Fall In Love 2012 was a weekend conference in Boone, NC focused on power evangelism. It certainly was that and more. Friends traveled from around the country to gain experience in “doing the stuff” that believers were commissioned to carry out. This conference was unlike any I’ve ever experienced. It wasn’t masses of people coming to listen, take notes, break for lunch, and return for the nightly sessions. Instead, it was a small group of strangers that connected through their appetite for the supernatural and left as friends.
Rich Brink, a friend we met in Boston, flew from Maine for the weekend. Rich stirred us with testimonies and shared from John 4 (where Jesus encounters the woman at the well). He taught practical ways of sharing the Gospel simply and powerfully.
Upon finishing, we were ready to begin the treasure hunt. This is where we pray in the Spirit and write down every impression we hear from God. Then, we compare notes, break into teams, and search for the people - the treasures - that the Lord wants to show us. Often, people get healed, encouraged, or saved. It was homecoming weekend at Appalachian State so “black and gold” were obvious clues. We prayed in the Spirit, wrote down our clues and began sharing and connecting the dots.
BJ and Lisa Sullivan, worship leaders and friends from Charlotte, were present. BJ, sitting down at the front says, “All I saw was a fedora with a feather in it.”
Lisa, standing by the door points out the window and says, “There he goes!” On a skateboard, a man wearing a fedora with a feather in it, shoots by in a blur. BJ and Richard (our friend and former intern with Immersion Church) try to chase him down but he was too fast. With many thousands of ASU fans, parents, and students, we knew he would be found again.
We divided into groups of three and began to follow the clues. I am almost certain that every person with crutches, a cast, or boot was ministered to, prayed for, and some said they began to feel better. I was with Rich Brink and Josh from Alabama. Josh attended Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry for two years. He gave an accurate prophetic word to a friend who serves on the custodial staff.
We then start making our way to the stadium. Josh and Rich speak a moment to someone on crutches and return right as the fedora and feather walks a few feet right in front of us. Rich and I catch up with him. He tells us that he was already found once but was willing to receive anything we had to give him. We pulled off from the moving crowd and began prophesying to him, encouraging him, and praying for him. I asked him to stretch out his hands to feel the glory of God. His arms began to sink under the tangible weight of God’s goodness.
We returned to see that it only took a short time to cover ASU’s campus with a handful of believers.