Living by Faith Alone

Hello again!

It becomes more and more true that God never sleeps and never grows weary; when we partner with Him, in an environment of faith and trust, we can count on Him to continue to work even when we are simply going about our normal life. Suddenly ordinary circumstances become encounters with heaven and kingdom-building opportunities!
I am not sure whether I have communicated this yet or not, but most of the miracles at Bethel Church happen out on the streets. This has become so true that many visitors coming to Bethel for a breakthrough often do not receive their healing during an altar call or prayer ministry, but instead get healed afterwards by randomly meeting someone from Bethel on the street! (Or in the store or wherever)
These past two weeks have been very different but altogether wonderful (like the Tim Hughes song says). My mother and sister came to visit Chad and I during American Thanksgiving, and we had a great time with them. I'm sure that they have shared their experiences with many of you, but for those that haven't heard, we traveled to San Francisco, met Bill at a special Thanksgiving Q&A, took in a few services, went shopping, and ate out quite a bit! (The cafeteria on campus was closed for the week)

It's impossible to experience so many new environments and not change your perspective on everything. Sometimes these perspectives aren't wrong, but underdeveloped, as you really can't form an opinion about something until you experience it first-hand. One such experience I have been placed in again and again is the opportunity to observe how effective the church is. More specifically, I've been able to observe how effective the church is in the real world.
When your dreams and passions are about the Kingdom, you begin to imagine and believe for revival across every city, culture, and church worldwide. This becomes your goal and one ambition. But when your experiences remain solely in the church, these goals and ambitions, these faith declarations, become nothing more than blind optimism.
There is a type of optimism that is dangerous to those that want to be Kingdom builders: Optimism that takes precedence over faith. Any optimism that denies reality and forces the believer to live outside reality gives a person the illusion of being effective, but the truth is that they are actually living on the sidelines.
I do not deny reality; I simply live from the perspective of a better one. Faith is not denying the natural, only believing that there is a reality that supersedes this one. In that sense, there are many Christians pretending that their diseases do not exist and dropping their treatment while the symptoms persist. In a similar way, many people hope for revival but never risk the chance of dashed hopes through the act of actually sizing up the mountain that we plan on moving.

We as believers truly have a lot to do. Being in San Francisco, or even simply ministering on the streets of Redding, can quickly give you a good guess as to the impossibility of this God-given task to bring heaven to earth! But He said we could do it, so I am going to take His word over my human instincts. People in San Francisco in particular are in desperate need. Many even here in Redding are suffering with drug addictions and broken families. Worse yet, there are countless millions that go through life spiritually disabled, without ever struggling with the pitfalls that churches usually target (and therefore often slip through our ministry 'radar'). I am more and more dissatisfied with any approach, conventional or cutting-edge, that does not fully rely on God's power and love to be effective. It has even been personally embarrassing, at times, to minister in such a way that God has to show up: I have prayed for people who didn't get healed, I have given words of knowledge that weren't accurate, and I have stepped out when it was naturally humiliating to do so. However, I must make this into my only method of building the Kingdom. Anything I can do out of my own efforts, I'm probably accomplishing without Him.

This is not a discouraging word! It puts our faith into practice as we force ourselves to step out each and every time our faith can be exercised. All of the excess 'ministry' in our lives that does not involve His presence or power can be left behind, freeing us up to be more virtuous, relational people. Instead of trying to build the church, we allow Christ to build His church, and we can finally have the time to pick up His commission for the Kingdom!

testimony

Chad Dedmon is a youth pastor whose Father is on staff at Bethel Church. He spoke to many of us over Thanksgiving break and gave us this testimony from his junior youth group:
Many of his kids, inspired by God's commission to walk in power, have decided to try to emulate the miracles of Jesus. One such miracle that they were excited about was Jesus' ability to walk on water. Because was not the only one who did it, and because He told us that we could do greater works, they decided to literally 'step out' every night across a backyard pool during Bethel's youth conference. They would stand at the pool's edge, pray until they felt they had enough faith, and then step out onto the water. Each night, all ten of these junior high boys would get soaking wet as they fell in the pool.
Some time later, their junior youth was having a baptism time at a local lake. These same boys, still determined, decided to try to walk on water again.
This time, all 26 of them joined hands and walked out towards the water's edge.

This time, only 25 kids fell in.

One boy, who had been attempting to walk on water with the others long before that day, walked 6 full solid steps slowly out onto the lake, taking a second to look back at those onshore. With nowhere else to go, he too fell into the lake.

People clamored around him to find out how he did such a thing. Individuals out on the water came to shore to find out how that was even possible! This young man was able to share the gospel with everyone on the beach that day, due to the miraculous power of God!

