Greetings Beloved! Happy Thursday!
Let me begin by saying- God is on the move!
I just got back from another worship event that happened on the campus of a 941 school. That is 4 in one month! On March 18th worship and the Word went forth at Parrish Community High School, on the 25th they went forth at North Port High School, last Saturday they went forth at Sarasota High School and today they went forth- from the gazebo between the library and the cafeteria- at State College of Florida. Here’s one video I took of the Word being preached after worship ended.
It was extra special for me to be there and to share the Word there, because I used to go to that school in my BC days. As I shared in my testimony today, I used to go to the school to pursue sin, now I came to help lead others out of sin. God truly is a Redeemer!
Saturday at Sarasota High School was amazing too. The FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) groups from Riverview and Sarasota High School came together for 3 months to plan the event. They estimated that up to 7-800 people came and the fact that two hardcore rival schools collaborated together was such a sign. Here is one video I got of some of the worship at the end.
Then, everyone joined hands in unity, and we had a prayer circle around the entire football field!
The man who runs the FCA for all Sarasota County is a friend of mine, and he told me that the Principal of Sarasota High is a strong believer. He wants to change the culture of the school over the next 3 years, which is when he will retire. Because of this, he is only hiring Christian coaches and he is opening the door for the gospel to be preached in the school. I was blown away as he was sharing this with me, especially since my son goes there and he has 3 more years left to go! Talk about God sending in the reinforcements! Between these events and the county school board flipping conservative this past summer after 25 years of being liberal, I feel like the 941 is in for a major revival in the schools!
Of course, the rest of the weekend was amazing too.
On Friday, lots of people were out at the park, but Sofiya was home sick and we didn’t have a microphone because my backpack got stolen (we think) at Siesta the week before. Praise God, not only did He provide a microphone through our brother Jeff, but He also provided a worship leader through my friend Augast, who used to lead worship at my church. It was her first time out and she hadn’t sung in years, so she was a little hesitant at first. Once her first song was done though, she was overwhelmed by the Spirit and just kept flowing. Many people heard the Word and were touched by the Presence of God that night, it was awesome! Here’s a video:
At Riverwalk, we had to meet near the skate park because Rossi Park is closed for renovations, but it was still great. We got to pray with and encourage many youths, and I even had a lengthy conversation with one guy who is totally new age. Towards the end, two girls walked up and ended up receiving counsel and inner healing for 3 hours! All in all, it was an amazing night with great fruit. Here’s one video:
On Sunday, the beach was PACKED. It was still spring break and there were so many youths on the beach. I had my first Divine appointment as I was taking the cross to the beach. A young man named Luke stopped me and told me how awesome it was that I had a cross. I talked with him for a while and the young man (23 years old) said he loves God and he used to go to church, but that he was struggling big time and needed to reconnect with Him. He acknowledged his sin in humility and we prayed for him to come back. He was so appreciative that he couldn’t stop saying how great it was to have met me. Amazing.
All throughout the night, we had one person after another coming up to us. I had a similar conversation with another young man named Anthony, who asked for prayer to walk closer with the Lord and to overcome sin. I also got word that several people prayed to receive Christ. Just as we were about to leave, two girls came up and started talking with us. One ended up confessing her sin and ended up getting filled with the Spirit, and the other one, who wasn’t yet a believer, got to witness it all. So fun! Here’s a video from that night-
Last weekend was extra special to me also because on Friday I celebrated the 5-year anniversary of doing outreach. My friend Monte and I began doing outreach together on Siesta Beach on Easter Saturday 2018- 3/31/18 and by God’s grace, the Word has gone forth every single weekend since. Here’s a pic from that first night. Notice how little we had and how small the speaker was!
To celebrate, I called Monte and asked him to come by Bayfront Park on the anniversary day, and it was so good to see him. Here’s a pic from that night:
I can only imagine how many thousands of people have heard the gospel through these (almost 500) outreaches over the past 5 years. Reflecting on it makes me grateful, but also zealous to do even more over the next 5 years!
Which…brings me to this weekend. Resurrection weekend! I hope you can make it out to minister with us as we kick off our 6th year! The schedule will be:
Good Friday at Bayfront Park (159) at 7
Saturday at Riverwalk (86) at 5
Resurrection Sunday at Siesta (263) at 3
Please pray and please come when you can! Love you!
Chris and Sofiya
P.S. Big shout out to everyone who came last weekend- Mike M, Thom, Jeff, Laney, Augast, Cindy, Amber, Debbie, Chuck, Ricardo, Mike V, Jackson, Rene, Maria, Michelle, Cheryl, Bruce and Shirley. We’re so thankful for your YES!
P.P.S. Please join us tonight for prayer if you can. Here’s the link:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/73026016560?pwd=tvuRAgrscf3YgyMBkqX5XLakVznHu7.1