In the year 2000 I moved to Wisconsin and began the process of becoming a Wisconsinite. Although I am still a Bears fan (having grown up in Chicago), you find the Green Bay Packers are “huge” up here. This summer I went to Lambeau Field in Green Bay for the first time. A few weeks later I was at Bay City Baptist Church in Green Bay for the War of Special Forces. Let’s just say, I like the visit to Bay City Baptist better!
Pastor Paul Brown and Dr. Michael Phillips, the principal, were great with which to work together. In the past I have been with Dr. Phillips a few times so it was a blessing to work with he and his wife again.
On Saturday evening the young ladies on the team were looking for the apartment where they were to stay for the week. They went to the wrong apartment and were trying to figure things out when a young man and his mom were walking by. They helped the girls get to the right apartment. Jessica recruited him and his mom and they were all in. The young man ended up coming two nights and although he came forward twice, he seemed to get his salvation settled on that second night!
On Thursday the youth pastor really challenged the students to reach out to the public school teens in the evening rallies. On Thursday evening during the invitation one of the students leaned over to a young man who had raised his hand but had not yet responded and said, “If you want to go, I’ll go with you.” The young man got up and the student went with him to the personal work area. There he watched as this public school young man was led to the Lord by Wyatt, the Ranger team captain. He was smiling from ear to ear realizing that God had used him!
Another young man responded to the invitation on Wednesday. He had a lot of bitterness and some other issues. On Friday evening he gave a great testimony. This is what he said.
“This week’s been really great for me…especially in my spiritual life. I really feel like now after this week, just dealing with things in my personal life and dealing with my bitterness towards God…. I’d been really bitter at Him for a lot of life’s circumstances that I’d been put in, for mistakes I’d made that I’d blamed Him for. And I feel like now after this week, I can finally say that I’m assured of my salvation. I’d lived day to day fearing of what was gonna happen next because I was never sure if I was going to Heaven. We had done several studies in youth group and I wadded through it. I was like, ‘These books don’t help me. I don’t know what to do.’ And I finally gave up my bitterness. I was like, ‘This isn’t who I want to be. I can’t be bitter towards a God that I said I love.’ And that was on Wednesday and since then…that fear’s gone away. I haven’t had to fear what was going on. I didn’t have to fear the next hour for what was going to happen. I can live my life the way God wants me to.”
A young lady in the Christian school brought a friend for which she was burdened. During the invitation on Thursday evening she came back with her when she got saved. The young lady, who got saved, gave this testimony on Friday evening.
“I got saved last night. I have always believed there is a God. I never went to church and my parents argue a lot, so…I never got the chance to go….and with my issues and my family and everything I’ve been through, I finally realized that I need the help. I need God and Jesus’ gift to save me. I realized that I do need saving. I know I’m a liar, I know I’m a sinner, and I know I need Him to save me. And I’ve tried so hard in my life to fit in with other people, to be like everybody else and I can’t do that anymore. I have to follow my beliefs. I have to let myself believe and be able to forgive myself and that Jesus saved me.”
Other students in the school also dealt with sin issues in their lives – bitterness and viewing sins. A mother expressed her appreciation to one of the team captains for his dealing with her son who had gotten some things right with her!
On the Wednesday a young man came who Ryan, the Seals team captain, had invited at the young man’s high school. He came with two of his friends. He responded to the invitation and Ryan had the privilege of leading him to the Lord. As soon as he prayed to get saved, he asked Ryan, “What about rap music and rock music?” Ryan answered, “What is the Holy Spirit inside of you telling you?” “It is pulling me away from God,” he quickly stated. When he came out of the counselling room, Ryan brought him to his two friends he had come with. He told them he had gotten saved and then unprovoked he said, “Guys, I’m done with rap and I’m done with rock!”
We thank the Lord for he did in hearts. We heard later that four young people who had attended the War of Special Forces came to the youth group meeting the following Wednesday. Three of them are mentioned in this report as young people who got saved!
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