  We have printed these pamphlets by faith, trusting that the Lord will touch your heart to freely give as you have received.  You can send your tax-deductible donation to Revival Partners International at:

Revival Partners International

1030 Baisden Rd.

Jacksonville, FL  32218

904-434-0144 Cell

904-928-9000 Office