Pastor's Letters

About Renewal Weekends At Their Church

IF YOU ARE A PASTOR AND HAVE EXPERIENCEDTHE CHURCH RENEWAL JOURNEY AT YOUR CHURCH, PLEASE SEND A LETTER AFTER YOUR WEEKEND.

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NORTHSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH

1100 EAST CORWALLIS DRIVE

GREENSBORO, NC 27405

5/6/08

Dear team member,

We are so grateful for your faithfulness and participation in our Lay Renewal weekend. It was just what our church family needed and your contribution to each service will be remembered in times to come. I have nothing but positive comments from our members about what God did that weekend, To God be the glory!

Our Sunday night evaluation service was beyond belief. The service lasted for two hours and forty five minutes. We had adults, youth and children lined up to share what God had done in their life. One of our members, that I have been trying to get her to share her testimony for almost a year, was eager to share her excitement as to what God did in her life and the life of her family that weekend.

Our people are already talking about continuing with the second phase of the lay renewal weekend this fall. I truly believe that this is the turning point for the life and direction of our church. We are so blessed to have folks like you who are ready and willing to be used of God in carrying out His kingdom work at any cost.

Thanks again for your faithfulness to God, your willingness to serve and for having the desire to lead people to Christ and a deeper walk with God.

May God richly bless you and continue to use you in His work and His purpose wherever His call may lead.

For the Master’s glory,

Rev. Thomas G. Brown

Senior Pastor

(LRW April 25-27, 2008)

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Lay Renewal Weekend on May 4-6, 2007

Kingsway Baptist: A church that wants the King's Way.
1999 Long Crescent Rd.
Bristol, VA 24201

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.  Philemon 1:7

Dear servants of the Master, you have truly refreshed this body of believers through your willingness to be useful instruments in the hands of the Jewish Carpenter we follow. God used you to help us rediscover the image of God in one another. For whatever reason we had lost sight of the wonderful people within our church family. Through your genuine and simple strategy of sharing testimony and facilitating probing questions we have caught sight of Jesus in one of the most obvious places, a place that somehow we were not looking: within His other children.

 

This discovery was more than evident Sunday night. Nearly everyone present shared testimony of how God gave them a new and rekindled love for the church family, and ultimately for the Lord Himself. This went on close to three hours, along with many tears and great joy. Trace Bratton, one of the members shared that at first he was hesitant about coming. He said, “I asked my wife if we were going to have a Revival. She said, “We are going to have a Lay Renewal Weekend.” “What is that. We need a Revival.” Then he smiled and continued. “We have had a Revival.” Trace went on to explain, “People yelled across the sanctuary a person's specific name followed by the precious words, “I love you,” I once read that a true sign of genuine Revival is not seeing people come down the aisle but across the aisle. When draws us close to Him, He moves us closer to one another.

 

I have always disliked the label Revival. After all, how can a Revival be planned or scheduled? Only God can send Revival. We cannot coerce God to show up. All we can do is cultivate our hearts in such a way that He is welcome. God used you to be tillers, instruments that prepared the soil of hearts. We will always be grateful and we covet your prayers that we will continue to seek His face and move closer now that we have been refreshed.

May God Richly Bless You,

Rev. Todd M. Freeman, Pastor
Kingsway Baptist Church

 

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LAY RENEWAL WEEKEND

PRINCE AV BAPTIST CHURCH
HANNIBAL MISSOURI======================================

 

Dear Pastor/Church Leader,

 

I was a bit hesitant to host a LWR at our church since it seems that we really didn’t need one. We are a growing congregation that has a pretty solid grasp on what we ought to be and where we are headed. However, after God led us to purse it, I found out that it is so much more than could possibly be described (and still have a hard time describing it!).

 

God used the team and LWR to solidify our convictions, confirm our current path and challenge some things that needed to be reconsidered. Our people are more focused than ever to reach out, send out and give ALL of themselves to the work of God’s Kingdom. We already have families interested in serving as future team leaders. As well, we have grown even closer in unity and scheduled a Lay Ministry Weekend before this one was complete!

 

Sunday night went very well. We had 87 in attendance! There were about 15-20 that gave testimonies and the service lasted about an hour and a half. I think the main thing that God accomplished was two-fold, we have a stronger fellowship through our understanding/ knowledge of one another and we also have a greater unity regarding who we are and where we are going. As well, many people were convicted on a personal level about sin, calling and purpose. I already have one family that wants to serve on future LRWs!

 

We had 74 participants that were there the entire weekend and 24 more that were partial.  Our attendance on Sunday a.m. was 170.

 

Thanks for everything, we look forward to working with everyone again in the Fall, and the changes that God will make in the meantime!!

 

 

For whatever need you may have as a congregation, LWR is flexible enough, and the team sensitive enough to allow God to meet you where you are.  Without hesitation, I not only recommend that you participate, but would exhort you to seek the Lord seriously about this awesome opportunity.  No doubt, the concept, the mission and the actual event are blessed by God’s anointing.

 

Pastor Jeff Brown

Prince Avenue Baptist Church

 

Lay Ministry Evaluation Summary
November 16, 2006
Weekend Dates November 3-5, 2006
 
 
Our weekend of Lay Ministry was a continuation of what God is continuing to accomplish among His people at Welcome Home Baptist Church.  Many of our people know that God wants to use them to work through their lives but have never been discipled how to do those things.  This weekend allowed us to discover that God has given us a gift that to serve His kingdom.  As the weekend developed I began to see individuals begin to recognize how God has been using them during their daily lives and didn’t even realize it.  As we meet together in small groups others could share with those in their groups what they seen God doing in their lives and it brought understand to others that God is working in my life.
 
We had about 45 average attendances during the weekend.  Our Sunday morning service was the climax to the weekend.  We had leaders on the altar seeking God’s face for the ministry of the church and their service.  We had friends praying with one another for God to use them.  We had families embracing and encouraging one another.  We had people recommitting their lives to Christ.  We had one individual to join our church by transfer of letter. 
 
That worship experience carried over into our Sunday evening evaluation service.  We had 35 in attendance for our evaluation service.  Fifteen of those shared what the weekend meant to them.  The evaluation part lasted about hour and ten minutes.  Individual shared how they seen themselves and how they were serving was making a difference outside the church.  Many shared how they had discovered what their gifts where.  Some shared how they were using their talents but they wanted them to become gifts that glorified God. Some shared how their survey reveal gifts they didn’t expect to have.  They perceived their gift to be different.  We took time during the evaluation to pray for some of the visiting team members who were seeking God’s face for things in their lives.  We were able to help some identify what their gifts were and then affirm them in those gifts.  Our evaluation time transitions into affirming others of their gifts.  The affirming service lasted about 30 minutes.
 
This is the summary I shared with the church about my prespective on the weekend.  We come to a realization of how God has given us gifts to serve His kingdom.  To many times our focus is about our church and not about the kingdom.  Many times when we do things it is about will those individuals come to our church.  I tried to encourage our people that serving God with our gifts is much larger than our church. 
 
