This was our second visit to Johnson City, KS,  a small town in Southwest Kansas. We met some of the greatest people you could ever hope to meet.  It was a fantastic week of revival there.  The pastor, Don Hastey, has only been there since June, but the people are very excited about his ministry there.  We had a great time with the children in BibleQuest, too.  You talk about some excited kids.  They were some of the most enthusiastic we’ve worked with in a while.  They really got into the memory work and loved singing the songs.  I’ve posted some pictures to give you an idea of how much fun we had in this church.

The adults were enjoying the storytelling format for the revival.

Listening during the sermon.  They were leaning forward and paying attention.

Time for memory work.

Felicia helping some kids with their Bible memory.

They did love the stories!

The took every spare minute to work on memory.

This boy is helping me illustrate what faith is.

They were very eager and ready to answer the questions I asked.

The kids did a great job showing their stuff.  Isn’t this a great looking bunch of boys and girls!

Look at the smiles on these hard working medal winners!

This was a return visit to Pineville, FUMC.  We were last there about five years ago.  It was a great time of ministry with their new pastor, Ricky Willis.  We’ve known Ricky and his family for over 25 years but we haven’t had the opportunity to work together in a revival before.  This church has a great heart for evangelism and missions.  It was a joy to work with them and see the great passion they have for the Kingdom.  BibleQuest was a big hit, as you will see in the pictures below.

Next stop, Johnson City, Kansas.

Rapt attention…

The kids seem to love the stories the best…

These kids were really listening to the story.

Closing Program of BibleQuest.

The proud medal winners.

Felicia and I have known Bud and Karen Reeves since all our children were home. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been in his churches. It was a joy to be with him in FUMC Hot Springs. The staff and committees had certainly done their jobs and we reaped the results of all their prayer and labor. Great crowds, great response, great church. I’ve included some pictures here to give you a little flavor of the week.

Great time with the kids in BibleQuest.

Don’t they look Great!

Here are the proud medal winners.

Can you believe methodists would show up like this on a week night?

I love having Felicia helping with worship. She has such a heart for praise.

Cowboy Dan (Daniel and the Lion’s Den) doin’ his thang…

Gideon teaches us all how to trust God when the odds are against us.

I had the privilege of speaking to a group at the high school.

Next stop, Pineville, Louisiana.

We had a fantastic time in Los Alamos.  This is the fifth time I’ve been in revival with Dave Ring.  He has a history of having the church ready for renewal!   Los Alamos was a most interesting place.  It has a great history surrounding it as the home of the invention of the atomic bomb.  I probably spoke to more PHD’s in one building than I ever have in the past.  I believe there was even a nobel prize winner in the house.  But, even scientists need Jesus!  There was a warm reception to the presentations of the Gospel and a genuine appreciation for the use of storytelling.  They also had a strong music program and some fantastic talent that shared in each service.

Here is the picture of the BibleQuest medal winners.  It was a small, but excited group of kids.

What a great time of revival we had in Cedar Falls! Rev. Bruce Ursin and his staff was a delight to work with. They had things ready to go when I arrived. I was a bit distracted, wanting to be with our new grandson, Elijah Thomas, but we pressed on. The church was very responsive and we had great crowds. Rev. Ursin said that it was among the best attended meetings he’s had in this church.

Here is a note I received from one of the members on the last night. “Thank you so much for coming to our church to share your message. I have very much enjoyed this revival experience. Your talks have helped me experience God in a new way, and I know that I will never be the same spiritually. …Good luck as you journey from here. I am excited for the churches you are scheduled to visit. I know they will be truly blessed. Thank you again for introducing God to me in a new way.”

It is so good to hear that God is making a difference in people’s lives. That is what this ministry is all about.

BibleQuest was a lot of fun. The boys and girls were so excited about memorizing the Bible verses, hearing the stories, and singing the songs. Here is the picture of my medal winners for this week. They were well deserving of the honor. One girl was a double medal winner, for bringing the most friends and memorizing the most verses in her age group.

The Dayspring in Pella, Iowa was such a blessing. The people in the church had worked hard to prepare. There was a lot of prayer behind the effort and it really paid off. We had good attendance through the week and there were lots of visitors from the community in the services. The storytelling was a big hit here and it was great fun to hear the laughter of children all through the week. The congregation fell in love with the new hymns from the Amazing Love CD. There was a wonderful spirit of worship in the services.

Here is a wonderful email we received after the Dayspring.

“The Revival in Pella was wonderful. Your dramas are spell-binding. Humor holds one’s attention. I will never look at these Bible stories the same way. Then your application of truths from these stories to our spiritual life was very direct and something we regular church goers NEED. We did go away with much about which to think and pray. Thank you both for revitallizing experiences.

BibleQuest was great. We all will remember singing the books of the Bible!!!!!!

Felicia, you are the perfect helpmate for your husband. Your alto voice on the praise songs adds much to the worship time. I can’t believe you hid that talent for so long. I especially enjoyed your testimony at the Ladies’ Luncheon. What an ongoing witness! You definitely should write that in a book.

The two of you have developed such a productive ministry and it is good to know that it is the result of following God’s plan. Thank you again for a wonderful Revival.”

BibleQuest was very well received. The boys and girls worked hard at Bible memory and memorized over 200 verses in three days.

Here is a picture of the winners and the leaders who helped with BibleQuest during the week.

We got a good group of kids together from Bethesda church in Fort Worth (along with some of our grandkids) and with the help of long-time friend, Brenda Hardeman, they worked hard and learned 13 songs. The final product is not going to be far off now! They did a great job and I can hardly wait for you to hear them. Here are some pictures of the recording session.

Check back for more info on release date. It’s going to be a great tool for helping kids learn a lot about the Bible.