I always love being with Pastor John Allen in South Haven, IN. We have had the opportunity to be there several times over the years. They have built a wonderful new auditorium and we appreciated the spirit of God’s people there.
On Sunday afternoon a young man was riding a bike. One of the co-captains on our team invited him and got his number. He ended up coming and got saved on the first night. On the last night he said this in his testimony, “I used to get in trouble as a kid. I used to do stuff that made me worried . . . but last night when I was told there is a way, as long as I trust that Jesus Christ can save me . . .I believe that Jesus can, no matter what my sins were . . . .” He and his mother both came to church the following Sunday!
The Army Ranger team captain, Wyatt, invited two brothers at a park. One of them made fun of it. I remember Wyatt telling about his mockery. Amazingly, he and his brother showed up the first night. Both of them responded to the invitation. His brother got saved, but he had not yet made a salvation decision when his mom told him he had to go. The second night they both came back to the evening rally but could not stay for the Gospel message. The third night he came and got saved. His counsellor said he was sober and serious about his need of Christ. His brother brought friends every night and gave a testimony on Friday night. During his testimony he said, “The day before, I found Jesus. I learned to trust Him with everything I have cause only He can take away the sin. . . . Only He can.”
On Friday evening, a young man gave a testimony that thrilled our hearts. He testified, “For the past couple of years, I have had a lot of bitterness towards my father. It has eaten me away and has done major damage to my Christian life. A couple months ago I got into viewing stuff that I should have not. It was not becoming of a Christian or even a Christian who wants to be a pastor. I confessed to my father last night my bitterness towards him. And I told my parents the stuff that I had been looking at. . . and you know, I’VE NEVER FELT THIS GOOD! . . . So I’m here tonight to throw all of this into the fire. I’m going to get ALL OF IT out of my life. It does not belong there.” With that, he threw a black plastic bag loaded with things he wanted out of his life into the fire!
Another young man testified, “I just wanted to tell everyone that, um, this week I gave my life to Christ and I feel great!” Another young man gave this testimony. “On Thursday . . . Dr. Jim at the War talked about cheating and I was cheating on my school. So I talked to my mom and dad and I got it right. Now I have a peace in my heart . . . . And through the sessions this morning, he talked about surrendering your heart to the Lord, and I surrendered all my heart to the Lord.”
A young lady was part of a pact that some students made to not make a decision that week. She decided to break the ungodly pact and she ended up dealing with bitterness and also surrendering everything to the Lord. Another young lady testified, “I want to depend on Christ . . . so that I can keep these decisions through His strength because I cannot do it by myself!” On Friday morning, a young lady went forward at the invitation. Her relationship with her parents was rocky. She had come to the realization that her angry outbursts towards her parents was sin and that she needed to deal with it. The Lord used Scripture and the preaching of His Word to show her that she didn’t need to respond in anger to her parents and that Jesus lived in her and could enable her to respond correctly to her parents. At the campfire service, she gave a testimony about God’s working in her heart and that she was going to go home and talk to her parents. The next morning, I texted the number she gave me to follow up with her. This is what her mom replied, “She did talk with me last night. And just to let you know, I’ve seen a difference in her already today.”
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