Momentum (Christ – centred, Spirit – empowered, Mission – focused)
Dave Hearn, President of the C&MA Canada
One of the significant encounters I experienced this year was at the Church Renewal Weekend at Southland Church, in Steinbach, Manitoba.
In this small community located about 60 kilometres from Winnipeg, God is doing some amazing things. For the past decade, the church has been calling its people into a lifestyle of confessional living, with a focus on repentance, surrender, filling of the Holy Spirit, and listening prayer.
The outpouring of God’s blessing has now expanded the church to over 4,000 people, and it is having a global impact.
One of the most impactful aspects of the Church Renewal Weekend is the prayer summit. More than 2,000 people gather together to pray, and it feels like a taste of Heaven. At the summit, visitors have the opportunity to be prayed for by church members.
When it was time for visitors to receive prayer, my wife and I were thrilled to be part of a group of five young adults. All of them have been trained in listening prayer and prophetic ministries.
They asked what was on my heart and how they could pray for me. My immediate response was, “Please pray that God would bring fresh spiritual renewal to The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada.” (These young adults had no idea about the Alliance or even my leadership role.)
They laid hands on me and listened for several minutes. A young man sitting to my right began to speak. He said:
I see a vineyard in pristine condition. Everything is in perfect order, nothing is out of place. It is obvious that great care and thought have been invested in the care of the vineyard. However, there is no water; everything is completely dry. I see you on your knees with your hands raised in the air crying out for rain. In the distance I see a large storm cloud forming.
“Mist gets into the places where the storm cannot. We can insulate ourselves from a downpour, but mist moves unhindered into the deepest spaces to saturate with moisture.”
I began to imagine a great downpour about to burst; however, he said, “This storm will not produce a downpour but will arrive like a mist.” As soon as he said the word “mist”, I felt a cool wetness on the back of my neck. It was refreshing and exhilarating. It lasted for the next 24 hours.
I asked the Lord to explain to me the meaning of the mist. Very clearly, God revealed three things:
- First, the mist must touch the leaders. It must revive the people of influence first.
- Second, mist lingers long. Storms come in quickly and leave quickly, but mist stays for a long time.
- Finally, mist gets into the places where the storm cannot. We can insulate ourselves from a downpour, but mist moves unhindered into the deepest spaces to saturate with moisture.
The picture was powerful. The renewal God wants to bring will be deep and will linger long. It will be a habitation, not just a visitation. I began to pray, “Bring the mist Lord, bring the mist!”
Still today I have moments when I sense the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and it feels like mist on the back of my neck. Perhaps this is a sign of God’s faithfulness to renew His people.
Please find the original version in C&MA website