A great weekend in God’s presence under the tent!
I was so blessed to have a chance to minister in Harbor Beach, Michigan for a series of tent meetings. The Lead Pastor of Lighthouse Assembly of God is Brian Thomas and his wife, Colleen. Brittany and I served with them on the mission field many years ago. His church has a desire to make an impact in their town, which is right alongside beautiful Lake Huron. They decided to purchase a tent and hold a series of revival-style meetings at a local park. Pastor Brian invited me to come and preach three of the services under the tent.
In addition to the services, the church put on a recreational program for children the week leading up to the tent meetings. Many children came out to do crafts, play sports and hear a Bible story. We had the opportunity to be a part of one of those days, and it was a blast to see the kids having such a great time. Many of the children who came out did not go to the church, so Lighthouse was able to connect with their families.
After dinner before the first service on Friday night, I decided to walk across the street to a gas station to buy some cough drops. There was a man in the station that stood out to me, but I made my purchase and began to head back across the street. This man was in his car at the gas pump, and I felt the Holy Spirit directing me to go back and speak with him. I introduced myself and shared a little of my testimony. He opened up to me and shared some of his story and told me he was a Muslim. I asked if I could pray with him, and he was very receptive, and said it was ok if I prayed in Jesus’ name. It was definitely a divine encounter. I’m not sure what the Lord was doing in this man’s life, but I was glad that I was obedient to His leading.
Something unique about this trip was that I had recently purchased an acoustic guitar after not playing for three years. Each night that I preached, I sang a song with my daughters. To minister together as a family was a special blessing. That first night, I spoke a message about the power of Jesus’ blood. When I gave the invitation, a few hands went up of people wanting to pray to receive Christ or rededicate their lives to Him. Praise the Lord! Brian shared with us the next day that their ten year old grandson, who was visiting from out of town, was very different the next day. When they asked him what had changed, he told them that he had prayed to receive Christ the night before. It was such a privilege to watch Brian and Colleen baptize their grandson in water that Sunday morning in the lake.
On Saturday, the church put on a kids carnival at the tent, with inflatables, cotton candy, popcorn and all kinds of games. Many from the community came out to take part in it. That night, we had our second service and I spoke about keeping the fire of God alive in our hearts. At the altar time, many came forward to cry out to the Lord for a fresh love and passion for Him and His kingdom. There was a sweet presence of the Lord that night.
Sunday morning, Pastor Brian shared a message about water baptism. We had a great time of worship and afterwards, a few people were water baptized. Water baptisms are one of my favorite things to watch. Seeing a believer who wants to make a public declaration of their faith going under the water, symbolic of dying to their sin, and being raised up into new life, is such a powerful experience.
That evening we had our final service together. I shared a message that the Lord had laid on my heart about developing a lifestyle of Pentecost. I shared about the purpose behind the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, beyond just speaking in tongues. It was meant to give us the power to witness and was not meant to be contained within the four walls of the church. Several came forward to pray and seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit and at least two people spoke in tongues that night. Others came forward to be prayed for that the Lord would stir up their hearts for more of the Holy Spirit.
It was a blessing to reconnect with the Thomas family, as well as meet so many precious believers from their church. I’m excited to see how the Lord works at Lighthouse AG as they continue to get outside the four walls and connect with the community. We stayed in the home of a precious family and their backyard was right against Lake Huron. I told them that of all the places that I’ve prayer walked around the world, that was one of the most beautiful and peaceful places to meet with God.
I’m so grateful for what the Lord accomplished in Michigan this July! A special thank you to everyone who is praying and supporting Make Way Ministries. Lives are being touched through your prayers and financial giving. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to our ministry, please visit our Donate Page.
