Psalm I’m Praying as a Prelude to Preaching Revival

Sunday through Tuesday of this week I am guest speaker for revival services in upstate New York. Included below is the Psalm I am praying as a prelude to preaching this revival. 

Please pray for me and with me. I pray it will be more than a series of services in that God will use this set-aside season to somehow change the community not just awaken the local church and the guest evangelist.

"The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob. Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty-- he is the King of glory." ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭24:1-10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis

"Lord, Teach Us to Pray!"

In response to my call for prayer for awakening yesterday, this text came in from a praying friend and it encouraged my soul: 

"I want to do MY part for revival/awakening! Thank you for calling people to pray!"

And a pastor brother of mine sent these beautiful words of confession in response to my call for prayer:

”I am really sensing that God wants to transform our churches through prayer, but it must begin with our pastors. I am asking God to make me a man of prayer. Pray that my confidence will be grounded in the LORD and not in self.”

 Today, I continue to pray and to call for prayer for awakening as this verse motives me:

"One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."" ‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Finally, Rev. Leonard Ravenhill’s preaching on this passage is really helping me to lock onto the altar of the Lord’s mercy until an awakening happens in my lifetime. 

Here’s the link to his message:

https://youtu.be/E81KZZi40ts

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis 

A Seemingly Wintry Season, Spiritually... (One Voice Calling for Prayer for Awakening)

I recently wrote these words down during a set aside quiet season of seeking God:

"Lord, our world is in a seemingly wintry season, spiritually. We sense that we need a God-appointed awakening." -kww 

Lord, I don’t know what else I can do, but to call people to prayer. Lord let us resort to prayer, expecting a real revival to be the results. 

My heart was drawn this morning early to 2 Corinthians 7:14 NLT -- "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."

Shortly after saturating in this sacred Scripture verse, I took a prayer walk in the brisk morning winter breezes of the woods behind our cottage. 

As I walked, my prayers suddenly broke into wonder, love and praise, as I cried out to the Lord:

"Come Holy Spirit, we need Thee.

Come sweet Spirit, we pray. 

Come in Your strength and Your Power.

Come in Your own gentle way."

My prayer continued: 

Lord, if you are looking these days for one servant to stand in the gap so You can appoint an awakening in Your world? Here I am! Lord, I do not belong to myself; I belong exclusively to You! Have Thine own way, with Your clay, today! 

I know I only have one voice, but today, I am using that one voice to call Your people, Lord, to fervent prayer for such a time as this. Let the Summer Breezes of Your Holy Spirit blow across the wintry season of Your Church until this world of Yours is once again lost only in Your Life and Your Love and Your Light!

In the Name of Jesus!

Amen and Amen and Amen!

Extra: If you are interested, I also sent a call to prayer by email to those who lead alongside me on the District Staff and District Advisory Board of the Philadelphia District Church of the Nazarene. Here it is: 

Dearest District Advisory Board: 

Today and tomorrow, February 27 and 28, l am taking a quiet season to pray specifically, to fervently seek the Lord, and to make deep intercession for our upcoming district assembly gathering and to pray for others under my responsibility and alongside me in my life's calling. 

You, my district partners in leadership, will especially be in my heart and on my mind during this set-aside laboratory of love. 

If you personally have time for a season of quiet to pray and seek the Lord, yes, to make intercession for the district and for others (even if it's only a half-hour or hour) please join me in prayer as well. 

If you have specific prayer requests please feel free to entrust them with me confidentially and/or if you so choose, please feel free to share any personal prayer requests in a "reply all" email to this email so we can lift one another and one another's needs before the Throne of Mercy. Praying dearly for one another is deeply loving one another. 

Let us as God’s people on the Philadelphia District, pray and obey and ask The Nazarene to have His way with His clay, for such a time as this. Let us also pray for a spiritual awakening in our world that seems to be in a season of winter spiritually. Amen and Amen. 

HERE! Presence Matters Most! 

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis

True Believers Beware False Deceivers

This New Testament passage powerfully warns true believers to beware false deceivers: 

"But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction. What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion. When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness." Jude‬ ‭1:10-13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Please pray passionately with me: 

Lord, help us to keep walking in the Light as You are in the Light! Give us the wisdom of your mind lest we lose our way in our own instincts or die in the destructive darkness of deception. Lord forbid that we would ever loose sight of You — our Way, Truth and Life. Lord unleash Your new mercy on us, for forever and today, we fervently pray! Amen! 

