Invasion - by Steve Kanode

Firestarters joined forces with a group of Jr. and Sr. Highers and their leaders for their "Invasion" meeting. We were impressed with the level of spirituality we found there. I thought, "Maybe they should be ministering to us." Anyway, Jen felt the Lord directing her to speak on suffering as a christian. So after a time of worship, she led that discussion. Then we spent time praying for them individually. Some also received prophetic words and prayer for healing. They are a great group. We look forward to meeting with them in the future.

Chapel at Manheim Christian Day School ~ by Alicia Kanode

A group of us from Firestarters led middle school chapel this morning at Manheim Christian Day, where Sean and Jen’s children attend school. Sean talked about God’s Father heart of love for us, specifically from Romans 8:14-16. He asked the kids to share some movie characters that they like and then drew a parallel between those characters and God – that knowing “about” a person is not the same as “knowing” a person. In the same way, we can know all the Bible stories and still not know the God who wrote the Bible.

The rest of us who went also shared testimonies of the ways in which God had revealed His love to us and encouraged the kids that they can also experience God’s love. Sean allowed time for the students to pray and connect with God in that way. Then Sean and Diane led them in the song, “Father, I Adore You.”

As the students left the room, Sean and Steve told each one individually that God loves them and has good plans for them. Father, let those truths sink deeply into each of their hearts!

Firestarters at HDC ~ by Alicia Kanode

As always, we were looking forward to ministering again at the Harrisburg Discipleship Center (Eastern Mennonite Mission’s training center for Youth Evangelism Service teams). We were very blessed to have the volunteer staff from HDC pray for us before we led the training session Sunday night. We were then able to pray for the staff, as well, while the YES team participants listened to worship music.

At 7:30, we joined the larger group of students. Sean taught briefly about the prophetic and then we had a panel discussion, so that the participants could hear different perspectives from numerous Firestarters staff members. After explaining about prophetic ministry, we split into groups to allow the YES team members and HDC staff to practice hearing from God and ministering prophetically to one another.

It was a really fun experience to watch these young people (some of whom had been scared by the prophetic when we started) step out and share what God was showing them. I especially enjoyed when more than one person received the exact same picture or word for someone. It was a neat confirmation for all of us that they really were hearing from God!

After spending some time in small groups prophesying and praying for each other, we came together again and shared testimonies. It was so exciting to hear how God encouraged these young people. One of my favorite testimonies came from a girl who is gifted in art. She had become discouraged with her ability and decided not to pursue further education in the area of art. One of our team members who had never met this girl before received a word for her about art and encouraged her to allow God to use that gift in her life. She was so encouraged that this word actually changed the possible direction of her life as she looks to the future!