Atlanta, Georgia Revival Meetings

Revival meetings were held at the Apostolic Faith Church in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday, March 18, through Sunday, March 22. Among the visitors on Thursday and Friday evenings were several pastors and their spouses, who were in Atlanta for a pastors’ meeting. The guest speaker for the Wednesday and Thursday evening services was Reverend Jewell Lockett from Houston, Texas.

Before the sermon on Thursday, Vanessa Cordell sang “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power.” Reverend Lockett took his text from Mark 5:25-34, and titled his sermon “Nonstop to Victory.” He said that three steps are often the key to receiving an answer to prayer: acknowledgment of the problem; desperation for deliverance; and ultimate victory through prayer. The woman mentioned in the text had tried many things to obtain a cure for her physical condition, all to no avail. But when she desperately made her way through the crowd to touch Jesus, she received the healing she was looking for. Reverend Lockett encouraged the congregation to overcome any situation in their lives by sincerely following the three steps of “acknowledgment, desperation, and victory.”

During the Friday evening service, Joseph Lamidi, pastor of the church in Hempstead, New York, testified that four backslidden young people have recently been saved in Hempstead. Karolyn Segres, from Aiken, South Carolina, also testified that her son and his wife had separated, but both recently came to church on a Sunday morning and prayed through to salvation, and the Lord has restored their marriage.

Reverend Henry Swanston, pastor of the church in Century, Florida, took his text from Acts 10:34-35, where Peter perceived that God is no respecter of persons. Reverend Swanston brought out that all people, regardless of creed or race, can be saved if they wholeheartedly give their lives to God. God is still pouring out His Spirit in 2009 just as He did on the Day of Pentecost, and those who are seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit can have confidence that God will answer their prayers as they totally consecrate their lives to Him.

An evening of music was held on Saturday, emceed by Vanessa Cordell. In addition to several vocal ensembles and choir numbers, Elizabeth Oladele beautifully played a couple of arrangements on the violin. During the program, opportunities were provided for visitors from the branch churches to participate, and solos were presented from Houston, Texas; Kingstree, South Carolina; and Anniston and Birmingham, Alabama. The evening of music was wrapped up with a few remarks by Reverend Ted Lockett, the pastor in Atlanta, and a closing prayer by Reverend Bob Downey from Portland, Oregon.

A good turnout of visitors from nearby branch churches attended the Sunday morning service. The prelude began with the combined choir singing a couple of numbers, followed by the children’s choir singing “How Can You Love God and Not Your Fellow Man?” After the congregational singing, the combined choir sang “In Everything Give Him Thanks,” featuring Veda Robinson as the soloist. Ron Gaddis, pastor of the church in Richmond, Virginia, read Psalm 23 for the Scripture reading and before the sermon, DeLiso Pressley, from Birmingham, sang “We Are Our Heavenly Father’s Children.”

Reverend Peter Passade, pastor of the DeKalb branch church in Brooklyn, New York, took his text from Numbers 13, where Joshua and Caleb assured the Israelites that in spite of the unbelief of the other spies, they were well able to conquer the Promised Land with God’s help. The theme of Reverend Passade’s sermon was“Yes, I can.” He said that sometimes the devil tries to convince Christians they cannot make it, but every Christian can make it if he will keep his trust in God. Reverend Passade used a personal example of when he was involved in a serious accident several years ago, suffering many broken bones and enduring two years of physical therapy. Looking back, he can see how God brought him through and gave him the strength to endure. He encouraged the congregation to keep their confidence in God and truly believe that they can obtain the victory in every situation.

The Atlanta revival meetings were a wonderful time of spiritual blessing and fellowship, and many felt inspired to seek a closer walk with God.