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY! 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Outer Darkness (A Reality Check)

Hell. The Bible calls it Outer Darkness. How can this darkness be defined? It is a darkness beyond all earthly conception. Uttermost lostness. Blackest night. Shoreless gloom.

Think of an existence without a sun, moon or star; without an electric light, gas light, lamp light, candle light, or lightning bug. 

Add to this darkness the unbelivers, the wicked, and the godless from every generstion since the Fall of Eden, and the millions of fallen angels who have made their never-ending abode in this God-forsaken place of outer darkness.

Yes, Jesus Himself called it "outer darkness!" It’s a reality check for our never-dying souls. 

"Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Jesus, ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Let us turn away from our love affair with darkness and walk in the Light as He is in the Light! Yes, Jesus is The Light that leads us out of outer darkness. 

"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." ‭‭I John‬ ‭1:5-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis

"Going" by Pastor James Spruill

Last week I posted a Life Lesson written by my mentor, Pastor James Spruill. Here’s another. You’re welcome. 

LIFE LESSON:

"Going"

It is time we obeyed the command of Jesus to GO. Going is not easy. We have done lots of things to keep from going. We want our Churches to grow so we do all kinds of things to get people to come. It is easier to give money for a musical concert in an effort to get people to come to Church than it is to mow our neighbor’s lawn. Money cannot do our work for us. Money can’t go. Going is about presence. It is about heart and compassion. You can’t pay another person to do your work. Pastors are not paid to do our work. No one can go for us. Why is it easier to go on a mission trip to another part of the world than it is to go across the street? A person living in a big house, driving an expensive car with high paying job can be just as lost as a person living in a mud shack in another part of the world. Going to me means we are to make the first move, it is taking the initiative . It is more important to knock on the door of a person’s heart than to knock on the door of their house. Jesus is the great example of this when he called a man down from a tree. He didn’t invite him to the synagogue he went to his house. He met the Samaritan woman at a well and reached for her hurting heart. Jesus was a goer. He walked the streets of the city, spent time on the mountain side, cooked breakfast by the sea. I suspect that the big beautiful Cathedrals of Europe are empty today because the members failed to go. No amount of money spent on a building can cause people to come if we do not go first. Could it be that one reason for the decline of Church attendance is our failure to GO? Enticing programs can never take the place of compassionate hearts. Just the way I see it. 

-- James F. Spruill

(Matthew 28:19-20) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (NKJV)

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis 

I Love “Thee”

Sunday it was my privilege to drive from Cape May, New Jersey, to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to preach the gospel. What joy it is for me to journey for Jesus and especially to journey with Jesus. 

About an hour into my 4 1/2 hour drive an old beloved hymn of the church came beautifully into my mind and out of my mouth -- "My Jesus, I Love Thee." (I would love to hear my Daddy pray one more time aloud. He always referred to Jesus reverently as "Thee" when he prayed.) 

What joy to love my Lord with all of my heart. I think you’ll enjoy the words of this old wonderful song of praise.

https://youtu.be/DVzlUiclXTY

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis

"Our Sympathies Have Gone Rotten!" (Whose Friend Are We?)

"It’s so sad how "the pity (the sympathies, empathy) of this modern age goes out to Judas, not to Christ. Pity does not overflow for that lonely Nazarene who came and died to save and sanctify us, but for the one who hated and betrayed Jesus. In the same line of thought, some modern Christians, if they had lived at the time of The Good Samaritan, would have pitied the thieves and left the poor victim still lying on the roadside. Our sympathies have gone rotten! Anyone who is a friend of this age is an enemy of God; and anyone who befriends the enemy of God hates Jesus Christ." -- Oswald Chambers

"You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that love for this ⌊evil⌋ world is hatred toward God? Whoever wants to be a friend of this world is an enemy of God. Do you think this passage means nothing? It says, "The Spirit that lives in us wants us to be his own."" James‬ ‭4:4-5‬ ‭GW‬‬

Prayer: Jesus You are are The Friend of Sinners to save us from the world’s wickedness and even worse, never-ending Hell. Thank you. And Lord, help us to be Your true friends! Amen. 

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis

Our Inheritance of Deliverance — Our Lord Jesus Christ

God’s Word is powerful and true and ours for the claiming. Jesus is God’s Word — Who became human — to make us holy. Victory over Satan, death and sin is ours in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Will we keep dying as sinners (those who choose to continue to belong to sin) or will we begin living as saints (those who chose to belong to God)? 

