Student Invitation

Our visit to Washington, DC for the Awake East Coast conference was nothing short of spectacular.  Being around like-hearted believers stirs us to see even greater than we’ve seen before.  Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Being around wild believers who are passionate about seeing their college campuses transformed is fuel to the fire – spurring us toward love and good deeds.  Some believe these verses are meant to encourage us to have better behavior and stop being so rowdy.  When I reflect on the friendships I’ve had with believers who live to experience all God has called them to do and receive all that He has done, our conversations were dominated with testimonies, our lives flooded with miracles, and our time spent together was ministering to the sick and downtrodden.  Our very nature became supernatural because we constantly spurred one another towards love and good deeds. Good deeds/God's power without love are like a train without tracks.

During our time in DC, students from multiple campuses were planning what they could do to effectively see their campuses transformed. We were once students and experienced a movement on our campus.  We've worn a lot of hats.  So we asked ourselves, what do we love to do and how can we be an instrument of creative inspiration, reinforcement, encouragement, and sustainability with college students hungry for revival?  After much prayer and discussion, we arrived at the Mountaintop Experience.

It’s our desire to host students from college campuses around the nation and give them the opportunity to receive coaching, training and equipping in the beautiful environment of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Boone, NC.  We want to give students the opportunity to practice what they've learned and give them the experience they need to see God's power released on their campus.  You can't beat the setting and the family atmosphere.  If you are a college student, know a college student, or are about to become a college student, learn more, spread the word, and register to join us for one of the many weekends available.

We’ll see you on the mountain!

-Jonathan & Keeli Fawcett

Brutally Honest Love

One of the greatest joys of being a husband is boasting about my wife.  My favorite preacher on the planet is my bride.  Keeli boldly goes where few dare.  This isn’t just when she ministers to hundreds at a time, but she also demonstrates valiant boldness when speaking to individuals.  Most of the time, I’m thinking, “I wouldn’t say that to someone.” She can be brutally honest and simultaneously loving.  She has made I Corinthians 13 a reality… Especially the passage that states, “Love rejoices in the truth.” In the moments Keeli speaks the truth of God’s love to people, I begin to see how selfless love is.  Knowing the truth and holding it from others is an instrument of control and manipulation.  Unfortunately, we see this in the church at an uncomfortable level.  Imagine being invited to speak at a church and being told, right before you begin, not to mention the Holy Spirit because some might see Him as controversial or divisive (even though He is the key to unity).

How selfish it is for someone to have experienced the healing power of God and not offer it to those in pain?  How selfish is it to know the benefits of being baptized in the Holy Spirit and not teach it?  How selfish is it to build a ministry based on a preacher’s closeness with God rather than helping bring others to the realization that Jesus has already closed in on us?  How selfish is it to know Jesus' limitless love and not shout it from the rooftops?  Each time Keeli teaches people how to hear the voice of God, leads them to Jesus or in the baptism of the Spirit, or releases the healing power of God into their bodies, I see how unselfish she is.  When I hear others say, “Why haven’t I heard about this before?” I realize just how fearless my wife is because of the boldness she has received from the Holy Spirit.

Since the moment I fell in love with Keeli, I felt it was my duty to make sure she was able to fulfill her call to preach the Gospel each time the door opened.  We were married and opportunities followed.  She was invited on multiple occasions to address crowds with the Gospel.  To my shock and awe, she declined.  I asked her why she didn’t go and this was her response:

“I married you so we could go together.”

The opportunities didn’t end there.  We still get invited to speak but we never fly solo.  We believe there is something that has been missing from the message being preached.  Crowds of hundreds or thousands of people cannot compare to the best ministry life has to offer: family.  In the words of Keeli, “We always go together.” As my wife forfeited opportunities to travel abroad to do what she loves to do, she remained with her family, waiting for the opportunities to do the very thing we love to do more than anything – together as a family.

-Jonathan Fawcett

Crumbs From the Table

"Jonathan! You've got to pray for Phoebe! She can't walk. Can you visit my office to pray for Phoebe?" Obviously, my first question: who is Phoebe? This poor, old woman must be in so much pain, frustration, and depressed. Well, maybe... if Phoebe was a woman. Phoebe just so happened to be this man's dog. This friend runs a local golf business and told me Phoebe would be waiting in his office. I agreed to pray for his pup. He told me he would not be there at the time I was available but to go on in and pray for Phoebe's healing.

I pulled into the parking lot and walked through the door to be greeted by the employees who were also college students. I felt embarrassed by what I was about to say. "I'm here to see Phoebe." Obviously, I was no veterinarian. They pointed the way to my friend's office. Phoebe was there next to the desk. Lying down with a funny contraption (perhaps a dog diaper?) around her two hind legs. I didn't want to close the door but I also didn't want to pray too loud. So I just started petting Phoebe's head and began (silently) speaking affectionately the way many humans do to their dogs.

I prayed over that dog, hoping none of the college students would hear me. I told Phoebe that we have been reconciled back to Father God and back to the garden where mankind had dominion over animals. If we expect to see people healed, we better believe for animals to be healed too.

I stood up and began walking out. Phoebe tagged behind me towards the door. "No Phoebe. You must stay in the office." After my rebuke to this elderly dog, I quickly returned to my car and drove off. Moments later, I received a phone call.

"Jonathan! Phoebe is walking! It worked!" I inquired further to discover that I had totally ignored the fact that this crippled dog was walking. It tried to follow me out the office door and I, in an attempt to spare further embarrassment of being compared to a spiritual dog whisperer, neglected to celebrate a miracle. Sickness and pain is such a disgusting, abominable thing to the Lord that He was even willing to heal the dog. You are not a dog. You are a child of God. How much more will He do for you?

Phoebe lived another year and a half after she was healed. If a dog can experience the tangible healing power of Jesus Christ, shouldn't everyone?

-Jonathan Fawcett

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 

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

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

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