In my internship here at Revival Ministries International I am the Personal Assistant to the Dean of the River Bible Institute/River School of Worship, Dr. Todd Holmes. What I am learning in my internship that really stands out to me is small things that people wouldn’t think to much of. Like how to use computer programs like Word or Excel! These are practical office things, but learning these things will give me the ability to do these things myself when I am in ministry on my own.
By doing it myself I will save my ministers thousands of dollars. I will not have to hire outside people and pay them a ton of money that could have been used for something much more important. If one knows how to do graphic arts and video editing they would be able to make their clips the way you want them to look. With the ability to do more things in house rather to go outside of house to have things done is a source of good stewardship even though you will have to go out of house to be accountable with some things. If you can save money in your own life, why not do the same for your ministry! With God’s money!
I have had the privilege of serving in Studio B for a while and it has been so amazing for me to watch what God is doing in the lives of each child who walks through the front door. We have been targeting the inner city and reaching out to them over the course of the summer. Many of the kids who have been coming for a couple months are not the same individuals that first came to us; they have had a complete change in their hearts and attitudes.
One girl in particular, has been coming for at least five months and I can testify that she is totally changed. The change takes place as we minister the Word of God to them and teach them what is right and wrong, what Jesus expects of them. Many if not all the kids have received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of other tongues. I love to see their eager, happy little faces each and know that I am making a difference for eternity. I could be helping the next great evangelist sit quietly in his seat! I am so excited to be working in an area where we are seeing lives changed for the glory of God!!
I have watched your show for now the third week in a row…I was touched by and convicted by the messages on thankfulness…this weeks shows with the Pastor and his wife on the life of their daughter Kelly, and their loss seven years ago this Christmas touched me as I am going through a season of loss NOW myself…when calling for prayer I rededicated my life to Christ on December 21, and now on December 23rd have received the gift of tongues…Interestingly enough I felt led to Google (LOL) my first words in that tongue and they led me to a website that speaks of a career path that I have been led to consider…teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL)…I wont go into detail, but had first been introduced to this idea on my first trip outside the country back in May of this year…God seemed to be tugging at my heart to go into missions work then, as many years ago…perhaps this was God’s way of confirming and guiding me as we prayed this very night, December 23rd for His guidance…and so now I have it…when we ask for bread God does not give us a stone! God is doing something in my life, taking away the old, and giving me new dreams and ambitions to reach for, beauty for ashes, and I believe life to the full that I have been missing for some time… God bless you for your ministry…and for your prayers!!!
Camp meeting was amazing. Every word that came out of the preachers’ mouths was right from God. The move of the Holy Spirit was so strong and everyone was getting something. Pastors later said that each other were preaching the same message. I found this amazing to God could work so amazing. The Children Church was also in the meetings and a lot of the kids got hit with the power of God. The whole camp meeting was well in due time. The fire of God not only hit the young people but it hit the leaders as well. I was so blessed. There was also the working of the gifts of the spirit.
I was amazed how this is still very alive today and how willing people are to be used by God. There was a call put out on people to tell people about Christ. Not just to tell them about church but to bring them. Not just to run and tell someone and go away but to really show it to Christ that there is something more than just sitting in a church service. The fire of God showed up and moved mightily. The messages were so good talking about how we need to get closer to God and it talked to my heart. It was so powerful. I myself got wrecked by God.
He really opened my eyes to things. He loves so much and wants to poor out his love on everyone. He showed, I believe, everyone so much and how he loves us all. It was a might move of God. It was a light touch of God. A lot of people I know got hit and things torn off of them by God. The people that came to speak challenged the church to wake up and run with all we had to Christ.
When I first came down to the River for school people told me about soul winning and I had already experienced going out on the streets before back home when Pastor Josh Radford went to my church and introduced the soul winning script to my church. I went out but I was very scared and I didn’t really get to talk to many people.
