15 years with Life Action!!

We have just celebrated our 15th year of ministry with Life Action and we thank the Lord that we can be a part of such meaningful work!! Long days, truck problems, trailer problems, lots of travel (we've logged 5,000 miles since Sept. 1st), constantly being "on", yet it's all worth it when our God does extraordinary things in and through ordinary people. Bringing believers to a new level of faith and intimacy with the Lover of their soul is our burden and passion, and we thank Him for where He has our family!! Thank you for supporting us through your prayers and financial gifts. During this Thanksgiving season, we thank the Lord for you!! Ryan, Mal, Margo, Shawna, Austin, Holly, Crista, and Sam

Testimonies

"I have been in a dry place in my life and ministry. I have been guilty of prayerlessness and neglect of God's Word, and overall lack of striving for real holiness. God has convicted me this week and renewed my Spirit, my love for Him, and my passion for His ministry. I have identified soome "substitutions" in my life, and am working to set them aside and turning back to God in these areas. I am back to praying God's Word and creating time to hear from Him through His Word, and I am confident that this will help my marriage and family as well. Praise the Lord!!"
Chris (youth pastor)

"I have felt wounded, confused, and quite angry. I have been doing an amazing job of pretending I've moved past it all, and able to even convince myself. God has shown me that all the "stuff" that resides within me is affecting my thinking, attitude, and emotions. I often find it difficult to concentrate. At times, I avoid God's Word because of what I believe He will probably have to say. God is, not has yet, but is, seeting me free. I am working to hear, listen, and obey. It is happening. this thing God is doing, is going to happen in my life. I don't need a bigger God. I need to trust and believe in the big God I have."
Yogi (pastor)

"Since the summit at Berean back in May of 2010, I have reconciled with my mom. I asked for forgiveness for disobedience and rebellion in my teens. She wasn't all that thrilled and convinced by my request for forgiveness, but in the months since, God has given me a host of opportunities to show my sincere repentance. My love for my mom has grown and I have felt freed in ways I have not known in the last 30 years since leaving home!! Thank you, Lord!!"
Cindy (woman attending our THIRST conference in Mansfield, Ohio)

"I have been wearing a mask. I was doing all the "right" things or at least trying to appear that way to my church and my family. Meanwhile, on the inside, hating myself. I felt lonely and so I fill that with food, cigarettes, alcohol, and an angry heart. I treat my husband and my children in a way that I am ashamed of. I feel as if they should be in the pit with me, I guess. After the teaching on having a clear conscience, I spent an emotionally exhausting 2 hours confessing to my husband and praying together. I feel emotionally raw today, but finally feel as if I can break free. I don't have to live everyday in secrecy. I am on my way to seeking God and His forgiveness. I am realizing that I am so much more than my past mistakes and that God is in the process of remaking me."
Julie

"God has found me THIRSTY, and not really aware of how close to total dehydration I was. I have been upset with my wife for not meeting all my needs. I was causing strife in my teen's life, so I'd work 14 hour days because it was easier. I was my own idol. God has dealt with me through this conference, and now, my burden is light, my marriage has hope, my wife is special to me again, my teenager doesn't avoid me, and I refuse to substitute myself for God. I now know where to be refreshed. Thank you."
Dave

"I was torn before the conference. Half of me was so excited about the conference that I couldn't sit still, and the other half, honestly was dreading it more than anything. The message on Sunday about Idols and Substitutions was directed at me. For the last ten years, I've been saying, "I'll be happy when ______." I was looking for anything and everything from alcohol to a husband to a baby to fill in that blank. My low point was over this summer after leaving my job to stay at home with our infant daughter. I felt lost and very depressed. I denied it, of course, because I have a "perfect" life. Except that what I was filling my cup with didn't fill it at all. Then I realized that I'd been missing what is supposed to be the most intimate and fulfilling relationship attainable. Thank you very much."
Dara

Cobourg, Ontario, Canada

Glory to God!! He has done miraculous things here in Cobourg, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Along with our 4-day THIRST conferences, we also conduct 8 and 11-day revival summits. This church happened to be an 11-day summit. Listen to the heart of this pastor as he shares what the Lord has done!!!

"God found me defeated, discouraged, and disgusted with God's people, and I'm the pastor. We needed to come to a place, and I personally needed to find myself, where our complete dependence was on Him. We were a church that was filled with divisions and devilish ways. BUT, the Holy Spirit moved in and through strong Biblical teaching, much prayer and persistence, in a miraculous way!! Lives are changed, families have found new love, men have learned to pray and lead, ladies have become filled with joy, and youth have a renewed passion for Jesus. These eleven days at Summit will forever be remembered as the significant time in which God changed our church all for His glory!!!"

And so we move on to Barrie, Ontario, to Emmanuel Baptist Church, where we are currently ministering in a 4-day THIRST conference. We trust He will move in our midst again, praying for the ultimate desire, revival among God's people!!!

