It's Been a Long Time... Then Texas

It has been a few weeks since the last blog post and I apologize for the delay.  Among other things, I was sent to Austin, TX for ten days in response to the floods that affected the community.  I was sent to train volunteers on a new computer system that the organization I work for launched and, before that, I was beta testing, training, and creating training materials for those involved.  But here we are. While in Texas, I was up before 6:30am and down after 11pm.  I shared a room with a fellow employee in a Sunday school room at the Baptist church that opened its doors to us.  During a disaster response deployment, one meets the most selfless people on the planet.  They take vacation time and travel (on their own dime) to volunteer in the country’s most devastated areas.  Floods, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes… They prepare the way for these compassionate volunteers who are there for one main reason: to show people the love of Jesus Christ by cleaning up their home.  There is something to be learned by them.  Having worked for the organization for three years, this was my first deployment to a disaster.  Although I never enjoy leaving Anneli and Keeli behind, I gained perspective I otherwise would not have.

A camera lens cannot capture the smell, the feel, and the enveloping sensation of being at ground zero like being there can.  Each homeowner helped receives a Bible signed by the volunteers.  I was given the honor of presenting the Bible to the Austin family.  They were on their honeymoon when the floods happened and returned to see the first floor of their home destroyed.  They had been married for ten days when I first met them.  I was also given the opportunity to lead devotions for the volunteers.  The day before I left, one of the church members let me pray for his shoulder.  After we prayed, I asked him how his shoulder felt.  He said it felt great and that he couldn’t hold his arms out like he now could before we prayed.

In my absence from North Carolina, Keeli gathered with believers from UNC-Wilmington and Appalachian State University.  Our desire is to know the hungry, the passionate, the laid down lovers of Jesus.  The following Tuesday, we met at a house near campus where these students worshipped, prayed, and ministered to one another.  Keeli led the students in a prayer to receive the baptism of fire.  I love testimonies of the Lord’s power but I am anticipating greater than we have ever seen.

We often wondered why we didn’t feel the unction to reinstate Something More School of Ministry this year.  Now, we know why.  If we had, we wouldn’t have encountered these students who gather weekly the same night the school would have met.  Pray for these students.  They realize the campus, the community, and their classrooms are mission fields ripe for receiving the love of Jesus.

Jonathan Fawcett 

Flat Feet

One of the most memorable miracles I saw occurred twice.  Once, when Keeli was in graduate school at Lee University, I continued hosting Holy Spirit Parties.  But instead of hosting them in apartments, we were holding them in dorm lobbies.  We saw people come and go in those days and never see them until years later.  Normally, people would come, receive teaching from the Bible about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, receive it, and continue with life.  Many of them, when we're reunited, have been instrumental in advancing the kingdom of God.  Maybe they didn't come to meetings we hosted, but they held fellowship with other believers, encouraged many whom we didn't know, and had a great impact.  This was always an encouragement to see these believers steadfast in their faith. During these dorm lobby Holy Spirit Parties, Keeli's father, Kermit, would attend and help lead.  A friend of ours was a runner.  She was a rigorous trainer, ran for miles, and is, to this day, an expert in staying healthy, fit, and strong.  She did, however, have flat feet.  I remember Kermit slapping the soles of her feet while commanding arches to form.  For whatever reason, that night, she only received one arch.  We couldn't figure out why she didn't get a second arch that night but were thankful and excited that the Lord did something fun in front of our eyes.  Perhaps the Lord does things in a way that prevents us from making our own formulas for how He works.  I don't want to be presumptuous, but I believe her second arch came later.

Fast forward a few years later.  Immersion Church was in full swing.  A friend of ours who attended Immersion brought to our attention that she was also flat footed.  She had received healing for a couple of other major things... but I'll blog about that later.  Once again, Kermit commanded arches to form and, sure enough, arches formed in front of our very eyes.

