Spread the Fire - January 2008 - (Page 17)

We didn’t feel like we were anybody special, but we were honored to pray for them. The publicity caused word to spread to other hungry pastors. Pastors who were hungry to see renewal happen in their churches wanted to be infected with the wonderfully contagious virus. I was excited to hear that because being a pastor myself, I had known that feeling of dryness and “business as usual”. I loved the River of God, and I loved pastors and always enjoy helping to fan the flames of renewal in other congregations both here and in our outreaches to Mexico. What a joy to watch the River flowing in these Mexican churches! We now offer an annual free medical clinic for the poor in Acuna where we bring teams of people to run tests and give away medical supplies that are shipped in advance. We have started doing medical clinics in Mexico, bringing medicines and medical supplies to the poor. By God’s grace, we’ve been able to save many lives of Mexicans who cannot afford medical care. And we’ve also seen the Lord bring people out of wheelchairs and miraculously open the ears of the deaf and the eyes of the blind. Last year we helped plant a church in Mexico called “Casa de Padre” (The Father’s House), in the city of Acuna. to conference after conference, hungry to soak up as much as I could. And although I loved the larger meetings, the part I looked forward to the most was going to John Arnott’s workshops. I thought to myself, “I want our church to be in the River forever. If that is going to happen, I need to learn how to be a good steward of this wonderful move of God. I need to learn how to embrace the Father’s blessing, and never let go. I attended workshop after workshop. Often I went away with some new pearl of wisdom that helped me steward this revival. A WORD TO PASTORS… As we blessed them, the Lord blessed our church with a new facility twice the size of our previous one. We were able to sell our first building for four and a half times what we paid for it! We bought a larger building out on a main drag and have since remodeled it. Our Friday night “River Meetings” are now in their seventh year and are still full of life. In my travels, I have met and spoken to many pastors who love renewal yet many of their churches are struggling and having difficulty. I wonder if one cause may be focusing on renewal itself, rather than allowing the revival to strengthen the spiritual life of the church. We still need to teach the flock, counsel them, help them develop healthy relationships and evangelize those who don’t yet know Jesus. I believe that God wants revival to make a local church grow strong in the community where He has planted it. When renewal first swept over our church, The Father’s House, I decided to make myself a fixture at TACF conferences. I felt I had a lot to learn, so I went GRATITUDE TO GOD I am extremely grateful to God for renewing my ministry and our church. I am also grateful to John and Carol Arnott for their faithfulness and kindness. The first time John ministered in our church, he drove all day to get here and then led a five-hour meeting. Afterward he said, I want to see your new building so I can pray over it. I will never forget his fatherly concern. I believe that when a local church responds properly to revival, it will cause the local church to survive and thrive. I am now staring at my 30th year in Christian leadership, and my 20th year in full-time ministry. I am more passionate than ever and more excited to see the River flow wherever I go! I pray that you, too, will jump in and not look back. There is no better way to live and minister. S TF - 1 7

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Spread the Fire - January 2008

Spread the Fire - January 2008 Contents In the River Thriving Between Times of Revival How the River Changed Our Church Taking Our Revival Temperature Therefore, Go... International Itinerary Resource Center Catalogue Upcoming Events Visitor Information

Spread the Fire - January 2008

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