I have been anticipating doing The War for Pastor Frank Bailey for a long time. Pastor Bailey is no stranger to The War—in fact, he knows more about it than I do! He led the team under Bob Jones University for 10 years and therefore has a wealth of experience and stories from which I wanted to glean wisdom and insight. After a few days together, I felt a camaraderie with him that I do not feel with many men.
One of the things I appreciated about Northside Baptist Church was their appreciation for preaching. Though I felt somewhat under pressure because of Pastor Bailey’s experience, as soon as I stepped into the pulpit at his church, there was a real freedom. The people genuinely liked preaching, which was refreshing to say the least.
On the first night, we had a decent crowd but spirit of the night was tepid. That being the case, God moved during the preaching and nine young people trusted Christ.
The second night was very different—what I might call a “classic.” From start to finish, the whole event had the right feel, the right team spirit, the right atmosphere. Things worked like clockwork—the crowd was excellent and everyone got into the night. Right through the preaching, it was evident that God was working, because 13 more young people trusted Christ! Later on, one of the team captains described the night as “easy,” which is a great way to describe things when God is showering His favor upon a gospel meeting. Though there were definitely challenges on the final night, the response to the preaching was still outstanding!
Overall, we had 112 teens attend and a high night of 73. There was a thrilling total of 32 salvation decisions for the week! Overall, it was an exciting week of God’s blessing on the gospel!
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