Before our friends received arches, they were doing fine.  Why did Jesus decide to give them arches in the middle of college?  Because their is no limit to His goodness.  There is no limit to how much He wants to do for us and for others.  If we could grasp the revelation of the pleasure that Jesus has in us, we would never doubt His intentions to bless at every turn.

Jonathan Fawcett

Hookah and Slackline

Two days prior to writing this blog, Something More School of Ministry went on a treasure hunt.  As we walked the campus, we stumbled upon a group of five guys taking turns smoking hookah and walking a slackline (think of a tightrope tied between two trees that hangs three feet off the ground).  Leanne, one of the SMSOM students approached these guys asking about their slackline and hookah.  After introducing herself, she related to them like a mother, striking up a conversation, asking about their majors, where they were from, and their interests. They asked Leanne if she wanted to walk the slackline.  I began encouraging her to give it a try.  Keeli (who must have been preoccupied with Anneli) did not hear them ask Leanne if she wanted to walk the slackline and, instead, thought they offered her to smoke hookah.  This gave Keeli reason to believed I was encouraging Leanne to smoke up!  I couldn’t figure out what the big deal was.  It was a total Three’s Company scenario – a complete misunderstanding and gap in communication that left us laughing when we finally got on the same page.

Leanne began telling the group of guys about the love of God and how He had an amazing plan for each of them.  With all eyes fixed on Leanne, they listened intently.  One guy spoke up and thanked us for not shouting at them and calling them pagans like the hellfire preacher does when he comes on campus.  Leanne’s response was inspired by the Holy Spirit:

“We just need to pray that he [the hellfire preacher] experiences the love of God too.”

Leanne’s words left everyone stunned.  They began nodding in agreement.  The young men started to see how limitless the Father’s love was for all people – even those who have a tendency to do us wrong – and how compassion doesn’t cut down someone many would consider a confused, misled enemy in disagreement.

Leanne asked if she could pray for them.  She and I sat in the circle around the hookah as she began to pray the most encouraging prayer for their futures, their spouses and families, and gave thanks for the great plans that Jesus has for them.  They lifted their heads and began thanking Leanne.  One of the guys hugged Leanne and asked if he could be sent one of the photos (below) to show his mother.  These students were blessed by the encounter but it blessed us to see the Holy Spirit pour out love and grace through Leanne.

As we left, Leanne said, “I’m excited for their future because God is excited for their future.”

Jonathan Fawcett

World Cup

Keeli, Anneli and I embarked on an amazing treasure hunt Sunday, April 7, 2013.  Watch the video to hear about the powerful encounter we had.  SPOILER ALERT: There is a world cup tournament competitor involved.  But for which sport?  Click to find out: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ9hdMLyVbo?rel=0]

Jonathan Fawcett

Pigeon Toed

Is there something that you have dealt with your entire life?  Is it hard for you to believe for your own healing?  Jesus asked people, “Do you want to be well?” The answer seems obvious but many identify with their own oppression, handicap, or sickness.  Whether you were born this way or recently diagnosed, God wants you well! I was a normal kid growing up.  I played sports as a youth and thought I was going to the Major Leagues or NBA.  However, I wasn’t that good.  I was tall for my class but I lacked the speed necessary to be of any significant value to a team.  My major setback: I was born pigeon toed.

I didn’t think much of it except when I tripped over my own two feet.  When I did, it was embarrassing, especially when another classmate pointed out that I “walked funny”.  So I just ignored it and lived to deal with it.  I wore insoles for my shoes that helped “correct” my walk.  I certainly didn't lose sleep over it.

I was raised in a home unaware of the availability of Jesus’ healing power to move in and through believers.  We went to church but it was pretty boring compared to what I see and experience now.  I never saw miracles, healing, signs or wonders.  I never heard a prophetic word or someone speak in tongues until I was a junior in high school.  Being saved was all there was.  Heaven was something we waited for, never something we bring to earth.  God's will was more of a guessing game rather than being realized through a relationship with Him.  Being raised in a church like this, I never had anyone in my life that was baptized and anointed with the Holy Spirit to pray for healing.  I, being ignorant of the power for God to heal today, never sought this kind of help from a believer.