Blessings,

Connor

Living in a Kingdom Culture

I am continually amazed at the balance and direction that the revival culture here at Bethel maintains. God is doing an incredible work in me, week by week, day by day, and this is true for everyone involved! This area is definitely a place of transformation, and the Kingdom Jesus planned for this earth is visibly being established. It's unfolding with each moment, as you see slaves become sons and take their place in the way God has called them to live.

Things are very practical around here. People are down-to-earth, genuine, and invested in each other. Again and again I realize that it's actually quite "supernaturally natural" to continually live in the state of revival, with perpetual increase and true fellowship. I have never been this close to a legitimate revival before, so sometimes I have to pinch myself when a supernatural moment occurs. Most other times, however, it feels very comfortable just to live life and be yourself at all times in Bethel. Often I have to remind myself that my experience has not been normal for much of the church up until this time in history.

Bill Johnson says that how you define revival will determine the fruit you receive from one. Many want to see revival in their church, and in their own lives, but they have not considered that their intentions for revival still carry an agenda that cannot be sustained without human effort. I love how Bethel has been established in such a way that it practically lives and breathes as a church with only the Spirit's presence as the fuel to continue.

I thought, in coming here, that one major area I would grow in was the working of signs, wonders, and miracles. Although I've received instruction in this, and although I have seen many supernatural occurrences, this has not been the most significant thing that has happened in my life, nor is it the emphasis of this school. They encourage students to find their true identity in Christ, and live out of that identity in the fullest confidence. Out of your identity in Christ comes a supernatural lifestyle, as "these signs shall follow those that believe". Furthermore, it becomes easy to stay in a place of fruitfulness and faith when you remain in Christ and what he provided for us.

One thing that is very strongly being emphasized in our teaching right now is the concept of the Sabbath, and learning how to rest. Every one of the ten commandments was reiterated in some form by Jesus in the New Testament, except for the command to keep the Sabbath. Some have taken this to mean that the Sabbath is not important, while others have taken the other extreme to believe that the Sabbath standard is still in place. However, God's intent is that every day becomes a Sabbath day! Hebrews talks about how we have entered into the rest that God has promised us, and how we can now work from rest instead of for it. Through this teaching, I began to see how this revival is so easily maintained. What has happened in Redding could happen anywhere else. It is simply a collection of people who understand who they are, realizing that God responds to their faith and not to their works, being people who are willing to share their energy and life with one another in the true spirit of fellowship and unity, willing to sacrifice anything for more of the Spirit's presence. Out of this atmosphere, the biggest and best things can happen, and they're happening every day! (Read the testimony below for a great example)

Recently we had the Leader's Advance here at Bethel, which is an invitation-only leadership training seminar put on by Bethel's leadership for churches moving in this same revival. We as students were not able to attend, but we were called upon to serve in the various functions of their gathering. We fed 800 pastors and leaders on three or four separate occasions, and it was an incredible time. Someone joked that this was really a job expo for many students, as you could tell that some leaders were keeping an eye on those that were serving as possible job candidates! The church treated these leaders really well. There was a prophetic appointment pre-arranged for every leader in attendance, and the main prophets assigned to speak over these leaders were young prophets that had come out of Deborah Reed's children's ministry! The youngest was 6-7, and the oldest was 12. They met with the leaders for 10-15 minutes, along with a supervisor/prophet that looked after the child. Apparently it was a very powerful time!

I pray that these blogs are encouraging. I will try to post more often, as I am quite busy most of the time around here. I hope you don't find me too repetitive about Bethel, and please, feel free to ask me questions via comments or emails! I would welcome that.


testimony

Two days ago, a first-year student and a third-year intern were dropping off some food to one of the senior's centers in Redding for their assigned outreach. The third-year intern was unloading the food and was in a rush, so when one of the center's staff came and tried to get his attention, he essentially ignored her. Finally paying attention to her demands, she informed him that an elderly gentleman had just died, and that he was not a Christian upon his death. Immediately the two men ran into the room where the elderly man had just died, and began speaking life into his body. Amazingly, and within minutes, the man came back to life! They were able to ask him if he wanted to accept Christ, which he did. Three minutes after accepting Jesus, he died. WOW!


Blessings

Connor

Growth, Change, Direction

Hi Everybody! You're expecting me to tell you what a great past two weeks it's been here at Bethel, so I won't tell you it's been great. Instead, I'll be more honest and say that it's been absolutely out-of-this-world, beyond-belief, life-changing. (that was a lot of hyphens!)

These two weeks have honestly been likely the most significant in forming my identity and destiny. Some things have happened in my life that are so wonderful they cannot be explained through text on a blog, and others are still being processed, so I won't go into incredible detail. I mentioned a little bit about the work God was doing in me personally on my last post, and now I realize that that period was a launching pad into a much deeper work that God was doing in me. I am still in the midst of that movement, and until it resolves I don't want to jump to conclusions on everything God is telling me to do and be. I am just excited about all of it! This culture lends itself to prophetic words, and words of encouragement. I have been getting lots, and lots of them are the exact same thing! God is so good. It was a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday, and I believe it was God bringing up my identity on purpose because of this birthday season! The picture is of the cake that some other students bought for me. They're great around here.

