I want to take this time to share with you a few special highlights from my time of serving the Lord. Let me begin by saying that on November 1st, 2008, I will celebrate 20 years of being saved. I never dreamed I could live the Christian life, not even for a week. But, by the grace of God, my week became a month. That month became a year. And, the years now total 20. WOW!
Like many of you, I grew up in church, but never committed my life to God.I remember thinking to myself, sitting on the last row of the church while hiding from the preacher and watching the people in the congregation, that there was more to serving the Lord, but I didn't know what the "more" was. We had great, Holy-Spirit filled services. But, after I got saved, my eyes were opened to what the more was. It was evangelism, being able to take the Gospel outside the four walls of the church.
I was a drug dealer, a liar, a cheat, and so much more that I was ashamed of. But God rolled away the reproach and shame of my bad choices. Better still, He turned my mess into a ministry! When I finally did surrender to Him, I got saved one hour and was literally witnessing the next. An hour after that, I knew that I had been delivered of all my addictions.
I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go? (Isaiah 6.8)
I personally answered the "call", and said, Here I am! Send me. I began doing what we now call marketplace ministry the next week.
The Scripture says that Jesus was often found in the marketplace. To me, this meant that He met people wherever they were. If that was a real marketplace where people were buying and selling, He was most likely there. If they were in their homes, He was most likely there. Jesus was with the people as they handled the business of their lives. Maybe my interpretation was off, but that's how I received it at that time. I would go to Bi-Lo (the marketplace) on Saturday nights, and sometimes to the low-income communities of Greenville. I would just stand there and witness to everyone who would listen. I was surprised that it really wasn't that hard!
Fast forward 10 years from that moment to the time when I would team up with a man namedRon Carpenter, Jr., who would later become my Pastor/Apostle. We had a lot in common, but there was one vision that he shared with me that was something I had been trying to do all alone, and with no resources. It was to reach the City of Greenville, to reach beyond the four walls of the church, and to have a church of different races, cultures, and backgrounds. He shared his vision, and I ran with it. A short time later, we started running buses on Saturday mornings, the vision exploded, and well; you know the rest of the story. Here we are 10 years later, celebrating a ministry that has impacted a church, a city, and a nation.
So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found no one. (Ezekiel 22.30)
I believe that this is the heart-cry of God, but not just in Greenville, South Carolina! In Greenville, God found a group of ministers that would answer the call to go!
Operation GO! Ministries will celebrate 10 years of ministry on October 30, 2008, at the Hilton Hotel in Greenville. I want to invite you as my friend and partner in ministry to come and share in this special moment in our history with me. Apostle Ron Carpenter, Jr.,will be our Special Guest Speaker, and we will also be given a Special Award by the South Carolina State Senate for the work that we've done here in the Upstate.
On this night, you will hear tear-jerking life testimonies about real people whose lives were changed as a result of how Operation GO! has touched their lives. Some lives were changed because someone, maybe you, decided to volunteer for outreach and opened up a new dimension of ministry in their own life. Other lives have been changed because they were touched by those who volunteered. Whether on the giving or receiving end, many people's lives have been changed forever, and God continues to raise up new outreach warriors through Operation GO! Ministries. I know you share my belief that the work of the ministry speaks for itself.
There are a few other surprises for this special night, but to find out what they are, you'll have to come to see.To join me for the celebration, please call Nikki at (864) 281-1520 x1251.
See you at the Hilton on October 30th, 2008. It will be a night to remember!