When I finally learned what was available through the finished work of the cross (beyond the forgiveness of sin), I felt robbed.  I felt robbed that I had no teaching growing up about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I was clueless.  It wasn’t my parents’ fault.  They were clueless too.  Nobody had ever taught them either.  When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, a passion was stirred to make sure others who wanted everything God had for them were not robbed any longer like I was.  Ever since, the power of the Holy Spirit has wrecked me.  Now, I want it to wreck my generation, the next generation, and every generation to follow.  Our influence isn’t limited to our generation.  Our mission is to affect nations and generations.

By this time, I have seen many people healed.  But I never received healing for my pigeon toed self.  One morning, at Destiny Church in Spruce Pine, NC, my friend Aaron was healed of the opposite problem I had.  Rather than having feet that turned in, his feet turned out.  Our friend Richard spoke a healing word over Aaron and his feet began to straighten out.  Later that night at Immersion on Appalachian State’s campus, I heard the testimony.  If it happened to Aaron, I wanted healing too!  God is not a God of favorites – He loves us all equally!

I asked Richard to speak a healing word over me and I began to feel my feet turn out with sensations moving all the way up to my knees.  I stood up, moved around, began to walk, and my walk turned into a run as I thanked Jesus while getting used to my “new feet”.

The Lord wants your lost years restored.  He wants you stirred to believe for your own miracle, healing, and breakthrough.  Don’t be robbed another second.  Receive the fullness of His love now!

Jonathan Fawcett

Jesus the Matchmaker

Springtime means one thing for many couples… It's time to plan a wedding.  What happens if all the details don't fall into place?  What if the pieces don't fall into place where you want them to?  Maybe Plan B was God's original intention.  I want to share with you how God works all things together for good. One of my best friends (also named Jonathan) was getting married to his fiancée, Nikki. Jonathan was a roommate in college.  I wish I kept a book of quotes because every word out of his mouth has the power to drive away boredom and the blues.  I've never laughed so hard as I did with Jonathan.  We continually discover that Nikki is a great catch for Jonathan.  She is well rounded, very talented, and can do almost anything.  It's wonderful when you can celebrate the spouse your friend marries.

Jonathan had asked me to be a groomsman in his wedding.  I was honored but, unfortunately, I had to decline.  Our friends had been planning a conference for many months that we had committed to.  It was scheduled right in the middle of the wedding.  I was conflicted and didn't want to hurt my friend.

Months passed and the conference was cancelled.  Thankfully, we were able to attend the wedding but I was not going to be a groomsman.  Jonathan had found a replacement but I was happy to be able to celebrate with them as they were wed.

Over a year after Jonathan and Nikki had been married, we met up with them.  They were telling us about their two friends who were getting married.  One was a bridesmaid in their wedding.  The other was a groomsman…The same groomsman who filled my space!  They met at the wedding, fell in love, and tied the knot a few months later!

Had I been a groomsman, they may have never met.  For months, I had felt bad for declining the invitation to be in the wedding party.  That is, until I found how Jesus turned it around for the benefit of a man who met his wife.  Sometimes, Plan B was actually Plan A all along.

If you're planning a wedding, my encouragement to you: Don't sweat the details. Don't lose sleep. Press in and pray.  God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). That means you!

Jonathan Fawcett

PS: This tip is free.  If you're getting married, get help from these guys: www.coordinatedevents.net

Fun

It was the beginning of a new semester and every campus ministry is going all out to make sure students get plugged in.  Since meeting rooms on campus couldn’t be scheduled until classes began, Immersion Church needed a meeting space that was close to campus.  Our friend, a local television personality, offered his television studio for the first couple of Sundays.  This was a huge blessing – one we will never forget. Our friend unlocked the studio for us early one Sunday morning.  As we were setting up the sound equipment, he began to tell me that he hurt his leg in a skateboarding accident.  When I first met our friend, he was showing me photos of himself skateboarding.  In person, he always looked very professional.  In the photos, he was wearing a helmet, shorts and knee pads.  It didn’t seem feasible and I wasn’t sure if he was pulling my leg.  It wasn’t until later, I saw a video featuring him skateboarding.  Mind blown.  Now, his leg was injured and he expressed his fear that he may never be able to skateboard again.

