News and Events
News and Events are reports of current happenings within the Apostolic Faith Church family.
Spring Revival 2009
By Ruth Oni
‘A Call to Spiritual Awakening’ will aptly describe the theme of our just-concluded Spring 2009 Revival. Truly, our souls can sing that there is no failure found in God! After our February month of prayer, the DC saints sought the face of God during another special week of prayer regarding the upcoming revival. The Lord promised on several occasions that He was going to send a mighty revival and the church of God held unto that promise.
The revival week began with a day of fasting and prayers. Although the Guest Speaker, Rev. John Wyatt, the pastor of the Apostolic Faith Church in Bronx, New York, did not arrive until Thursday, God sent powerful messages our way as our Pastor, Rev. Josephine McElveen, on Tuesday admonished the church on “How to Stay Saved.” Reading from II King 23, she drew a parallel between the consecrations King Josiah made and what we have to do to walk with God, while reminding us that like Josiah we must make complete consecrations to God. Christ, she said, wants us to tear down every idol and remove all obstacles because He is coming for “a church without spot, wrinkle or any such thing!” Peter McPhun, one of our youth ministers, also gave a burning message on Wednesday about why we face struggles and how to handle them. Using the example of the man born blind, he illustrated that what we sometimes see as trouble is God’s means to do His perfect work and manifest His glory in our lives! A beautiful altar service followed and many were tremendously blessed.
The guest speaker came with a challenging message titled ‘The Real Cause for Rejoicing” Emphasizing on the necessity of having our names in the Lamb’s book of Life, he reminded us that we all must give accounts of our lives before a holy God. Reading from Luke 10: 1-20, he pointed out that the only real cause of joy as a Christian should be having the assurance that our names are written in heaven. The message on Friday centered on the importance of having the anointing of the Holy Spirit in order to live a victorious life in these last days. On Saturday, while we gathered to give God due praise, the power of God fell in an awesome way and we were reminded of the battle that was won by praising God!
With saints visiting from North Carolina, Rocky Mount, Virginia and New York, the sanctuary could not contain the crowd that gathered for the closeout service on Sunday. The morning service began with an orchestration of the song “It’s Really Surprising What the Lord Can Do.” Afterward, Dwayne Ross from Richmond, Virginia urged everyone to open up their alabaster boxes and offer God the treasures that within them lie. Rev. Wyatt’s closeout message was an exhortation to rekindle the old time religion. Reminding us of the state of cyclonic confusion Israel was when God called Samuel to serve Him, he exhorted both young and old alike to be ready to answer God’s call. Pointing out that the lamp of God was gone out in some Christians’ lives due to worldliness; he challenged the attentive congregation, “Is the lamp still burning in your soul?” Once again, the power of the Holy Ghost fell upon those who tarried in prayer at the altar. It was a truly wonderful time of refreshing revival - one that called our hearts to spiritual awakening. Our lips cannot tell it all. Testimonies of victory were already pouring in before the revival came to a close. We believe we cannot get enough of God’s blessings and this thought keeps our hearts yearning for the greatest blessing of all when we see Jesus face to face in the azure above.