Coup D’Church

coup d’church n : a sudden and decisive change of church structure outside normal means or by force if necessary.

 

I have gone over the edge, friends.

 

I was in Minnesota recently holding tent meetings. I was watching folks getting saved every night while the church focused on their own agenda and while church people were generally too busy to show up to support the work.

 

But that’s not what sent me over the edge.

 

I saw people come just in case we had a Bentley-like healing service and not come back because we actually preached a straight word out of the Bible (gasp!) or because we actually viewed the gift as a means to salvation and not an end all by itself.

 

But that didn’t send me over the edge either.

 

I saw “Prophetic” people get irate because we actually expect them to do something more than soak and wave banners. Recently in Minnesota the prophetic folks have been saying that a “Leviathan” spirit had swam down the Mississippi river and that its tail knocked down the I-94 bridge in Minneapolis. They are saying this, really, and what’s worse, they seem to actually believe it.

 

I keep expecting that the next prophetic fad will be with them wearing tin foil helmets so that the CIA can’t read their minds.

 

These same folks are excited because Bill Yount gave a prophecy that claimed that angels were embedded in the walls of the churches waiting to be activated. Yes, the same Bill Yount who gave the infamous “candy bar names” prophecy is actually allowed to minister somewhere. Shocking.

 

The same folks are dispensing “Godka” and are “Toking the Ghost” at meetings. And pardon me if I seem religious but I think that maybe God would be better served by you witnessing your faith or cleaning the church or teaching kids out of the Word or…

 

That had me close to the edge but not quite over it.

 

What put me over the edge was the understanding that the church simply will not correct itself, it is in a free spinning descent and no one seems to know that eventually you must hit the ground.

 

I was given a gift for visiting a church on a Sunday morning recently. The church was an Assembly of God and they gave us June’s copy of “Today’s Pentecostal Evangel”. Inside was an article on “The Changing Face of Evangelism” and there was a picture of Billy Sunday and some hipster that I didn’t know.

 

Anyway, as I read, I became livid.

 

First was “Gone are the days when a camp meeting was a big event in town”. I thought, “Okay, that’s just  opinion. It lacks foresight but I can agree to disagree with that.” Then I read further “An Evangelist supplements by providing a particular specialty that may not be the local Pastor’s strength, such as teaching on Spirit baptism.” Um…what?

 

“The Evangelist complements by teaching the people from a second voice that confirms what the Pastor has been sharing with them.”

 

Are you kidding me? That is the job of the Evangelist in the church, to complement the local Pastor? And this was coming from the AG! I’m sorry but I don’t know what books they are handing out in Springfield for leaders to read but apparently it isn’t the Bible anymore.

 

Here’s the problem: you are besieged. You are trapped behind the four walls of your church by the enemy outside and the only ministry that you know is to other besieged people. You are devouring one another and defining ministry gifts by what you can do while you are besieged, not by what God had intended for us as His church!

 

The job of an Evangelist is not to supplement a local Pastor, sorry. The job of an Evangelist is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, in the world. But our Evangelists are not Evangelists anymore, they are travelling preachers with an career agenda and money on the brain.

 

And it is time and high time for a coup d’church.

 

The prophetic movement is starting to teach that the Bible is not the Word, Jesus is. Therefore, since the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy, prophetic declaration is higher than the written word. When you do that, you cross the line from heterodoxy to heresy and I will do all that is in my power to expose you as false prophets prophesying lies.

 

When a false movement deserts the Word of God to follow fables, it is time for a coup d’church.

 

What of the Moravian Church, who at one time held a 24/7 prayer ministry for 100 years while sending out over 300 missionaries to areas unreached by the Gospel message. Today they have homosexuals ordained as preachers and many of them doubt the infallibility of the Word.

 

When those who should lead us have fallen into secularism and liberalism, it is time for a coup d’church.

 

Methodist women used to have “pray-in’s” where they all sat as a group in front of the doors of local taverns and prayed, refusing to move and refusing to allow anyone inside. Methodists used to hold camp meetings where God moved, people repented and were saved. They used to send circuit riders all over the country, covering rural areas with the good news. Today they are mainstream and neither God nor the people move.

 

When the new wineskin becomes the old wineskin, unable to contain any new wine, its time for a coup d’church.

