Serving in September

A Report on the Work of Dr. Rick Flanders for Revival

Here are the places I was called upon to visit this past month in my itinerant ministry:

• LaGrange Baptist Church. September 4, 2016, was a special Sunday at a church I know well in northern Indiana. The Howe Military Academy sent us a good number of cadets for the morning service, and several of them received Christ. Besides the issues and opportunities of this day, our thoughts were on a revival campaign that was to begin with Evangelist Tim Thompson the next Sunday, and we sought to prepare for that effort. A number of the folks made revival decisions as a result.

• CoBeAc Baptist Bible Institute. I got to speak September 6-8 in special revival services for the students at CBBI on the property of Camp CoBeAc the week of their orientation for the fall semester, and many dealt with important issues the Lord brought to our attention. Theirs is a very good program for young adults just starting out in life.

• Willis Baptist Church. A revival campaign (September 11-16) in this good church brought me down to Willis, Michigan, to join them in the effort. I have been here to speak a number of Sundays in the past few years, and have frankly looked forward to being with them for a full revival effort. We began this one on the fifteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attack on New York City. The pastor and his people had invited “first-responders” from the area to attend the morning service to represent their respective service agencies as we honored those who heroically risked or gave their lives to save the victims of the attacks. Several came in uniform and were thanked for their service, given a gift from the church, and presented with a certificate in commemoration of the special gathering. My sermon was on “The Royal Law” mentioned in James 2:8-12, and I stressed our need for redemption because of our violation of that law. It is also the principle we should follow as Christians. Night after night, God’s people gathered. Some came back to a life of obedience, many made other big decisions, and we all learned a lot.

• Fellowship Baptist Church. The 18th through the21st I preached in tent meetings sponsored by a fine church in Clarklake, not far from Toni’s home town of Jackson, Michigan. For years they have held tent meetings annually, and this year I got to be the preacher. In Sunday school we looked at Acts 4:31, to see “What Revival Looks Like.” The rest of the Lord’s Day we focused on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Christians, considering the well (John 4) in the morning, and on the rivers (John 7) in the evening. Without a doubt, we experienced a measure of revival on the first day, including the salvation of two. Monday, I preached on “Peace with God,” and we saw one come forward for salvation, and many dealing with issues that relate to inner peace. Each night under the tent we dealt with some issue that both sinners and saints must confront, and God gave us an amazing revival effort. We joined one night after church in a prayer meeting based on Matthew 18:18-20, and experience some astounding answers to those prayers the next day. Pastor White is a revival-minded man that is being used for the cause of revival in our state, and I am happy to know him.

• Madison Baptist Church. A revival campaign was held September 25-30 at a wonderful church in northern Alabama near Huntsville. The Lord led me to preach a series of sermons on the church for the purpose of raising this good congregation to the New Testament level. In Sunday school I spoke to adults and teens from Matthew 16 on “What about the Church?” Sunday morning’s church service included a message from Matthew 18 on “Responsibilities of Church Members.” Sunday night we went back to Matthew 18 and learned about how to use the “keys of the kingdom” in a sermon on “The Power to Bind and to Loose.” Monday’s sermon was on “Getting Church Right.” Tuesday’s sermon was on the ministry of the Spirit and declared “It’s Do-able,” speaking of the victorious Christian life. Then Wednesday we looked at “The Obstacle,” the thing that stands in the way of revival, which is pride. The rest of the week, the Lord showed us the rest of the way to church revival. I look forward to hearing good things from Pastor Allison and Madison Baptist Church about the Lord working through them more and more. What a good church and what good things God did in this revival campaign.
Looking forward to October, I am set to preach at these events:

• Oct. 2, Brentwood Baptist Church in Des Plaines, IL, Sunday morning.

• Oct. 3, The “Old School” conference at Fundamental Baptist Church of Kinross, MI (in the Upper Peninsula).

• Oct. 9-14, the Revival Campaign at the Finger Lakes Baptist Church in Geneva, NY.

• Oct. 16-21, the Revival Campaign at Landmark Baptist Church in Clio, MI.

• Oct. 23-28, the Missions Conference at Grass Lake Baptist Church in Grass Lake, MI.
Also let me ask you to pray for me in my role in the new revival movement in the state of Michigan. It is a movement among pastors who have a burden to pray and work for revival in our churches. It has been manifested in plans to have a statewide revival conference June 18-25, 2017, and a call for churches to observe a day of prayer for revival each month between now and then. I believe that God set my schedule to be more than usual in our home state so that I can serve in several ways to promote and organize the work of our pastors for revival. Please pray for us, and for me.

Note a few more things coming up: (1) Visionary pastor Doug Levesque (founder and pastor for many years of the Immanuel Baptist Church of Corunna, MI, and founder of the Bible Nation Society) is running for the Michigan Board of Education, where important issues will be discussed affecting the lives of millions; (2) I will speak in five revival conferences next year which with the blessing of God can change the minds and hearts of many Christian leaders (the Victory Conference, February 27-March 2, in Menomonee Falls, WI; the Western Revival Conference, April 16-21, in Prince Albert, SK; the National Conference on Prayer and Revival, May 21-26, in Hopkinsville, KY; the Michigan Revival Conference, June 18-24, in the Flint/Saginaw and Kinross areas; and the Cleveland Revival Conference, September 24-27). Will you pray regularly for these gatherings, that God will use them to prepare believers for revival? (3) Remember the Revival Tour of Israel, planned by the Baptist College of Ministry for next spring (March 24-April 4). It will be a wonderful combination of a revival conference and a holy-land trip. Get the details by going to www.bcmedu.org/about-bcm/news-items/upcoming-events/179-revival-tour-of-israel-2016.

RICK FLANDERS