This period of Bethel life is busy. We just got through our first conference, the Open Heavens conference, which was quite an experience. Che Ahn, Bill Johnson, and Kris Vallotton spoke. There was an emphasis on apostolic teaching and impartation at this conference, and we saw many healings and miracles. Before that, there was 'The Call' in Las Vegas. The Call is a cool ministry that organizes large prayer gatherings in different locations across the States. These prayer gatherings are just times of intercession over the city it is hosted in, as well as intercession for the nation. No guests or worship artists are announced, as people simply come to pray. Bill Johnson went down with some 2nd year students to minister healing in a special tent at The Call, and they saw a woman with late-stage-MS become completely healed and get up out of her wheelchair in the first hour of the healing tent being opened!
Next is the Advance, which is a leadership training conference for invited guests here at Bethel. We can't attend these meetings, but we're allowed to volunteer as servants at the luncheons and different events that are connected with this event.

On the last day of the conference, I decided to go with a missions team down to San Francisco and minister the gospel of the Kingdom to the homeless on the streets. It was quite the adventure! There were 15 of us from Bethel on this team, and we drove down in three vehicles eagerly expecting the unknown.
We arrived in front of SF city hall at about 8PM, and immediately there is a mild culture shock that hits you as you realize the extent and scope of a city like SF. On our way, we were blocked by thousands of cyclists who were protesting something-or-other through blocking traffic with their procession, dressed in funny-looking attire. Some weren't dressed at all!
The ministry sets itself up in the plaza in front of city hall, and we had a time of open-air worship and quick preaching. The mini-service lasts for about 20 minutes. Any homeless who are gathered may hear the message, get saved, then receive a hot meal afterwards. We divided our bethel team into two different teams, and there were probably another 40 individuals who had come to this outreach from other churches and events. Our smaller team was assigned to Polk St., which is one of the worst for prostitution in the city of SF. We were given food and roses, and we were asked to feed the hungry, and bless prostitutes on the streets with a rose to tell them that God thinks that they're beautiful.
Now, this is quite the experience when you realize that 9/10 of the prostitutes in SF are male transvestites. In fact, you feel uncomfortable not only by their demeanor, but also by the fact that you are trying to minister to them with honor, and that includes respecting their own understanding that they are female! They have had many encounters where the love of Christ, through the presentation of these flowers, results in immediate deliverance from deception, and the gender-confusion immediately ceases. We were prepped in advance for any possible dangers, so that brought us some confidence.

Many people on my team had incredible divine appointments. My leader, Andreas, met a man in a small convenience store and struck up a conversation. He asked the man, "Would you like to feel the power of God?" and the man said "Yes!". Andreas took the man by the hand and prayed with wisdom that the man would feel incredible peace in his heart. After the prayer, the man said, "I asked God today for peace! You guys must be angels!" They found out that his man was addicted to drugs on the streets of SF, but had the ambition and dream to one day go to culinary school and become a chef. They prayed against his addictions and spoke encouragement to him.

My personal experience was definitely more about God changing my perspective. I met a man named Jeffery, who was an addict that asked for some food and for the rose I intended to give to one of the prostitutes down the street. I told him he could have the rose, but I asked him what it was for. He told me that he intended to "give it to his love", and that he would soon see her. I asked her who she was.
He began to tell me his story, about how he fell in love with a woman named Tracy who worked downtown in a used bookstore. He showed me her business card, and he explained that when they started dating, he kept up in steady employment, and began the process of getting off the drugs he was on at the time. Two years ago, Tracy died. Since then, his life has spiraled out of control, and he is now living on the streets, doing any drugs he can find and drinking non-stop. He explained his depression and recognized his depravity, telling us that he has considered suicide and will probably not survive this winter. Although clearly intoxicated by many chemicals in his body, Jeffery was still very cognizant and intelligent in his conversational skills. He was honest and open about his pain.
So here i am, standing on one of the worst streets in San Francisco, with a man named Jeffery who is almost at the verge of tears as he pulls out his wallet and shows me his picture of Tracy. She is sitting, and he is standing behind her smiling. As I look at the picture, he pulls another travel bottle of vodka out of his pocket and guzzles it, saying that it's his seventh for the night. I was overcome by this man's need, and by the terrible pain that exists on those streets. I felt this overwhelming need for the love of Jesus to tangibly impact people like Jeffery. Suddenly all church squabbles and christian opinions didn't seem to important. Suddenly, the most important thing in the world to me was trying to express the love of Jesus to Jeffery's heart.
He wouldn't let us pray with him, as he felt that if God took away his pain, he would forget Tracy's memory. We didn't push him, as we were emotionally grieving with him through this time. We just continued to listen as he poured out his heart. Eventually he needed to go, and the only words we could impart to him was the encouragement that he was a good man, and that we believed he would make it through this winter and recover his life.
I believe that God will change Jeffery, but I am certain that my encounter with him has changed me.