Will we welcome God’s Word — our Lord Jesus Christ — as our inheritance of deliverance from the devil, spiritual death and ultimate destruction? I pray we will!

A powerful and true passage that can be ours:

“When this body that decays is changed into a body that cannot decay, and this mortal body is changed into a body that will live forever, then the teaching of Scripture will come true: “Death is turned into victory! Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” Sin gives death its sting, and God’s standards give sin its power. Thank God that he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, then, brothers and sisters, don’t let anyone move you off the foundation ⌊of your faith⌋. Always excel in the work you do for the Lord. You know that the hard work you do for the Lord is not pointless.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:54-58‬ ‭GW‬‬

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis

The Gift Only We Can Give to God

"We have to give God a definite gift of ourselves. This is something that God cannot do for us. It is something we have to do." 

-- Oswald Chambers 

This New Testament passage below will accent Oswald Chambers’ words above. 

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good." -- ‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:1-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

HERE! Presence Matrers Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis

Nothing i Desire...

This morning during my quiet time I was able to take a prayer walk. About halfway through I began to sing an old familiar and very sacred song of prayer and worship to my Lord. For a few eternal-like moments I simply stood still and sang. Finally, I looked straight up and saw the pine trees swaying in rhythm with my singing. I’m guessing it was much like what the Prophet Isaiah recorded, “And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:12) All joy, my friends! 

Here’s the song. And truly “nothing I desire (and nothing I could ever acquire) compares to You, Jesus.”

https://youtu.be/DKmlrlzTHXY

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Pastor James Spruill on "Love and Holiness"

These words on "love and holiness" were written by my mentor, Pastor James Spruill. It helped me. Lean in. A Life Lesson, indeed. 

LIFE LESSON:

Love and Holiness are two words that get kicked around a lot these days. Volumes have been written about love. Holiness often gets swept under the religious rug as something unattainable. If you define love the way Hollywood does these two words aren’t even related. The confusion is perpetuated when love is defined by two people shacking up in a one night stand in a cheap motel, and the same word used for the kind and gracious acts of Mother Teresa giving her life for the poor and dying of India. And then there is Holiness defined by the way someone dresses or as a title, "Your Holiness" it is enough to confuse anyone. I mean no disrespect to those who are thinkers who seek to help us understand the Love and Holiness of God, but much of what they write is just recycled thought from the liberal professors they studied under. It is true, God is Love, but it is also true that God is holy and the two cannot be separated. With God they are always compatible. We can express our opinion but love and holiness are not what we say they are, they are part of the essential nature and character of God and that never changes. The Scripture says, that Jesus is the exact representation of God, because He is God. Jesus said, "He that has seen me has seen the Father," so Jesus best defines love and holiness with His life. Anything He ever said or did was always compatible with love and holiness. When he took the whip into the temple, turned over the money changers tables and cleaned out the place he did not cease to be love or holy. When he spoke painful truth to the Scribes and Pharisees he did not lay aside His love and Holiness. We need to stop trying to make God who we want Him to be, stop trying to make His love accommodate our sin and stop thinking that holiness is something you can put on. The way Jesus defines love and holiness they can only be found IN HIM. Where do you get your definitions? It is too important not to think about. James F. Spruill

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Hebrews 1:3 who being the shining splendor of His glory, and the express image of His essence, and upholding all things by the word of His power, having made purification of our sins, He sat down on the right of the Majesty on high.

HERE! Presence Matters Most! 

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Four Winds Forecast — February 2020

(Newsletter for Philadelphia Nazarenes and those who pray for us.)

February 18, 2020

FOUR WINDS FORECAST 

Dearest Philadelphia District Family — Pastors and Leaders:

TWO VERY IMPORTANT ITEMS FOR PASTORS — I. A REQUEST AND II. SOME GATHERING INFO:

I. A REQUEST: LOCAL PASTORS, in lieu of a traditional, written, local pastor’s report for the 2020 District Assembly, please write a short, one-minute, “Hope Happens Here” elevator speech answering these five questions below for your local church.

Note: One-sentence answers for each question is sufficient.

Pastor’s Name:

Local Church Name: 

(1) What’s one new people group your local church hopes to reach in the next year? 

(2) What’s your strategy for reaching them?

(3) How does your local church hope to be good neighbors in your community during the new church year? 

(4) What’s your strategy for including and/or engaging future generations moving forward?

(5) How can the district pray for your local church?

