Can teenagers heading in the wrong direction find true freedom through Jesus and be transformed in a moment?

Yesterday, I was reflecting on a teenage girl who attends our weekly youth services. As tears welled up in my eyes, all I could say is, “God, I’m so in awe of You.” I’ve watched this teenager go through such a transformation that it seemed unbelievable. This teen’s life was empty, broken, abused, and lonely. In one moment, at a recent Easter Camp, I watched God make “all” things new in her life.

Our youth group, Gen7 recently held our annual Easter Camp on April 9th–12th. Our theme was simple: Freedom. The accompanying scripture was John 8:32, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” My wife Stacy and I knew this camp would be significant, but were not sure what that would look like.

On the first night, our guest speaker, Pastor Cleve Masten had our young people write down all the things that were holding them back from walking with God on an index card. At the end of our first service, we walked up to the fire pit and had all of the teens toss their cards into the fire. This was a prophetic act and caused a shift to take place in the hearts of our young people. It set the stage to knowing the truth and the path to experiencing true freedom. In order to find freedom through Jesus we must receive and embrace His truth. We cannot experience God’s freedom without accepting God’s truth.
Who’s in Control of Your Life?
During our last night, I shared about the importance of giving God full control of our lives. Every student knew they had a choice as to how they would return home from Easter Camp. They could return free by yielding control of their lives to Jesus and therefore be a “freer” of others. Or, they could retain control of their own lives and remain a prisoner of sin. Many of our young people have tried being in control of their lives only to crash tragically over and over again. But during Easter Camp, many students became free because they gave Jesus full control and experienced a new freedom that ignited a fire and passion for God.

As usual on the last night of camp, we offered s’mores at the fire pit after the end of the service—but the vast majority of the students chose to stay and worship the Lord. Many rolled around on the floor laughing and/or crying—being in God’s presence was more important. Really… how often does that happen?
What Happened Next . . .
• A fire is spreading through our young people bringing an unquenchable thirst and hunger for God’s presence.

• We have students who have literally been transformed before our eyes. They look different, dress different, talk different, and love like Jesus. They are 100% in love with Jesus and are sharing God’s love with friends, family, and others.

• From my wife: “What we’ve been waiting to see change in our young people for years, God did in three days!”

• Two of our teens went home and removed all of their old songs from their music devices and replaced them with Christian music.

• One student who was taking medication for anxiety and depression no longer needs to—and the doctor has verified and approved it.

• 5/2/12: It’s hard to put into words what happened at our youth service on Wednesday. We had between eight and ten first-time visitors because our young people are inviting their friends. God visited us in such a powerful way that after worship I asked for a time of silence. It was surreal. Everyone knew we were not the only people in the room. You could hear young people crying but the atmosphere of Heaven was in our midst. It was incredible. It was like feeling so exposed—but at the same time there was a feeling of warm love and deep security. I shared briefly during that service out of John 13:1-17 and focused on how we get so “dirty” walking in this world. During the response time I asked if anyone wanted to have his or her feet washed. I would wash the guys’ feet and Stacy would wash the girls’ feet. We told them we would pray over them and have prophetic ministry during that time. We expected one or two students to respond, but were surprised by the line that formed. It was a sacred moment because God loved on every single teenager.

• 5/3/12 Juvenile Hall: We have a team that takes God’s love and message to our local juvenile hall twice a month. I shared a similar message with the teens there but could not literally wash their feet. However, I was able to bring a basin and towel and act it out for them. At the end I asked if anyone wanted God to wash the dirt off his or her feet. Eight teens stood up and each of them prayed with strong conviction in their voice and received Jesus into their lives for the first time.
What About You?
Would you like to experience true freedom in your life? All you have to do is ask Jesus to come into your life; ask Him to forgive you; and give Him control of your life. God loves you so much and has great things in store for your life. God bless you!

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In the flow of our Awakening meetings, we excited to host Robin McMillan (father) and John Mark McMillan (son) Sunday May 6 at 6PM.

Robin was on staff at MorningStar for many years, and now leads a young church in uptown Charlotte, N.C. Visit Robin’s website here to read a short bio.

John Mark and Sarah were last here at for a worship conference in 2008, and it’s a joy to have John Mark come and be with us again along with his dad. This is not a concert, but John Mark will perform acoustic versions of 1 or 2 of his songs. Visit John Mark’s website here.

Click here to read more about the Alpha Course…

Please fill out the form below to sign up.

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Obviously this is not limited to any one church, but I’m writing from the perspective of what God has been doing in our house, New Life Christian Center in Novato, CA, as well as some of our sister churches in the city and region.

by Maria Crane (email:smcrane@sbcglobal.net, phone: 707-525-0944) Description: This image the Lord gave me on 4/13 during worship at the Awakening Conference at NLCC is about entering His gates with the power of praise ( Psalm 100) and letting our hearts burn with passion for Him and His heart of love for San Francisco and this region. It also depicts the unity of Psalm 133 that the Lord wants us to walk in.God is calling us in Rev 4 to "Come up here!" where He has so much more to show us and reveal to us!

