I was converted while attending my church, but while I was out of town. I more recently had an experience that I will describe as a Holy Ghost Baptism (sorry, no tongues, but I'm not waging war against tongue-talkers or anything). Immediately after the experience, the first person I talked to was a lady at church that I knew who had been praying for God to move on our church (holy wind, holy fire, etc). Not a coincidence.
I ended up starting to meet her for prayer every week. We have since started a weekly prayer meeting at church. There have been some things that have happened that are more than coincidences. A teen-ager at church who just makes me want to shout with joy because he is such a God seeker, was converted the same day as me, at possibly the same time, but we didn't know each other, and were not even in the same state. Just thinking about everything that happened to bring us into a conversation where we figured this out, and both of us having a hunger for revival, as well as for the Word, and for great preachers, just floors me.
Our evangelism minister, I think, was brought to our church to help the purposes of God. He is heavily Calvanist, but we are a Methodist church. He has no problem with preaching damnation, but I hadn't heard the subject brought up in a sermon in our church from the time I began to go there as a kid, until he preached. The fact that he is even there makes no logical sense, but makes sense when you push everything aside and focus on God.
There are some at our church that insist that revival is coming to us. I think and hope they are right. It seems that God has given me the resources and the desire to seek revival in a very short time. And so I will, regardless of whether or not the church is revived.
I experienced personal revival, but what an awesome thing it would be to see a community outpouring of the Spirit of God. I need more Him, and always will. I just hope more of us recognize this, but also act on it. _________________ Hal Bachman
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