Note: RSVP. Yes, all local pastors, please email your one-page, one-minute, “Hope Happens Here” elevator written speech answering the five questions above to the Philadelphia District Office at districtoffice@philanaz.org no later than Good Friday, April 10, 2020. 

Note: After viewing all “Hope Happens Here” written elevator speeches, the superintendent will randomly request the names of certain pastors to come up-front and verbally share their “Hope Happens Here” elevator speeches throughout the two district assembly sessions on Saturday. (So, remember to bring a copy for yourself and be ready in case you are one of the ones called upfront to share at the microphone during district assembly.)

II. SOME GATHERING INFO: 2020 DISTRICT CONVENTIONS AND DISTRICT ASSEMBLY SCHEDULE:

(All Gatherings are at our Crossroads Church of the Nazarene, in Milton, Pennsylvania. Dr. Carla Sunberg, General Superintendent in Jurisdiction)

“The Gathering”

Thursday, April 30, 2020,

7:30 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. 

A Gethsemane Gathering of Corporate Prayer and Worship

“The Gathering”

Friday, May 1, 2020

8:30 a.m. ENC Alumni Breakfast

10 a.m. - 12 noon NMI Convention

12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. NMI Luncheon and Ordinands Lunch 

1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. NMI Convention continues 

3:15 p.m. Ministers’ Choir Practice

7 p.m. Ordination Celebration 

“The Gathering”

Saturday, May 2, 2020

8:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. “Hope Happens Here” District Assembly, Session 1, Business and Worship

10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. SDMI/NYI Convention 

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch available on campus. Options TBA 

1:30 p.m - 3 p.m. “Hope Happens Here” District Assembly, Session 2, Business and Worship with a very sacred closing. 

* For more info go to philanaz.org

SOME MORE UPCOMING DATES:

* Detailed calendar at philanaz.org

 FEBRUARY 2020

* Feb. 18, Tuesday, 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. PK leading “Lordship Living” Workshop #3: “The Acceleration of Lordship/Stewardship” / Royersford

* Feb. 18, Tuesday, District Staff and Nominating Committee with DAB, Royersford 

* February 29, Board of Ministry/Royersford

MARCH 2020

* Mar. 5, THURSDAY, PCDC #5, 9 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. / Fairview Village

* March 5, Board of Ministry, 1 p.m. until done. / Fairview Village. 

* Mar. 17, Tuesday, District Staff and DAB, Royersford

* Mar. 22-24, Pastor Kerry in Revival, Bridgeton, NJ

* Mar. 28, Chaplain’s Luncheon, Noon, Royersford Office, PA

* Mar. 29-Mar. 31, PK Preaching Revival, Bangor, PA

APRIL 2020

* POSTPONED: Apr. 1, Pre-School/Day Care Directors Appreciation and Resourcing Day at our Riverside Reading, PA. 

* Apr. 2, THURSDAY, PCDC #5, 9 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. / Fairview Village

* Apr. 5, PALM SUNDAY

* Apr. 12, EASTER SUNDAY

* Apr. 23, NOTE: THURSDAY, Tentative Date for District Staff and DAB Meetings both as conference calls possibly. 

* Apr. 26-28, PK Preaching Revival, LaVelle, PA

* April 30, Conventions and Assembly begin, 7:30 p.m. with a Gethsemane Gathering of Prayer and Worship in the sanctuary of our Crossroads Church. 

MAY 2020

* Apr. 30-May 2, “HOPE HAPPENS HERE” THE GATHERING — DISTRICT ASSEMBLY AND CONVENTIONS, at our Crossroads Church, Milton, PA

JUNE 2020

* June 4,THURSDAY, PCDC, #8, 9 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. / Fairview Village

* June 18-21, PK Preaching Revival in Burlington, NJ

* June 28, Philly Campmeeting begins 

JULY 2020

* June 28-July 5, 2020 Philadelphia District Campmeeting, Erma Campground, Cape May

* July 14 — District Staff and DAB / Conference Call Meetings if necessary

AUGUST 2020

* Aug. 7-8, PK Preaching Crossroads Family Camp Days 

* Aug. 18, District Staff and DAB Meetings

SEPTEMBER 2020

* Sept. 12-14, PK Preaching Revival at Twin Hills, PA.

* Sept. 15, District Staff and DAB Meetings 

Sept. 19-21, PK Preaching Revival At New Holland, PA.

