Pastor Billy Ingram led The War for five years in the mid-2000’s, during which he brought the team to my home church when I was a teenager. God used that week to significantly impact my life in many ways. We have kept in contact and worked together in varying capacities over the years since. When the Lord opened the door for us to come to his church, Canaan Baptist Church, I was very excited.
During the Wednesday evening service, I spoke on the Mentorship Mandate and called the people of the church to present themselves at the altar if they were willing to be intensely involved in discipleship with those who would get saved at The War. Nearly 50 people came to the altar. It was a special service.
During the next two days, while the team was recruiting, we held a special training event for those who wanted to counsel and disciple. Each night, we had over 50 people from the church ready to be equipped for the work of the ministry!
Though the team had a hard time finding recruits, when the actual War nights came around, we were poised for a harvest. God brought out a decent-sized crowd, though I’ll admit that I was hoping for a larger crowd. But what we lacked in attendance, God abundantly made up for in power. Each night, the response at the invitation was nearly overwhelming! By the end of the week, though we only had a total of 80 teens in attendance (which was actually great), there were 35 of them who had trusted Christ!
Stories could abound, but I will focus on one. Two teens, a brother and sister, who lived across the street from the church were invited to The War but the team captains. On the first night, they both came out, were pricked by the message, and trusted Christ in the counseling room. I remember the broad, sweet smile of the young lady during the preaching the next night. She loved her Savior already! These two came for all three nights and have continued faithfully to Canaan ever since. Praise the Lord for remaining fruit!
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