May 19-23, 2007

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May 19, 2007 No Comments ›› admin

Teen Revival sponsored by Solid Rock Youth Ministries, Central Baptist Church, Corning NY

Evangelist Bob DeWitt wrote: I feel like there are several lessons here that American preachers need . . .

Evangelist Bob DeWitt, founder and president of Solid Rock Youth Ministries and moderater of this teen revival, wrote this update:

After preaching around the country for years, I returned to New York State to see that there was a great spiritual need at my home church.  Our assistant pastor and I agreed that our church and youth group needed revival.  Taking our burden to Pastor Aebersold, he agreed that we would organize a mini-youth revival on a certain Saturday and Sunday which, hopefully, would affect the entire church body.  I was given the task of securing a speaker but we didn’t have much time.  I called some of the most well-known men in the country, men I had known for years and men I didn’t know at all.  And after several days, I found that every man of God I knew was busy.  I called well-known pastors around the country for recommendations but was unsuccessful.  I thought about youth pastors around the country but the Lord made it clear that we needed a man with the God-given gift of evangelist.  So I searched the Internet.  I searched for Independent, Fundamental Evangelists through every Baptist website I knew of.     Finally, I searched the Internet through Google; and, after days of frustration, I found “billyingram.org.”  I read Billy’s doctrinal statement.

. . . I saw that he graduated from Ron Comfort’s school.  I read its doctrinal statement.  I read Dr. Comfort’s recommendation of Billy Ingram.  I checked his references.  I looked at his itinerary and saw that he was going to be six hours south of us and had a small window of time during the exact dates we needed him to come.  I called and introduced myself and talked to Billy about our burden for revival.  I told him that I didn’t have much time and asked him some pointed questions regarding his Biblical convictions.  I told him that we wanted to do a mini-revival on just Saturday and Sunday.  But he told me that he not only had those two days but that he also had the next three days due to rearranging his schedule.  He and and Christy would need to fly to Delaware from Milwaukee, be a week there, then fly to Upstate New York and back to Milwaukee.  Billy and I agreed that we would both take a day or two, pray, and seek the Lord’s direction.  The next time we talked, I had spoken with Pastor Aebersold and found that he was agreeable and excited to have Billy for a meeting starting on Saturday and ending the following Wednesday evening.  Billy and Christy would fly home just in time to hop in their motorhome and drive to Wyoming for their next meeting.  Every detail of the meeting fell into place; it was God and both Billy and I knew it.

We started with a youth rally on Saturday afternoon which was followed by bowling and dinner at the church.  Several other area church groups attended.  That evening we had a full revival service.  Two older teenagers were saved and made public professions of their faith.  It was a good service but there was a strange spirit of uncertainty.  We talked about it at a dinner that evening after the service and prayed through the night.

There was even some intrepidation concerning the issues and battles we knew existed.  I remember being uneasy and not being able to sleep.  This would truly be a spiritual battle.  Sunday morning came and the strange spirit was gone.  There was freedom to sing, worship, and preach.  Following the message the altar filled.  Again Sunday night, the altar filled; and every night thereafter, the altar filled.  There was visible evidence of repentance and revival.  Hearts that had grown indifferent were now feeling a new thirst for God.

I told the church, “I found this evangelist through Google, …” but before I could finish my statement, “A male voice rang out, “You got the right man!”  We named the meeting a “Youth Revival” but the whole church turned-out each night and the spirit of revival swept through the entire congregation.  Brother Ingram spoke in the church’s school and God worked in the hearts of almost every student.  On Wednesday evening, the last service, a large garbage can was placed on the platform.  Teens publically disposed of bags of things that had become idols of their heart and gave testimony that they had given everything to God and that He had forgiven them totally.  Following the revival there is a freeness of spirit, a new expectancy, a fresh awareness of God, a renewed vision to reach the souls of others, a thirst for righteousness, and a hunger to return to “normal, Spirit-filled, Christianity.”

Billy Ingram is a man with a burden and vision for Biblical revival.  He has studied it and knows how God brings change.  He has a maturity and power with God beyond his years.  It is evident that he memorizes much Scripture and his ability to preach revival is surely a gift from God.  I looked for and found an Evangelist through the Internet.  But more remarkable than that is this: I was forced to look beyond my camp.  I didn’t know Billy Ingram and I was not familiar with his corner of Fundamentalism.  Traveling and preaching from coast to coast myself, I had never been with the preachers he hangs around or the churches he’s regularly in.  But once again, I have experienced that the truth and power of God is not restricted to movements, camps, or schools.  God still has tens of thousands of preachers and churches who have not bowed the knee to Baal.  It is no time to compromise convictions at all but rather to bolster them up and go back to “old-time religion.”  But America needs revival and, as the Psalmist said, “It is time for thee, LORD, to work…”  May He work through more of us … and may we enjoy it and each other.

Evangelist Bob DeWitt, President-Founder, Solid Rock Youth Ministries, Inc.
www.realhelpforteens.com


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