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Mid-West Family Weekend 05
CONFERENCE REPORT & TESTIMONY
The room was pulsating with the boom of drums and hundreds of pairs of feet leaping up and down. Roars of excitement erupted, as bright-faced young people who never seemed to get tired voiced their worship to God. This was a happening place! A pop concert? No, the Family Camp of the mid-western churches in USA held annually at the Warrensburg Campus of Missouri University.
For a decade, the American churches have been gathering each year during the last weekend in May. When we began back in the 90s, the churches were just beginning to embrace Newfrontiers values. Now there is clarity of vision, messages of prophetic weight and content, and an unparalleled sense of momentum.
There is always joy in meeting up with old friends, but now, added to the enquiries about family, studies and who is getting married, another topic invariably comes up, ‘Did you know we/our son/daughter/friend are moving?’ These people are not moving in order to further their career, or for reasons of study or economics; they are eager to be involved in church planting. In fact I got the impression that if people were not nailed to the floor, they were on the move! The question is, will there be enough left to keep the home churches alight and burning with zeal?
Churches that are outward looking, full of vigorous faith and commitment to evangelise, are places that spawn this kind of vitality. It is poignant to see young people so captivated by the vision. They express their commitment not just by exuberant jumping around in worship but by making costly decisions to go to strange cities and start the ground-breaking task of building a new church with a small group of people. Not only young singles of course; families are also uprooting and going to cities like Nashville, Tennessee, Atlanta, Georgia, and Boston, Massachusetts. Also on the horizon, people are praying about Seattle, Washington, Phoenix, Arizona and New York, New York (so good they named it twice!).
But the family weekend is also a great place of fun and refreshment! There is always great competition to win the volleyball tournaments, and the younger kids love to play on an abundance of bouncy, inflatable amusements. Among those I enjoyed time with were Oscar and Bebe Suarez and their two sons, and Chris and Gail Robins, all from Guadalajara, Mexico. But most participants were from the mid-western churches. Other regions developing in the north-east and north-west now hold their own family camps. In spite of this, the mid-west camp had the largest attendance they have ever had and also gave a wonderful offering of $110,000 to pour into funding for the church planting projects. Added to this, outstanding preaching from John Lanferman, Terry Virgo and Sam Poe filled the weekend with powerful content and prophetic challenge. Many people were also healed when Terry prayed for them. This was a memorable weekend, and will continue to bear fruit in many lives.
Testimony
Kevan Clark, Abundant Life Church, Union, Missouri, USA
On 8 November 2004, while working in a tunnel shaft, I was hit by a rock that fell 165 feet from the top of the shaft. I was hit in the back of my neck. After being told by two doctors that it was a miracle I was alive, spending a month in a neck brace and physical therapy, I was told there was nothing else doctors could do for me and I would have to live with the pain.
I experienced constant pain in my neck since the accident. At Family Camp, as Terry Virgo prayed, God healed me. Right away, I had no more pain! I have had no pain in my neck since the moment God healed me! I received more than healing. I also received a greater faith in God. |
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