I asked if I could pray for his leg to be healed.  We prayed and continued setting up the sound equipment.  This meeting, along with the others held in the studio, were phenomenal.  Our friend Staci ministered one Sunday and, at the end of another, a student was born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit.

The following week, he unlocked the studio and began telling me that he skateboarded that week and pulled some big tricks. “It’s really kind of a miracle,” I remember him saying.  His leg was healed!  Sometimes, we can blame the pain on our fun.  But Jesus wants us to have fun and do things we enjoy.  We don’t have to earn the healing, strive for the healing, or beg and plead.  There’s so much more we want to do to pay our friend back for his kindness in helping us launch another year of ministry at Appalachian State.  I believe one day we will.  Generosity like he had shown us is rare and made a lasting impression.  Had he not opened his studio for our use, I may not have had the chance to pray for his leg and maybe skateboarding would have become a thing of the past – nothing more than a fond memory.  But God…

Jonathan Fawcett

Turn-or-Burn Birthday

It was a beautiful autumn day and happened to be my 23^rd birthday.  What better way to start the day than going onto campus, shouting at students, picketing, and telling them they are all going to hell?  Well, that wasn’t how I started my birthday.  However, there was a group of turn-or-burn preachers occupying Sanford Mall outside of the Student Union.  Each time they come to ASU, they make a scene, start fights, stir dissension, and exchange heated words with students.  There was an absence of love, joy, and peace in their message and salvation was determined by good behavior rather than our righteousness being obtained by the finished work of Jesus on the cross.  While many believe it is their holy duty to change the minds of these hellfire and brimstone preachers, my friends and I decided to take another approach. Rarely will you ever change someone’s mind.  I like to let Jesus do that Himself.  How?  His goodness draws men to repentance.  His power yields fruit bearing witness of His goodness.  We leveraged the message these men were presenting as conversation starters with students.  We also didn’t “steal” from their audience.  Those who were engaged in the heated exchange were hot-tempered and looking for a fight.  Those outside of the ring were more approachable.  The Lord told me he had given us the angel of Victory as we went out.  Here’s what happened:

A couple of ladies on Appalachian State's female rugby team were passing out leaflets, advertising an event or game they were having.  One of them had a brace on their wrist.  My friend, Aaron, asked what happened to her wrist.  It had been sprained.  Aaron lightly touched it and simply said, “Wrist, be healed in Jesus’ name,” and removed his hand.  Almost immediately, she took the brace off and began turning her wrist to and fro.  Without us asking, her teammate confirmed that her wrist was unable to do that.  Just as a camera was being mounted on a tripod to capture footage of the preachers, Aaron grabbed the attention of the cameraman and told him that the real Jesus was doing miracles.  He glanced at us and the rugby players without saying a word and turned back around to complete the task he had started.

(If local or mainstream media don’t pick up on the stories, it could be, like this cameraman, they do not want to.  That’s why I encourage you to capture the healing on your phone or camera.  Document what The Lord is doing and give the world some good news!)

We later approached a student who broke his toe on a slack line (imagine a tightrope a few feet off the ground, tied between two trees).  This young man was not a believer.  We told him about the miracles we saw earlier that day and he let us pray for him.  His broken toe improved drastically and he was very shocked.  It may be hard to comprehend why some don’t receive all of Jesus right there on the spot, but sometimes we plant seeds and let the Holy Spirit take over.

