RE : ENGAGE DEVILS LAKE
(The Joy of Being Together Again)

Paul's letters are filled with passionate expressions of his love and concern for the people in the cities where he had been sent to minister. From a distance, he writes of how great a struggle he has for you (Colossians 2:1), that he is constantly mentioning you in his prayers (1 Thessalonians 1:2), and of the daily pressure of his anxiety for all the churches (2 Corinthians 11:28). His prayers and desires are very specific. He wants to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until all attain to unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13). He prays night and day to see your face and supply what is lacking in your faith
(1 Thessalonians 3:10).

Time to Revive is like that. When apart, we pray and desire to be together to grow and learn and minister and love. There is a special passion in this ministry for the greater ever-expanding family. Understanding that there is so much to be done before we have finished what God has assigned us to do; we come together, not only in new cities, but returning to the cities where we have been before and the work continues. We call those times "Re-Engage", but really, it is simply a joy to be together again before the Lord as He teaches and encourages and uses us together. Recently, we returned to Devils Lake for such a time and it was everything we had been hoping and praying for.

The Devils Lake family gathered again at Bethel for a fellowship meal on a Friday night followed by a time of teaching, where John Cunningham and Kyle shared some of what we have learned in other cities since the Engage Week there in July of 2013. It was freeing to understand that we are to love - listen - discern - and only then respond to what the Holy Spirit reveals. Understanding the Parable of the Sower and the four soils on which the seed fell, we learned that we are not to speak to everyone, but only to those God shows us we are to spent time with - and if that means spending the whole morning with one person - that is a successful outing which will be used mightily by God. I had the privilege of sharing the vision God has revealed for what it means to finish the work in a city.

Saturday morning, we returned for a time of prayer and training in preparation to go out. We assembled into teams and went to share the love of Jesus as we had been taught. We came back for another fellowship meal after which we celebrated what God had done in and through us together, and then dug into specific instruction on how, using the last tab in the new Bible, you can disciple a new believer. We focused on immediate discipleship by the one who shared, wanting to be sure we both protect the seed and assure its purity.

Sunday, Kyle preached powerfully at Bethel, and then it was time to leave until the next time in the next city or when we get to return. Devils Lake will be going out once a month together under John Cunningham who will be coordinating Evangelism. The contacts will be followed up and discipled under the leadership of Dave Fix. Exciting times together in Devils Lake.

In Him,
David Maddox
Director of Discipleship