Seeds of Revival

Revival has been something that has burned in my heart since I was a child. It began for me, when at the age of 9, my parents took me to a Rodney Howard Browne service at a local church in our region. My dad was a pastor so the whole family sitting together in a service was not something that happened very often. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but what transpired would mark me for the rest of my life.

Following the service, the speaker began praying over individuals. People were going to the front to pursue more of the Holy Spirit, people were falling out under the power of God and you could sense the presence of the Lord in the room in a very tangible way. Our family remained all in the pew we had been sitting in, pursuing the Lord in maybe a slightly more reserved way. At about that time, I felt the pew shake behind me. I looked over to see what had happened, and my mom had been touched by the power of the Holy Spirit and landed pretty hard on the pew. No one had touched her and she was unharmed from the fall, but I remember at that moment realizing that God was not just someone that we talked about and learned about, but He was a person that wanted to be experienced by those of us who would be courageous enough to give Him room.

A few years later, I had the opportunity to travel on a bus with a bunch of teenagers and several hungry adults from Minnesota all the way to Florida to be a part of the move of God that was taking place at Brownsville Assembly of God. Again, I was stunned from the prayer meetings to the worship to the electric altar calls, where people flooded the altars to be saved. The presence of the Lord was thick. I know He is everywhere present, but there was an intensity and nearness in these places that was different than the times I had encountered God at home.

At the same time, I observed as teenagers around me seemed unaware or disinterested about what was happening. It flabberghasted me that one could be in a room where God was moving in such a fashion and actually be bored. It didn't have that affect on me. What it did do was plant a seed and stir up a hunger. Once you experience the presence of the Lord in such a tangible way, you are ruined for anything different.

As I grew and the Lord called me into full-time ministry, the desire of my heart became to be a person that would host His presence in such a pure way, to give Him a resting place, that when others encountered me, they would also encounter Him. The goal was for me to not detract from what He wanted to do in any way. Not to wow people with songs or my message, but that the hunger that I have for the Lord would be a catalyst for hunger in a generation. That like Paul, I would not come with "persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power." (I Cor.2:4)

As my husband and I have followed the leading of the Lord in life and ministry, we have been sobered by the fact that so many leaders, even among charismatic/Pentecostal circles like those we grew up in, are hesitant to welcome the demonstration of the Spirit and power for fear that it might cause contention within the body. Those fears are not completely unfounded, as many churches who move forward to pursue more of a move of the Spirit often fall into conflict and tension that cripple the church. However, it is our conviction that NOT pursuing a space where we can experience the presence and power of the Spirit is an even bigger detriment to the Body of Christ.

Therefore, God has placed it on our hearts to take the seeds of revival that have been cultivated in our own hearts and come alongside leaders and churches that desire to see a greater move the Spirit in their lives, and encourage them to plant their own seeds of hunger in healthy ways. Because people host the presence of the Lord, we must be a healthy people in pursuit of the presence. Our mandate is to coach/consult both church leaders and congregations alike, helping them to prepare the soil of their hearts and their relationships, so that when the Spirit comes in power, there is nothing of the flesh in us that the enemy could exploit in our lives.

We believe we are living in some of the most exciting times! God is moving in a mighty way and preparing His bride for His arrival. It is our prayer and desire that the Lord would come back for a bride who has made herself ready in pursuit of Him and nothing else. May He find in us a resting place that He might draw all people unto Himself!