testimonies


This story is from a Bethel student alumni, so it still counts! We have seen many miracles and there is not the time for me to recount every one, but just an occasional story of encouragement that will bless you.
This former Bethel student travelled to the Philippines to work in the orphanages in that nation. After returning to the US, he still felt a burden to go back to the country, so sometime later that year he went back on his own, without any direction or plan. In one part of the city he arrived in, he met a man who was almost completely blind and asked if he could pray for that man. The man agreed, and as they prayed, 50-75% of his eyesight returned! The student asked if he could continue to pray for the man, and the man agreed. After the second prayer, his eyesight completely returned to full function!
This miracle astounded the former blind man, so he asked if the student would be willing to pray with the man's blind friend. The student agreed, and so they went off on a journey through the city to find this man's blind friend. When they found her, the former blind man explained things and they entered into prayer.
When the student laid his hands on the woman's closed eyes, he realized something that literally vacuumed out all of his faith for that moment: she had no eyeballs in her eye-sockets! After he prayed, she opened her eyes and he verified that that was the case. Although he had just seen a miracle, he recounted that his faith was completely gone in this circumstance. Even still, they pressed into prayer again.
As he laid hands on her eyes, and only prayed for a moment, he could feel eyes beginning to form in her empty sockets! Eventually when he could sense that the eyes were fully formed, he asked her to open her eyes. They were completely white, lacking an iris/pupil! Now his faith was back in order, so instead of praying, he simply said, "God, complete the work."
At that instant, with her eyes opened, he states that he watched the hand of God literally paint her iris and pupil onto her eyes. Although he could not see the hand of God, or the brush with which he did this, the student recounted that there was a physical "colouring-in" of the eye. She had her full vision! Isn't that crazy?!?


Blessings,
Connor

Into the Swing of Things

Wow! It has been another amazing amount of time here in Redding! God has done so many things, I can barely keep up. I am learning and growing, but I am also finding it so enjoyable just to watch the change all around me. There is something progressive about this culture; a rhythm that leads to new heights and depths in the things of God.

First off, I am sorry it takes me so long to blog, for all of you who keep asking for more posts! I try to keep myself free enough to add new posts, but the hardest part is how busy God keeps me! As soon as I go to write something worth sharing, another thing happens. I suppose I'll just have to distribute my posts well enough to give you a fair dose every time!

I can now officially say that I am into the routines and demands of this school and church culture. I am a member of the school's worship team, as a keyboardist, and I take leadership in different assignments given to our revival group in the area of church service (chair setup, etc). I have found it relatively easy to keep up with my reading and work assignments, as the priority of this school is to practically apply everything you learn through experience. In that way, the course load then isn't too difficult.

We are given so much teaching that it would be impossible to chronicle everything we hear. We are reading through the entire bible this year, as well as twelve spiritual self-help books, and we hear 3 full messages a day from tuesday to friday. We're asked to attend one morning and evening service per week, as well as two small group sessions, and one revival group meeting (a smaller meeting with 30 people and our assigned pastor). This keeps the input going constantly. We do many theological lessons that bring us through many foundational principles within the Kingdom, we hear teaching specifically directed at the scripture we're reading, and we listen to sermons based on what Holy Spirit is saying in that instance. Because of all this input, the school asks that we take the time to make sure we give what we recieve, so that we don't become spiritually fat off of what we are taught.

It's important to note that in the Kingdom of God, we only keep what we give away. The Word says, "Give and it shall be given unto you", meaning that only after you give do you truly receive back that which you are giving away! God asks us to be stewards of everything: our time, our money, our possessions, His truth, His love, His power, and His nature. is why it is more blessed to give than to receive! In this way, we spend our free time serving the community of Redding. They have at least three outreaches per week, and so we usually attend at least one extra (beyond the one we do during class time) to make sure we are giving away what we are getting from the Lord.

This week God has done an amazing transformative work in my life, beyond what I could expect or imagine. At this point it is a personal thing, as the Lord continues to speak to me and change things within me. At the same time, I know that my personal testimony is expanding, and I will be ready to share the things God has done at a later time (and possibly a different venue).