Peoples Church: Ontario, Canada > The Lord is Moving in Our Midst

Peoples Church: Ontario, Canada > The Lord is Moving in Our Midst:
"The Lord is Moving in Our Midst
by Pastor Craig on October 13, 2010
God has been moving in some mighty ways here in the last two weeks. All for His glory. There have been many who have testified of what God has miraculously done in their lives. There are those in our midst who have confessed sins and asked for forgiveness. Many of these sins are those that we often keep hidden and pretend to play church and we make things appear as though everything was just fine in our lives....the masks are coming off and people are getting right with the Lord, right in their relationships - it is truly the work of God. There has been adultery confessed, addiction to pornography confessed, pride confessed, bitterness confessed, controlling behaviour confessed, and so much more. Relationships are being restored - husbands are coming forward and confessing how they have not loved their wife as Christ loved the church, wives confessing that they have not respected their husbands, young people confessing their need to trust in Christ in the things they are pursuing. This transparency is so powerful, the Lord is glorified through confession, repentance and ultimately restored and revived believers. May God receive all the glory!!!"

On the road again...

We are on the road again for our 2010-2011 travel year!! Already we have seen the Lord working in Wilson, North Carolina and Raleigh, North Carolina. Not only is the Lord using this team, but we are hearing of stirrings of revival occurring in Winstom-Salem, North Carolina where our Blue Team has been ministering for two weeks, and also in Sulphur, Louisiana where our Red Team has been in a two-week revival summit.

This weekend, Revive Our Hearts, an outreach ministry of Life Action, will host 6,000 women in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 2nd True Woman Conference of 2010 with speakers Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Mary Kassian, Joni Eareckson Tada, Janet Parshall, Crawford and Karen Loritts, Fern Nichols, and Dannah Gresh. What a wonderful time it will be as these women gather to seek the Lord together!!!

Would you continue to pray with us for the Big R? Revival in our nation!! As you do so, continue to pray for the little r!! Revival in the hearts of men and women and children, and revival in the churches we are ministering in, SO THAT the Lord can bring about the Big R!! Revival once again in our land!!

Dear friends, unconfessed sin is crippling the church!!! One important truth that we have learned as a family is that the power of sin lies in it's secrecy. When sins are confessed, both to God, and to those we've wronged, we can live with a clear conscience, and begin to reconcile those relationships. We have a greater freedom to love and worship God, and we can be a greater witness for Christ.

We want to share with you, a testimony from one couple...

"Coming into this conference, I was below rock bottom. I had had an affair just one year into our marriage. That was 19 years ago. I was going to take that incident to my grave without telling my wife. God revealed to me during this conference that it was time, past time, to take care of my sin. Tuesday evening after the service, we put our kids down to bed, and I confessed my 19 year old sin to my wife of 20 years. She forgave me as did God. We are going to a Christian marriage counselor to help forge a path toward reconciliation, trust and honor. Had God not stepped in, suicide was on the near horizon for me. God has given life back to my dry, dead bones. My road, and my wife's will be challenging, but the price I must pay is nothing compared to the price Christ paid for my salvation. Thanks for being honest, open, and transparent with us. Otherwise, I most likely would be in the same frame of mind as when your team came in on Sunday."

"God found me frustrated that my husband was so depressed / angry at his situation in life. I was also stressed about work and the kids. This week has been great!! I feel refreshed and excited about what lies ahead for us. Last night, my husband told me about a "one night stand" he had very early on in our marriage and how that was a seed of sin that had been damaging him from the inside out. Only because of God and His great forgiveness and the testimony we heard at the ladies luncheon and last night, I was able to readily forgive and seek a greater oneness in our relationship. Thank you God for this ministry and the change it has made in our home even today. Thank you for arranging the circumstances for us to attend the whole time. You are an awesome God!! Oh, how many obstacles you cleared to make this happen!!"

Here's another testimony from a wife...

"God found me in a rut. I had plenty of head knowledge, and had seen God work in amazing ways in the past, but was very frustrated with my life, my prayer time, my marriage, and my parenting. Several things I heard this week were duplications of three book's messages I have been reading recently. I knew all the Biblical answers, but was still dry and empty. Then one thing was said at one of the evening sessions (Monday night), that brought a sin to my mind that I had been avoiding, forgetting (on purpose), and excusing. The "little" frustrations (and big hurts), all stem back to this one sin. I have kept this financial sin from my husband. I had not even confessed it to God!! This gross lie may cost me my marriage - it will definitely be a major strain. But I know I can no longer keep this from my husband. After the ladies luncheon, I pray he can forgive me for this. What a release when I confessed it to God today and asked my husband for some time alone with him tonight. Already, I know this has been the one thing hindering my Christian walk!!"
There are many more examples of God moving and working and we praise and give honor to the only One who deserves it. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!!!

We are heading to Michigan...