Our other friend, Brennen, along with Aaron, saw someone on crutches and shot towards her to ask how they could pray.  This student was a runner and had ongoing issues with her knee.  They prayed for her and she hobbled off on the crutches.  Some would pose the question: Why didn’t God heal her?  The next time Brennen saw her, she was off the crutches and told him that there had been no pain since the day he and Aaron prayed for her.  Even if we didn’t see her throw her crutches down and cut cartwheels immediately, the truth remains: Jesus healed her!

The day ended with some mysterious aviator sunglasses (A birthday gift from Jesus?) lying on the top of my car, followed by a surprise party and a delicious cookie cake created by my amazing girlfriend at the time (Her name is Keeli... Maybe you’ve heard of her!).  The cake represented a revelation I had at the time: God’s love and power is like a train on its tracks.  Love is the way but without God's power you don't have a vehicle to get you there.  The power of God working through us is only effective through love.  I’ll never forget that birthday.

Jonathan Fawcett

Landmark

Friends,We are excited to announce an event taking place Friday, March 1 from 7pm-9pm in the Whitewater Lounge of the Student Union on Appalachian State's campus.  Campus ministers, local pastors, current students, alum, and residents who have been praying for revival and transformation to come to ASU are invited to pray as we worship with our friends, BJ and Lisa Sullivan.  Watch the video to learn more about Landmark: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGoqyMUgAO0?rel=0]

We will see you Friday, March 1st as we launch into 40 days of prayer and fasting.  Until then, Instagram this photo, tweet it, post it as your Facebook profile picture and help spread the word...

We love you and look forward to making a scene with you for the Kingdom of God.

Jonathan & Keeli Fawcett

Heart for Harvard - Part 2

I returned to Boone, NC from the Yale Institute with a fire burning on the inside of me that had been ignited by others with a similar passion for revival on college campuses.  At the Institute, I had met the President of Campus Renewal Ministries, Jeremy Story.  It was because of his message that my dreams were awakened.  I heard him share testimonies of what he had seen at the University of Texas and I wanted to see those same things at ASU.  When I heard him minister, it felt like my heart was going to explode with love and compassion for the college campuses.  In that moment, I knew my specific calling.  After hearing Jeremy, my passion to reach the nations through the universities and colleges became my purpose in life.  My life has never been the same since the first time I heard him speak. I was also captivated by the story of Gipsy Smith.  For the next several months I spent three to five hours everyday worshiping Jesus in my bathroom.  Why the bathroom?  Because Smith drew a circle around himself with chalk and asked God to fill the circle with revival and, in my apartment, the bathroom was the smallest room.  I asked God to fill that area with revival so it would pour out onto the entire campus and into the nations.  Worship music would play from the speakers I placed in the bathroom as I read my Bible and spent time with Jesus in the bathroom.  In those moments, I became confident in knowing that what God had spoken would come into being.

These are some of the words Jesus spoke to me in the summer of 2006:

“The Mountain Mission Movement coming out of Appalachian State University is greater than the Student Volunteer Mission Movement of the 1800s.” 

“Appalachian State will be known on the map for their football.  It will be a gateway for media coverage as my Spirit expands on the campus.” (ASU beat Michigan in 2007 and were back to back to back national champions).

On October 25^th, 2006, I met the man of my dreams at a prayer meeting I hosted in ASU’s Student Union.  After that meeting, several of us went out to eat at Dos Amigos.  That night at dinner my dad discovered Jonathan’s heart to host a meeting on campus to teach students on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  My dad encouraged Jonathan to meet up with me to plan the gathering, which we later called Presence: Out of Apathy…Into Power.  Jonathan and I began meeting the next week in the Student Union to plan Presence.  We would read over and add to the blue notebook Jonathan had written his dreams, ideas, and goals in.  It took several months of rejection until we finally had a time and place approved for the meeting: March 27, 2007.  In the meantime, we began Holy Spirit Parties that we intended to lead for only 3 weeks.  However, they continue to this day.