As we use our gifts through the church and between Sunday’s the difference we make in people’s lives  is were the success comes in.  We should be looking at spiritual growth within our congregation and  how using our gifts maybe expanding the kingdom that we may never know about.  Those are the areas that produces real quality in the life of a church.  If our desire is on making a difference in the kingdom we will see numerical growth.  But that shouldn’t be the motivation behind our service.  It should be using our gifts in our daily lives may change the life of others for eternity.  It may go unnoticed on earth but it will never be unnoticed by God.  I concluded my comments by sharing with them the song Ray Bolts.  One day as we walk the streets of gold one may come and say thank you for giving to the Lord, I now have a life that was changed.
 
Allow me to share a huge thank you to the team and  their commitment to serve the Lord and  willingness to travel to move  God’s people closer to Him.  You all will be family to us and we are delighted that you can call us home.  God bless you as you serve Christ.
 
In Christ Love,
Jeff Collins (PJ)
Pastor

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July 14-16, 2006

Marvin Gobble 
Pastor, Zoar Baptist Church
Shelby, NC
 
What a weekend!  The Lay Renewal at Zoar far exceeded our expectations as God revealed himself in a mighty way and the Holy Spirit convicted us to confess our sins, strengthen our prayer lives, totally surrender our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, renew our commitment to the church, express our love for each other, and willingly our their faith. 
 
Thank you again for being obedient to God and available to share your testimony in word and song with fellow Christians at Zoar.  It truly was a blessing and an inspiration as evidenced by the fact that nine of our church members expressed an interest in participating as team members in future church renewal weekends at other churches. Your excitement and zeal for God and his work is truly contagious.We trust you also received a blessing from worshiping with us.
 
As you know, the weekend culminated with an evaluation service on Sunday night which, as promised, was the highlight of the weekend.  The moving of the Holy Spirit was evident as, for several hours, a steady flow of members emotionally expressed how the weekend had impacted their lives.  It seemed everyone felt the weekend was "just for them" as God provided exactly what each person needed to bring renewal in different areas of their lives. 
 
Here are a few examples of how some of our members described the impact of the weekend:
The membership found the coffees and small group sharing times especially meaningful as a way of growing closer by getting to know each other better and sharing burdens and prayer needs.  Over 80% of the evaluation forms stressed the importance of continuing with small groups in some fashion.
 
 
Future discipleship training at Zoar will emphasize small groups meeting in homes for study and mutual support.
 
It was evident over the past year or so that Lay Renewal was a part of God's plan for Zoar Baptist and that this was God's timing for such an event.
 
 
There are numerous examples of how God intervened to get us to this point, provided guidance during the planning phase, sent exactly the right team members to stay in exactly the right homes, and linked just the right people together to get done what he wanted to get done in our midst. 
 
None of this would have been possible without the power of prayer.  The 24-hour prayer vigil may be the single most important season of prayer Zoar has ever experienced. 
 
While the Lay Renewal weekend is now behind us, I view this as only a beginning.  The vast majority of the evaluation form respondents indicated an interest in continuing the journey.  Zoar will be in prayer about the timing of the next leg of the journey, the Lay Ministry weekend.  In the meantime, now that we better understand what Lay Renewal is all about, we will be much in prayer for the entire team and for other churches as they are led to experience what Zoar  experienced last weekend. 
 
Thanks again and may God continue to prosper each of you.
 
I have personally experienced 'times of refreshing' and renewal as the Holy Spirit moved in my life.  Also, it is an honor to serve as pastor of a "spiritually renewed" church.  I am seeing people act and hearing them say things I could have only imagined before the renewal event.  We have been blessed, and I am sure our nine volunteers will be a blessing to other congregations. 
 
I thank you, the Lay Renewal Team Members, Ron Rogers, and the eighty-three members of Zoar who surrendered to God to make this weekend possible.
 
Your Friend In Christ,
Dr. Marvin Gobble
 
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Baptist Temple Church
Reidsville, NC
July 7-9, 2006
 
The Start of Something Great:
A Report on the Lay Renewal Weekend
 
 
What did folks have to say about the Lay Renewal Weekend July 7-9th?
 
One member said, "I don't have adequate words. My life has been changed. The Holy Spirit has been so very real. God's presence has been real. Our church relationships are closer. My prayer life will have a new revival. I have been richly blessed."
 
Another member said, "The prayer vigil was a great way to focus on God & prepare the way for His Spirit. The coffees were an amazing time of fellowship."
 
Many, many folks remarked that the small group times had meant a great deal to them and that they had felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church in a new and fresh way.
 
One young person said, "This weekend was awesome, fun and glorifying. It touched my heart and has changed me so much. It helped me realize how powerful and almighty the Lord is. This was a great experience and would recommend it to anyone, whether they are Christians or not, because you can feel the Lord with you and near you. "
 
 
A word I have heard many folks use to describe the weekend was, "awesome." I know I felt that sense of awe and wonder at all that God did in our church. There were three requests for baptism during the weekend. On Sunday morning, Madison Angle came forward to make her public profession of faith and request baptism. Jane Stanley came requesting to be re-baptized due to circumstances of her first baptism (she wanted to make sure).
 
Then, at the Sunday night evaluation service, Lyle was about to close the service in song, when Lynn Carter came down the aisle. "Wait," I said to Lyle, "There is one more testimony." Lynn came and shared how God had used the sharing time at coffee held at Charles and Bernice Phillip's home to convict her that it was time for her to be baptized! Lynn was saved years ago, but had never taken the step of Baptism by Emerson. There were tears of joy and lots of hugs as a result of Lynn's decision.
 
 
At the Sunday night evaluation service there were so many testimonies about what the weekend had meant to the church family that we could never share them all in the newsletter. The service lasted three hours and fifteen minutes. That should give you an idea about how many testimonies were shared and how full our hearts were.
 
There were seasons of tears, laughter and joy! During the service, Dan Haberer, Chairman of the Spiritual Growth Group, handed out "Lay Renewal Commitment and Evaluation Forms" to everyone present. Seventy-three completed forms were turned in. Next week I want to share with you the "measurable" results revealed by the tabulation of those forms. You won't want to miss it!
 
 
I hope you enjoyed the first half of my report last week on the Lay Renewal Weekend held in July. I closed my article explaining that Dan Haberer, Chairman of the Spiritual Growth Group, had given everyone present at the Sunday night Evaluation Service an opportunity to evaluate the weekend in writing. Here are some of the "measurable" results revealed by the tabulation of those forms.

There were also many wonderful comments made on the forms turned in at the evaluation service, but let me share just a few.

 
Sincerely, Pastor Fox
 
 
 
 
 
The Start of Something Great:
A Report on the Lay Renewal Weekend (Part #2)

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From: Lawson Horton  lhorton43@earthlink.net
May 13, 2006 10:30 PM
 
Subject: LRW Associational Weekend

 

This past weekend has been a marvelous experience for the six churches that participated. There have been no negatives. The Pastors have been elated with the results.  People in these churches are talking to neighbors, fellow employees and others they see in shopping centers that may not have been involved in this awesome event. We had people saved, one of our own answered the call to the ministry. There were large crowds at each church session. The Pastors all felt that Sunday night was well worth the effort.  We have set May 30 to have a rally. The word is getting around in town.