At the end of the day I maybe prayed with 2 people. We went out a couple of times that week but every time we went out I got the same results. When school started and they told us that we had to go out soul winning I was so scared of doing it because I didn’t know how to go out but I knew I had to go out. One day Pastor Todd made an announcement about the Great Awakening Tour in Washington D.C. and I was sitting next to Flo and Estefani and they both suggested to me that I should go, so I thought alright, if God provides a way for me to go, I’ll go.
The same day someone came up to me and told me that he had some reward points in Southwest Airlines that he wasn’t going to use and that I could use them to go to Washington. When I was in Washington they sent us out to the street to soul win and was terrified, I was in a city that I had never been before, doing something I was comfortable doing anyway but I was determined to do it, and do good at it and overcome my fear. One day I was out in the streets and I got beat up by 6 Muslim guys and God protected me through the whole thing.
I didn’t feel one punch or kick. When I got up after they ran away I felt fire all over my body in the spots of where they had hit me and God told me that I was doing a good job and that sometimes I would have go through some persecution for doing His will. So that made me lose my fear of soul winning and at the end of the G.A.T. I ended up leading over 300 people to the Lord.
The last few weeks I had been soul winning in the streets, and then I told Pastor Daniel that I would help John Hawkins III with Belmont Heights. He said that he would get back to me, and that he would let me know as to what I would do. I waited for a few days, and he said he wanted to have a meeting with me concerning an outreach. I was shock to find out that he wanted me to head-up an outreach at Robles Park.
He told me to get a team together, and put some sermons together. I had only a few days of preparation until I launched out on Weds at the Park. The first meeting I had at Robles, I didn’t really know how it would turn out or how many people would show up. We could advertise or do anything in that arena, because HUD was inspecting the neighborhood. I was expecting no more than 5 people at max.
The first meeting, Wes and I took a ride down to Robles Park. We discussed some issues that could arise concerning my team, order, and John’s success points at Belmont. We arrived there and nobody was there and nothing. Wes asked me where I wanted to setup. I pointed to a shaded area around the park next to the baseball field.
We got setup and only to find out that people started to come when we started to worship. Wow! We had service right across from people doing drugs and a main street. God started sending people are way with Steve leading worship along with Gerardy. We had revival in the middle of the worst neighborhoods in Tampa. We had 15 decisions for Christ! Second meeting we had 21 decisions. The last meeting we had 27 decisions. This week we are expecting 300 decisions for Christ!
Soul winning is such a wonderful experience for me. I am always surprised and how the Holy Spirit works in me when I lead people to the Lord with our soul winning script. I am amazed at how the Holy Spirit gives me such a boldness to ask the famous question “Has anyone told you that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”. It amazes me when I do precede with the script the responses I get from people. I particularly remember this one time I presented the question to a group of people sitting on their porch.
They looked like family or neighbor and they were all talking together and smoking. I knew that if I was going to get their attention I had to be extremely loud and bold. So I remember that I walked up to them with a smile and quickly got their attention by introducing myself to them and proceeding with the script as I looked at each one of them while I was talking I could see such a reference for God come on them. Some bowed their head as they prayed and some put out their cigarette.
I knew the Holy Spirit was at work and they were really listening to what was being said to them. They all proceeded to say the pray and even encouraged someone who had come out of the house at the end to do the same and she gave her life to Christ. I get so excited when I meet people and God uses me to present Him. I consider it such an honor to represent Him and to show His love towards others. Soul winning has changed my life because now I feel I have purpose and that I am actually making a difference in the world for Christ.
When our team went to Wal-Mart last Monday I was able to speak to this woman who had her head covered. She appeared Arab and had her head covered. She was sitting on a curb with a cart as waiting for someone as I approached her toward the middle of the parking lot.
I took the opportunity to speak with her and went through the gospel script with her. Sometimes I don’t actually read it word for word to the person because I have it memorized (although many times it is very helpful to read it together with person ministering to), but I felt it was important this time for the woman to read it with me as there may have been a misunderstanding with potentially not knowing perfect English (language barrier), etc.