* Sept. 23-26, Philly Men’s Retreat TBD

* Sept. 26, Gospelrama, Philadelphia 

OCTOBER 2020

* Oct. 8, THURSDAY PCDC, 9 a’m. - 12:15 p.m. / Fairview Village  

* Oct. 9-11, PK Preaching Revival at Millville, NJ

* Oct 13, District Staff and DAB

* Oct. 14-17, PK’s Project Galilee Leaders Retreat Gathering, Cape May, NJ

* Oct. 23-25, MAC 

NOVEMBER 2020

* Nov. 1-2, PK Preaching Revival at Pennington Grace, Trenton, NJ

* Nov. 5, THURSDAY, PCDC, 9 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. / Fairview Village

* Nov. 17, District Staff and DAB

* Nov. 26, THANKSGIVING DAY

DECEMBER 2020

* Dec. 12, District Christmas Gathering, TBA

My wife, Kim and I, lift you before the Throne of Mercy. We depend totally upon the trustworthiness of our Loving Lord and are so indebted to you for your intercessions on our behalf. 

HERE! Presence Matters Most! 

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis

District Servant (Superintendent)

Philadelphia District 

Church of the Nazarene

Suffering? Trust God and Pray!

These words about suffering, trusting God and praying penned by the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth are so tender yet powerful:

(7) I know this: that the more you suffer, the more God will bless you, and help you, and give you His joy. 

(8) I think you ought to know, dear brothers, about the hard time I went through in Asia. I was in fact crushed, overwhelmed and desperate. I feared I would never live through it. 

(9) I felt I was doomed to die and saw how powerless I was to help myself; but that was good, for then I put everything into the hands of God, Who alone could save me, for He can even raise the dead. 

(10) And He did help me, and saved me from a terrible death; and I expect Him to do it again and again.

(11) But you must help me too, by praying for me. For much thanks and praise will go to God from those who seek His wonderful answers to their prayers for my safety!

2 Corinthians 1:7-11, Living Letters

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Unity Fuels Our God-Given Vision

During my first year as a local pastor, 1994, I realized that true vision from our Lord’s perspective is really understood best in one five-letter word -- "UNITY!" 

For twenty-four years I refused to release that word from my mind and my ministry and especially my messages. I also continually saturated in John 17, the chapter that records our Lord’s prayer for our "UNITY" and I am absolutely sure that our "UNITY" was the key to whatever spiritual success we enjoyed together as pastor and people. It’s the only reason we could dare to have big dreams in a small town. 

As a result, our local congregation grew spiritually and numerically. Yes, we served hope and holiness to our community and beyond, even around the world and our fellowship of worshippers expanded from 120 to 1,200 in those twenty-four years. Our last year of ministry together as pastor, staff and people, we recorded 454 personal conversions. (Yes, once we tallied what God had performed from every facet of our fellowship and outreach hat was the one-year number for souls saved.)

I will never forget one Sunday morning when we had a spontaneous baptism service and approximately 200 went public with their testimony and were baptized. Wonderfully staggering to my own soul.

That’s why I never ever underestimate the power and the possibilities of "UNITY" within Holy Spiritual communities of faith. 

Recently, I heard Dr. David Busic say: "Without unity there is no community and without community there is no mission!" "UNITY" certainly helps us find our God-ordained mission but even more so, "UNITY" surely fuels our God-given vision, making Holy Oneness through His Love our reality. And we remember "where there is no vision the people perish!" (Proverbs 29:18 KJV)

This song has been a staple of my own soul for many years and continues to be. Enjoy. Then, engage "UNITY" and be ready to be wondrously overwhelmed with what’s possible. 

https://youtu.be/cEwb51LawAI

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis

Jesus is Your Example in Selfless Humility

I’ve been so moved so many times in my life and I admit I’m moved again even now by these deep and direct words penned from prison by the Apostle Paul to the Church at Philippi:

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus [look to Him as your example in selfless humility]," -- Philippians‬ ‭2:3-5‬ ‭AMP‬‬

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis 

The Love Chapter (Amplified)

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction]. And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing. If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all. Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]. But as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for the gift of special knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part [for our knowledge is fragmentary and incomplete]. But when that which is complete and perfect comes, that which is incomplete and partial will pass away. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God]. And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love."

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:1-13‬ ‭AMP‬‬LIFIED

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis

February Photos, Etc.

Here are some of my February Photos, Etc.

HERE! Presence Matters Most!

No Invisible People! UNITY!

Pastor Kerry Willis