 

This has helped the churches that participated and I pray that other churches will be encouraged to have a Renewal soon. I have prayed that renewal would come to our churches, and then we will see the results of our ministry in this area. There is much immaturity in churches everywhere but I am most familiar with the ones here.

 

This is a start of what I pray will be a great revival where people are saved, added to the church, and become responsible followers of God. I am so glad that I made the contact with Bob Foy and he said an Associational Lay Renewal Weekend could be conducted. He had already had this experience in other Associations. I guess I was in the dark. I do not mind being in the dark on this matter. That way I know this was a God send meeting for our Association. I did not get the idea from someone else and thought I would try and see if it would work here. I have learned if we talk to God, He will answer according to His way and in His time.  When God is leading the way it will always be right. I just thank God for allowing us to have this meeting. I know those who participated are greatly blessed. If we do what is expected of us, God will do His. 

I am planning on keeping in touch with the pastors of the six churches in this Weekend I am going to insist that we meet as often as once a month for prayer, renewal, and encouragement. I do not want the moving of God's Spirit to stop now. We must lean on each other and draw our sister churches into the same frame of mind. It is the best idea God has allowed me to have in my 14 years as an Associational Missionary and 26 as a Pastor, although I have had many blessings in both positions previously. This is one of my spiritual highlights.

 

Thanks to all who came, sent by God to our churches. The Lord always knows what is best. Everyone of the church Pastors felt that our Lord put together the exact visiting team for their church. We will seek God and see where He takes us from this point. May God continue to bless the ministry of Lay Renewal.  If I can ever help promote this movement, please let me know.

 

In the Savior's name, your friend, 

Lawson Horton

Director of Missions
Brushy Mountain Baptit Association

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Moravian Falls Baptist Church
1940 Moravian Falls Rd
Moravian Falls, NC 28654
Phone 336 667-7879

May 10, 2006

Dear Friends in Christ,

Thank you so much for the Lay Renewal experience at our church May 5-7, 2006. Thank you so very much for your patience with us as we prepared for it. You told us from the outset that God already knew what was going to take place and who would come, where they would stay and what would be said and done. We listened. We even repeated it among ourselves, but often times, as we do with our own personal relationship with God, we don't obey. We wrestled with our preparations and bugged you even more. Yet, it came together just as you said it would.  Oh, did it ever come together!   We had a blessed, joyful time of praise. Oh, the value of experience. It truly is the best teacher. 

God bless you and God bless Lay Renewal. It was the most riveting and spiritually uplifting time in our lives. The church was so moved. We know that we can journey on, sharing the same joy and giving God the praise, that we did last weekend. 

WE GIVE GOD ALL THE PRAISE.  The Lay Renewal Weekend helped us to know our fellow members better and to better appreciate life. Life is a journey that takes us in different directions yet we cross paths along the way. We all have common strengths and weakness. May we be able to bear one another's burdens, and share each other's joys as we journey along. May we be committed to seeking God's Guidance: allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to us, AWAKENING US to the abundant life God wants all us to have. We "have" not, because we "ask" not. Whatever you led us in, (music, Adult session, Children, youth) we thank you for it. Keep us in your prayers.

Sunday night evaluation started at 6:00pm. GOD  WAS IN THE BUILDING. YOU COULD FEEL THE HOLY SPIRIT MOVING.  Time went by in a flash. Attendance was good despite the weather. Lawson, our General Chairperson, led the session. He opened of course with prayer and comments. Many prayer requests were made. We had several prayers at the alter. We sang praises. We completed evaluation forms. Lawson recognized Group Leaders and those who helped with preparations for the weekend.  Many people gave testimonials about what Lay Renewal meant to them.

The response was tremendous. One by one they came; opening their hearts and sharing their feelings in such a moving way. Some who are always in church but never have much to say before came forward. Lay Renewal evokes so much emotions tha it seems fitting to say that the "tears" washed and cleansed our souls and revealed our human side. We truly became brothers and sisters in Christ those few hours Sunday night. We had coffee and cake afterward in the fellowship hall. We were together better than three hours. Some stayed until almost 11:00pm.  The journey has just begun.  We claim God's promise that if we just obey the Holy Spirit, we can live the abundant life here in the Moravian Falls community. That's what He wants for us. That's what we need to want for ourselves.

Lawson mentioned plans for future prayer session. Many want to continue the "cottage prayer meeting" and coffees. Others spoke of the youth and how they were considering giving up their time with the youth and now it seems like "not so fast, don't quote me on that" type thing. I think I heard a "let me pray about it some more" somewhere in the testimonial. God used Adam and Lori to help with that decision. That's called  RENEWAL. Anyway, I think we are on to something and pray that we will obey that voice which speaks to our hearts and tells us where we are and what it is we need to do to have spiritual growth in our church. Someone once said "for every problem, there is a promise, and for every promise, there is a provision."  We claim the promise. Someone also said "the journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step." Our church has stepped out on the JOURNEY.  Pray for us as we "Journey On."  I think God for all of you visiting team members and for our church attendance. Thank you to those who came and those who were unable to come, but kept us in your prayers.

Thanking God for you and your ministry,

Rev Jay Johnson, Pastor 

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Lay Renewal Renews Cairo Baptist Church
 
“I have experienced a huge change in my spiritual life, but I still can’t explain Lay Renewal. It is something you just have to experience for yourself.” This was one of the responses to the recent Church Lay Renewal at Cairo Baptist Church, April 21-23, 2006.
 
“There is a tremendous renewal in our church. People are finally beginning to actually pray for each other. Hearts and lives have been changed!” says Rev. John Davidson, pastor of Cairo Baptist Church. “Lay Renewal Weekend is one of the most life-changing weekends in a church’s life! We did 40 Days of Purpose and people really responded. We did a Solemn Assembly and people responded as well, but Church Lay Renewal Weekend has transformed our church’s heart. Our Sunday evening testimony service went on for over three hours. God dealt with all of us and people testified about how God had changed them.”
 
G.B. Hambrick from Pocahontas, Arkansas led the Lay Renewal Team. Members came from as far away as Dallas, Texas and Rogers, Arkansas. None of the on the team were ministers. All were lay people who came to share with the people of Cairo Baptist Church about what God had done in their lives. The Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday morning services were filled with lay persons giving their testimonies, not about their salvation, but what God had done in their lives during times of failure and success.
 
Tom Pearson, one of the Renewal Teams members, told the Sunday morning congregation, “God never uses a self-made man in the Bible, and I had been a self-made man and God couldn’t use me until I finally surrendered to Him. Now, I’m God’s man.” Beverly McCulloch, from Potosi, Missouri, shared about sharing God’s Word. She said, “Using the Parable of the Sower, God scattered the seed to all types of ground. What we do today, is we carry one little seed around with us, looking for just the right ground to plant it. Most of the time we never plant it anywhere! That’s not how God does it. He scattered the seed, the Good News, everywhere and we should do that too! I was a school teacher who scattered seed all the time at school. You too can scatter seed anywhere; school, work or anywhere.”
 
