Awakening

Today is one of the days that you live for. It’s a day when you see one of your son’s (sure, a spiritual son, but a son none the less) is honored and recognized by others as he goes after his dream. Julia and I met Jeff and Amanda shortly after they first came to RiverStone. They had left the Baptist church where he was an associate pastor when he “accidently got filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues”. He was about to plant a Baptist church when this happened and he knew that he would never be able to plant that church after what had happened. So, he and Amanda wound up at RiverStone to seek more of the Lord and learn more about the Holy Spirit and His power. That morning Tom said during his sermon that someone in the congregation would plant a church with our network and Jeff felt Holy Spirit tell him that he would be that one.

Anyway, Julia and I got connected to them pretty soon after that and we loved their hunger and passion for more of God. They were hungry and we were there to befriend them. It was the beginning of a mutual friendship and a chance to mentor a young couple that was really hungry for the Lord. To make a long story short, we both poured life into them. We taught them things that it had taken us years to learn. It was a great time for all of us. We loved them both and to watch them grow in the Lord was all we needed to press into Him for more ourselves.

We continued to meet with them as they began the process of starting a cell group and the early stages of planting a church. We watched them go through hard times as they worked through issues. We were there to love and pray for them. When Julia passed away, Jeff and Amanda were there by my side. After that we didn’t have many more meetings, but they were well on their way to starting a church. I met with Jeff a few more times as he began to walk out this process.

Tonight at Awakening Church; Jeff was ordained by the Transformation Network. He and Amanda are still passionate and hungry for more of the lord. It was a great service and Sheryl and I were there to see it. I was blessed to be able to pray and speak over Jeff along with the other members of Transformation Network. It’s just the beginning of the journey for Jeff and Amanda, but Julia and I will always be a part of it. It’s fun to see your son’s and daughter’s do well.