She understood better than I thought however. This woman didn’t know where she was going when she died so I went over the verses with her and told her I am about to pray for her. The woman didn’t feel comfortable with me laying my hand on her shoulder and I could sense that so I removed my hand from touching her as I was about to pray. I took the initiative and prayed a prayer of blessing/protection over her. She ended up saying the prayer of salvation and said thank you before I left.
I reminded her that to never run from God but to Him because HIs arms are open wide and mercies never every morning. As I was leaving i prayed for the Lord to mark her, to even start to give her dreams and visions in the night, to MARK HER. I pray that from time to time as I leave after praying for people.
Before coming to the River at Tampa Bay church, I never knew and understood the importance of soul winning as I do now. I always thought people came to Christ at the altar in a church not outside the church. I also never knew I had the responsibility as a born again believer to win the lost.
That responsibility I thought was relegated only to the pastor. I would invite people to church but I never lead them to Christ. So when I came to the River and was introduced to Soul winning it was something new for me. I have been a Christian for many years but never attended a church where such importance and emphasis was put on winning the lost; and it was everyone’s responsibility.
I remember the first day I went soul winning it was on a Saturday and I knocked on several doors before I was able to lead someone to Christ. But when I did something took place inside of me. I felt satisfied. I was finally doing what the Lord had commanded. “Go ye therefore in all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.(NKJV Mark 16:15) That was a mandate not a request. Every time I go out I experience something different.
I find people searching for something to fill the void, many of them don’t know it’s Jesus until you introduce Him to them. I also find many of them know it Jesus but they are glad that someone cared enough to tell them. One evening after work I stopped at a gas station to get some gas and a young lady pulled up to the pump next to me. She had a child in the car and asks if I could keep an eye on him while she goes in to pay for the gas. I obliged.
When she came out I approached her and ask her if anyone told her God loves her and has a wonderful plan for her life? She began to weep and said the prayer. We talked for about 30 minutes after as she poured out her heart to me. That young lady and I spoke several times after and I was able to encourage her in the Lord. The gospel is indeed good news.
Soul winning has changed my life; I just want to share a couple things that have happened during soul winning this past year while I have been at RBI. First of all God opened up a door in my home town for me to teach a group of Spanish people how to use the gospel soul winning script.
It’s one thing to lead someone to Jesus but it’s totally different having the opportunity to teach someone to lay up eternal treasure & watching them go out for the first time and lead people to Christ, that is the best sight to behold. The group I was going out on the streets with was so excited to learn about soul winning, the group kept on growing every week. That’s just one of the many incredible things that God has done through soul winning.
Now something that even came as a surprise to me, which it shouldn’t have because this is what Jesus is all about, the Lord is so good. I knocked on a door at the apartments where we were soul winning but no one answered so I waited for a while, as I was walking away my soul winning partner thankfully noticed the person had opened there door, so I ran back over to him & started sharing about Jesus.
It only took a few seconds before the guy let me know he was deaf, so I proceeded to write on a paper asking if I could pray for him, his response was a nod for yes. As I began to pray for his ears this boldness came over me like I never felt before, I knew God was going to open that mans ears. I did what I could imagine Jesus doing being led by the Holy Spirit I stuck my fingers in his ears and commanded them to be open in the name of JESUS, God not willing that his word would return him void did just as I prayed and opened the guys deaf ear, the man was so excited immediately he pointed to his other ear signifying for me to pray for that one as well.
The LORD opened his other ear too. Thank you JESUS, so after that he was able to hear me read him the script and he signed the whole prayer back to me. As my soul winning partner and I walked away we were just turning the corner as we heard the man start to yell in side because of what Jesus had done. That totally blew me away; you never know what the LORD is going to use you for when you go out to soul win. Leading people to Christ will shake this world if we all get out there and allow the LORD to use us!!!