SPEAKING MINISTRY: THE RIVER CHURCH OF KANSAS CITY- FEB 2023
God is moving in Kansas City!
We had a powerful weekend at The River Church of Kansas City. The Lead Pastor of the church. Bruce Craig, and I go back many years. He and his family planted The River about a year ago, and have experienced many miracles of provision from the Lord. They now have a healthy, growing congregation who are hungry for the presence of God.
I flew out to Kansas City and conducted services on a Friday and Saturday for men. My first session was on the topic of purity. I felt compelled to share my testimony and then spoke about life lessons from the story of King Solomon. During the worship, the Lord laid it on my heart that one of the men who was attending was dealing with suicidal thoughts. When I asked the men if any of them were willing to acknowledge that so we could pray, no one responded. I found out after the service that a young man who came up to the altar for prayer at the end of the service had actually planned to kill himself within a set amount of days. He wasn’t in the room when I shared what God had put on my heart, but the Lord drew him to the church supernaturally and I believe he experienced a touch from the Lord that night. I gave a call for repentance and a fresh touch from God, and many of the men came forward, crying out to the Lord passionately.
The next morning, I spoke on the topic of holiness. I challenged the men to examine their lives for doors that are open to the spirit of the world. We gathered together to pray for one another in small groups and many opened up to receive prayer for their own personal challenges. After the session, many of the men expressed their gratitude for a message that boldly called them to live a life separated from this world. One of the older gentleman said, “I want to thank you for stepping on my toes. I need it.” It was wonderful to be with a group of men who are sensitive to the Lord and open to His leading.
On Sunday morning, I preached a message about the blood of Jesus. It was a wonderful service and the presence of the Lord was evident. At the end, I gave a call to salvation/ rededication. One young man boldly came forward and we prayed for a fresh start in his life. During the altar time, I prayed for many people for a variety of things. One young man came forward to seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In just a few moments after beginning to pray, he began to speak in tongues. I was told he had been seeking the baptism for some time. God is so good!
That evening, I preached a message about protecting the fire of God in our lives. I talked about the importance of staying on fire in a spiritual atmosphere that wants to put the fire out. At the end, kids and adults both came forward for prayer and even young children were touched by the Holy Spirit. We had a wonderful time of worship and seeking God’s face, and the presence of God was heavy in that place. A young man who came out to the service that night admitted to being backslidden and prayed to recommit his life to Christ. God is still in the business of saving souls, and heaven rejoices when one sinner comes home.
So many things happened during the weekend in Kansas City. It is such a blessing to see God touch lives. It is always refreshing to minister in an atmosphere where people are hungry for the presence of God. And He is always faithful to show up when we give Him a chance to do so! Thank you to everyone who is praying and supporting Make Way Ministries. Heaven is being impacted and God is on the move!
DUSTIN RENZ is the President of Make Way Ministries, a non-profit organization that exists to see the world changed one Christian at a time. He has a passion to see the Body of Christ find rich intimacy in their relationship with Jesus and step out in faith to share the Gospel with the world around them. He is the author of Pile of Masks: Exposing Christian Hypocrisy and Something Better. He resides in Dayton, Ohio with his wife and three daughters.