I (Mal) was about to title this post, "We're heading home," but in reality, we're pulling our home behind us. But we are heading to Michigan for a much-needed break, to have some time with family and friends, and to make preparations for our next ministry season which will begin in September. We pulled away from Lakeside Baptist Church half an hour ago, and we're heading up Interstate 81 N in Virginia. It's been a great year and we're praising the Lord for all He has done!!!
Sharing God's heart for the Church,
Ryan and Mal

BITTERNESS
The dictionary defines it as something "difficult to accept" or in describing a person, "angry and resentful." What does this have to do with what we do? We have just ended an 8-day summit at Berean Baptist Church in Mansfield, Ohio and we were overwhelmed this past Sunday with over 50 people coming to share by way of testimony how they were responding to what God was teaching them through the course of the last 8 days.
Many issues were shared, but the one thing that stood out repeatedly was individuals recognizing and confessing bitterness in their lives, either toward a parent, a child, a spouse, or another indivdual. Many of them didn't even realize that they were bitter in their heart. They were unwilling to accept the circumstances or individuals that the Lord had brought into their lives. Many were bitter towards God, and didn't even realize it. God has set so many people free this week, and we are in awe of all that He has done!!
The Life Action staff and the staff of the church met on Sunday afternoon and determined that the Lord wanted our team to carry over one more night, so we actually finished the conference last evening with more testimonies. We have heard over and over again in the past four days comments like "My life will never be the same," and "Our home is changed," and "I am free from the bitterness," and "Our relationship with our kids is sweeter than we ever imagined," and "I sought forgiveness and I now have a clear conscience. I feel like I'm soaring!!," and "We are not the same family today as we were at the beginning of this summit."
One woman came to the microphone and shared that she had not spoken to or seen her parents in 24 years, and they live in the same town!! She didn't know where in Mansfield they were living, so she got online and found her mom, drove to her apartment, and sought her forgiveness for the years of bitterness and anger she had held against her mother. She then drove to the nursing home where her father was, and sought his forgiveness as well. She asked her father, "Dad, do you know who I am?" He said, "Yes." She shared what she needed to, and he forgave her!! She made the comment last evening that she felt as though she was soaring. Free from years of anger, bitterness, and resentment. But now she's free!! Praise God.
85 men come to pray!!!
Tom and Marie Nesbitt from Ames, Iowa, were with us teaching on the family, and Tom met with the men of the church every morning at 6 am teaching them to pray the Scriptures back to God, and then teaching them to take what they were learning back home and pray with their wife and children. Many men came forward Sunday morning and evening sharing how the Lord was using this prayer time to show them that they are to be the spiritual leaders in their homes, leading their wives and children in the study of the Word and in prayer. Many men came in a spirit of humility confessing that they had not been the priest of their homes as God calls men to be. What an awesome time we shared together as a body rejoicing over what the Lord had done!!! We praise His name, and our whole family would tell you, "This is worth livin' in a trailer for!!!!"

Resources that are available...

Through this blog, we not only want to inform you of where we are, and testimonies of changed lives, but also give you resources to aid you in your walk with God. Life Action has several websites full of topical helps based on the truth of God's Word. The websites are listed on the right side bar of this blog, and we would encourage you to visit them. Ladies, Revive our Hearts is a great tool for growing not only in our walk with God, but also for enhancing intimacy in our relationships with our husband and children. Life Action produces a weekly podcast called Infuse that you can download right to your computer that is available through www.lifeaction.org. We hope that you'll take advantage of the abundance of resources available to you. Our desire is to share God's heart for the Church with His church, and one means in which we do this is through our websites. May God bless you and your family and our prayer is that you would be a light for Jesus in your sphere of influence!!! Blessings, Ryan and Mal

Concord Baptist Church

We are here in Jefferson City, Missouri where approx. 400 attended the service tonight!! We are expecting God to do great things this week!! Please pray that He would meet with us here in the capital city of Missouri and that a mighty move of His Spirit would change hearts and lives, impacting not only this church, not only this community, but the state as well as the nation!! We are in deep need as a nation for God to do something extraordinary. Would you pray with us for this community, Jefferson City, Missouri?

Enid, Oklahoma

We are driving on I44 heading east out of Tulsa on our way to Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Missouri. We finished a 4-day THIRST conference last evening and will begin at Concord on Sunday morning. The Lord did a great work in Enid and we are praising him as we're driving. Our desire is to share God's heart for the Church with individuals and it's thrilling when the truth is heard and applied!! Families are restored! Marriages are healed! Teenagers get excited about following hard after God!! And individuals are restored to an intimate, love relationship with Jesus, the Lover of their soul!!

wife and mother -
"Before this conference, God found me locked up!! I didn't realize it until the conference, but I always felt held back in my continued growth in the Lord. I've learned this week that as I obey, and take the steps required of me according to His Word, He moves and displays His enduring grace and faithfulness. Jesus, my Lord and Savior, has revealed my hindered growth. In the past, my heart had been broken, so I locked it up and could only give it to God. But He has now set me free!!!! He is enabling me to give my heart to my sweet, wonderful, dear, husband!!! I now trust not only my Lord, but I am free to love and trust my husband as well. God has unlocked my heart and I am free!!!!"