 

We could mention the Salvation Army or the Presbyterian church and how far removed they are from the radical manifestations of revival in their past. We could mention Pentecostals who now too dignified to have the gifts of the Spirit operate in public or the Word of Faith folks who took revelation from God and started commanding stones to become bread for their own use.The list is too long and too painful for me because I love the church. But I can not abide what a church does to people when it is based on lies, compromise and the world system.

The disease of the church is systemic and what change can come to it, must come from outside, period.

We must take what we can from the past and never lose them while being sure to lose everything that came later as a result of the compromises of weak men.

To be clear, I am calling for an outright revolt where it is deserved. I am calling for a coup in the church because they are simply not competent to lead us into the future.

And if no one calls out and says “What should we do?” I don’t mind, I will simply be the change on my own and that would be enough for me.

-JC Smith

 

Harvest: Ready, Real Christians: FEW

Perhaps I am easily impressed. The tent meetings have seen over 20 come to the Lord in just over a week. Then there were rededications all week and tons of healings. But the healings were there to magnify Jesus and lead to salvation, not attract folks or bless the “Body”.

I know, 20 conversions is not exactly Billy Graham numbers.
But considering that we were in the middle of a field outside a town of 2,000, mostly Roman Catholics and unbelievers, a town that had not seen a tent meeting in at least 50 years- 20 salvations is awesome.

It is in our heart to take a tent to rural America and preach the old time Gospel message to a generation that has never heard it. And I believe that this trip justifies that. We saw only 20 saved in a week but that is a higher number than some churches here have in regular attendance.

All because we went! Because someone decided that preaching the Gospel to the lost was important enough to have church out in a field and to do it for a week and a half in a row. Because someone decided that church could take place outside of Sunday morning and Wednesday night. Hope ya’ll are hearing me.

We had 3 local pastors show up but last night as so many were getting saved, I couldn’t help but be boggled by the mindset. People were coming and hearing an Evangelist and a message about the Great White Throne judgment, hearing the message for the first time in their lives. But there were no Pastors around to lead them to a local church. Shoot, there weren’t even all that many church people there to lead them to a church. Its a tragedy I tell you and the church should be ashamed of itself.

I guess the reasoning is that it was not “sponsored” by their church. That’s just a guess. I guess church folks didn’t much feel like coming because they didn’t need healing or salvation.

That’s like firemen sleeping at the firehouse, hearing the alarm going off and turning to one another asking “Is that your house?” Upon seeing that it is not, they turn over and go back to sleep. Unreal.

The Old Ship of Zion

Well friends, we are still here in Minnesota holding tent meetings. It was supposed to end on Friday but God showed up and so our plans go right out the window.
So meetings have been extended to Wednesday.
Healings are happening every night and we give God the glory for that. I am almost more excited about something that started happening on Sunday night though.
Shana couldn’t open the song service (where we sing old fashioned camp meeting songs) due to a burden of intercession. So she just started in with that and soon the Holy Ghost was felt all over the place. Within 15 minutes car after car started pulling in, all loaded with Hispanics.
They didn’t speak much English but they sat through the whole service and came forward for healing. Sure enough, some started getting saved from the back when they saw what God was doing. I mean, stumbling down the aisle in tears asking “What should I do?” Glory to God!
Last night they brought more and even their own translators! They all sit around the translator and I say a bit, they translate and then amen…haha. Its awesome.
In the altar call last night we gave a call for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and let me tell you, I have rarely seen anything like it. People got filled and started jumping all over the place.
Right here in “dead” Minnesota, in an old Gospel tent, preaching the old fashioned Word to the same folks that Jesus may have hung out with, if he walked among us today.
Keep us in prayer friends. I will update as I can.
Here is a link to an article written by a brother who was at the weekend meetings as well: http://www.scepaniakfarms.com/blog/2008/06/30/old-ways-verses-new/

Sauk Centre Healing Rally!

First off, let me apologize if you have tried to email us or visit the AP site the last few days. Both are down and will remain down for a few days yet.

We have been under attack but bless God, that tells us someone is scared…and it ain’t God or His people!

I want to let you know that we are excited about our upcoming tent meetings in Sauk Centre, Minnesota this Tuesday through Friday. The area has not seen an old fashioned Holy Ghost camp meeting in more than 50 years from what I hear!

Faith is high there and we have seen exciting miracles in that area already this year, so we hear the sound of an ubundance of rain in our spirits for these meetings!

