Two Day Adventure With God

This weekend my friend Donko and I drove to Yeovil, which is a town in Somerset in the south west of England. We were attending a kickstart seminar, which is a Christian discipleship and evangelism event. I had seen many videos from events like this online through my interest in the Last Reformation movement, but this would be the first time I had attended one of these events.

The first couple of hours of the event, on Saturday morning, were a bit nervy for me as I was meeting so many people for the first time and was in unfamiliar circumstances. I was, however, trusting that God wanted me to be there, and would bless the occasion. I have heard people referring to the Last Reformation movement as a cult, and I have had unpleasant experiences with cults in the past, so mixed in with my faith in God was a little trepidation.

About 30 people were attending the event, and it was obvious from the outset that despite our diverse personalities and backgrounds we shared a love of God and a passion for the gospel and for following Jesus in an authentic, biblical way. The morning sessions consisted of teaching about stepping out in faith, the gospel, and how to pray for people who needed healing. We had some lunch and then split up into ‘teams’ to go out on the streets of Yeovil and pray for people who were willing to let us do so.

Within a few minutes of approaching people on the street, my teammate Michael and I witnessed a powerful miracle. There was a gentleman with two crutches who said he had pain throughout his body. We laid hands on him and Michael commanded the pain to go in the name of Jesus, and after only two prayers the man was astonished that all his pain left completely. This was the first time I had witnessed such a powerful healing, and we praised God for His goodness. The man said he would consider coming to the kickstart event the following day (he didn’t come as far as I’m aware but he still had a life-changing God encounter and saw Jesus in action).

A few minutes later we approached a couple of guys on a bench, one with a hat and a bright t-shirt whose name was Sunny D. He said he had pain in his lower back and that we could pray for him. I said one or two short prayers and he was amazed that the pain completely left. Seeing these healings was amazing for me too, as when I have prayed for people in the past I haven’t always been confident that they were healed completely, only partially. Either that or they didn’t want to admit they were healed due to being atheists or peer pressure or some other reason.

A little later we approached a group of young people who seemed to be quite into alternative culture, with their tattoos and piercings and dark clothing. Some were a little hesitant to talk to us but we found a man who was in serious pain and was due to go into hospital for a back operation soon following a car accident. We prayed for this guy many times and he said there was an improvement, but some of the others with him were resisting what we were doing through fear or scepticism or whatever and eventually a girl in the group led the others to move on.

Over the next few hours we spoke to dozens of people, sometimes praying, sometimes sharing the gospel, and many people were very open. We did have some rejections, but that is to be expected when you step out and approach people in this way. I could tell many testimonies about the people we met and the conversations we had, but let me just say that it was a wonderful few hours and I believe God used us to change many people’s lives.

Back at base in the afternoon we shared testimonies, and it was great to hear the stories of other people from the kickstart. Some people who our teams had met on the street had given their lives to Christ and been healed and encouraged. I truly believe that by God’s grace we had a significant impact on the town of Yeovil and it’s amazing what can be accomplished in a few hours of dedicated evangelism.

After the testimonies we sang some worship songs, and it was so joyful. Just to be able to thank and praise God for what he has done for us in Jesus, and for what he was doing in Yeovil. I felt real freedom to sing out to God from my heart and the worship was so powerful that it brought my friend to tears. We are not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe! (Romans 1:16)

Sunday was also a wonderful day, but in a different way. There was more teaching and some people headed out on the streets again but I spent much of the day immersed in conversation with my Christian brothers and sisters in the hall where we were gathered. I was really touched by the dedication of these people to their faith, and I had many great chats and forged some exciting new connections. Some people were baptised (praise the Lord!) which I was hoping to be a part of but there was so much going on in the various different rooms that I missed the baptisms.

It’s important to point out that as Christians we are always growing and seeking to love one other in deeper and more Christlike ways. Because we are imperfect, we sometimes struggle. Some of the conversations I had were really difficult. People were going through tough times, and I have my own insecurities and frailties which always surface more when I’m in a group of people. I have a spiritual sensitivity which means I can get overwhelmed easily, and this can be a real challenge.

I feel as though I am mature in some aspects of my spiritual walk, but in other aspects I am still broken and need healing. I try to remember that life is a journey, and as believers with the Holy Spirit living in us we have a joy and a victory, but we are also still broken and struggling due to our human nature. There were people in the group who didn’t get healed, who were very upset, and struggling in many ways. This is also part of being a human being and being a Christian as we are not perfect like Jesus.

God blessed our drive back home to London on Sunday evening and I’m so happy to write this blog post to reflect on what was an awesome weekend, and an amazing two day adventure with God.