Firestarters, ACTS Covenant Fellowship and Threshold Church joined together to hold the first IGNITED event this past Friday night. The worship band members and intercessors began to arrive at ACTS around 5pm, followed by other volunteers around 6pm. It was awesome to see the unity of God’s people as individuals and families from all three churches/ministries joined together to prepare for the event, which would begin at 7:00.
Around 6:30, as the worship band was practicing, we faced an unexpected obstacle. Jen Achey (co-director of Firestarters and the worship leader for this event) had a seizure, even as she was leading the practice time. Band members, intercessors and other volunteers quickly surrounded her and began to pray. In Sean and Jen’s words, “…for the past 3-4 months Jen has had a handful of unexplained seizures. Since June when this started doctors have done every test imaginable and they say Jen’s brain is ‘completely normal,’ but it was found by a chiropractor that there is a vertebra in her neck that has not been aligned correctly and it is likely that this has caused some seizure symptoms. She is getting chiropractic treatment and it seems to be helping.”
Because Jen had been seizure-free for some time, her seizure on Friday night came as a shock to many, if not all, of us. Sean took her home and one of the Backdraft (intercessory) team members stayed with her when Sean returned to the event later in the evening. We continue to stand with Sean and Jen in prayer for complete healing for Jen. However, we are also praising God that Jen has recovered from this seizure much more quickly than from any of the previous ones she suffered. She also has experienced no memory loss, as she had in the past.
We also give God honor, glory and praise for the wonderful time of worship and ministry that occurred that night, despite the enemy’s attempts to thwart it. The prayer that kept coming to my mind that night was, “God, You’re bigger than this!” He certainly proved that as the worship band pulled together and flowed together despite the unexpected circumstances. One band member shared that she felt we went to a high place in worship that night. Many of those in attendance shared that they felt God’s presence among us.
Kelly Lapp, one of the worship band members who stepped up to lead, offered the microphone to anyone who felt that the Lord was laying something on their heart to share with the group. A number of people shared words that the Lord had given them. One young lady said that as she was worshiping, she began to weep and felt very broken. She felt the Lord saying to her that there were people there that night who felt so broken, that they didn’t think the Lord could touch them. She encouraged us to remember that no one is beyond God’s reach. Another word that was shared was about finding our identity in Christ. The man who spoke said that we first need to open our eyes to see God, before we can see who we are in Him. After these words were shared, a time of ministry was offered for anyone who felt these words were for them. The ministry team prayed for and ministered to those who went forward, while the band continued to lead in worship.
Sometime toward the end of the night, Sean Achey returned and closed the night by sharing that as God’s people, we are all family. His words really summed up the night, as it had been one of intense unity. Praise God! May He continue to bring His church together!
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