Pastor John Boutchia came to Calvary Baptist Church a few years ago. Previously I have been with Brother Boutchia several times when we went to Gospel Baptist in Bonita Springs. The church has really grown under his leadership, and it was a thrill to work with the folks there. There were many who came out each night to help. There is no doubt they were behind the effort.

Since they no longer have a Christian school, we moved the days to The War schedule. The War nights were Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We had a smaller crowd than we had hoped, but there were lost there each night, and we saw many saved.

The War started on Saturday night, and the next morning I was preaching in the morning service. Although I preached to the saved, there was application about salvation being nothing that we can do, but trusting Him for everything in regards to our salvation. There was an older young man there who had been to the War the night before as well as attending the church some before the team arrived. He raised his hand during the invitation and responded. It was such a joy to see the Lord work in his life. He left with his salvation settled and came both the next nights.

This young man’s friend was also unsaved. He also came on Saturday night and told Hunter, the Seal team captain, that he had already made a decision. On Monday night, he responded to the preaching and, along with another friend, was saved!

There were several invites made by the youth group teens and other members of the church. One teen girl in the youth group brought a friend on Monday night who accepted Christ as her personal Savior.

A grandmother in the church invited another young man to come to the War nights. He raised his hand during the invitation but did not respond. Joshua, the Marine team captain, asked him afterwards if he knew where he would go when he died. The young man said that he raised his hand but didn’t understand what to do. After Joshua went through the gospel with him, he prayed a clear salvation prayer admitting he was a sinner and asking Christ to save him from his sin. He ended by thanking the Lord for everlasting life!

Jessica, the Marine team co-captain, talked to two teenage girls at Dunkin Donuts after recruiting on Thursday. Jessica could tell that the young man with them was quite a bit older, but he was even more interested about the event than the girls were. He said that he loved church and went about every week. Jessica texted to remind them about the first War night on Saturday, but there was no response. The second day, both girls replied that they were coming. The young man could not come because of work, but he encouraged the girls to go without him. The two girls came on Sunday night. They raised their hands during the invitation but didn’t readily respond. When they were asked if they they wanted to go back, they turned around, looked at each other, and went out together to get saved. A young man who had been in the youth group responded to the invitation on Thursday night. Hunter was able to lead him to the Lord. It turned out that one of the young ladies was his sister!

Joshua met a young man at Publix who was standing in line for a job interview. He said he would come and bring a friend. On Saturday night, the young man raised his hand during the invitation, grabbed his friend’s hand and responded. Both were saved that night!

On Monday night, Matthew, the Ranger team captain, was about to talk to a couple young men on his team when a different young man popped out of the aisle. Matthew realized that he had not responded at all, even with a raised hand. When Matthew asked him what he thought someone needs to do to be saved, he was stumped. He was willing to go and talk about it. He told Matthew that his struggle with salvation was that he didn’t want to let go of his parents’ Buddhist religion. He was wondering if he could still hold on to it and be saved. Finally, he was willing to trust in Jesus alone for salvation! Then he talked to Matthew about how he could share his decision with his parents.

We’re so thankful for what God did this week!