WE ARE A HAPPY TEAM!

Tonight, after countless issues, interruptions, cancellations, sickness, and so many more issues, we had a breakthrough!

17 salvations tonight!

We feel like God broke us through demonic presences, drunken salvations, and so many interruptions. Huge, huge breakthrough happened, much larger than the 17 salvations, and another dozen or two re-dedications to Christ.

This team of guys (Don Danner, Scott Kemper, and Dennis Wilson) became relentless, pressing in, witnessing on the streets everyday, rescuing the drunken and the hurting, and praying like their lives depended on it.

Tonight the service was packed, and people eager to receive! It was incredible! Also today, Mike Fleming (our missionary) assisted his wife in giving birth to their firstborn- daughter Carolyn. Even that felt prophetic and so... extra powerful.

Thanks so much for praying with us! I can't wait to hug some of you, especially those of you who give sacrificially to make missions happen at Freedom Valley.

And the rest of you, just because I love you.

A huge little announcement

Jim Marocco and I finally got it hooked up Thursday.

He is planning to be here Monday December 7 for a one day event for Pastors.

Dr. Marocco leads a church called King's Cathedral, which meets in more than 50! locations in Hawaii, Alaska, California, Arkansas, Washington state and more.

The details for the Dec 7 day are not yet worked out. I hope to have several hours of time for Senior Pastors who are planting churches to ask him questions and go deep together. I also want to have some time for a larger group to learn more general leadership skills.

But in case you are a planner, I wanted to get up here the details that we do have. I want to spend the entire day learning from him and growing in my own leadership skills. I have never before had opportunity to spend time with a leader who planted more than 50 churches out of his home church, and I am very much looking forward to it!

I hope you can be there.

another day of destiny

I had SUCH a great day today.

This morning I rode my miracle motorcycle (yes, the one God gave me for free) to meet with a couple who wants to help make the Three Springs church explode with salvations, disciples, and growth. Denny and Patty Hunsinger are amazing, risk taking, crazy advetnurters for God who are willing to risk everything just in case it might work!

They are willing to walk away from a job with good benefits, and take a risk on getting the Three Springs church on track.They have lived in the area for the past 23 years, coached high school football down the street from the church for decades, earned the license to preach, practiced their spiritual gifts until God opened doors for them, and are now willing to risk it all to get this church re-started into something great. I get a chill thinking about people like them.

I believe that one day I will meet hundreds perhaps even thousands of people in Heaven who will benefit from the use of their gifts.

Then I hung out with my kids for hours while we goofed off, joked around, poked a fire with sticks, roasted marshmellows, and told jokes. Shawna sang some Ray Stevens songs. My wife and kids are my very best friends in the world. They are so much fun, so Godly, kind hearted, and full of vision. I feel so lucky to be their dad, and her husband.

Late this afternoon I got back on the that wonderful-miracle-bike and rode 30 minutes west of that mountain cabin, where Debbie and Bobby Landis are 6 months into The River church plant in Juniata County, where they averaged 133 people weekly over their first summer! They were doing a "go-cart races" outreach, where Bobby uses his Sprint Car racing background to reach people for Christ.

It was awesome!

And then there was a two hour ride home on the bike (did I mention the miracle bike yet?). But while I love that bike, I am seriously considering selling it to finance yet another church planting effort. I feel like Schindler, wishing I had more stuff to sell, to buy more eternity.