“I was skeptical about this Lay Renewal Weekend,” says Leon Creed, Sunday School Director at Cairo Baptist Church, “In fact, on Friday night I went to something else that I thought was important. On Saturday, I came to Lay Renewal and I realized that what I went to on Friday night wasn’t important at all. I am so thankful I came to Lay Renewal Weekend.”
 
In the weeks that have followed, God has continued to move as we have had several more professions of faith. Cairo Baptist is now working on developing small group ministries in the church.
 
Church Lay Renewal Weekend is a ministry of the North American Mission Board and is available to any church who wants to experience Church Lay Renewal Weekend. To be a Lay Renewal member, you cannot be a minister or professional staff person. You must be a lay person with a desire to serve others and be willing to go to other churches and share what Jesus Christ has done in your life.
 
If you are interested in having a Church Lay Renewal Weekend, you can contact Danny Decker at the Missouri Baptist Convention or Bob Foy at the North American Mission Board. You can also go the Church Lay Renewal website: churchrenewaljourney.net.
 
Members of Cairo Baptist Church will also make themselves available to talk to any church about doing Lay Renewal Weekend.
 
John Davidson
Cairo Baptist Church
P.O. Box 138
Cairo, MO.  65239
660-263-3960
cairobaptist@mcmsys.com

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First Baptist Church                                        
Cross City, Florida
352-498-5107
 
April 10,  2006  
 
Dear Friends:
 
Two weeks have passed since your team led our church in the Lay Renewal Weekend. I have to tell you  that the experience was everything that was predicted and more. Our Deacons met last Sunday to discuss the Renewal and indicated their amazement at how quickly people felt comfortable opening their lives to share hurts and struggles. Everyone acknowledged that they discovered important things about people they had known for many years.  We were all made aware of the need for small group fellowships. We are now proceeding to get these established.
 
Our Sunday night sharing time began at 6:00pm and continued until 9:30pm. After
We dismissed the services, many people continued to talk with each other until well after 10pm. Eighty eight evaluation forms were completed. Here are a few of the highlights.
 
            76 indicated a desire to schedule the next step of the Renewal Journey.
            39 were willing to open their homes for small group meeting.
            48 wanted to be a part of a small group 13 week meeting.
            42 desire t learn to share their faith.
            58 desired a personal quiet time with the Lord each day.
 
The personal comment section of the evaluation forms have provided some wonderful
Inspirational reading. Let me share just a few excerpts for your encouragement.
 

These testimonies reveal that God did an awesome work in many lives. I want to say thanks to you for making yourself available to God for the advancement of His Kingdom. It is evident that He touched, loved, and encouraged through you during this very special weekend at First Baptist Church. Continue to pray for us as we prepare to take the next step on the Renewal Journey.

In Jesus Wonderful Name,  

Brother Mike

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Pafftown Baptist Church
4336 Transou Road
P.O.Box 27
Pfafftown, NC 27040
 
November 14, 2005         
 
Dear Team,
 
Allow me to express a warm and genuine thank you for the offerings of your time and energy toward our Lay Renewal Weekend. Through you God did an awesome work! Your surrender to the purposes of God rather than you own personal agenda had great impact. Our people could not argue with your life. Your faith, hope and love, shared through your individual stories, encouraged the investigation of our own.
 
The Sunday evening service continued for three hours, bu the results of what happened will remain long into the future. It was a spiritual earthquake. The sanctuary shook as believers young and old confessed and cried. The stirring took us collectively into a new experience of faith. This new experience was a renewal of our togetherness in Christ. We had been pieces and parts before, but now we experienced a collective wholeness. The sweetness of this togetherness came through both the silent moments as well as the tear-filled moments. It was as if God took a can opener and took off our religious lids and revealed the contents of our souls. We locked arms and hearts and God brought healing to our body of faith.
 
The part you played was invaluable. Thank you so much for your willingness to be a servant during this time. We covet your prayers as we begin nurturing this renewed togetherness. In Christ we are whole. Renewal helped us to see this.  May God continue to bless your offerings in the days ahead through Lay Renewal.
 
Sincerely,
Craig W. Bowman, D. Min.
Pastor
 
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Mount Olive Baptist Church
5043 Mount Olive Church Road
Pittsboro, NC 27312
336 376-3788
 
October 25, 2005
 
Dear Lay Renewal Team,
           
On behalf of Mt. Olive Baptist Church, we wish to express our deepest gratitude for your ministry through the emphasis of Lay Renewal Weekend. The entire weekend was filled with a genuine interest by all who participated.
 
Your team gave much to making the weekend such a success.  We appreciate your faithfulness to God and your willingness to participate in this ministry to His churches.  From the testimonies and the music to the small groups, we could feel God's presence everywhere. We thank you for your team work and showing us how important Lay
Renewal was to each team member. You embraced and exemplified unity in the mist of diversity – coming from all walks of life and experiences in your faith journey. The team exuded such a joy and effortlessness in each person's willingness to do whatever was needed!  We were particularly moved by your prayers for one another.   What an example and an encouragement to us leaders and to our lay people.
 
Our Sunday night Evaluation and Commitment service was a very honest moving service.  Most of the church family who attended the sessions throughout the weekend were present along with a few who only came on Sunday morning.   We had approximately 20 Testimonies given during the 2 ½ hours. Here are some of the things that were shared:
Following is a summary of the commitments made on the evaluation form:
Our prayer for you is that you continue in your service to our Lord and as Paul said to the Colossians: "We ask god to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives. An we ask him to  make you wise with spiritual wisdom.  Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others.  All the while, you will learn to know God better and better."  (Colossians 1:9b-10 NLT).
 
Gratefully yours,
Shelby L. Stephens, Pastor
Gwen Norwood, Coordinator
Sandi Brady, Minister of Youth/Children
 
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Parkwood Baptist Church
Concord, NC
 
October 21 – 23, 2005

Results of LRW Awakening 

Words can’t describe how God’s Spirit swept through our congregation this weekend.  Hearts were changed, people were saved, and commitments were made to surrender to Christ’s Lordship in lives across the congregation.  People who didn’t know each other found common bonds as God placed us in small groups together.  Language barriers between the Deaf and the hearing disappeared as we met and sought God together.  People with special needs were embraced.  On Sunday night, one mentally handicapped man who rarely talks at all came forward to say “God died on the cross for me, and I was prayed for by my family and friends.”

When people returned to the sanctuary after dinner on Saturday evening, families filled the alter.  No invitation or opening remarks were necessary.  God was working in lives in such an awesome way, entire families began gathering together on their knees before the invitation to do so was given.   People who attended alone joined with others who were alone to make a family or joined with other families.  It was an inspiring sight.
 
A young father saw his young son bring a friend to the alter to pray and later said, “I realized I hadn’t even invited my friends to the alter.”  As he found his friends in the congregation, a group of 15 to 20 young men huddled at the alter in prayer.  And a little child shall lead them…. 
 
Sunday night was the highlight of the weekend as people lined up to share what the week-end meant to them.  People said time after time, “Standing in front of people to talk is something I do not do.”  But, they couldn’t hold back what God had done in their lives.  They talked about how seeing young men huddle together crying and praying touched their hearts; how young children had come to know Christ, how miraculously being placed with other people with hurts similar to their broke down barriers that brought them to their knees together. 
 