Beyond His personal touch, the Holy Spirit has continued to fan these flames of revival. A few days ago, we had a speaker named Georgian Banov, a Bulgarian minister, come and share at our school. He is truly crazy and would consider me saying that to be a compliment! His one message comes from 1 Cor. 2.2, that he knows nothing except Jesus Christ! At the same time, as he simply shares from his heart, many rich teachings come out of his "ramblings". Many of the things the Lord showed me in my personal life came from the truths this man shared. Also, he knows how to butcher, season, and prepare lots of "sacred cows" so everyone can eat! He believes in "drinking in the Spirit", and there were many miraculous and paranormal events that were taking place during his time with us.

To the skeptics that may be reading this, I just want to add that I in no way want to change your perspective through what I write. I only write what I see and experience, and I refuse to be critical of what is very possibly (and in my mind, positively) God. I have captured one of the feathers that has fallen during the services, and it is a pretty neat specimen, and there have been other supernatural occurrences I will mention later. I just want to affirm the fact that I have no proof beyond what I see, and I have no theology prepared to discuss such matters. That said, God can help your unbelief!

Last night, I must mention, was an impartation service that was planned off the cuff by Bill Johnson through the Spirit's leading. He felt that he wanted to impart a fresh baptism in the Spirit to those who were willing, and so he laid hands on all 800 people in attendance! The Spirit moved powerfully, and many God encounters took place through this time. I have collected quite a bit of video of these services, although I can't share them on the blog. Perhaps at Christmas I will provide some time for viewing, if anyone is interested.

There are many events taking place in the near future, the biggest being the "Open Heavens" conference from Oct 25-27 at Bethel Church. They are setting up a tent outdoors for the students to participate, which will have the services broadcast within. I am looking forward to the big things God has planned for the next little while here at Bethel, in my life and the lives of those around me!

testimonies


-I have personally been involved in an incredible time of prophecy and healing over non-believers right on the streets, that resulted in God restoring a woman's back and three girls rededicating their lives to God!

-One individual in an evening service, after the laying on of hands, got out of her wheelchair and began to walk around! I am uncertain as to this woman's condition now, as it's hard for me to do follow-up on those sorts of things in such a big church, but it was an incredible testimony of God's power.

-I have also heard testimonies of different specific words of knowledge over strangers, God encounters resulting in the healing of broken ankles and other ailments, and open visions where people experience heaven from here on earth!

-Bill Johnson, in this impartation service, anointed people with oil that he received from a miraculous church in Puerto Rico (Watch video of the church here. It is TOTALLY worth the time). Now there were 800 people in attendance, and the bottle only held perhaps a few ounces. The bottle remained completely full for the entire service, despite the fact that such a distribution should have totally used up the oil! I have video of this event that I will at one point show you.

Blessings,

Connor

Week 2-3

Hello everyone! Time has gone by, and I miss you all like crazy. The culture I am in continues to be surprising and fulfilling. I am blessed to be a part of something so monumental, and there is a great humility amongst everyone involved. We know that this generation is on the verge of a great revival, for no other generation has been empowered in the way that we have. We believe that a second great Reformation is underway; one that will see the church defined by the very presence of the living God, as evidenced through the workings of the supernatural realm! This is the only way forward, and it is a lifestyle freely given to everyone through the power of the Cross. Redding is pioneering something that will become easier to any culture that chooses to tread the same path towards revival, as they model the love, honor, joy and power that should accompany every revival culture!

I gotta say, it's sometimes a little bit... weird here. I have set a firm resolve inside my heart not to be offended or distracted by anything I don't understand. I also choose to embrace anything that seems scary or uncomfortable, throwing myself head-first into what could be my next big breakthrough. I still test the Spirits, obviously, but you would be surprised how God's voice is much more clear and direct about those things when you stop judging the move of God before participating in it! (That's a good word right there!)

Two things will always accompany a genuine move of God: Demonic counterfeits and manifestations of the flesh. It is not that either of these things are welcomed or accepted, but they seem to show up as alternatives wherever the Spirit of God decides to fall. This does not mean that the movement is not of God, but quite the opposite! It means that what God is doing, the devil is trying to imitate. That being said, only through intimacy can we grow in hearing what is of God, and what is not. It is impossible to grow in that kind of intimacy without making mistakes. Please hear me, I am not saying that we must follow many deceptions in order to find the truth. But I am saying that a tenacious pursuit of the things of God will include mistakes, and that that is okay! This is no excuse to become timid before the Lord, or wait for Him to move us. Eventually the urge will become more subtle, and what used to be passion now becomes religion, and spiritual growth stops. This could be in the area of worship, spiritual discipline, discipleship, the gifts of the Spirit, or even the manifestations of the supernatural.

I am taking the time to say all of this because I cannot go further in my account of what I am experiencing without making sure you understand my heart, as well as the biblical basis for some of the things that are taking place. I can't keep track of who reads this blog, and so, I am sorry if anything offends you. Please email me if you have questions, comments or concerns, they are always welcome. I am on that path, of pursuing the things of God at the risk of discomfort.

