Prayer sparks revival

SIR: In May 2003 Mike Minnix, vice president for evangelism for out state convention, conducted a S.A.V.E.D. seminar for us at New Hope Baptist Church. This was the beginning of preparation for revival beginning March 28 of this year. After the seminar we began to implement what we had learned about prayer and evangelism. We used Sharing Jesus Without Fear to teach our church members to share their faith.

As we began to prepare for revival, my prayer was that God would do something in our church that was so big that people couldn’t say, “Look what New Hope is doing,” but, “Look what God is doing.” We prayed for God to receive the honor and glory in everything that was done.

I believe prayer was the power source behind what God did in our church during this revival. Through prayer of the church for revival and salvation for the lost, God convicted His people to go tell others about His saving grace. The result was something only God can do.

The month prior to revival we averaged in the mid-nineties in Sunday School. During this revival there were 31 saved, 28 rededications, one came for believer’s baptism and one by church letter. On Easter Sunday I baptized 31 people – the oldest being an 83-year-old woman.

I have been pastor of New Hope for 14 years. During this time and in my entire Christian life I have never seen the Holy Spirit work in people’s lives as He did through this revival. Friday night after the service, two men – one 81 years old and the other 85 – told me that they had never experienced anything like it. I think maybe our youth director said it best: “We prayed for something God-sized and He gave it to us.”

I thank Mike Minnix for his role in our convention and our evangelist, Bill Saye, but most of all I thank God that He allowed me to be a part of what He did in our revival.

He showed us that if we carry out His mandate, He will send the miracle.