The Importance of Partnership
This past Sunday, I received a message through Facebook. I didn’t know who this lady was, but she was hoping to connect with me. She introduced herself as Julie Seals, and I noted that she is also an Assemblies of God minister. She shared a bit about herself and had a few questions about becoming an evangelist.
I asked her to call me on Tuesday morning so I could share what she could do to take her next steps as an evangelist. We had a great conversation, and I was overwhelmed by her testimony. It was such a God connection!
I asked if she had a video of herself sharing her personal testimony. She said she did, so I asked if she could send it to me so that I could share it with my jail ladies. She did that very thing.
I don’t think I even mentioned to Julie that I go into the jail every Tuesday night, and would be going in that very same night. But God was already orchestrating something very special unbeknownst to either of us.
Around 5:00 PM, I went into the jail classroom and set up the projector, laptop, and speaker. Sue, my jail ministry partner, set up all the chairs, and soon twenty-one ladies made their way into the room to worship Jesus.
We had our usual praise and worship time. Then I told the ladies I wanted to share a very special testimony with them. I told them about meeting Julie online and how her testimony seemed to be so timely for what many of them were going through.
We sat there watching Julie’s video as she shared her amazing testimony. Some of the women were openly weeping. It was a very emotional time, and many of those ladies were probably reliving their very own stories as they so vividly mirrored hers.
We were coming to the end of her testimony when suddenly my phone started buzzing in my back pocket. I took it out to see it was Julie messaging me to thank me for the phone call earlier that morning. I immediately went to the back of the room (for anonymity), took a picture of these ladies watching her video, and sent it to Julie.
Julie was so excited! She said, “Tell them it’s not too late for their miracle. And if they truly surrender—Jesus will change everything!” The Holy Spirit spoke to me immediately and said, “Have Julie tell them herself!”
Of course! She could FaceTime me and talk to the ladies herself! I asked her to FaceTime me in 15 minutes. She did, and I turned the phone around so the women in the room could see this beautiful lady who was just sharing her miraculous testimony on the big screen. Suddenly they realized it was Julie now on the phone speaking to them!
Some of them started crying all over again as Julie began to speak to them and share words of encouragement with them.
There’s one lady in particular that I have been extra burdened for and have prayed for so many times. Before I even went to the jail that evening, I truly believed that Julie’s testimony was going to be THE testimony that would finally break those chains off of her. Their stories are so very similar. Both were addicted to meth, and both were meth dealers. Julie prayed for the group of ladies and we ended the phone call.
I gave the altar call and it was truly a breakthrough moment! I finally saw this lady I had been so burdened for completely break and cry out to God in total surrender. It was beautiful. Four more ladies were saved in the altar service, and five ladies were baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
As I drove home, I thanked God for such a powerful service. I know beyond a doubt that He orchestrated every bit of it. And, I also began to think about how powerfully Julie’s testimony ministered to those ladies.
We all have different testimonies. We all have different gifts. We have the ability to reach different people in different ways. As Christians and ministers, we do ourselves such a great injustice when we are jealous or competitive.
Hear my heart when I say this. There is no time for jealousy, or selfish attitudes when it comes to the Kingdom of God. We are all on the same team. Trust me, there are plenty of lost souls to keep all of us busy 100% of the time. If our true desire is to reach the lost, we can’t worry about our popularity, or if someone else will accomplish something great instead of us. The glory belongs to Jesus alone!
The fact is, we are better together. No one can cover this whole lost world by themselves. We need each other. Let us work together, and let all the glory be God’s alone.
This past Sunday, I received a message through Facebook. I didn’t know who this lady was, but she was hoping to connect with me. She introduced herself as Julie Seals, and I noted that she is also an Assemblies of God minister. She shared a bit about herself and had a few questions about becoming an evangelist.
I asked her to call me on Tuesday morning so I could share what she could do to take her next steps as an evangelist. We had a great conversation, and I was overwhelmed by her testimony. It was such a God connection!
I asked if she had a video of herself sharing her personal testimony. She said she did, so I asked if she could send it to me so that I could share it with my jail ladies. She did that very thing.
I don’t think I even mentioned to Julie that I go into the jail every Tuesday night, and would be going in that very same night. But God was already orchestrating something very special unbeknownst to either of us.
Around 5:00 PM, I went into the jail classroom and set up the projector, laptop, and speaker. Sue, my jail ministry partner, set up all the chairs, and soon twenty-one ladies made their way into the room to worship Jesus.
We had our usual praise and worship time. Then I told the ladies I wanted to share a very special testimony with them. I told them about meeting Julie online and how her testimony seemed to be so timely for what many of them were going through.
We sat there watching Julie’s video as she shared her amazing testimony. Some of the women were openly weeping. It was a very emotional time, and many of those ladies were probably reliving their very own stories as they so vividly mirrored hers.
We were coming to the end of her testimony when suddenly my phone started buzzing in my back pocket. I took it out to see it was Julie messaging me to thank me for the phone call earlier that morning. I immediately went to the back of the room (for anonymity), took a picture of these ladies watching her video, and sent it to Julie.
Julie was so excited! She said, “Tell them it’s not too late for their miracle. And if they truly surrender—Jesus will change everything!” The Holy Spirit spoke to me immediately and said, “Have Julie tell them herself!”
Of course! She could FaceTime me and talk to the ladies herself! I asked her to FaceTime me in 15 minutes. She did, and I turned the phone around so the women in the room could see this beautiful lady who was just sharing her miraculous testimony on the big screen. Suddenly they realized it was Julie now on the phone speaking to them!
Some of them started crying all over again as Julie began to speak to them and share words of encouragement with them.
There’s one lady in particular that I have been extra burdened for and have prayed for so many times. Before I even went to the jail that evening, I truly believed that Julie’s testimony was going to be THE testimony that would finally break those chains off of her. Their stories are so very similar. Both were addicted to meth, and both were meth dealers. Julie prayed for the group of ladies and we ended the phone call.
I gave the altar call and it was truly a breakthrough moment! I finally saw this lady I had been so burdened for completely break and cry out to God in total surrender. It was beautiful. Four more ladies were saved in the altar service, and five ladies were baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
As I drove home, I thanked God for such a powerful service. I know beyond a doubt that He orchestrated every bit of it. And, I also began to think about how powerfully Julie’s testimony ministered to those ladies.
We all have different testimonies. We all have different gifts. We have the ability to reach different people in different ways. As Christians and ministers, we do ourselves such a great injustice when we are jealous or competitive.
Hear my heart when I say this. There is no time for jealousy, or selfish attitudes when it comes to the Kingdom of God. We are all on the same team. Trust me, there are plenty of lost souls to keep all of us busy 100% of the time. If our true desire is to reach the lost, we can’t worry about our popularity, or if someone else will accomplish something great instead of us. The glory belongs to Jesus alone!
The fact is, we are better together. No one can cover this whole lost world by themselves. We need each other. Let us work together, and let all the glory be God’s alone.
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