First Baptist Church of Lady Lake and their pastor, Paul Harsh, are no strangers to The War; they hosted the team several times in the 90’s when Frank Bailey led the team. Lady Lake is an unusual community, located immediately outside one of the largest retirement communities in the country, The Villages. There are literally senior citizens and golf carts everywhere. Though The Villages itself had virtually no teenagers in it, the surrounding communities had plenty of teens prepared for harvest.
The team captains had a special treat during the days of recruiting; the pastor let them drive his fully restored, immaculate 1968 Dodge Dart convertible for recruiting. The Lord used it to open doors of conversation as the guys drove around town to find teenagers.
On Wednesday, before we had officially started recruiting, a school bus pulled up across the street from the church and let off a group of high school students. Alex, the Navy captain, grabbed a few brochures and ran across the street to talk to them. The first young man he talked to was Isaac. Isaac showed up on the first night, had a great time, and at the end of the night responded to the invitation. Alex talked to him in the counseling room. He understood the gospel and was clearly ready to trust Christ. He bowed his head and places his dependence on Christ!
Another young man named Brandon showed up the first night with several of his friends. He and his friends enjoyed themselves in the competitions, but at the conclusion of the night, not only did Brandon respond to the invitation and trust Christ, several of his friends did as well.
Overall, during our week in Lady Lake, 13 teens trusted Christ as their Savior. Though God led our paths back together again under an unusual set of circumstances, God was clearly working in hearts during the week.
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