The first new thing I have experienced is "Drinking in the Spirit" (Eph. 5.18, Acts 2.13-16). This is when an encounter with the Spirit begins to carry the physical manifestations of actually drinking alcohol. While this is not the first time I have experienced the Spirit in this way, I have never seen it happen so frequently or on such a widespread basis. It seems like everybody "loves to get drunk"! There are bursts of laughter running through the congregation constantly, and many people have a hard time even standing. There is an increase in the expressions of love in the room, as those who have "been drinking" are often seen hugging and encouraging one another! Oftentimes, this includes other manifestations of the Spirit's presence. Services will often take a totally different direction as the majority of those involved become "under the influence"!

There would be red flags from this type of event if it didn't lead to fruit, and in other cases, it may not. In that circumstance, this would be considered a work of the flesh. In this church, however, people are all too willing to give away what they receive, and through these times, great miracles take place. I encourage anyone who is uncomfortable with these concepts to read Wes Campbell's book, "Welcoming a Visitation of the Holy Spirit", to find further biblical basis for such manifestations.

I have personally been truly enjoying these times. Never before has such pure joy flooded into my soul, and it is something I can share with everyone else present. In these times, I wonder why others have settled for an image of God who is much less fun, and much less involved in the lives of His people. Drinking in the Spirit definitely increases your appetite for the supernatural, whether or not there are manifestations to accompany it!

testimonies

-Chad Stauffer, my close friend and roommate, prayed for a man in service who had a sharp pain in his wrist. After praying, the man told Chad that 80% of the pain had left! Chad, feeling that that wasn't enough, led the man in another prayer. The man rejoiced as all the pain left his wrist and he gave glory to God for his healing!

-Four Bethel leaders decided to have a "guys night out" and go visit a hospital. They got into the hospital through visiting a member of the church, but they soon asked one of the nurses if they could visit rooms who were looking for company and pray for the sick. The hospital staff welcomed them! After praying for some folks, eventually they found themselves welcome in the emergency room.
My revival leader, Joaquin, was there (he's a MIGHTY man of God) and he stood up in the ER and said, "I just wanted to let you know that, if you're here to see a doctor, we'll be able to help you right away!" People were a little startled by his statement, but eventually they were able to give some specific prophetic words of knowledge over one girl who was waiting with her mom. Her mom had stepped out of the room, but the girl asked if they would pray for her mom when she got back. They did, and received a word of knowledge over her as well! Furthermore, she was healed of her affliction (I believe it was noticeable scoliosis but I might be mixing my stories; I hear so many!)

-Finally, the most amazing miracle this week was from a meeting held near Redding that included two second-year Bethel students and one of Bethel's pastors, Kevin Dedmon. During the meeting, a man came up for prayer who had cut off his thumb several months prior on a table saw. He had lost the full digit of his thumb to below the thumb's first knuckle. As they prayed, they decided not to cover his hand as they asked for a creative miracle. Within minutes, they watched as a new thumb and joint grew out of the stub of the old one, including a brand new thumbnail! This was a creative miracle that they saw unfolding with their own eyes! Praise God for His ability to make anything out of nothing at all!

Blessings,

Connor

School Week #1

Hello! The first week of school was completed on Friday and the second week will begin tomorrow (Tuesday). It is continually life-changing to be in a place such as this, and revival is always active!

We have classes from 12:45 to 5:30 every day. Usually within that time, three people speak and there is an hour of worship. This week, we were fortunate to have Bill (Johnson) and Kris (Vallotton) speak every day. Each and every message was "out of the park".
We are required to attend exactly 2 services every week. The assigned service rotates for each student. Right now, I attend Friday night service, and the third Sunday morning service. Also, we are asked to spend one hour a week in the 24-hr prayer house, and read 2 chapters of the word from a scheduled reading plan (and report on those chapters weekly). In the future, on thursdays we will have outreach and Fridays we will hear from a guest speaker (if they bring one into their church).
We're also asked to read one book per every two weeks. They requested that we would have one read by the beginning of classes, so I have so far read "Welcoming a Visitation of the Holy Spirit" by Wes Campbell, and "Good Morning Holy Spirit" by Benny Hinn. They are both very good books, if anyone is sitting on their hands looking for that sort of thing!