We want to thank the Scott family in advance for all their work and thanks to Brighter Days Family Church of Burtrum, MN for their continuing love and support of this ministry!

To get to the meetings from I-94 in Minnesota:
Exit Sauk Centre, at top of ramp go north towards Sauk Centre, go to the 2nd light (Sinclair Lewis Ave) take a right, follow out of town to the cemetary (T in the road), go right on county road 185. Follow signs from there to 1st farm on the right.

For more information, call the ministry phone at 281-757-6087

God bless you all!
JC

The Lazarus project

I want to thank all of you who have stood by us these past few years. Hearing about some small difference that we have made in your lives makes the hard times seem worth it, truly.

We have entered an exciting new phase of the ministry and we want to be sure to include all of you in it.

To that end, I will be updating you all after each weekend here at the churches and after each tent meeting and healing rally.

I will finally be getting sermons online after they are preached and we should be getting video out here in a few weeks as well. I will also be reporting on the weekly healings that are happening as well as the salvations and rededications that are increasing here every week!

I want to do this so that you can see the difference that your support and prayers are making.

We have a wonderful opportunity here in Wisconsin and it is one that I know that you care about as well. There is so much work to do that it can get overwhelming very quickly, believe me. Last week we spent a majority of our time cleaning the churches and throwing out years of accumulated junk. My wife and kids had an especially difficult time due to the spiders that seemed to be everywhere. We still are not close to being done but we have made a dent, thank the Lord.

Saturdays are outreach days at the park, coffee shops and tattoo shops in town. We have gotten a bunch of tracts and are loving the threat that it poses to the devil when we take the message out of the church and into his safe house.

Saturday nights are healing revival nights, then Sundays are split between two churches. Then during the week now I travel for speaking ministry as well as a weekly healing rally in Madison.

We are going and going because along with ministry and church folks there is a spouse and five children who must never feel that they are second place.

God is moving and we are so thrilled to just have a part to play.

The ministry and the family covet your support and prayers! Everything that comes in is used for basic needs and the needs of the ministry. We are focused on overlooked rural areas here in America where preachers dont seem to want to go and we depend on our friends and partners to make a difference in people’s lives.

Our address is no longer temporary! If you would like to give in support of this work, use the donate tab here on the blog or if you would prefer sending a check, it can be sent to:

Pastor JC Smith

American Pentecost

17518 State Road 23

Darlington, WI 53530

God bless all of you and we hope that you are as excited as we are about this present move of God and the prospect of delivering some real damage to the enemy.

JUNE WAR REPORT

Hello friends! I wanted to write a personal note here and thank you all for your prayers and PayPal donations, they are being used to further the Gospel!

 

We have been in the churches now since the start of June and have seen some great things already. The areas are in need (shocking, right?) but God has been showing up in power.

 

We have Sunday mornings in one church, Sunday nights in another. We also are doing a weekly healing meeting Saturday night which has been very fruitful. Last night we added a weekly healing meeting in Madison at a church there that is hungry for change and the power of God.

 

As soon as our associate moves here we hope to start midweek services and MMA classes as well. It would be too much right now but we should be able to start soon.

 

We have been focusing on the healing ministry both locally and when we travel. I am a healing Evangelist but it is so nice to Pastor folks and to have a home base to work out of. The people in both churches are excited about the fire, excited about the preaching and excited about everything that God is doing.

 

We are seeing every single back problem healed by the power of God. That is no exaggeration, every single back problem is supernaturally healed by the power of God. Folks who have had chronic pain are reporting all pain gone and we are seeing visual alignments at every meeting.

 

Allergies, nerve damage, eye problems, hearing loss and many different kinds of diseases have also been healed.

 

Last night in Madison, almost everyone seeking healing was rocked by the power of God. One woman who had surgery on her hand approached us and said that though it seemed like a small thing compared to some of the other things happening, would we pray for her hand? In a surgery for a broken wrist they had cut some nerves and she had a constant numbness and could not close her hand.

 

I felt the gift of faith rise up, grabbed her hand and said “Watch…” She got excited and said “Watch? oh wonderful!” and began to stare intently at her wrist. Within seconds something popped and she yelled at the top of her voice “It’s happened, I’m healed!” She showed everyone (most knew of the condition in the church) that she could now open her hand fully and make a tight fist. Amen, God is good!