One man talked about his initial disappointment that he and his wife were in different small groups, but out of that group he suddenly realized he was not spending time with his wife, and the group prayed with and for him.  He was later broken when the aunt and uncle he had prayed for came to the alter for prayer for the first time ever.  What would our world be like if it happened like this everyday - deacons and pastors, seniors and youth, deaf and hearing all praying together at the alter.  Awesome!
 
 
The mother of one young boy who was saved gave a charge to the youth of the church telling them they were role models for her young children; that her young sons are excited to be around them and they pray for them at night.  She challenged them to live lives of influence for younger children and promised to pray for each of them by name every day.
 
One person said they realized when the lay renewal team arrived at the coffee home that while we had been praying for the LRW visiting team, they had been praying for us.  She said, “I’m not usually very emotional, but when the Lord squeezes your heart, out come tears.”  She said an incident almost kept her from attending, but the fellowship was so sweet that she shared her problem and the group prayed.  She talked about how wonderful the Lord is and her promise to serve Him and keep this spark alive in our church.
 
Jeremiah 29:11 was quoted:  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord."
 
One woman reported how she and her husband had the worst fight they’ve had in years just before the weekend.  She almost didn’t participate, but her husband apologized telling her he didn’t want her to miss her blessing.  She was able to pray with her entire family at the alter – grandparents, grand children, great grand children together.  “God is moving,” she said and “I don’t want to miss it.”
 
A man who didn’t attend the LRW at all said he knew something was different when he walked in the church Sunday morning.  He could feel the Holy Spirit and thanked the church for being such a model of Christianity.
 
One man talked about how he had prayed at the alter with his Dad for the first time ever.  Another talked about uncertainty about salvation and asked to be re-baptized.
 
A man who had to drive 122 miles after the service said he knew we were having revival on the Sunday Steve changed his sermon on the spot (after a member testified about what lay renewal was doing in his life.)  Steve talked about soaring like an eagle on the wings of the spirit.  This man said God placed him in a group with the Deaf, and he was blessed from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.  He talked about how we worship in a building, but we are the body of Christ.
 
One young father struggled to suppress tears as he talked about the brotherhood he felt with Sunday school class and what the church has meant to him.  As he attempted to keep control, his friends called out to him, “it’s ok, let it go.”   He talked about how he hadn’t experienced this, “stop, drop, and pray” before, but he liked it and thought we should keep it up.  Of course he was talking about the weekend practice of stopping immediately and praying when a prayer request was stated.
 
During the Sunday night evening, as people expressed prayer needs, people gathered around them to pray.  Sometimes there were three or four; sometimes there was 15 to 20.
 
One man shared his story of running from the call to the ministry for 30 years.  This weekend he submitted to the call to full time ministry.  He doesn’t know exactly what that means yet, but he is now certain and excited about making himself available.
 
We agreed that what we experienced this weekend was the result of prayers of 50 years ago, when the pastor who was told there was no need for a church at Parkwood listened to God began services in a small brush arbor anyway.  Along with other prayers, this pastor prayed for a Deaf ministry at Parkwood. It started 30 years after he first prayed.  While the Deaf and hearing have always joined together as one church, during LRW, we became more spiritually united.  Over the years, Parkwood has seen God’s hand at work.  Sound biblical teaching and a pastor for the last 34 years who is the role model for how Jesus loved people have brought us to where we are today.
 
When we started planning for lay renewal, we began to pray that God would give us a fresh touch.   We gave our LRW wakening weekend the title, “Coming Alive in 2005.”   Then, we prayed that God would refresh His spirit in us.  Matthew 21:22 says “whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”   We asked, and we received.
 
As our people began to pray, weeks before the actual event, God began to pour out his spirit, touching individual lives and then spilling over to others.  Our LRW coordinator told us the most important part of our planning meetings would be our time spent in devotion and prayer, and our revival started with the team as God began to touch lives.  Then cottage prayer meetings were held by seniors and other groups across the congregation.  The final step in preparation occurred with our 24 hour prayer vigil, an awesome experience.   
 
Thank God for LRW leadership who guided us to prepare our hearts.   
 
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Dear Team,
 
This past weekend was amazing!  As a pastor I have never seen anything like what God has done in our midst.  During the weekend, God exposed me to just what was going on in many of my congregation's lives.  It was a time of sharing, praying, accountability, and praising that awoke me to the necessity of allowing God to speak through each life! 
 
The weekend was an inward journey that also made me realize some things about my life and ministry as a pastor.  Prior to the weekend I was hesitant about it because of the lack of control that I had over it.  As the Sunday evening reporting time rolled around, God made it evident in my life that I was controlling too much of church life and not allowing His Holy Spirit to do the controlling that He desired!   I confessed that before the church Sunday night and asked forgiveness of it.      
 
During the Sunday morning service, many longtime church members came forward in a spirit of brokenness and prayer before God.  There were many rededications that morning as well.  A young man also came forward to receive Christ.
 
But the Sunday night service (after the visiting team had all left)....was amazing!  God moved in that place as person after person came to the front to testify about what God was doing in their lives as a direct result of the weekend!  We prayed for one another, cried for one another, laughed with one another, and praised God together!  The service started at 6:00 pm and we had to cut it off at 10:00 pm with plans to continue testifying tonight (Wed) about what God is doing!
 
Pray that God will continue to work in and through us and that we would be obedient and receptive to the Holy Spirit.
 
In Christ,
Rev. David Welch,
Pastor, Spring Garden Baptist, New Bern
 
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Lee’s Chapel OFWB Church
4948 Plain View Highway
Dunn, North Carolina  28334
910-892-7855
www.LeesChapelChurch.org
 
June 29, 2005
 
Team,
 
I just had to send you this praise report, especially since I believe the Lay Renewal Weekend we had in March of this year was an important part of our recent blessing.
 
On June 26, we were blessed to baptize fourteen people as new members and officially finalized six more members from transfers.  That, plus a few from January of this year, gives us a total of seventeen baptisms and twenty one new members so far this year.  Based on our active membership of 250, that is an 8.4 percent increase in just six months!  To God be the glory.  The long-term members of our church testify that they do not remember such a harvest in our church since the 1950’s.  Pray for Lee’s Chapel and their pastor.  Our challenge now is to nurture these new members and capitalize on the momentum that God has blessed us with.
 
I look forward to seeing you on July 12th at 7:00 p.m. for our chairman training as we prepare for our Lay Ministry Weekend on Sept 9 – 11.  I have invited the president of our denomination and our director of convention services in hopes that other churches in our denomination may have an opportunity for God to bless them through Lay Renewal.
 
Take care and God bless,
 
Ricky Warren, Pastor

 

 

 

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EL CALVARIO
Iglesia Bautista El Calvario, Seymour, IN
Ed McCrary, Weekend Coordinator
 
April 1-3, 2005
 
Dear Family in Christ,
           
I want to express my gratitude for your prayers and cooperation in the last Lay Renewal, and at the same time I want to ask our Father and Lord to pour rich blessings in your life. There were obstacles in the way but God, who is rich in mercy did strengthen us and showed us that He is always here to help us! Thank the Lord!
 
