Wednesday, August 4, 2010
God Encounters at 2010 Southwest Gathering
5:33 AM | 
Posted by
Mike Bradley
Multiple God encounters were experienced at this year’s ARC Southwest Gathering, “The Empowering Presence,” held in late June at Robinwood Church in Huntington Beach, CA. The theme was designed to help us continue sowing an ARC core value in our lives - a radical dependence upon the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit - to the point it is a part of our spiritual DNA and something we live incarnationally, not merely acknowledge theologically.
Leading up to the gathering we were praying for God encounters and that is what we got. Testimonies of God encounters included people who prayed for an assurance of salvation, baptism in the Holy Spirit, fresh fillings of the Holy Spirit, and inner and physical healing. Others have shared how God met them in the midst of personal challenges in life, speaking prophetic words and words of knowledge to them. ARC Pastor Dave Drum shared that he was blessed with a God encounter before we even officially started the gathering. He writes:
“I came to the ARC very much in need of His empowering presence on a personal level. Before the conference even started, I was invited into a prayer group for the evening's leaders. Truthfully, I didn't feel like I had a whole lot to offer, but I went, and much to my surprise, God had something for me in that time. Within seconds after praying a prayer for myself, I heard someone else with a word of knowledge, praying for and prophesying over me the exact prayers I'd just prayed for myself. That ended up being the theme of the whole conference, songs sung just for me, prophetic words given just for me. I feel bad for everyone else, but sure am grateful for the ways God chose to bless and refresh me!”
The gathering featured wonderful times of worship together. Worship leaders Bob Mabry and Chris Hankins led two of the worship teams and we were blessed again this year to have the young adult worship team from Penasquitos Lutheran Church lead us. There were many wonderful workshops and an early morning chapel time led by Pastor Nathan Hoff that was a highlight for many who attended.
Pastor Brendon Fairley and other youth leaders planned and led a youth track for the gathering, with the teens joining young and older adults for many of the main sessions. Many teens were also subject of God encounters, some giving testimony to being baptized in the Spirit, filled afresh with the Spirit, and experiencing God’s healing touch emotionally and relationally. One testimony of what God was doing in and amongst the teens who joined us comes from Tyler Clark, a member of the Wonderful Mercy (Gilbert, AZ) youth group. Tyler writes:
"I know God was at The ARC Gathering in Southern California this June, but I had a hard time feeling His presence. I know that “where two or more are gathered He is there,” but it felt as if He was a million miles away, like a far-off stranger that no matter how fast I ran towards I couldn’t close the gap between us. In the end, though, He did show up because He is good and faithful. My encounter with God came during the Friday night session. I’ll describe it for you in present tense so you can get a feel for the moment.
I am standing, trying to make it through worship like I had the rest of the week. Then, unexpectedly, I feel an overwhelming pressure on my knee (which I had so badly injured it required surgery a few weeks earlier). I sit down, grit my teeth, and try to bear it, but it’s getting more and more intense. Almost as if someone or something is squeezing it.
Seeing I am in agony, Dirk (WMC youth pastor, Dirk Duhlstine) has Charlie Hayes get me a painkiller while I hobble the kitchen for some cold water. Thinking I’m going to be okay I return back to my seat, but I immediately break out into a sweat and start having a hard time breathing. Finally, Dirk tells me to go upstairs and I take off quicker than I’ve moved since my surgery. He even has to tell me to slow down!
Well, I’m almost in tears by the time I make it to my bed. I lie down, Dirk gets me ice and pillows, and then he leaves. I manage to keep my composure until I hear the door shut at the bottom of the stairs. Then I just let it all out: I cry and scream in pain. I clear my head enough to start praying. But then I just go numb. Fire engulfs me but it doesn’t hurt me, and I can hear other things crying out, being consumed by the fire. This fire is freeing, energizing, and even empowering.
After all this takes place I lie on my bed and all these happy thoughts and memories start going through my head. One sticks out like in bold letters in my head: baptism by fire! After that I could not be the same; I had God with me and I knew it now. I’d have to say this encounter was the most significant appearance He’s ever made to me.
Now, God is too good to let it stop there. Friday and Saturday mornings they had special youth sessions, and it wasn’t the teaching that touched me but what took place at the end. Brendon, the Youth Pastor of the other group that was there, encouraged us to be vulnerable with the people in your group. Of course, God just had to take me out of my comfort zone; He told me to go with people I had never met.
I managed to be obedient for once and went to a group with two guys and three girls: Lindsay, Morgan, McKenzie, Mike, Jonny, and me. Turns out Jonny and I were the only ones who felt safe enough to share deeply the first morning. My heart sensed safety among fellow believers my own age and I told them things I couldn’t even tell my mom. In turn that gave a sense of freedom to the others to share the next day. It gave me this joy that, well, blew my mind in these circumstances!
God is awesome. He knew exactly what I needed and at exactly the right time gave it to me. As I take time to look back on it, I see that God did some amazing things for me. I’m keeping in contact with the people that were in my group because we all have one thing in common: we love God and felt safe enough to share intimate things with one another and not be afraid of being judged.
God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!"
Keynote speakers Lee Grady and Dave Householder blessed us, and the times of just hanging out and enjoying our relationships with one another was again a highlight for many in attendance. Not only was the time built in for those relationships a highlight but the tenor of the relationships had an impact on many. One person who attended wrote:
The most striking feature of the conference was the humility of all the leadership including Grady. I have been to a zillion conferences and while there is great teaching, you feel that the leadership/speakers are unapproachable. In the case of the ARC conference it was just the opposite. While the teaching was fine, what really blessed me was the people. I felt we were all in something together. It didn't matter that you were a pastor or lay person; it felt like we were all one. This makes the ARC special. This is something I hope and pray we never lose. I believe the ARC is a movement that God has raised up to show true humility and passion for kingdom things while being very relational.
Thanks again to Robinwood Church for doing such a wonderful job of hosting the gathering; particular thanks to Chris Hankins and Julie Ramsey who not only gave leadership to so many of the administrative details in putting this gathering together, but who truly modeled the life and attitude of Jesus for us while doing it.
Be watching your emails and the ARC website for an announcement on next year’s Southwest ARC Gathering to be held on June 22-24: Prayer – Ushering in a Kingdom Uprising.
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