 

We have been getting the nets ready in both churches as we prepare for the harvest. From cleaning to setting new leaders in place in the body to setting up new outreaches and programs, it seems as if the work is never done. But Sunday night at church a third of the people came forward, many in tears, rededicating their lives to the Lord. God is on the move there for sure.

 

This Friday I begin street ministry here where we live. Saturday we start outreach in the college town at the parks around town. We have started making inroads at the tattoo shops as well and have been invited by them to just come and hang out on the weekends and meet people. They think that it’s pretty cool that a preacher has sleeves but I think it’s cool that God uses this preacher’s tattoo sleeves to plant soil in ground that many never get to.

 

Several have responded to my call for help and are getting things in order to come and visit, look for jobs, etc. It is a great opportunity to see God at work and to help define church in their generation.

 

We are still looking for a children’s Pastor, worship leader and musicians. So if you feel called, please contact me about the possibility of joining us in the work.

 

In some very exciting news, the local Christian television station has approached me and asked if I would like a 30 minute weekly program. The program would be on several times a week and would be 20 minutes of preaching with a 5 minute intro and outro.

 

I am really believing God for this because it is an awesome opportunity to get his word out. We are looking for partners outside of this area to start it up and I would ask that you get involved. The cost is $150.00 a week to preach an uncompromised word to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois! We will make every episode available for free online as well and so the potential is wonderful, it really is.

 

I want to encourage you all that your prayers and support are working! God is on the move in an area that has not seen too much of Him. It is hard work and hard soil but God is breaking walls, smashing chains and setting prisoners free.

 

I am, as always, your servant here on the frontlines.

 

God bless all of you richly as you put His will first in your lives!

 

JC

 

The Dying Of The Light

 

As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. John 9:4

I wonder how many of us understand that the hour is soon approaching when no one will be able to work any longer? Our hours of available daylight are slipping by and soon the work that must be done, the work that is the most important thing that we can do with our allotted time on this earth, will simply no longer be possible.

Jesus was likely using a reference here to the Sabbath, the traditions of which the Jewish people are well aware of. From before sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday, no work was allowed, any creative exercise of any kind was not allowed so far as I know. So all preparations for Sabbath had to be done before the sun actually set. It was a day of rest, even during planting and harvest.

I personally hold that the seventh day or Sabbath of man’s history will be the millennium period but that is the focus for a different article.

Here I want to submit to you that the sundown is quickly approaching and we are simply not ready for the dark.

I see similar attitudes everywhere that I go. I see the relaxed feelings in the mainstream church that lend themselves to needless building projects, new programs that accomplish little and cost much and sermons designed to impress or placate rather than instruct or correct. None of which are done with the sense of urgency that we simply must have when faced with the impending night.

On the outside of the regular church there are different issues but they remain issues nonetheless. Some leave the church “system” all together and just have church with their family. Some have home groups, swearing that buildings are satanic. Some bounce from church building to church building, spreading their attention wherever they feel called at the moment.

In other ways, there are many that are caught up in the effort of looking for error. They call this a “gift” and say that it is the discerning of spirits. However, that particular gift historically has been reserved for those aware of the spirit realm, not those called to police all of Christendom. We see people consumed with looking for error, convinced that everything is a satanic plot designed to cause “The Great Falling Away”.

Many of these same people are one step away from wearing tin foil helmets to block the CIA from reading their mind but that is the subject of a different article as well.

As an aside, I am not sure that most of them understand the difference between orthodoxy, heterodoxy and heresy. One is correct across the board, one is a deal breaker, such as Mormon and Jehovah’s Witnesses beliefs. The other is just different than yours and perhaps mine but it does not carry with it the capacity to damn a soul to hell.

Perhaps to all of this we should just say “to each his own” and go about our business. I certainly can not fix the myriad’s of issues that are out there all on my own. Neither am I so confident in what I know that I feel I would even be capable of doing that.

I am however, personally concerned that many in the American church, whether they are mainstream, underground or out-of-church, have been a bit blinded. Not by some guy talking about angels or some new method, teaching or technique that resembles the New Age but by something that is far more insidious than any of that.

You see, satan’s main goal after you become a Christian is to keep you ineffective in the Kingdom of God. Not to hide under your bed, not to cause inflation and not to get your friend mad at you. His job is to keep you ineffective in the NOW.