As a church we are grateful for the group that God sent to us including those wonderful ladies in the kitchen and those in the nursery and those who were driving the vans. This was not man's idea, it was an answer of God's to his people in prayer. As a result God sent us a wonderful group of brothers and sisters who have never before done Lay Renewal Weekend in Spanish. The good thing about it is that they heard the voices of the Lord when He asked "who will go for us?'' And they answered "here we are, we don't know much Spanish, but if you want us to use us! Here, send us!" This happened because the local church was praying to have a Renewal and other groups far away were willing to obey. God moved by sending us a group to do the Lay Renewal.
 
That's why we had the following good results:
 
Results of the Lay Renewal Weekend (According to survey of compromise and evaluation sheet)
           
            7          Adults accepted Christ as their personal Savior
            5          Kids accepted Christ as their personal Savior
            5          People decided to get baptized
            8          People decided to consecrate their lives to the Lord
          18          People decided to have a devotion with the Lord
            2          People would like to be a part of a small group
            5          People would like to offer their homes to have small groups
          10          People prefer to keep coming to our regular services
            7          People would like to become a part of the group to go on weekends
                          
 
Pastor Gustavo A. Vasquez              
 
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Pitts Baptist Church
Concord, NC
 
April 22-24, 2005
 
Dear Team,
 
I thought I would sit down this week and give a response to Sunday night.
 
The service went from 5 p.m. until 8:35.  One after another shared.  You had warned me that when people started getting up to share for the second and third time, it may be time to end the service.  However, people didn't have a chance to get up two and three times each.  There was a constant stream of people getting up to share one time.
 
The testimonies were phenomenal.  One husband and wife got up and publicly gave thanks to God for one another, and praised one another; one man got up to share who said he had not shared publicly in a really long time; one woman shared about being released the weekend before at the Ladies Retreat and Lay Renewal being the icing on the cake - released from a childhood of physical, mental, and sexual abuse.  While all of that was going on in her life up until she was a young adult, she shared about a suicidal moment.  You could have heard a pin drop.  Another woman shared about the blessings of the weekend, and all the many trials she had had through life, and about a suicidal point in her life many years ago.  She is now probably one of the strongest believers in our fellowship.  Another woman got up to share about how God had healed her of the very disease that Hugh and his wife shared that he had.  This woman fully recovered, and she told of her experiences.  We learned that the women in the kitchen had been having a little Lay Renewal of their own.  They spent the weekend in the kitchen singing hymns and praising the Lord.  The testimonies just kept on and on.  It was great!
 
Please communicate to all the team members how grateful the church is.  
Some of our folks have continued to speak so affectionately of the weekend and the team members that came with you.  The weekend has definitely left a positive mark on everyone.
 
I want to also thank you for coming.   You are being used mightily in this way.
 
May God richly bless you and your loved ones!
Scott Davis
Pastor, Pitts Baptist Church, Concord, NC
 
 
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Unity Baptist Church
482 North Myrtle School Road
Gastonia, North Carolina 28052
704.865. 7601
 
Dear Team,
April 15-17, 2005
 
In his book, “A’ Utmost/or His Highest, “Oswald Chambers writes, “We all have moments when we feel better than our best.” That is exactly how I felt during our Lay Renewal Weekend. What a tremendous experience! I cannot thank you and the team enough for gracing our church with your presence spiritual gifts joy and love, Unity is forever changed for the better because of your service to Christ and His church.
 
What we had prayed for—happened! As we prayed we asked God to help us regain our zeal for His Kingdom and to renew our hope that He is not finished with our church. We concluded the Renewal Weekend with an excited awareness of who we are as a child of God. and I am convinced that the future of Unity Baptist Church is bright. Oswald Chambers continues in his book, “Never allow a feeling which was stirred in you in the high hour to evaporate.” I assure you we will not! God has blessed and we are on the way to continued renewal and service.
 
I thank you and praise God for how he has used you and the Lay Renewal Team.
 
Sincerely yours,
Larry Bostian
Unity Baptist Church
 
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First Baptist Church
Heber Springs, AR
Lay Renewal Weekend
 
April 8-10, 2005  
 
Dear Pastor DeBusk,
 
My heart is still overflowing from last night. I tried to tell Grayson about what happened in an e-mail and I doubt that I caught the essence of it. But I  thought I would share it with you. If you think that the members who were not there could benefit from what I have written, feel free to use it in the newsletter or any way that you see fit.
 
My Dear Grayson,
 
Oh, how I wish you could have been here. We had the most glorious service at church last night that I have ever experienced. I never thought it could happen a First Baptist Church, Heber Springs.
 
At 6:00pm we were to have the Evaluation Service for the Lay Renewal. The preacher just sat on the front row, and the people were encouraged to get up and tell what the Renewal had done for them or the church.
 
I know I can't explain this in words, but people kept getting up and coming to the mike at the front of the aisle and testifying and crying from hearts broken by their past hard heartedness and with love overflowing for God and fellow Christians. The Holy Spirit was really there.
 
This went on for two hours and twenty minutes, and no one left or even seemed restless. I don't think our church can ever be the same again. After it was over, the people didn't want to leave. They just stood around talking about God's goodness and hugging one another and crying together and smiles were on each face. The greeting that was being passed on from person to person was a spontaneous "God is good".
 
The first night of the renewal we were asked in small groups what our vision was for the church. I said I wanted to see more spontaneity in our services. I jokingly said, "If the Holy Spirit wanted to come in on one of our services, He would have to wait until He was listed in the printed program."  Well, He didn't wait; He just filled the room with love like I had never experienced.
           
I learned more about the people who were there in one service that from years of being a member of First Baptist Church. People took off their "church faces" and let us see the real person broken before God. Big men cried unashamedly.  Husbands and wives expressed their love for one another publicly. When a prayer need was mentioned, one person, and just one person,  would stand up and pray about that need as if it had been planned. Each person who went forward to speak was prayed for before they spoke.
 
Trying to tell you about this makes me wonder how the writer of Acts ever was able to set down on paper what happened at Pentecost. All the way home I was singing the chorus "Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul." I wish you could have been there.
 
========================================================================================
 
Lee's Chapel
Original Free Will Baptist Church
God's Love In Plain View
 
March 16, 2005
 
Dear Lay Renewal Team,
 
As pastor, I would like to thank you for allowing yourself to be used by God in His work at Lee's Chapel on March 11-13, 2005. It was evident that the Holy Spirit was at work in the lives of our people and in you.
 
I am sure your are interested in the results of our Evaluation Service. We had to end our service after two hours and forty minutes of sharing. During that time, the one hundred and twenty people in attendance heard many positive comments from their ranks about the weekend. Some of the key points made were the value of the prayer vigil, the inspiration of the team members, the joy of seeing the Holy Spirit move in our church and the need to move forward from here.
 
Some of the tangible results of the weekend are that three people joined our church by transfer of letter, one father rededicated his life to Christ and one teen made a profession of faith for the first time and asked to become a baptized member of our church. Through conversations with others, I am aware of at least one more decision for Christ, and at least one more by letter of transfer that will be acted upon as well. That would be a total of six new members and one rededication.
 