Worship is always a phenomenal experience at Bethel. Everyone is so passionate about praising their King. Worship seems to go on for the majority of their services, with a sense of abandon that makes you want to remain in that atmosphere forever. We sing, laugh, shout, cry out, sing spontaneous prophetic songs, and dance, and everyone enters in. In this environment, many extraordinary events take place, including the mysterious feathers that fall from nowhere. I have seen them, and although I wasn't able to grab one, I thought it was pretty crazy. Please understand, no-one calls them "angel feathers". They are just feathers, because... that's what they are! The atmosphere is thick during these times, and although it doesn't happen every worship time, it happens enough that the church itself is accustomed to it. The feather I saw was about the size of a quarter. It had a strange "v" shape, and fell straight to the floor without blowing from the movements of people around it. Once it landed on the floor in front of me, I couldn't find it despite my searching. If I do get one, I will send it to you guys. Believe me, it's fascinating. I truly believe that God brings these sorts of signs to make us wonder. It's a dangerous place to be in when we think we know and understand everything about this mysterious, mystical relationship we have with God. When He moves, He brings the mysteries of Heaven with Him. Things like this can either be taken in stride, appropriated to the context and not blown out of proportion, or they can become stumbling blocks to keep us from deeper things.

Everyone here has a servant's heart. The bathrooms in the church stay spotless because the students choose to clean them up without being asked. (Something that inspires this is what Kris says frequently: 'You won't ever do something you can't do until you do something you can do.')It is a culture built on the principle of honor.

This week, I made the worship team for the school's worship band as the keyboardist. I am not leading, which at first, came as a surprise. This surprised me not because I thought I deserved to lead, but because I thought that I was more experienced as a worship leader than as a pianist. God corrected me by reminding me that this was a "season of rest", and that He was in charge of that process. I am so blessed to remain involved in worship here at Bethel.



testimony account
It is very hard to keep up-to-date on the testimonies around Bethel church, simply due to the massive volume of these stories. Most of them aren't even told to the students, because two or three people are healed each meeting.
Recently, a girl was healed of her bi-polar disorder after coming up for prayer about an unrelated matter.
Kris told the story about how, on a flight last week, he led a demonized man to Jesus on the way home to Redding.
So far, in the 6 regular services I have attended, I have seen 25-30 people give their hearts and lives to Jesus. The way Bill goes through this process is incredible: he invites them to the front as everyone has their eyes open and their heads raised. Then, as the congregation prays over them, they are asked to verbally confess each sin that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.
Afterwards, Bill looks each of them in the eye and asks, "Were you honest with God?" in a way that is non-threatening but still very direct. After each of them says "yes", he then tells them that every sin has been erased and they have received a new nature. The congregation stands and cheers, and it's a beautiful moment. Finally, he says, "We would never deliver a baby and leave it on the doorsteps of the hospital" so these new believers are led off to enter into discipleship courses. It's an amazing time.

Thank-you for being interested in what God is doing in me this year. I feel blessed to have such supportive friends and family. I will try to keep up with this busy schedule, and write you the stories that deserve to be told. Please, feel free to comment me after you read, and leave your name in the comment so I know who has written me. Blessings,

Connor

First Impressions

Well everyone, I have attended my first service and outreach at Bethel Church. It has already been amazing, and I can fully attest that God is doing a great work.

The building makes a good first impression. They have a massive property on the side of a hill, and the road leading to it is called "the Avenue of Nations". They have many (if not all) of the national flags of the nations of the world, and as you reach the top of the hill you get a clearer view of the 24/7 prayer house on the hill's edge. It is a circular building that overlooks all of Redding with windows on almost every side. It is called the "alabaster house", and anyone can enter at any time for prayer, communion, and soaking in the presence of Jesus.

The sanctuary wasn't as big as I imagined it to be. Their church actually has only about 450 members, but when visitors, members, and school of ministry students get added to the mix, there are about 1000-2000 people on their property daily.

On Friday, we attended our first service (as school starts this tuesday). We entered with anticipation, and we weren't the only ones excited. It was an incredible time of worship and the word.

For a note on worship, I would like to say that I have never been in such a passionate, inviting worship service. You can feel the love that people have for their God, and the love that they have for one another. Many danced in very expressive ways, while others simply observed and waited for the Spirit to fall. Then a man named Paul Manwaring spoke on sacrifice and restraint. It was a beautiful, moving message. Afterwards, many went to the altar to receive their healing (as well as prayer for other needs) and I moved seats to the front just to watch what God was doing. Many people received his touch, becoming drunk in the Spirit and entering further into worship. It was possible that some received their healing in that moment, although I saw nothing definitive in that moment. The presence of the Spirit was there in glory, however.

testimony#2


On saturday we went out and did street evangelism by serving the disenfranchised a hot meal. They know we are coming to certain areas, so they gather expectantly. In total, bethel does 4 street outreaches a week, and two of them are meals (saturdays: the meals are taken to the streets, sundays: the meals are offered at the church) So Chad and I went, served food, met people, prayed for the sick, and offered encouragement. I will post the pictures of this experience on facebook for everyone to enjoy! (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14418&l=ae1d6&id=634156160)

Anyway, a member of another group felt a specific pain in his knee before he left. When they arrived at their location (a skatepark) the guy began talking with someone and realized that this person had the knee problem.

