Testimony of Awakening
Emma Winchester praying over Metter UMC during the Awakening Weekend
In Matthew’s Gospel, on the morning of the Resurrection, the women go to the tomb of Jesus to finish preparing his body for burial. When they arrived, there was a violent earthquake. The guards who were at the tomb froze in shock and fear as an angel came down from heaven. The women walked up to the tomb, and they were greeted by the angel:
“Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5-7)
I share this part of the resurrection story with you because in many ways I feel like a spiritual earthquake of the best kind has just occurred in Metter, GA! The Spirit & Truth team came filled with the Holy Spirit to lead our church into a closer walk with our Heavenly Father. They shook us out of our comfort zones by refocusing us on “the things we did at first”…prayer, outreach, discipleship, and worship.
One of the more impactful parts of this “Awakening Weekend” was a prayer walk that Matt and the team had us do. On Saturday morning, Matt taught on prayer. He specifically challenged us to pray for strangers. Matt taught us how to initiate a conversation with someone and gave us some general rules to follow. When he was done teaching, he sent us out. We were teamed up in groups of 3 or 4 people and sent out for the next hour into Metter to pray for strangers. Before leaving, each group was encouraged to stop and pray and listen to God’s voice to where each group should go.
My own experience was one of nervousness and fear! I tried my darndest to stay back at the church, but Matt saw right through me. So, he invited me to go with two other team members from Spirit & Truth. I’ll just say we experienced some holy moments with complete strangers that were so beautiful and so simple. When asked if we could pray for them, no one told us no. In fact, they welcomed it!
When we returned to the church, each group shared about their experience while eating lunch. Every person had a story to share of how God led them to certain people or places. Each group had a divine appointment.
And in the span of just an hour, we as a church did more outreach than had been done in several years! It was simply amazing!
Going back to Matthew’s gospel and the women at the tomb, when the angel spoke to the women, the angel first said, “Come and see.” The angel wanted the women to see for themselves that Jesus was no longer there. He was alive. The women had to experience it and see it with their own eyes.
In many ways, that is what this Awakening Weekend was like. It was a “come and see” moment. “Come and see” how much the Father wants to talk with us and be with us and how much the Father loves us.
And once we “come and see” then we are invited to “go and tell.”
The testimonies of my congregation continue to pour in as they continue to see God working and speaking in their lives. Several married couples are praying together for the first time in their marriage. Many in the congregation are feeling led to serve the church and the community in new ways. One member shared, “I've been going to church pretty much my entire life, but I've never felt like this. I didn't realize how much I needed it until I felt what I'd been missing.”
The Christian life is all about “come and see” and then “go and tell.” I am thankful for the Spirit & Truth team for creating the space for us to “come and see” all that God has to offer us as God’s children. I pray we continue to “go and tell” others about our wonderful heavenly Father!