Dear Pray-ers,
Look at what the Lord has done! If you were in or watching the Saturday night service of the Southwest Believer’s Convention you heard the outstanding statistics Brother Copeland read to us. Here’s a quick recap of those stats:
- Total People Registered: 12,530, including 315 ministries/churches
- States Registered: All 50! (Praise God for Rhode Island!)
- Nations Registered: 43 (Afghanistan, Malaysia and Angola are among the nations to be especially excited about)
- Response to Altar Calls: 384
- Evangelism Teams: 1,133 Saved
- 14Forty Youth services: 1,122 Registered
- Superkid Academy: 1,306 Registered
But this last “stat” is up close and personal – because it is about pray-ers:
- The average nightly attendance for Pre-Service Prayer was 665, with two nights at 740! 1,063 people registered at Pre-Service Prayer!
Of course numbers don’t tell the whole story. Even before the convention started there was a buzz around the KCM and EMIC offices that this meeting was going to be different. During Staff Prayer the Tuesday before, my husband, Pastor George Pearsons, had said that this convention would be “a page turning event.” I haven’t seen that kind of enthusiasm about a Convention in a long time. From the first “Hello Everybody!” we could all tell that what we had sensed was right. The energy of the Spirit and the expectation of the congregation came together and lit the fuse. It was as if we had been shot out of a canon on Monday morning and didn’t land until Saturday night.
I spent some time meditating on why this meeting was different. The Word was really good, but seemed so simple. The altar calls were so gentle and quick, but had huge numbers of people to respond. It would seem that everything would be more much spectacular for it to really have impact. But then I recall that Brother Kenneth Hagin, Sr., prophesied many years ago that the time was coming when we would be walking in the Spirit as naturally as a fish swims and a bird can fly. He said we are to look for the supernatural, not the spectacular. Supernatural things happened, but they seemed so easy.
My friend, this is a BIG sign that the coming of the Lord is drawing nigh. We know that as we draw nigh to Him, He draws nigh to us and the closer we come to Him, the more we are changed to be like Him – truly walking in the Spirit, as naturally “as a fish swims or a bird can fly”. This is big, really big, even if it seems simple. But then, it is not us doing the work, but God and nothing is difficult for Him!
Now this is where you come in.
I was talking with my Dad, Kenneth Copeland, a couple of days after the convention. We were both trying to put into words what we sensed. I told him that when I walked into the prayer room Monday evening it was clear we were starting at a different level than in years past. It wasn’t so much that we had grown, but that we had been lifted; in other words this new level was not by our own doing, but by His. He was particularly excited to hear about those of you who had connected with us through the website, Facebook and Twitter. I told him how ready you were to pray and how easy it was. When you saw the prayer alerts and tweets and responded, I knew “you were on it!” I was very aware of your supply. I told him how strongly we sensed that the spirit of prayer was connecting us all, both near and far. Then he said this:
“Your pray-ers are the upper room people. Your praying spilled over into the convention like those in the Upper Room spilled out into the streets of Jerusalem. Without the Upper Room praying there would have been nothing in the city. Gloria and I appreciate what you all have done with all our hearts. We are so grateful!”
Truly a page in God’s end-time plan has been turned, and as pray-ers we were part of the page turning team. I am not only honored to be a part of that team, but I am especially honored to be a part of it with you.
I have been going to or leading Pre-Service Prayer for over 20 years. In my estimation, this one was a milestone. Thank you for coming. Thank you for bringing your supply. Thank you for letting Jesus use you. Thank you for letting me pray with you. I trust that you were as lifted and encouraged as I was.
You Are Loved,