He said, "Does it hurt in this exact spot?", pointing at where it hurt on his own knee.

"Yeah!" The kid said.

"And it feels like someone took a drill to it, or the claw of a hammer to it? An intense pain?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?" The skater said, really surprised.

"Well, Jesus told me, and he wants to heal you. Can we pray?" And from there, they prayed and saw the knee pain healed immediately.

(Note: I am not sure of the extent that this skater had hurt his knee. It could've been anything from mild bruising to an actual disorder, but either way, it's a miracle. To God be the glory!)

Blessings,
Connor

Arrived In REDDING!

Hey everyone!

We arrived in Redding yesterday, after an amazing journey across most western states! It was an incredible trip, in every respect, as God kept us safe and looked after every detail along the way. We made excellent time, and we went through probably 20 radar traps without a problem (obviously, because we weren't breaking the law!).

It is absolutely beautiful country along the west coast. We traveled down the I5, so we weren't close enough to see the Pacific. Still, the weather just continued to become warmer and warmer, and we got some nice photos from the trip. If you'd like to see them, I will add them to my facebook. (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14316&l=d11cd&id=634156160)


Testimony #1
Well, considering that this blog is called "These Are Your Stories", I will now tell of my first tale of God's provision. Many of you know that there have been many hoops that Chad and I have jumped through to get across the border.

We had some anxiety as we approached the crossing, having prepared long and hard to make sure we had done everything in our power to get across to Washington St. We dressed up nicely and shaved (first time in a long while!), and spent about 40 minutes in the lineup of vehicles approaching the toll.

We prayed and asked God for favor, claiming our identity as children of the King. (Royalty don't have a problem getting held up at borders!) Chad prayed more specifically for us to encounter a Christian border official.

We were sent into a particular building for processing, and within 10 minutes we were called forward by a border official. He asked about our business, and we explained our situation as I showed him my acceptance letter. He read a handful of lines without speaking to us.

"Do you guys love Buddhists?" He asked. "It's a yes or no question."

"Yes" I replied.

"You guys must be Christians. 'Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you' stuff, right?"

"Yeah, that's us." I said.

He went on to read for a little while longer, asking for only one other document from Bethel (which was amazing, because I had prepared about 10 legal documents, and so had Chad, and he didn't even look at Chad's!). Again, he just read in silence.

"Are you guys going to blow up any abortion clinics?" He asked, without humor.

"No sir," I said. "We love those people too."

He told me that that was a good answer, and that he'd have no problem giving us the proper paperwork for the full stay in the U.S. He even went as far as to not put an expiry date on the process, so we could stay as long as we needed.
He said "God Bless" as he stamped our passports, and the whole ordeal lasted probably 20 minutes. They didn't even look in our vehicle, and they had no skeptical inquiries.

This is an incredible example of God's favor! We have heard from other students, one in particular, who was interrogated for almost an hour by one border official. This student even had the border official withdraw his weapon to scare the student into possibly saying something that would spoil his visa application! That student, Shawn, also made it across by God's grace.

I pray that this story would bless you by verifying God's favor in your own life. I believe that this story contains the blessing of God over any international issue you may encounter in the future. Believe God, and be encouraged!

Blessings,
Connor

Update: On The ROAD!

Hey All!
Just a quick note to keep you up to speed on things: We are currently in the midst of our three day journey to Redding. Please say a quick prayer of protection, and favor at the border, for me and Chad as we embark tomorrow for Vancouver! (If you do it right after you read this, then you'll definitely remember to pray)

I want to say thank you to everyone from CLF who supported me with their kind encouragement through the blessings they spoke to me, and the offering the church raised for me. That has put me through the roof, so to speak! I am blessed beyond measure, that much is sure. But I know that I am blessed to be a blessing, so I want you to know that your seed is on good soil. God is going to do a great work in us all.
Blessings,
Connor

Welcome!

Hey All!

I have decided to enter the blogosphere! This will be my little posting grounds for all of the journeys I end up on throughout this next year in Redding, CA. I wanted an easy way to keep everyone informed, without spamming their junk mail inbox with a group email! And so, I am now journaling my life online.

I really feel like this year at Bethel is not just about me. I feel like I am also meant to be a vessel to bring the open heaven I experience back to the Sask Valley. I basically just feel like I want to "pack" all of the good stuff I receive this year and bring it back home! I want the things that refresh me to refresh all of you. I would like my testimonies to become your testimonies.
I would like these stories to become your stories.
That is why I named this blog, "These Are Your Stories", because I feel as though you, as my friends and community, can lay claim to these stories. Feel free to take ownership in these testimonies and posts; God wants to do the same work in your life.

I hope that as I grow and receive from God, that I would be able to be a blessing to all those who want to see the Kingdom released. I commit to sharing God's great gifts with anyone else who will take them.

Blessings,
Connor