Dancing at Trinity-Bergen Lutheran Church in Starkweather, ND.

July was a firecracker month for the Gospel.

It began in late June at Trinity Fellowship in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, where I preached a message called “It’s Time to Change” based on the story of Peter being called to Cornelius’ house to preach the Gospel in Acts 10. 

Although Jesus had called His Church to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone, Peter had limited his ministry to Jews only. But God got his attention and changed his course of ministry through a supernatural vision. The Jews who were with Peter were surprised when God baptized the Gentiles with the Holy Spirit. We may be surprised, too, when we see who the Lord fills with His Spirit in these days.

This is a message for all of us! We can’t be stuck in the rut of old mindsets but must be ready to minister to people who don’t look like us and act like us. When God began to move upon the hearts of the hippies in the 60s and 70s, many churches rejected them, but thank God for those who had the insight to open their doors and their hearts to a fresh move of God among young people, including Tom and Susan.

Pastor Rob Buechler and others praying for needs at Starkweather.

In early July at Trinity-Bergen Lutheran Church in Starkweather, we had a fresh move of God at a place that I have visited many times. Some on-fire young people were there from another Lutheran Church about an hour away. Bob and Nancy Balyeat, a singing duo from near Bismarck, brought an anointed mixture of Gospel Hymns and Choruses, and sparks began to fly. I spoke on “The Holy Spirit Our Helper,” “Receiving More of the Holy Spirit,” “Healing a Wounded Spirit,” “Jesus Did it All,” and “Changed by the Glory of God.” On Tuesday night, when I preached on “Jesus Did It All,” a spirit of joy came on the congregation and there was dancing and clapping among the young and old in that Lutheran Church. Many lives were touched by God’s Spirit!

A Powerful Testimony of Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical Healing [Video from Starkweather]

On a Saturday night near the end of July, I thought I was going to preach a Barn Revival at Shawn and Maria Johnson’s farm near Pipestone, Minnesota. But when I arrived, sound equipment was set up in their farm yard, and people began to arrive with their camp chairs setting them up informally in a semi-circle. Shawn and Maria said they had it in their heart to “do something different” this year. They’ve been holding barn revivals in a lovely air-conditioned machine shop for many years. This year they decided to switch things up and hold the revival outdoors. It reminded me of open-air meetings we have held in parks and dusty fields around the world. There is something about singing praises, shouting hallelujah, and preaching the Gospel under God’s canopy that seems just right.

Worship team at Pipestone.

But Shawn and Maria’s unction to do something different seemed to entail more than moving outdoors. The young lady from their church whom they had invited to lead worship asked if she could invite some young people from Pipestone to help her. The group did a great job leading the diverse crowd into the presence of God. 

The crowd was a mixture of young and old, from retired farmers to toddlers and young people with tattoos and piercings. There were people who knew the Lord for a lifetime, others who had recently received Christ, and those who were not yet part of the family of God. All came together and heard the message of a God of love who sent His Son to die for them.

I preached a simple Gospel message from Luke 15 on three parables—the shepherd leaving the 99, the woman searching for her lost coin, and the prodigal son. In each case, something lost was found and there was great rejoicing. I called the message “Joy in the House.” As the scripture says, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7, AV).

People receiving Christ at Pipestone.

There was joy in heaven that night as three people came forward to return to the Father in prayer and repentance. The Holy Spirit moved as we prayed for marriages, broken hearts, and sick bodies. After the service ended, fellowship and ministry continued until midnight. During that time, another young lady received Christ in prayer and a young man was baptized in water under the stars.

Baptism at Farm Yard Revival near Pipestone, MN.

Before I left for Pipestone earlier that day, Susan and I prayed for the service. Susan was led to pray that there would somehow be an opportunity for baptism. It seemed like an unlikely prayer to be answered, but as I was preaching my message that night, I made mention of the fact that every Christian should be baptized in water. So near the end of the service, when we were praying for needs, a young man came up and told me that God has been using him to baptize people, and he was led to offer his services to baptize anyone who wished to receive baptism that night. So he and Shawn Johnson teamed up and we had a baptism in the Johnson’s pool. 

I heard from many people, including the senior saints, that God had touched their hearts through the simple Gospel message I preached on Saturday night. It strongly confirmed to my heart that the message of God’s love through the cross is powerful and effective, not only for those who are away from Christ but also for those who have known the Lord for years. As the scripture says, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18, AV).

I am convinced more than ever that this is where our focus needs to be—reaching the lost and preaching the Gospel. We are praying for a move of God like the book of Acts, where people are saved, healed, baptized, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Then God’s people will be on an accurate, meaningful, and useful path, and there will be joy in the house of the Lord. This is what we are seeing in our meetings, and the altars full of people praying and seeking the Lord.

At the Country Church in Ruthton, Minnesota, I preached a message called “Give Me My Mountain” about Caleb, who claimed the land that God had promised him. It’s time for us to have an aggressive faith and start taking hold of the things that have been given to us by God. Too often, we are praying to the Lord for things that He has already given us. It’s time to speak to the mountains in our lives and lay claim to our inheritance. As someone said, “Don’t talk to God about how big your problem is! Talk to your problem about how big your God is!

Thank you!

Thanks to every individual and church who is a part of this ministry through your prayers, encouragement, and financial support. Our relationship with you is very special to us. We pray for you daily, and we trust that you are receiving a blessing by your connection with this ministry. We pray that your seeds will be multiplied in many ways in your life, your family, and your community. God is expanding His heart through us and through you to touch the world.

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