Once You Were Not a People...
A year after first gathering at a conference in search of more of God, a small group in the Netherlands celebrated their first baptisms and communion—marked by joy, unity, and a powerful move of the Spirit. What began with hunger and obedience has become a growing body, joined by faithful visits, sh
This Sunday, March 30, was a typical cold overcast Dutch spring day, but the small group of people standing around a pool felt anything but ordinary. Their faces radiated with joy, thanksgiving, and love for each other and for the goodness of God as they came together for the first baptisms in the Netherlands and their first communion, with twelve brothers and sisters.
What a difference a year makes!
A year ago this small group of people, most of whom didn’t even know each other, attended the Exodus conference in the Netherlands. They were all seeking more of God, and they discovered that He is speaking, moving, and living in His people.
Nine of these hungry Christians have traveled to Texas over the past year and a half, where they saw the body of Christ operating, shared and fellowshiped with brothers and sisters, received deeper understanding of God’s word, attended meetings, and were baptized.
Brother Daniel and Sister Erin and their family spent three months last year with the fledgling Netherlands group. Brother Randy and Sister Kim Schafer have been ministering and sharing with our brothers and sisters here for several months.
Brother Daniel traveled back this week, and two brothers, Ernest and Frans, were baptized. Ernest’s wife, Silvia, committed to the body through communion. Brother Daniel wrote, “God moved in a powerful way as we celebrated baptisms and the first communion in the Netherlands community.”
Another group of believers under the ministry of Mark Likkel have also interacted with our community both in the Netherlands and in Texas.
Brother Daniel wrote, “I have met with different combinations of people in Mark’s group several times in the last week, and one night about a dozen people came. The Lord put it on my heart to minister about the two ways of knowing. There is a pride that sets itself as the judge of the things of God. It hashes His truths this way and that until there is nothing of life left in any of it. Then there is a brokenness of humility that allows God to be the knower. The treasures of the kingdom are hidden from the wise and the prudent but revealed to babes.
“A young man from Wales whom I’d never met before attended the meeting. As the Word was coming forth, he was riveted in an unusual way—‘cut to the heart’ is a perfect way to describe it. He cried out, ‘What must I do?’
“A powerful move of God swept through the room. This young man fell to his knees, followed by the rest of us. We started the gathering at 7:30. After what seemed like maybe an hour, we got up and looked at our watches. It was 11:30.
“Afterward, we sat conversing about the Welsh revival back in 1904. It came after much consecration and prayer from people like Evan Roberts. Mark told us that the spark that ignited revival happened in a meeting at 11:30 P.M., when a young girl in the congregation began to sing ‘Here is love, vast as the ocean.’ The ripples from what started in that revival in Wales carried over to Azusa Street in 1906, and then all over the world.
“If we will all be faithful to keep building a memorial before the Lord, we are creating an environment where one spark can set in motion something stupendous! Faithfulness in prayer, faithfulness in obedience, faithfulness in love of the brethren! The body of Christ is growing, and what God builds the gates of hell cannot prevail against.”
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)
