October 25, 2006 is an important date. That was the day Keeli and I first met. She invited me to a prayer meeting being held in the Student Union on Appalachian State's campus the next night. It was that night I saw passion in students I never saw up until that time. The big shocker was that students were praying in tongues. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit as a junior in high school, I had never been around a group of students this large that were desperate to see transformation on their campus. After the prayer meeting, we went to a restaurant called Dos Amigos. Ironically enough, a friendship was formed between two people. Sitting at the dinner table, I shared with Keeli's father, Kermit, about my vision to host a conference on campus telling others about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because I had been raised in a Christian home, went to church all of my life, surrounded myself with friends that love Jesus, but never even heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit until my junior year of high school. How many others were out there like me? How many have been robbed of receiving the greatest gift a believer could receive because they never heard of it (like the believers in Acts 19:1-7)?
When I shared my vision with Kermit, he announced it to the entire table. I remember making eye contact with Keeli. We didn't wink at each other or make eyes at one another, but I remember noticing that this had her attention. Kermit encouraged me to meet with her to plan this out and see it through. It also helped that everyone else at the table was counting on action being taken. Accountability at its finest.
From October to March, we planned, prepped, fasted, prayed, and advertised. We called the conference "Presence: Out of Apathy... Into Power". It was a different time. Back then, everyone pitched in. Their efforts to ensure this conference was a success has not been overlooked or forgotten. Everyone did their part, from the worship team and video/sound crew to the prayer group from Asheville and graphic designer who created the posters and fliers students distributed. It was the Body of Christ in its purest form.
200 were in attendance, including students from twelve different campus ministries. That night, eight students were baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues for the first time. The eight that received the baptism of the Holy Spirit were significant, but what happened afterwards was beautiful. Hundreds of people have since been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Not just at conferences or church meetings, but in everyday life. If we went to lunch with someone, we would lead them in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If we carpooled with someone or gave them a ride, they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. If we hung out in dorms or apartments, people would get baptized in the Holy Spirit.
Never deduce what is meant for everyday life to a church meeting. Don't always expect a preacher, pastor or Bible study leader to do it for you. You have influence. When you live a life of testimonies that point to Jesus, you can easily have people's attention, stir their hunger, and lead them to receive the Lord, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and do so simplistically. The Spirit of God is not on break during your life outside of a church meeting. He is alive, ready for others - everybody - to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. As I like to say, being baptized in the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with your salvation, but it could have everything to do with someone else's. This baptism makes heaven tangible on earth for you and those around you. This baptism empowers you, the believer, to do the works that Jesus did and greater.
Jonathan Fawcett