Other decisions were made a well. Several had told me privately of their renewed commitment to be of service to God and their excitement to see what He will do next. Perhaps the most telling results of the weekend came on Sunday night when I asked the congregation to stand if they wanted to continue the journey by having the second Lay Ministry Weekend. As best I could see, every person in the church was standing. Praise the Lord!
 
We are now busily about the work of providing for the needs of our rapidly growing Christians.  Several have indicated a need for help with knowing how to share their faith, and how to have a personal time with God. Several others have even expressed a desire to serve on a Lay Renewal team in the future. In a couple of weeks, we have plans to offer five small group Bible studies in homes. From there we are considering offering training in relationship evangelism so that we can share the joy by adding to our number, and then hopefully a Lay Ministry Weekend in the Fall of this year. To God be the Glory!
 
Thank you again for allowing God  to use you in His work at Lee's Chapel. You have endeared yourselves in the hearts of our people.
 
May God continue to bless you as you continue to seek Him.
 
In Christ,
Rick Warren, pastor
4948 PLAIN VIEW HIGHWAY – DUNN, NORTH CAROLINA, 28334 – PHONE (910) 892-7855 – WEBSITE WWW.LEESCHAPELCHURCH.ORG
 
======================================================================================
Oak Grove Baptist Church   
Rev Richard Myers, Pastor
4013 New Town Road
Waxhaw, North Carolina, 28173
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
February 24, 2005
 
Dear Team,
 
Wow!! What a blessing it is to write this letter of thanks to you and your family for blessing us so deeply during our Lay Renewal Weekend. We were overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit and by your sacrificial service. Please accept our deepest gratitude for being used of the Lord to usher in a deep move of God in our lives.
 
We experienced so much that is hard to put into words. Our Evaluation Service was over 3 hours in length!! It was obvious God had prepared the people. Many shared deep rooted grudges that were dissolved. Many shared "hidden" burdens that were immediately prayed for. Many shared their excitement of having their prayers instantly answered.
 
On Sunday morning a dear young couple joined the church. On Sunday night another precious family with three children joined even though there was no invitation.  The whole church moved into a time of recommitment and rededication.
 
One of the greatest blessings of the weekend was meeting you and the visiting team. We are excited about what God is going to continue to do in our midst. This past Sunday we voted unanimously to pursue the second phase of the Journey, so please pray for us as we prepare for this time.
 
May God bless you and your family greatly this Easter season. We hope to see you very soon. We fully anticipate our Lay Renewal Paths to cross again soon. Please take care and may God Bless you for your service in God's Kingdom.
 
Your Servant,
 Rich Myers
 Pastor

 

 

=========================================================================================
 
Mint Hill Baptist Church
Mint Hill, North Carolina
 
November 8, 2004
 
Renewal Team Members,                                      
 
It is good to see your smiling faces!  Approximately forty souls were present for the Evaluation time of the Lay Renewal Week-end at Mint Hill Baptist on Sunday evening, November 7, 2004.  More than half of them spoke about the significance of the LRW.
 
The skit presented by the youth on Saturday evening's general session had a
powerful impact, according to the verbal reports given, especially on the parents who watched their children die and then were relieved that they were admitted to heaven!
 
Verbalization was given by two or three of those who spoke, to be more intentional in evangelizing family and friends.  Three mentioned their delight from the involvement in the 24-hour Prayer Vigil which began on the Thursday  before the LRW.  There were repeated declarations of anticipation of the next step, or the next LRW.
 
You are already aware of the salvation experience on Friday night, during the Youth Lock-in; which was mentioned at least three times as making the week-end worthwhile.  Three mentioned how wonderful was the immediate connection with the members of the Team, and what gracious folk they all were.  Three mentioned how powerful the Saturday evening prayer time was, particularly with young  people coming repeatedly to kneel and pray.
 
The Home General Chairman, Craig Jones, distributed the evaluation forms, had the people complete them, and return them before the service concluded.  They will be mailed by our Church secretary today.
 
There was openness about the hurt Christians experience, which is common to us all, and acceptance that admitting the hurt does not equate to being able to remove or heal the hurt but does strengthen the bonds of fellowship.
 
Some clearly were renewed.  Others were grateful to have been given the opportunity for fellowship and advancement in Christian love which results when believers know more about each other.
 
I am grateful for the ministry the Lord gave the Church family at Mint Hill Baptist, using you and the members of the team.
 
Lee Proctor,
Pastor
Mint Hill Baptist Church
Mint Hill, NC

 

 

========================================================================================

10-10-04

Dear Team,
 
What an awesome evening!  Sunday evening was the climatic ending to the entire weekend.  Our people responded overwhelmingly to the moving of the Holy Spirit, so much so that at 9:30 I turned the church over to them and let them lock up when they felt the need to end (which several expressed they hoped the night would never end!).
 
I am not sure how to thank-you or your team appropriately for being the willing vessel that God used so mightily and miraculously here this week-end. I know it was said before, but it was truly God who placed just the right people here that He knew we needed and would respond to the best.  What a honor to have the team members express that they felt at home here at Crosspointe.  
 
I am truly humbled at the awsomeness of God and last evening was so powerful and the presence of the Holy Spirit was so real, but the real deal was to hear it in the people's voices and see it on their faces, there is just no denying that we here at Crosspointe had a Renewal this weekend!
 
To God be all Glory, Honor and Praise 
 
In His Service,
Leon Hawks
Pastor, Crosspointe Baptist

 

 

 

=========================================================================================
 
10-10-04
 
Dear Team,                                                                 
 
Just a quick update on our Renewal Weekend. 
 
Sunday night we began at 6:00 p.m. with some singing and prayer and then Larry shared how the service would continue.  He encouraged everyone who wanted to share to please do so by coming to the front to the microphone so that everyone could hear what was being said.  I'm not great at estimating crowds, but I guess there were close to a hundred present.
 
Rick came and shared first. After him, there was a fairly steady flow of folks for about an hour.  Interspersed were times of prayer for special needs as they were raised.  We sang a couple more choruses and then Larry and Rick passed out the Evaluation Forms and encouraged everyone to be open and honest in their evaluation and provide answers to the requested items.  After doing this, we began a second time of sharing, which began about 7:30 p.m.  This session of sharing was fairly continual with only a few "slow times" and lasted until about 8:15 p.m. or so.  A total of at least two dozen or more came and shared. (I was trying to keep a tally, but I'm sure I missed some along the way.)  We also went through the better part of two boxes of tissues — and not just for the ladies either, the guys used a bunch of them too!  It was a truly awesome and amazing time!
 
I wish I could tell you all that was shared, but there isn't space and I know I would leave something out.  We had a husband come forward and ask forgiveness from his wife for not being the husband he should have been and then asking his daughter to forgive him for not being the dad he should have been.  Then he asked the church to forgive him for not being the deacon and church member he should have been and publicly committed himself to being all the Lord wants him to be.  Wives asked the church to pray for their husbands and their marriage relationships.  One lady asked forgiveness of another lady for the way she had acted recently and forgiveness was given and they hugged and told each other they loved one another.  Youth and children expressed their love and appreciation to the church for their support of them.  Adults expressed their love and concern for the youth and children and promised their continuing support to them. Gratitude was expressed to our staff members for the work they do and what they mean to the church.  Some even thanked the preacher and his wife and shared how much they loved and cared for them!  And this is just a small sampling of what went on.
 
