Special Forces Week #1 Beaver, WV

Jim Van GelderenSpecial Forces Updates

Ever since 1997, the Minutemen Evangelistic Team has had the privilege of periodically coming to Victory Baptist Academy in Beaver, WV. We appreciate Pastor Roberts and how the Lord has used him in this area.


This year we had 106 on a high night. The energy for the competition was intense and although the Marine Recon had a slow start, they came back from a 13,000 point deficit to win on Friday night. Needless to say, the Army Rangers, who had been in the lead for most of the week, were stunned!


Spiritually, there was little visible movement throughout the week in the school until Friday morning. When the invitation was given to respond if you had made a decision and wanted it to be lasting through God’s enabling, most of the student body responded. We had a sweet prayer meeting. That night there were several testimonies. Below are some of them:

But last night, Thursday night, I finally got saved. I was really reassured that I was saved! I knew how to be a REAL Christian and it felt great!

And me and my mom have not been having a very good relationship…and I said things to her about it that I really didn’t mean….I had to call her this morning and tell her that…that…I apologized.

God really spoke to my heart this week on bitterness and I have some anger towards people that have already forgiven me, but I said that I had forgiven them and in my heart I knew I still had that anger toward them and I realized that I just need to give that to God and that it’s not by my power, it’s by His.

This week the Lord helped me to realize that the music I was listening to wasn’t the right kind of music. And He helped me make the decision that I needed to get that music out of my life and He showed me that He’s the only true music of my life.


Several of the students in the school went with our team to recruit teens in the surrounding areas to come to the rally nights. There was one young man and his sister did a great job recruiting at an area high school. The sister signed up one young man who was texted by one of our team members about coming. He was responding somewhat differently to the texts. The team member said, “This guy is going to come and get saved.” Well, that is exactly what did happen! On Friday he gave a testimony of what the Lord had done in his life.

The only reason I came here on the first day was because one of my friends talked me into it. I didn’t think anything was going to help me here. But the first day I came here, I played the games, I had fun, met new people. On the first night I actually got saved and I’m happy I made that choice. And now I get to live life in Heaven.


Another young man was also invited by one of the teens in the school. One of our team members texted him to see if he could come on Wednesday. He really wanted to come Wednesday, but couldn’t. He did text on Thursday that he was coming. He was excited. That night God worked in his heart and he was saved. Here was his testimony on the final night.

When I came here the second day, all these people were smiling at me saying, ‘Hello! How are ya? Good to have ya around here!’ It felt like I had known them ever since kindergarten! And they were good people just to make me feel WELCOME! And when the service began, I was honestly expectin’ it to be a normal service like I had at my churches . . . buddy, I was wrong! But when he just started preachin’ and preachin’, it just made sense. I felt like somethin’ deep inside of me just came unravelled, like a spool of yarn or thread. . . I even started tearing up a little bit. I mean, I was a little bit scared when he started talkin’ about that sinful stuff! . . Something was eating me away at my SOUL!

This young man went on to explain that he had gotten saved. I think we all were blessed!


On Monday morning there were some brothers who were some of the first recruits that morning. They were a little nervous since it was at the break of dawn and the guys were wearing hoodies since it was cold. As they began recruiting them, they began to get excited. Not only did they come, but one of them gave a great testimony on Friday evening.

This week I learned that I needed to rededicate my life to the Lord because, I mean, I’ve been saved since I was 12 years old. And well, see, I was doin’ stuff I shouldn’t. I was cussin’. I was tellin’ dirty jokes. I was doin’ things that a true Christian is not supposed to do. And last night I felt the conviction right after the service and I came up to the preacher. I walked up to him and I said, “Hey, look, I need help with rededication. Can you guys help me?” And I want to thank Warren, Jonathan, and Matthew for stopping me on my walk to school….they got me here and that helped me with this and without this, I don’t know where I’d be.


We thank the Lord for all He did in Beaver, WV. We look forward to returning in 2018!

About the Author

Jim Van Gelderen

Dr. Jim Van Gelderen is president of Minutemen Ministries, vice-president of Baptist College of Ministry, and evangelist out of Falls Baptist Church. He and his wife, Rhonda, travel the country in evangelism. They have three daughters.