Lisa and I had no clue what God was doing.

Lisa and I had no clue what God was doing. We just didn’t understand what was happening in our lives and in our church.

When God called us to Pennsylvania in 1992, we had the strongest conviction possible we were right where God wanted us to be. The church began to grow. New families were coming to the Lord. But by 1995 we were in a full-blown financial crisis as a church. The offerings were barely covering either our salaries or our church mortgage, but certainly not both. The situation was unsustainable.

We were especially perplexed since we had felt so called and we had made a firm commitment. We had bought a little house in Audubon, and we were pregnant with our first child. Why was God allowing the financial crisis in our church? What was God trying to say to us?

So on February 17, 1995, Lisa and I stood in the living room of our little Sears kit house on Orchard Lane, we held hands, and we prayed these words, “Lord, we don’t understand it, but if you’re trying to tell us that it’s time to move, we’re ready.” No, that prayer didn’t mean we felt like it was time. It didn’t mean that we wanted to move. With a new home and a baby on the way, it wasn’t a convenient time. It wasn’t a lack of faith. But it certainly looked like God was trying to tell us something, and Lisa and I were, and are, committed to whatever God calls us to do.

That night we went to a service at a church in Roxborough, The Worship Center, where a prophet by the name of Cathy Lechner was speaking. She preached a powerful message with her trademark blend of truth and humor, and then it was time to move into personal ministry. She looked over the congregation, spotted me and Lisa, and called us forward.

“You look like you’re in ministry,” she said. Then God began to speak through her and she told us that God had brought us to hard ground. That was certainly the truth! Then she said these words, “You’ve even said, ‘Lord, it looks like it’s time for another move.’” Lisa and I could barely believe it. Those words were so close to what we had said in the privacy of our own home just hours before. But the word of the Lord made it clear: It was not time for us to move. It was time for God to move!

Within a few weeks, God moved through the people of Victory Church to deal with the financial crisis. The finances to do what God had called us to do were there all along. I don’t think it was a coincidence that within a few months, we experienced a move of God’s Spirit that transformed our church into a powerful center for worship where, as had been included in Cathy Lechner’s prophecy, people came from all around to learn how to worship God. We are still living out that word from the Lord today!

Here’s what I truly believe: It’s time for another move. It’s time for God’s Spirit to move like never before. I can assure you this: If God’s people will do our part, God will do his part. Are you ready?

Pastor Ed’s Notes

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash.