Felicia and I have just returned from a whirlwind month-long ministry journey. We started 2009 in Nashville, TN, where I had the joy of singing at the National Congress on Evangelism at the Opryland Hotel. It was a great chance to reconnect with many long-time friends and to network with interested pastors for future meetings. I believe that the speakers this year were some of the best I’ve ever heard. I’m looking forward to going back in 2010 in New Orleans. This is the first time back since hurricane Katrina caused a cancellation.
From Nashville, it was on to Owensboro, KY, at St. John United Methodist Church. Ken Spurrier is the pastor there. We were blessed with great weather and Ken had really done a good job of getting things ready. He contacted other United Methodist churches in the town and four of them cooperated in the event. We had testimonies and music each night from different congregations. It was a refreshing time.
The next Sunday we were in two churches. First was Bainbridge, GA, where we have held two previous revivals. Steven Webb has hosted us in every church he’s served since the ’90’s. I think we’ve done six Daysprings for him. He is always great to work with. After the morning service, we hurried down the road to Niceville, FL, where we ministered in drama and music at the First United Methodist Church. We had a great time with the people there and found new friends for the ministry. This church has an incredible heart for evangelism and missions. I went to seminary with their pastor, Rev. Rurel Ausley.
The final week of our journey was in Jacksonville, FL. Rev. David Brazelton and his wife Jeannie have been friends of ours for many years. David was with the Board of Discipleship in Nashville, TN, where he was head of the Evangelism department. It was good to reconnect with them. Mandarin United Methodist Church is an incredible place. The whole time we were there, the place was buzzing! Alpha, Celebrate Recovery, Children’s day care, Family ministries, prison ministries, large youth group, and a new family life center going up. The thing that made this event unique was that the whole thing was planned and set up by the United Methodist Men’s group. They have done a revival every year for six years. They decided they wanted to do something for the church that would positively affect the spiritual temperature of the members. It was great to be a part of this community of faith for these days of revival. It was a holy blend of laughter and tears as the congregation responded to the stories.
Here are a few pics of the sights in Florida.
There were hundreds of these lakes that allowed you to see the beauty twice.
The sunsets were good for the soul.
Felicia always smiles when she’s on a beach.