And he is doing a bang-up job of this bit of flanking.

You see, while you are busy being offended because someone wasn’t as nice to you as you’d like, daylight is burning. While you hide in your home and eschew all involvement with the church at large and focus on your personal holiness or inner spiritual journey, daylight slips by. While you run from ministry to ministry looking for “error” in teachings that are not like your beliefs, daylight is ebbing and hell is filling and the most important work of the church in this age is simply not being done.

Satan’s job is to keep you so busy everywhere else that you stay out of those places where you could do real damage to his kingdom.

Offense is a great place to start because it is so often coupled with self-righteousness. The wrong that you feel was done to you allows you to feel “right” in spreading rumors, staying out of church, engaging in character assassination or eventually even acting as an accomplice to satan himself in destroying the work of God. We simply must be more concerned with doing right rather than simply being right because that is the heart of Christianity. There is more at stake than your ego or your ideals, so sorry.

Besides, you know how far you have to go by how badly you react when you are wronged. I have always struggled with reacting badly myself. It has always been in my flesh to swing first and ask questions later. I would self-righteously see every wrong that was done to me as also being done to God or as proof of their false Christianity and thus judge the person who did it.

Only in this last year have I seen that most wrongs that I suffer are done to me, not to him. So I am free to release people from any harm they have caused me and to forgive. To their own master they will stand or fall but I have determined to not allow personal issues to get inside of me and poison me in my walk with God.

Taking people out of areas where they may be dangerous to his kingdom by having them focus on areas within God’s work that are wrong is also a common practice of the enemy.

Because we see things that we do not like within a local church or ministry, we feel that we must leave in protest. This leads to pride and an inflated sense of one’s own calling. The fact of the matter is that we are all fallible, all of us. And our service to God can only be as perfect as we are as individuals. A church is a collection of people who have banded together in a community to further the aims of the greater kingdom that they belong to. If every person were to leave because they found fault with some aspect of the ministry, there would be no church at all.

And this is satan’s goal- to pull people out of the place where they can damage him and to place them off to the side where they are no longer developed by something different than themselves.

A sharpening stone works because it is not the same as the blade it works against. If you rub two blades together that are exactly the same, they do not become sharper but rather they become duller. In the same way, when you are surrounded by only those people who hold your view you can quickly become lost in a wrong viewpoint with no one to show you any different.

In fact, a cell in the human body that no longer focuses on its role in the greater body and instead focuses inwardly becomes a cancer cell, drawing other cells into its self-centered existence and eventually becoming an enemy of the very body it was called to serve.

And by following the path of being right rather than doing right, you follow its lead and become ineffective in the kingdom of God.

There is only one plot for the church, which we have lost. It is a universal calling that we all share and that satan desires above all else that we abstain from: to destroy the work of the devil as a body.

We must get into the harvest fields, wherever they may be and get people into the church, training them to go and gather more. We must fight poverty, injustice, sickness and immorality. We must expand the kingdom of God and reduce the kingdom of satan at every opportunity. We must learn to

NY CITY UPDATE– Thanks for Praying!

JC asked if I would post this update!…thanks for all who prayed!!

-Steve

Hi Brothers & Sisters in Christ!

 

I just want to give everyone a shout of thanks for the prayers in regards to my New York City mission trip. It was an absolute incredible time! I hooked up with some forty urban/street missionaries from around the United States we took a bite out of the big apple! There were so many people that were witnessed to and prayed with. Sometimes its hard to put words together to share the absolute blessing this was.

We witnessed at Ground Zero, on the Subway, Time Square and Thompson Park. Plus anywhere else we were walking. We actually went to Times Square three times in the evenings. This was an incredible place. There were literally hundreds of thousands of people that walk and site see down this street. We ministered to every imaginable race and creed; from every religion to paganism to atheists, really, you name it and they’re in New York.

I met many Catholics. This was hard ground to minister too because so many trust in their own works and do not want to listen to what the Bible says. I actually had my first opportunity to share the Gospel with on two different occasions with Jewish men. They also were resistant to the Gospel. I believe I was able to sow a little seed in the second conversation I had with one he seemed a little more open as I shared with him the prophecies full filled about Jesus.

I also spoke with many people into New Age and Paganism, this mostly lead to arguing and debates so I tried to end the conversation quickly when that started.