In the midst of continuing to plan Presence and hosting Holy Spirit Parties, we met several other friends who had the same heart for prayer and revival.  We truly lived a lifestyle of prayer and fasting.  Every week, I fasted with no food and only liquids from Sunday to Wednesday evening and again all day Thursday until after the Holy Spirit Party.  From that semester to now, we have seen thousands come to know Jesus and receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Many miracles, including physical and emotional healing have also taken place.

We continue to share what Jesus is doing at ASU because testimonies spread the goodness of Jesus!  An individual prayer for revival at Harvard expanded into a vision for the nations and generations to know Jesus.  What may seem like small beginnings are such sweet memories that set you up to change the nations!

Indulge in how good God is!

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.      -Psalm 34:8

Keeli Fawcett

Heart for Harvard - Part 1

As a junior in college, I found myself praying for revival in the Ivy League schools.  I spent a night immersed in the presence of God, full of hope, that God’s presence would be known on Harvard’s campus.  After praying I began to think about how “strange” it was for me to have a heart for Harvard when I did not attend an Ivy League school. The next morning, I decided to research the connection between revival and the Ivy League campuses.  When I sat down to the computer, I searched Google for “Ivy League Revival”.  The very first link that came up took me directly to the registration page for the Yale Institute of Campus Revival and Awakening.  Although the website for the institute clearly explained that they were looking for campus ministers and professors with a heart for the universities, I knew God had ordered my steps and that I was to attend this gathering.  I completed my registration not knowing what the person on the other end was going to think when they saw I was a college student.  After applying, I told God that I expected for him to cover all of my finances to attend what I had just applied for.

A few days later, I received a phone call from an unknown number.  It was Dave Warn from Collegiate Impact who was planning and hosting the institute.  Dave shared how they appreciated my interest, but at that time they were not accepting college students.  If they changed their mind they would let me know.  After the conversation ended, I told God that I knew I was supposed to be there and I would go ahead and raise the financial support to go.  I wrote a letter and began sending it out to friends, explaining what the Lord had placed on my heart.

About a month before the institute began, I received my second phone call from Dave.  He let me know that they had decided to let me come if I could get my finances together in such a short period of time.  Little did he know at that time that I was already working on the money!  I told him the money wouldn’t be a problem.

A man from church offered to buy my plane ticket and I continued making plans to be somewhere that would reveal my heart’s desires.  It was amazing to see how God took care of every little detail including my two professors who allowed me to miss the last full week of summer school.

On my way to Yale, I had a layover in Hartford, CT and changed to a much smaller plane for the last flight into New Haven.  When I boarded the plane, a man in front of me named Gary Stratton asked if I was going to the institute and I told him I was!  He explained that when we were waiting at the terminal God spoke to him and told him there were specific young people God was raising up to lead His next move and when he closed his laptop to board the plane he saw me and God said, “She is one of them.”

That week, Gary was my dad away from home!  I have had the privilege of meeting part of his beautiful family and they are such a blessing!  I was in awe of how God not only takes care of our finances but also provides family and relationships everywhere we go with God!

Through that week I heard so many incredible ministers.  I met men of God who have had hundreds of angelic visitations in their home and took their time to pour into me that week.  There are men and women of God who have radically laid their lives down to see the fullness of God’s heart known to all men and nations.

On the last night of the institute, the President of Life Action Ministries, Byron Paulus, spoke after our dinner.  He shared the story of a man named Gipsy Smith who would take a piece of chalk and draw a circle around himself.  Smith would ask God to fill that circle with revival.  He knew if he was overflowing with God the presence of Jesus would pour out of him everywhere he went.  Revival begins with you!

That was a life changing message in my life!  From that night my heart has been to be so full of Jesus that I leak Him everywhere I go.  I want to radically love Jesus in such a way that every person I come in contact with knows Him.  Although I am blessed with an incredible family and friends, it was my passion from that night forward to know that my destiny, provision and happiness depended on God alone.  I knew that, even if it was just me and Jesus, we would see transformation together in the entire world.

Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. -Psalm 2:8

Keeli Fawcett