PRAYING AND PREACHING IN MARCH

A Report for Those Who Pray for the Revival Ministry of Dr. Rick Flanders, Regarding His Work in March of 2018

How much we appreciate your praying for our life and work!  Here is an update on where I was, and what I did last month.  The ministry found me in these places:

• THE VICTORY CONFERENCE at Falls Baptist Church (February 26 through March first).  What an amazing set of messages were delivered at this year’s VC!  We heard from the Bible about living in bold grace, with boldness to pray, boldness to witness, and boldness to stand for the truth in this dark and needy hour!  I gave a session against yielding to the “enticement of cultural relevance,” and then I was asked to preach in the final service Thursday night.  My message was on spiritual leadership focusing on the role of Moses in delivering Israel from Egypt.  That was the night we honored “retired” pastor/evangelist Dr. Ed Nelson as a man who exemplifies boldness in all these areas (by the grace of God).  After Toni and I came home, on March 4, I got to preach at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Holland, Michigan, for a pastor and congregation passionate about prayer and revival truth.  I first connected with Pastor Bart Spencer working on the Michigan Revival Conference.
• THE COBEAC BIBLE INSTITUTE March 12 through 15, teaching Pneumatology to young adults at the crossroads of their lives.  It is always a great opportunity to influence future leaders as I teach this class every couple of years.  We had a good class this month, studying what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit and His ministry in and through Christians (and it has a lot to say about it!).  On Sunday March 11 I was at Brother Rusty Chatfield’s church, the Northern Michigan Baptist Bible Church (home of the very well-known Northern Michigan Christian Academy) to preach just prior to my work at the Institute.  We had a good day of meetings, with folks from other churches attending a service in the afternoon.  You may know that the revival movement begun the year we had the Michigan Revival Conference (go to www.revivemichigan.com) continues.  Pastor Chatfield is being used of God to play an important role in the prayer meetings and regional conferences that are happening this year.  While at the camp, I led a pastors’ prayer gathering on Tuesday the 13^th, attended by good men from around the state, to ask again for God to revive His people.  Do pray for the revival-oriented preachers and churches in our state, and for the revival gatherings this year.
• EMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH, Valparaiso, Indiana, March 18-23, in a revival campaign.  Pastor John Allen had Toni and me come for a few days to seek the Lord with his people for a needed revival, and we were happy for the chance.  The Lord led me to lead the church through the book of Acts, beginning with chapter 5 and going through the conversion of Saul in chapter 9.  Really it was exciting to join the early Christians in their quest to reach the world.  We learned a lot of things and made many important decisions on our knees during these six days.
• MUKWONAGO BAPTIST CHURCH, March 25-28, in an important revival campaign.  I have known Pastor Rhon Roberts and many of the members of this significant church for quite a few years, and looked forward to coming back for this four-day effort.  They will tell you that the Lord revived a number of them on several levels, that we saw some folks saved, and that the work of revival continues in their midst, and must continue for the church to be lifted to where it needs to be (James 4:8-10).  We love them and are praying for them, and ask you to do the same.  On the 29^th, I spoke in the Monroe Parker Lectures at the Baptist College of Ministry about half an hour from Mukwonago.  My theme was the history of fundamentalism and revival.  I think you can get recordings of the lectures from the website of the Falls Baptist Church of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin (as well as those powerful sermons from the Victory Conference).

As you can see, the Lord is keeping me busy.  I begin April at the Western Revival Conference held at the Prince Albert Baptist Church in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, April 1-4.  Then I will be preaching in a family conference at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Kronenwetter, Wisconsin on Saturday the seventh (also preaching in the church on Sunday).  I will speak in the National Conference on Prayer and Revival at the Greater Cumberland Baptist Church of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, April 11-13, with a “Bended Knee” pastors’ prayer seminar all day on Friday (joining with Dr. Wayne Van Gelderen).  These prayer seminars are having an impact on preachers around the nation, and we should tell those we know in Kentucky to get hold of the church about this one.  Also pray for revival in the churches of Kentucky and Tennessee.  The next week (April 15-20) I am to be with Pastor Scotty Backhaus in a revival campaign at the Riverview Baptist Church in Seymour, Wisconsin.  Then Toni and I will go to North Carolina for a revival campaign at the New Grace Baptist Church in Tarboro the last few days of April and into May a little bit.  So we need your prayers.

Thank you for befriending us as you have.

RICK AND TONI FLANDERS

You may find helpful an article I wrote on facing seemingly “hard” towns that has been posted at the Ministry 127 website: http://ministry127.com/outreach-discipleship/4-reasons-your-community-feels-hard.

You will also find inspiring and instructive the sermons of this year’s Victory Conference  on the theme of BOLD GRACE, which I understand can be found with this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4q3eikv6nkwbnvz/AADTnZ6kApqQYLRIEjamsZlHa?dl=0