Wonderful Days in April!

PRAYER UPDATE FOR THE MINISTRY OF DR. RICK FLANDERS
We cannot number the blessings of this blessed month, but let me try. Thanks to all of you who pray for us, and for the cause of revival! Here’s a summary of what happened in April of 2010.

The revival campaign at Faith Bible Baptist Church in Lake Odessa, Michigan, ended with much rejoicing! During that week (March 28-April 2), we saw answers to prayer (particularly to prayers offered up at some specially-called prayer meetings), souls saved, and many revived and restored! We thank the Lord for these good people, for their pastor, Bruce Barker, and for your prayers.

April 4-8, Toni and I were with the Believers’ Baptist Church of Winona Lake, Indiana, which is led by Pastor Don Williams. This is the home of Hephzibah House, a remarkable ministry to girls with special problems, and of a printing ministry that provides a lot of Christian literature in Arabic. Brother Williams is a man who was especially used of God to encourage me to go to Iraq last year. The Lord did revive His people in this set of meetings. Two of the Hephzibah girls got saved or were assured of their salvation, and many Christians made important decisions. We also seemed to learn a lot about faith during this revival campaign. I pray that Believers’ Baptist Church will see great blessings in the days ahead. These are godly people with a heart to serve Jesus. While here, the Williamses took Mrs. Flanders and me down to a museum in Winona Lake that displays remembrances of the great Bible conference retreat that thrived there for many years. The Billy Sunday memorabilia was in transit at the time, and so we didn’t see much of it. The Sundays had their primary residence here.

April 9, we drove down to Trafalgar, Indiana, to catch the end of a revival conference that was put together by Pastor Peter Baugh of Dayspring Baptist Church. I was set to preach the final sermon in a six-day series. The main preacher did not come because of a major health problem, but he was replaced by Pastor Ferron Mathena from Pennsylvania. We heard him preach a really good and helpful sermon from Colossians 4:2 in the first service that Friday night, and then I preached in the second service from Joshua 3:5. It was a good night, but the blessings were not over when we left the church. Over at the parsonage after church, Pastor Baugh had us join him and his fiancé, as well as Pastor Mathena and his daughter, for a bite to eat. It was at the kitchen table that we all began to discuss revival, what it is and how to get it. Then Brother Mathena said, in so many words, “We have been talking quite a while about revival. Could we just stop, and pray for it?” That is exactly what we did, in a prayer meeting we will all long remember. I can say sincerely that Jesus Christ manifested Himself by His Spirit (See John 14:15-21) as we prayed, confessed our sins, and claimed His promises. It was wonderful! I have been in touch with these men since that night, especially Brother Mathena, and have heard how God continues His reviving work through their lives.

On Sunday, the eleventh, we began a revival campaign with Pastor Lee Taylor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Whitmore Lake, Michigan. We have visited a lot of lakes this spring, haven’t we? These were good meetings with a congregation that has obviously grown in grace and made real progress on the revival road since we were here two years ago! Attendance was good, both in the services and at a couple of prayer meetings, and we had on Thursday (the last day, April 15th) a two-and-a-half-hour seminar on the history of revivals in America. This also was very well attended, and I think much good was done. I believe that the Lord helped Fellowship Baptist during the campaign in a wonderful way, and I continue to pray for revival blessings on this church and pastor.

The next week (April 18-23), I was in Laurel, Montana, for a revival campaign at the First Baptist Church. Dr. Walter Widdis (a native of Michigan’s Thumb, where I have lived for 37 years) is the able pastor of this congregation. I have preached for them before in their missions conference. What a week we had! Besides the services on Sunday and the weekday nights, pastor planned a preachers’ meeting and also a luncheon service with a crew of men who work for a Christian businessman. We saw people saved in the revival services as well as one man at the luncheon. We had a really good preachers’ meeting, at which we talked productively about revival. Dr. Widdis worked hard and sacrificially for this effort, and saw God bless his faith. I called two after-service prayer meetings in which God helped us mightily (Romans 8:26-27) and then answered our prayers. Then pastor called another one himself, which was also blessed with the presence of Christ and deep assurance. On Wednesday night, a lady was saved for whom we had prayed specifically on Tuesday night. We all learned much about the power of God and were moved farther along the revival road. My friends Wendell and Sandy Capron are active members here, as are two of their adult kids. It was a blessing to be with all of these folks in their picturesque Western town (outside of Billings).

The last week of the month, we were with our dear friends, Pastor and Mrs. Don Barth, for revival meetings at the Broadview Heights Baptist Church outside Cleveland, Ohio. The Lord has done some amazing things in this congregation over the years, and it is a great blessing to visit them. Their devotion to Christ, their passion for holiness, their growing faith, their heart for souls, and their spirit of prayer, can virtually be felt as you come into their building for a service. And yet the Lord did even more for them this week (April 25-30). These were powerful meetings, followed by thrilling testimonies about what God had done. Praise His name!

Be sure to pray for us in May. The first opportunity of the month will be at the Grace Baptist Church of Oak Harbor, Ohio, for their “Friend Day” on May 2. Then I will be preaching in a revival campaign at the Wolverine Baptist Church of Wolverine, Michigan, May 9-14. I will also preach in an 8-day revival campaign at the Melvin Baptist Church of Melvin, Michigan, May 16-23, and a 6-day campaign at the Landmark Baptist Church of Clio, Michigan, May 30-June 4. The Lord has kept me in Michigan this month, and with your help in prayer, we expect to have His blessing again. Looking farther down the road, do remember the Book of John project, the revival conference in Ireland (June 27-July 2), the Conference on Holiness and Revival in the Cleveland area (August 16-19), and a day of prayer for preachers on July 31 at First Baptist Church of Bridgeport. I’ll keep you in touch!

RICK FLANDERS