I met many people who claimed to believe in God but had no real relationship with Him.

Many people claim they “believe in God” or say they are “Baptist” or “Methodist” or when I ask them how they came to know Christ they would say “all my life.” When I’d probe a little deeper they would usually want to end the conversation quickly. I would stress to them that God wants to know them personally and that just knowing about God don’t save a person. You must be born again!

I did meet many people who were open to receive Christ. I was able to pray with a little Korean woman who would occasionally drink at the clubs with her friends. She was open to repent and cried out to Jesus. Tears were streaming down her face as she asked God to forgive her and give her ability to resist the temptation to drink when she is lonely. Amen! This was awesome!

On another occasion a young man and his girl friend came upon me at Times Square. While I was ministering to the guy, some of the other gals on the Raven team were ministering to the girl. Both the guy and the girl ended up repenting and making Jesus Lord of their lives. It was so cool when the two came together and each shared what happened. –It was incredible!

Another highlight that only God could orchestrate was we met a man that was a Chaplain of a local mission. We met him at Thompson Park. Thompson Park is where we made up sandwiches and went in and fed and prayed with the homeless and anyone else in need.

This Chaplain hung out with us and he enjoyed our company and the zeal we all had to minister to the lost. It was great having the opportunity to sow into him, he was eating it all up and loved the fellowship with us.

He asked if we could go back with him to the mission, as he needed to do roll call for the evening. As we were waiting outside we had the opportunity to minister to many guys who were inside the fenced yard or walking by us on the street. The Chaplain then came out of the building and said he got permission for us to go in and minister to some of the guys if we wanted and of course we did! It was an incredible time Pastor Alex Hill from Florida preached and exhorted the men to look to Jesus!! We then were able to lay hands on guys and pray for them. It was awesome! Guys were coming up for healing & deliverance. Many were weeping and crying out to God—It turned into a Holy Ghost Revival Praise God!! One little Asian man walked up to me and I asked him what he wanted God to do in his life and without batting an eye the little man said “I am a sinner and I need God to forgive me of my sins”.— Wow! Praise God! I asked him a few questions to see that he understood who Jesus was. I then led this little Korean man in prayer crying out to Jesus for forgiveness of his sins!! –Totally incredible! –It was an incredible time!

There are so many more to share I don’t have time nor the typing skills to perform this.. lol.. lol..

Thanks so much for all of your prayers!

God Bless!
Steve Ignowski

Prayer For New York City Mission Trip

Hi everyone. –This is Steve Ignowski (Igy) here at the moment not JC. He asked me to post this email I sent to him asking for prayer. I leave in a few days to be part of a mission trip in New York City. I really apreciate prayer for this outreach. Below is the prayer email Thanks eveyone!  -Igy 

 

Greetings Brothers and Sister in Christ!

This Thursday May 22nd I leave for a 5 day mission trip to New York City. New York City is America’s largest city. With an estimated 12,000,000 residents located within its boundaries, it is a tremendous harvest field of souls. While the city is diverse economically, socially, culturally, and racially- we have found that the answer to life’s problem remains constant: Jesus Christ.

I’m excited to be joining efforts with RAVEN Ministries. The outreach, termed “Boot Camp in the Big Apple” by its organizers, will be composed of men and women from across the nation who will spend five days doing street witnessing, open-air preaching, music and other types of evangelism in some of New York Cities most famed locations.

I was blessed to be part of this outreach in 06’ and I am really anticipating an awesome time this year!

I covet your prayers for this mission trip. Please pray. Prayer is essential for an outreach to be productive and successful. I desire to see many people come to Jesus. Thanks so much!!

Please pray for:

-Safety for Jodi and our 2 dog’s (Andy & Adam) while I’m gone.

- God’s divine protection for a safe plane trip to and from New York. Also, for safety and protection on the streets, subway, parks everywhere we walk and minister.

-The Gospel to be presented clearly and for receptive hearts. We know that some plant, some water and some reap a harvest. I pray for all three and for most of all that JESUS to be exalted!!

- God’s divine appointments for those to minister to. You know, those “God set-ups”

- Anointing & Gifts to flow from the Holy Spirit.

Thanks so much!

