In 1997, the War of Special Forces was headed to Cornerstone Christian School for the first time. I was not able to go since that was the time the Lord called my father home to heaven. Since that time though, I have had the privilege of going there several times. Each time we have seen the Lord work. We enjoy working with Pastor Paul Stowe, his wife and the good folks who are the faculty and staff there.

This year there was an interesting phenomenon that occurred. We all knew the Lord was working, but there was a lock down on response all the way until Friday morning. Usually, a good number of students respond on Friday to spend time praying and declaring their dependence on the Lord. This year on Friday morning though, no one came. Many hands were raised that they had made a decision and knew they needed to depend on the Lord. One student even started to stand, but then looked around and sat back down. No one moved. You could sense God was working, and that there was a lock down. Fortunately, it did not stay that way.

At lunch, the team interacted with the students, and there was a sober tone in the air. Many students admitted that they realized they had disobeyed the Lord by giving in to peer pressure and the fear of man. Many of these students said that they wanted another chance to get out of the boat and obey the Lord! The last period of the day was split session.

In the men’s split session, all three team captains preached. When Josh gave the invitation, guys just stood up and left the room. They didn’t even give themselves time to think of staying in their seat again. The young men who left the room prayed together and wrote down their decisions. In the ladies’ split session, Rhonda spoke to them, and then had Rebekah challenge them for a few minutes during the invitation. Rebekah challenged the girls who knew they should have responded in the morning to be willing to share their testimonies that evening. Then she started a prayer meeting with them, and those same girls who had been in tears at lunch, called out to God to change them and change their school!

One young lady in the Christian school responded during the week as the Lord worked in her heart. She was struggling with bitterness and wanted to see the Lord give her His forgiveness. She also wanted to let her life influence others as she shared in her testimony:

“…he preached over bitterness and forgiveness…and…it broke me down. I don’t forgive easily, and I hold grudges. And…this week has also taught me to get out of the boat, and…to be the salt of the world, and to make other people thirsty for Jesus Christ, and only Him.

A young man in the Christian school talked to Craig, the Marine team captain, during the week. He got saved and went home to tell his parents. He took steps to follow Jesus completely and gave a testimony on Friday.  

Rebekah was texting through a list of contacts who had come to Special Forces three years ago when the team was in Decatur. She texted one young man for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, and he said he would come that night! He showed up early and was all in for the competition! He responded to the invitation and depended on Christ to save him! He acknowledged that he had not made any decision three years previous, and Wednesday night was the only night that he could come out! Praise the Lord for saving this young man!

Below are some encouraging testimonies from the week:

“So I realize that I have been letting my insecurities or what people thought of me completely control my life. And so, I decided this week to really rely fully on God and stop worrying about what people thought of me…and follow Him!”

“…if you are fearing man, then you can’t fear God. So, this week has just pushed me to fear God and not really worry about what my friends think—what my best friends think—and…just not to care about making a decision that could change my life.”

“…this morning, he preached on how to make things change, and rely 100% on God, and 0% on myself. And I have really struggled in the past with a lot of things, and…I would make decisions at camp to stop, and then, I would come home, and I’d just keep doin’ it cuz I would keep relyin’ on myself to do it, and not God. And so, this week, I decided to rely 100% on God and step out of the boat and be more of a leader…for God.”

“…we had a meeting at the end of the day with all the team leaders, and it was basically Hunter talked about it, and so did Josh, and so did Craig…it was the fear of man—what are people gonna say? And…Josh gave us the opportunity at the end of the meeting to…talk to people and pray about the things that we didn’t get right in chapel that morning…But…really God spoke to my heart this week about fully depending on Him and…like Brother Jim said this morning [the Christian life] isn’t hard or difficult, it’s impossible. It isn’t something you can do on your own, and…I was just trying to do it on my own…and you’re never gonna be…perfect, like he said, but when you fully depend on God, He can use you in ways that you could never imagine.”

“…my whole life, I’ve really been afraid of what other people thought. Peer pressure is a real thing and it affects many people and…it’s affected me. And, I’m afraid…I got really convicted because maybe I had inflicted some peer pressure on some other people…What matters is what God thinks!”

“…earlier today, a lot of people…didn’t go back and stand up for what they believed in, and they knew God wanted them to do. We sat in our seats, and cowered over the fact that…we should be in a room prayin’ to God. And Josh—-Josh tore into me today. I mean, I am sure all of us felt it, but I was warm…I just tried to hide it, makin’ jokes with the boys, and…well we went to a room and prayed, and I laid it all out and I said ‘God, I know this isn’t my life, it’s Yours. So, I’m gonna live it like that.’ So, the song that’s rang in my head all day–I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, No Turning Back. And my favorite verse of that song is: ‘Though none go with me, still I will follow.’ So today I’ve decided to rededicate my life, and…whether or not somebody’s behind me the whole way, I know it’s God’s will and I’m gonna follow Him.”