From April 13-15, we hosted our second annual Awakening conference. Wesley and Stacey Campbell, Sean and Kate Feucht, and Henry and Grace Falany joined us for these three days of meetings.

The conference was very powerful, and there was a strong sense that something was moving and shifting in the atmosphere. In our last planned session of the conference on Sunday evening (4/15), the building momentum reached a tipping point.

A Holy Roar

Towards the end of the worship flow, there was a shout of praise and triumph that erupted among everyone in the room that lasted for 4 ½ minutes. It was so loud that it was almost deafening. It was otherworldly, as if other (angelic) voices joined the voices in the room. An atmosphere of breakthrough filled the room, and a Gift of Faith was downloaded to everyone in the room.

That evening Wesley taught, and there was a powerful release of the Spirit of prophecy. Many were activated in the prophetic for the first time during a group ministry time.

Angelic Activity

In the Sunday morning meeting that day (4/15), Stacey shared about longing for the Lord and shared an email from a young adult in their church in Kelowna, BC Canada. The email said that on Monday (4/9) the Angel of Longing had visited a prayer meeting in their church, and had come with an assignment to release hunger and longing for the Lord in the hearts of God’s people, preparing them for what God was about to do in their upcoming Eyes and Wings conference. The angel also said that 3 more angels would be coming after him.

On the same Monday (4/9) a couple connected with Henry and Grace Falany were visited by an angel named Breakthrough in New York. They are well known pastors/prophets Patrick and Susan O’Marra who pastor Charles Finney’s old church in Rochester!

The angel told the O’Marra’s that “The winds of change were now blowing in America and that it starts in California.” As this couple (The O’Marras) knew this visitation was for CA and was related to an assignment that God had for Henry Falany as he ministers across the state, they immediately called Henry (and spent an hour prophesying over him just prior to the Awakening conference. They believed it was an East Coast – West Coast issue, like the 100 year prophecy of Seymour & Parham). The O’Marrasshared that the Lord had revealed that wherever Henry released this word of breakthrough and declared, “MOVE, MOVE, MOVE”, angels of breakthrough would be released on those present to cause breakthrough as they step out in faith.

Henry immediately got up after this holy roar in worship and released this word, announcing “MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!”

A few minutes later we realized that these two different angelic visitations had occurred on the same day, on two opposite sides of North America.  This combined  message of longing and breakthrough was being imparted to our church at the same time.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was so strong in the Sunday evening meeting (4/15) that we decided to continue meetings. Except for a taking one-day off for rest on 4/21, we have been meeting every night.

Three Angels Blowing Three Trumpets

At the end of the Sunday night meeting (4/15), and after we announced that we’d be continuing, a man named David Ascencio shared a vision with me that he had during the worship flow that night.

He saw three angels in front of the platform at our church, vertically pointing three trumpets and blowing them through a golden opening into the heavens. As they blew the trumpets, God responded by sending down balls of fire.

Here’s the account in David’s own words:

 “…They were actually blowing our prayers and worship up to the Lord with their trumpets and the Lord was responding back to us with the balls of fire, answering our prayer requests at the time. While we were singing “Let it Rain” I was receiving a very strong impression of the Lord saying: “I declare this place a place of healing where broken hearts will be healed, broken relationships will be healed, broken families restored, and all kinds of sickness will be healed. That is why I call this a place of healing, where people will come in ill, and they will walk out healed.”

In most if not all of the meetings there have been open visions of angelic activity. It appears that this increase is directly related to a fresh move that God is bringing into the Bay Area and the state.

Lightning Strikes and Fireballs

After being in 8 days of meetings, experiencing a powerful new move of the Holy Spirit in our own church & city, we became aware of something that happened in San Francisco and the Bay Area on Thursday April 12, the day before our meetings began.

The SF Chronicle reported that there were a record number of lightning strikes in the SF Bay Area – 750 and to be exact. Read the article here.

These lightning strikes touched down all over the SF Bay Area. Significantly, two of these lightning strikes hit the North and South Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge at the same time. The same thing occurred at the Bay Bridge. Every tower of the Bay Bridge was struck by lightning simultaneously.

The symbol of the Golden State is the Golden Gate Bridge, which is the Western Gate into the US. We had an image of the Golden Gate Bridge on the graphic of our Awakening conference for this reason.

In praying into this, I believe the lightning storm is a picture of something that God is releasing and is spiritually significant for several reasons:

• Both the North and South towers of the bridge were struck simultaneously. The Azusa street outpouring (1906-1911) was a move that primarily occurred in Southern CA, and then spread across the globe. However, this next move of the Spirit is coming to the North and South parts of the state simultaneously.
• There is an unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit coming to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is both coming and has already begun. Breakthrough is here and it’s going to increase.
• As we learned from Henry Falany, California has always had a gift to export what happens here. This is seen in entertainment, technology, and produce. It’s also true of the gospel. In US history (and possibly world history), California is unequivocally the leading exporter of the gospel to the nations of the world. God isn’t through with this state. He has begun to pour out His Spirit again. The revival that Jesus is fanning into flame here isn’t just for CA; it’s for the nation, and it’s for the world.

