A sense of sadness filled my heart, as I stood in the baggage claim line at the Rochester International Airport. Countless memories filled my head of the week that just past. I had just returned from the Reinhard Bonnke, School of Evangelism in Orlando, FL.
A part of me longed to be in the dusty fields of Africa preaching the gospel to the masses, witnessing the cripples walking, the blind seeing and the deaf hearing. I had just spent a week with modern day apostles and witnessed things, I've never seen before. I saw the power of God operate like never before through ordinary men, with an immovable faith.
Can you imagine seeing fields of 3 million people crying out to God? Can you imagine 100,000 people crying out to God for Salvation in one single meeting, at an alter call? Can you imagine the fear of people suffocating because of the multitude of people pressing in to hear the gospel preached? I couldn't imagine, but I did witness it at the School of Evangelism through a multitude of film footage, photos, etc.
I was so excited, but when I hit that Rochester Airport, a sense of sadness came over me. I was returning to small town America where I see little hunger for God, sin running rampant, empty churches and full bar rooms. I prayed in that moment, "Lord, what could you do with this little town? Send me to the plentiful harvest fields, like I see in Africa!" Then, the voice of the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, "You're already here." I said, "But Lord, these people are opposed to God? This has been known as the "preacher killer region." There are millions of souls crying out for the gospel in India and Africa, why not send me there Lord?" He said, "The harvest is plentiful right where I've planted you! People are suffering, families are breaking, addiction and bondage have ravished many lives. This is a plentiful harvest!"
Fast Forward...It was a normal Saturday, as I drove back and forth on my riding lawn mower. As I was mowing, I began to pray. I began to ask the Lord where I should have our first gospel crusade? I was eager to preach the gospel and the fire of God was burning in my heart. Then, the Lord spoke to me...He said, "They're not coming to "church events," you'll have to go to their events." I pondered what He could have meant, when I remembered the Little Falls Canal Days! I felt a pounding in my heart, which is usually the confirmation that the Lord has spoken. The following Monday, I began to inquire about how to get in and how we could participate in this event.
The director was very friendly and welcomed my call. I said, I'd like to provide a free cookout to the community, free bounce houses, live music and I'd like to encourage the community. He did not hesitate to agree. He said, "I'll give you Burke Park, if you want." With no hesitation, I said, "Count us in!"
In the meantime, I received a call from a friend. He said, "Hey, the Ilion Days Committee is wondering if you guys could do anything at this years festival?" Of course, I was very intrigued, as I knew what the Lord said about not doing "church events." I went to the meeting and before I knew it, we were signed up to host bounce houses, face painting, free popcorn, ice pops, nail painting, live worship and offered an opportunity to preach the gospel. Again, we quickly agreed.
One small problem, these events cost from $500 - $1000. We had the Ilion Days covered in our ministry account, so we just started with what we had. We held the Ilion Days event and it was our first crusade in a non-church event. It went very well and we learned a lot. Six people made decisions to follow Christ that day and the Presence of God stamped Central Plaza in Ilion, NY. When we finished, you could have heard a pin drop in the event. The peace of God was all over.
Fast Forward...Christina Vedder has been amazing at organizing and making sure we have what we need for these events. Well, the Canal Days was fast approaching and we only had $200 in our ministry fund. However, we did have freeze pops, popcorn, etc left from the Ilion Days. Shamefully, I called the director of the Canal Days and said, "Hey, we have lots of popcorn, ice pops and stuff left over from our last event, is it ok if we just keep it simple and not do the hot dogs and hamburgers?" He said, "Well, I would be totally fine with that, but I've already printed the flyers, that state you would provide them." I responded, "Okay, no problem, we'll carry on with the original plan." However, when I hit end on my cell phone, I whispered, "Lord, you have to move and provide for this event."
In our early estimates we came to a figure of about $800 that we would need to pull the event off. Again, we only had $200 in the account and now we were two weeks away from the event. As many of you know, we don't ask people for money, raise support or get donors. Simply, we pray and ask God for everything. (To date, He's never not come through)
I walked up the stairs for our Monday night prayer meeting where we pray for various things. A dear friend walked up to me and handed me an envelope. He said, "Here, the Lord said to give this to you." I had a feeling it was money, but wasn't sure how much. I didn't open the envelope, but simply slipped it into my bible. To my surprise....I opened the envelope after the prayer meeting to $600. Exactly, what we needed for the crusade! Other money began to come in through the mail and different donations and by the time we were done we had well over the $800 for our Little Falls, NY Gospel Crusade! The Lord knew we would need extra....
When we arrived at 3 pm, I noticed that there was a big party tent set up and there were 8-10 picnic tables as well. The picnic tables weren't there the previous day when I was there in the park to pray for the event. The city of Little Falls set these items up for our event! :) Again, the Lord knew every need. We set up our sound system, our bounce houses, warmers for the food, etc. All of the sudden, we started tripping our power strips. Uh oh...now what? Christina responded quickly and within 30 minutes, a couple of the city maintenance workers were on site plugging us into separate circuits. Even that was such a blessing!
There's one thing I've learned over the years of doing ministry in the public...the Lord cares more about the gospel being preached than I do. He's got every detail!
The event was underway...people were coming and going, passing through the park, some were setting up lawn chairs to settle in. Shaun and Jenna began to worship the Lord and usher us into the Presence of the Lord! You could sense the Holy Spirit all around that park! It was glorious! Then, I began to preach the gospel. I preached about the prodigal son and the mercy and love of God. I shared my own story of being a prodigal. The Holy Spirit was moving and convicting of sin. You could see it all over peoples faces. Then, the alter call....I called people to repentance and had a heavy sense that the Lord was speaking to people, but no one came when I called. I heard the Lord say, "Be still." I waited and waited for an awkward couple of minutes, when a gentlemen stepped forward. It wasn't long after a second man came. I still waited...more people started coming. It wasn't long after when 20-30 people stood before me, some weeping, hugging and crying out to the Lord. Salvation invaded that park!
It was a glorious moment! These people had no idea that they would come to this park and meet a Savior that day. They came for a community cookout, some bounce houses, etc. However, they were the dearest people and God had a different plan for them. That's why he provided everything, that's why he sent our team there and that's why he drew them there.
Next stop...Martinsville, VA. Please pray for us if you think of us.
God bless you!
Jimmy