When Larry sensed the time of sharing was ready to be closed, he nodded to me and then I came and shared what I had felt and experienced during the renewal weekend.  I addressed what I had sensed others were sharing.  We had all come wondering, "What is Lay  Renewal?"  I think we each had discovered, perhaps in different ways or described in different terms, that Lay Renewal is a new realization about where we are in our relationship with God, and also where we are in relationships with one another within the body of Christ, and that with God's help, we each will try to do more to make both of these relationships closer and stronger.  The phrase that surfaced several times was that of "total surrender to the will of God."  I think that almost all of us came to see that it's not about me — it's all about Him.
 
After these comments, I asked the organist and pianist to come and play "Softly and Tenderly" while the congregation was standing together in a season of silent prayer.  The invitation was for each to do as the Lord directed.  There was an invitation to come and receive Christ; to come for rededication of life; to come for church membership; to come to the altar and pray; or to do whatever the Lord led them to do.  It was again a truly awesome time.  I know at least four or five more came for rededication and in dealing with them, I'm not really sure how many came to the altar to pray, but there were many.  I saw members leaving their pew and going to others who had shared something special in the way of personal needs etc. and hugging them and praying with them.  Then one of our youth, who had been saved about a year ago, came and said that the Lord had impressed upon his heart that it was time to be obedient and follow Him in baptism.  This was just more icing on the cake!!! Our God is so AWESOME !  We really didn't want to, but we knew we must, so we reluctantly closed the service (although very few were really ready to go) and had the benediction about 8:45 p.m.  Freeda and I finally left the church about 9:45 p.m. and there were still ten or twelve standing around talking and hugging, etc. when we left.
 
I got up this morning still in awe of all that had happened on Sunday.  I felt that it couldn't get much better than this. Then about 10 a.m., I received a phone call from a young man who has been attending our church for over a year now.  He said, "Pastor, I need to talk to you.  Could you see me this morning?"   I sensed something in his voice that told me something was wrong and so I told him that I would be glad to, and asked him when would be a good time to come by.  He asked me if in just a few minutes would be okay.  He was there in about five minutes.  I was dressed in jeans and a  t-shirt (I was getting ready to mow grass) and barefoot because he got there quicker than I expected.  He came in and scarcely sat down when he began to weep and pour out his heart.  Long story short, some things from the renewal weekend got him to thinking about his salvation experience and he had no peace at all about it and realized he needed to be saved.  He was miserable, broken, and ready to make things right with God.  I shared some Scripture with him and a brief plan of salvation and he prayed and asked Christ into his heart!  He's also ready to be obedient and follow the Lord in baptism.  His plans were to leave my house and go home and tell his wife and then go back to work and tell his boss what had happened. The young man went away with peace in his heart and tears of joy in his eyes.  God is good — all the time!  All the time — God is good!
 
Thanks again to you and all them team members for being used of the Holy Spirit this weekend and for being a part in the lives that have been changed by God.  I can hardly wait to see what else happens and what the Lord does next.  We will be in touch.
 
Your brother in Christ and fellow servant,
 
Roy Helms, Pr. 3:5-6
Pastor, Love's Creek Baptist Church
Siler City, NC
 
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Green Hill Baptist Church
Rutherfordton, NC
3-23-04 
 
WOW! 
This is already the most awesome thing that I have ever seen in my 11 years at Green Hill and we are just in the planning stages.  The prayer team has developed a 9 week prayer guide with special prayer topics each week and they have picked a different verse each day to read before our prayer begins that day. 
 
The meeting for planning this was almost a revival in itself.  They are also getting the prayer vigil scheduled with at least 3 persons in the prayer room at the church for each hour of the vigil.  The spiritual growth team met Friday night for two and a half hours and they also reported a revival taking place in their meeting.  Beginning on Easter Sunday, actually the Saturday before Easter, they will begin leading us through 40 days of purpose. If you count that up the 40 days will end on the Wednesday before our prayer vigil begins on Thursday. 
 
We will be doing the small group times of 40 days during the Sunday School hour on Sunday morning and also during prayer meeting time on Wednesday night. Plans right now are that the church is going to provide one book per family with an invitation to participate in the small group sessions.  If they want more books they can be purchased. We have been looking for something to give our Sunday School a boost and Lay Renewal has given us the reason to change it. 
 
Also, beginning Easter Sunday we will be combining our 2 worship services together into one service at 11 am on Sunday to help promote church unity.  We have been looking for a smooth way to accomplish this and once again Lay Renewal has given us the reason. 
 
Our deacon chair is on the spiritual growth team and he said to me this morning, "It has been a long time since I have been this excited about something happening at the church.  I just hope I can convey my excitement to the rest of the church."  I can hardly wait to see what happens in the next few weeks.  We have a mailing list of 346 people that we will be sending letters to when the time comes. 
 
I could keep rambling all night but I just wanted to let you know that I have already had a blessing just hearing the excitement and I am just being part of the prayer team!  They are developing the plans and just keeping me informed about what is going on.  That is great!!!
 
In His Service
Terry Brooks
Pastor, Green Hill Baptist Church
Rutherfordton, NC
 
 
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May 23, 2004
 
EMAIL LETTER FROM PASTOR TO TEAM ABOUT
SUNDAY NIGHT EVALUATION SERVICE
 
Dear Visiting Team,                                                                       
 
Well, it is 11:30 pm on Sunday night as I sit and try to express to you what has just happened during this weekend. The reason I am just now doing this email is because we had a service tonight that started at 6:00 pm and ended at 10:30 pm. You're right, that is 4 1/2 hours. We allowed the Holy Spirit time to move and He just kept moving. We prayed for needs that were expressed, we rejoiced with recommitted lives. We cried, laughed and just simply enjoyed being together. As a result of our Lay Renewal weekend we had 4 new members join this morning, 2 by baptism (which was done this morning) and 2 by letter from local churches of which they have not attended in many many years. Of course you team members witnessed the joining this morning but I do have news to share with you that we had a family of 4 to join tonight. You might have had Michael or Angie Taub in your groups this week. They have been visiting for a year or so and joined by letter.
 
If you counted that is 8 new members today!   "And God added to their number daily"!
WOW what a night!!!!!!!! WOW what a weekend!!!!!!
 
A highlight of mine was when all 9 of our deacons stood in front of the church tonight as a group and committed themselves to stepping out of the way and allowing God to have control of the church. They also committed themselves to me as their pastor and vowed to follow me as I followed God to lead the church wherever He wanted it to go.
Praise God and we must give Him all of the glory for everything happening at Green Hill. I could go on for hours but I must stop here. Thank you all for your prayers and interest in Green Hill Baptist Church.
 
PS. If you need a testimony for Lay Renewal, tell pastors to call me! 
       828-286-9424
 
In His Love,
Terry Brooks
Pastor at Green Hills Baptist Church
Rutherfordton, NC
 
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