FireBall Across the Sky (4/22)

Last Sunday morning, another phenomenon was seen across Nevada and CA (read article). A meteor the size of an SUV broke into the atmosphere with a sonic boom and a burning ball of fire split the sky. It was seen from Tahoe to San Francisco to Bakersfield. It exploded somewhere above the state and only small fragments reached the ground in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Because of the vision of God sending “balls of fire” seen on Sunday one week earlier, this event has gripped my spirit in a way that it normally would not.

Three angels were seen trumpeting the prayers of God’s people through an open heaven, and God responded by sending fireballs to the earth. One week later, a literal fireball was seen blazing through the sky across the state of CA. You can’t make this stuff up. For me, there is an undeniable connection between this spiritual and natural event.

Two or Three Witness

It’s a biblical principle that in the mouths of two or three witnesses, every word is established. These two events – the 750 lightning strikes and the ball of fire (meteor) are confirming the word of breakthrough that God is speaking over our state, cities, churches, and families. Both of these signs were events that took place from the heavens toward the earth, and they happened within 10 days of each other.

A Fresh Outpouring In Our House

During these 10 days (and now beyond), our church in Novato, CA (25 minutes north of the Golden Gate bridge) has been experiencing incredible renewal. Several churches that are partnered with us have been experiencing the same thing!

In this move of God a deep hunger for more of Jesus has been awakened in many – students, children, adults of all ages. There are so many testimonies of healing, salvation, the filling of the Holy Spirit, profound joy, visions, prophecy, God moving on children, and a renewed passion to reach the lost.

A Few More Testimonies

• On Wednesday (4/18) many received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, most of them Middle School and High School students. It happened suddenly.
• Numerous salvation testimonies – many are from people leaving the Awakening meetings and taking the love of Jesus to their friends and family!
• Miracles of healing – A woman that has been bedfast, battling several diseases came and received prayer. The Lord touched her powerfully and she forgot her cane when she left because she didn’t need it.
• A strong outbreak of joy. On Friday 4/20 one High School student tweeted after the meeting “Still a little out of it, but whoa. Last night was different on a whole other level. A 4/20 day spent well. hahaha, YES!”.
• A number of different individuals, younger and older and in-between – have seen angels in almost every meeting beginning with Sunday night (4/15).
• Children and students are having visions and prophesying.
• There is a baptism of love overflowing into homes and families. People of all ages are testifying about a new love for their siblings, parents, and children. The love of Jesus is overflowing everywhere! His love is creating an environment of repentance, forgiveness, and holiness.

I don’t know about you, but I hear the sound of the abundance of rain, and I can see a cloud the size of a man’s hand. Breakthrough is here. Now, now, now…move, move, move!

Lk 20:20-26: Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
Hidden in this passage is an amazing revelation. Jesus in the Spirit of wisdom that dwelt in him, answers his adversaries in a way that they did not expect. “Whose image and inscription are on it?” And they easily responded, “Caesar’s”. His next statement was what shocked them more, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

During the Awakening Conference (April 13-15), we experienced a significant breakthrough in the Holy Spirit. The Lord has led us to continue meeting.  Below you will find the dates and times for our continuing awakening meetings. All meetings are held in the main sanctuary (2nd floor) at New Life.

Upcoming Meetings: 

• Tuesday May 15, @7PM
• Friday, May 18, @7PM
• Sunday, May 20, @6PM
• Tuesday, May 22, @7PM
• Sunday, May 27, @6PM

In this move of God a deep hunger for more of Jesus has been awakened in many – students, children, adults of all ages. And it’s spreading.  There are so many testimonies of  healing, salvation, the filling of the Holy Spirit, profound joy, visions and prophecy, God moving on children, and a renewed passion to reach the lost.

A few testimonies and reports:

• A number of different individuals, younger and older, have seen angels in every meetings beginning with last Sunday night. Angels come with assignments from the Father to help God’s people. You can see some of the reports on the angelic activity in the comments section.
• On Wednesday many received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, most of them Middle School and High School students. It happened suddenly without waiting or seeking for a longer period.
• The majority of the salvation testimonies are people leaving the Awakening meetings and taking the love of Jesus to their friends and family!
• A woman that has been bedfast, battling several diseases came and received prayer. The Lord touched her powerfully, and she forgot her cane when she left because she didn’t need it.
• On Friday (4/20) there was an incredible outbreak of joy. One High School students tweeted afterward, “Still a little out of it, but woah. Last night was different on a whole other level. A 4/20 day spent well. hahaha, YES!”

Another characteristic of this move is the ministry of the body. It’s a saints’ revival. So much is happening not just from the “platform”, but all over the room, and throughout the community as everyone steps out in faith.

We are also collecting testimonies and words (visions, prophecies, impressions from the Lord) that have been occurring in and around these meetings. Please share them in the comments section on this post.

This post will be updated as the meetings continue.

Click here to read a blog about some of the significant things the Lord has been doing during these meetings.