Also, recently I “finally” put my testimony on audio. I mixed it with some music and posted it on one of my myspace pages, if you would like to listen here’s the link: (left click on it)
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=165311905&blogID=386076864

 Plus, you can watch the video I made from 06’ New York trip here’s that link: à

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW1yN01GNwg

Thanks again for your prayers! God bless!
Steve Ignowski

Revolutionaries Needed

No doubt you have heard of Shackleton’s famous newspaper advertisement in 1914. Lacking real resources and fearing the prospect of drawing a crew incapable of dealing with the cruel conditions that they were sure to face, his ad was as harsh and unforgiving as the journey was sure to be.

He wrote the following: “Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success.” 5,000 applications were received and just over 50 men were chosen for the adventure.

In that same spirit, we put out the call now for serious and hardcore believers to come and help us to define Gen-X ministry in these days that we live in. As most of you know, we have gone through a transition period over this last year for sure. Recently we discovered afresh the angst that only doing travel ministry brings on in us. I related how I was feeling in my last post.

During the last two weeks as we were on the road, we were approached by two churches in Wisconsin who want me to become their Pastor. To us, this came at the right time and in the right way and we have gladly accepted the offers.

The churches are small, less than 20 members a piece and in a rural area of Southwest Wisconsin. And while one is in a college town, it has never managed to impact either the school or the town that it is in. Both are more like fresh plants than anything else. They have small (one is tiny!) buildings and enough for a tiny (tiny!) salary for myself but not much else. But we see the hand of God at work and feel the push to start a revolution, right here and right now.

We are looking for people who are determined to make a difference in their lifetime. We can offer no salary until the churches grow. There will be no physical benefits such as life insurance or medical insurance for the immedite future. You will have to be bi-vocational and yet be zealous and totally focused on the work.

I am far from easy to serve with and that is putting it mildly. I am driven for the Lord and expect that if I run, you must run as well. I am focused on destroying the work of the devil and if you have heard me preach or been in our meetings, you know where I stand. Those who come to learn to minister will be given the hardest jobs and sacrifice the most. We will give our all to serve the church and to win the lost and no thanks are given or expected, we do it for Him and Him alone. But we make hardcore disciples that are prepared to smash the enemy and honor God at all costs. If you doubt your ability to sacrifice and serve, if you are unteachable and self-righteous, if you are not a servant or are divisive, don’t even bother because you won’t make it.

Now, if you are still interested, I am looking for a media minister who knows what they are doing and can work with sub-par gear and find deals for better gear, who can run audio-visual equipment and computer programs for multimedia and worship along with mixing CD’s of preaching and overseeing all areas of media ministry.

We are looking for musicians who are not headstrong and who can follow a leader and help to define the sound of the Lazarus Generation.

We are seeking a Worship leader who knows the old songs of Pentecost and some new ones as well and who can fit in with our vision and flow with the Spirit, the anointing is all-important here. We are a mix of Gen-X and old-time Pentecost and the music must reflect that.

I am looking for ushers and those wanting to be trained in ministry who are interested in reaching the lost and serving God with abandon. Our goal is to train and to send, planting new churches where there is a need. We are hard on those wishing to be ministers but I feel that if we weren’t, we wouldn’t really be preparing you.

We need children’s Pastors who are actually called to Pastor children and Youth workers who are interested in revolutionary ministry, not simply gaining experience so that they can be a “big people’s Pastor” someday.

I am also looking for an associate Pastor who can hold the line when I am on the road and serve with me when I am at home, in excellence and anointing.

Most everyone will also be involved in revivals and our travel ministry and will be a part of teams who will go all over this region and the US doing healing evangelism with us in tents and churches.

 

I desire to see my generation saved. I desire to restore the faith of my fathers and to see the church age of Gen-X become one that doesn’t need to be ashamed. I bully religion every chance I get and I pick fights with the devil. I have been known to employ controversial methods in the church such as Mixed Martial Arts in the men’s groups and will do so again here. If bucking the system bothers you, this probably isn’t your cup of tea.

If your heart is to belong to a cause greater than yourself, if you long to be a part of a group striving towards a common goal at all costs, if you can take up your cross and follow hard after God while running to the battle, please pray about joining us.

We are being led to create a Lazarus Generation Pentecostal Church that stands in direct contrast to the current state of the emerging church and lifts up a new standard for others to follow.

If you feel led to come and help, drop me an email (please go to the “about JC” TAB for my email address) and we can start to discuss it in earnest.

Who dares, wins.

JC Smith