Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

My year end review at work was due and I was truly blessed with a bonus.  Then I was offered overtime even though the hospital hadn’t allowed any overtime for the last year.  When I got my paycheck it covered all but about $200 of my downpayment for my home which left the money I had saved for the incidentals I would need when I moved in.  When I left my husband I left almost all the furniture with him.  I had no place to keep it and I didn’t really want any of it anyway.  I knew I had to start totally over.  God gave me a house that was almost totally furnished.  I needed a mattress and boxspring for the master bedroom and my brother and sister blessed me with that as a housewarming gift.

I had wanted a screened lanai and God gave me that also and it is even glassed in so I can use it when it is cold.  My new home is approx 1500 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage, with a fireplace and big kitchen.  I was ready to settle for a foreclosed fixer upper and God gave me a furnished home that I could move into the day I closed on the loan.  He gave me the desires of my heart way beyond anything I could have imagined.  I live in a 50′s plus community that is very safe with wonderful Christian neighbors.

I don’t know what God has in store for me this next year but I know His word is true.  He has a plan and a purpose for my future, a plan for good and not harm.  He has restored my hope and my faith is stronger than I thought it could ever be.  I know that I know that God loves each and every one of us and if we will just believe in Him, worship Him and follow Him, He will bless us and use us way beyond our wildness dreams.    As I look back over the last few years, I can see instance after instance where God was preparing me for this last year.  He protected me physically, He changed my job position at the hospital, and He planted people in my life that would encourage my faith and help me to be strong.      It’s been a hard year but if it meant losing what I have with God now I wouldn’t go back to where I was for anything.  I may be alone physically but spiritually God is with me every minute of everyday.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

I have gone to Churches where the “soul winning” is just passing out tracks. I don’t think it’s a bad idea but the Word is clear on how we are to reach out to Gods people in the world today. We are to GO and talk to them lay hands and pray for the sick. When I went with my old church it had been after going with the river and I could see how so many churches are “missing it” when it comes to the great commission or God.

I have learned through the teaching of word and the river that I AM THE TRACK! I am the was who will open my mouth and speak the work which will pierce the hearts of man. This word that comes out will draw them to God and make their rocky hearts of flesh. I Love soul winning and so does my wife we go and God does amazing things out in the streets with us. Why do we sing and pray or get any word if we will not ever tell anyone what we are so happy about? We need to bring them the real Jesus not the Jesus that the religious church of today has show them.

I will go preach the good news all the time to everybody! Whenever there is a super soul winning Saturday I pray you will go check it out. Everyone is so nice and friendly and they will show you how to win souls for Jesus. The first time I went I lead 13 people to the Lord it was amazing!! When people are frowning I will smile, if there rude I will be very nice! We need to be different and show this great love we claim to have at all times. God wants to use you like He used me. Go win should for the kingdom today and be blessed.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

What is happening to me in regard to soul winning as a result of my coming to the River Bible Institute? Soul winning has taken on a new meaning and outlook to me. Being a fourth generation Pentecostal believer rose mostly in church. I have never seen or been involved with a church that really put the rubber where it meets the road, in other words, obeying the scriptures. Mark 16:15, And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, where souls are being saved, and plucked out of a devil’s hell, and brought into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Signs and wonders are verifying the power of the Gospel that is shared in soul winning, reaching the lost. My life has been radically changed in the way I view my call as a minister of the gospel. Even as I view my vision and mission in the pastoral role in my local church. Soul winning is the inner thread that is woven into the gospel ministry that is necessary to being a living part of the body of Christ.

Soul winning is now forever pressed upon my heart, that it is talked about as I mentor, preached about as I encourage the believers in my local church to go, go, and witness to the lost. Romans 1:16 says, For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth…; to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Without any excuse we have a biblical command to reach all men; soul winning it the recipe given to do so while the time remains, before our Lord’s return.

Soul winning has become a cry of my heart to help bring in the harvest of souls into the kingdom of God. For on that day when I stand before the Lord, I want Him to say, well done thy good and faithful servant, who has been found doing, occupying until I come and call my name.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

I have been saved for over 20 years and before coming to the River Church I had only led 3 people to the Lord. This was even from a sermon I had preached one Sunday morning and gave an alter call. Up to this point I have never even done a single face to face soul winning prayer of any kind before.

Since coming to the River Church and the River Bible Institute I have become a soul winning machine of leading over 1400 people to the Lord. Soul winning has been made an everyday thing to do now. I am on the search for people that I can talk to. The strange thing is I love talking to people all my life just never had a true FIRE for the Lord and never really understood what it meant to “Preach the Gospel to every Creature on the earth.”

Recently while visiting a local grocery store in Florida I was going thru the line when I saw the woman behind me and she looked like she was trying to count in her head the money she had to buy a few simple things for dinner. At that moment I felt impressed to pay for her groceries. I asked the checker to put them in my bill. The lady behind me asks why I was doing that. I told her that “My daddy told me to bless her.” She responded do you mean God and I smiled and said yes. “Why would God tell you to do that?” I explained to her right then and there in the line with everyone around in the checkout line about the Love of God.

When I was done not only did she receive Christ but so did the checker in the line. Shockingly enough not one person complained about waiting in line while this whole thing took place.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

Finally! Finally! Finally! The purpose of the church is coming to the forefront. Ever since I committed my life to Jesus I have always thought that our main purpose as believers was to win souls. I have had conversations with people in the past that have told me that soul winning was not the thing that they were supposed to do. But we know.

Soul winning is my life, really, anytime I have become discouraged the Holy Spirit has always led me to win souls, it’s like in John 4 when Jesus was at the well talking to the Samaritan woman and afterwards the disciples came and asked Him to eat and He responded saying in verse 34. My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work; soul winning brings fulfillment.

When I first came here to the River I had never used a script, so it was a little different, but as I submitted to the way that it is done here I came to realize that it’s not about the script but it’s the gospel and when we preach the gospel people are saved. Not only are they saved but I have seen signs follow, for example just recently along with a team, there was a older guy that we prayed for that had problems walking we laid hands on him, took his cane away and commanded him to walk, and he did, while seeing this healing there was a guy standing to the side that called for us to come over and pray for his knee, which later we found out that he had woke up that morning in excruciating pain and had suffered all day, even in tears.

So we went over laid hands on his knee and I could literally feel virtue flow and with boldness I commanded him to walk and lift his knee and as he did so the pain instantly left completely! This guy begin to walk up and down the street telling everybody that he was healed, he walks back into the liquor/corner store tells everybody inside that, “Yall won’t believe this my knee been hurtin all day and now it don’t.” (By the way everybody around did receive Jesus Christ with the exception of a “Catholic”) I am learning that soul winning brings revival, when every believer steps out and compels men to come then as we work with heaven, heaven will back us up and we will see the miraculous not just in the four walls of the church but everywhere we go.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

Soul winning completely changed my life! After I had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit it seemed like God was speaking to me more and more about the lost. I had started carrying a burden for them, but didn’t know how to actually lead someone to Jesus! It wasn’t until I came to the River that I learned how to become an effective soul winner! At first I thought I’d hate soul winning with the Gospel Soul Winning Script! I was so afraid of what people would think. But once I stepped out and started doing it I began to get bolder and bolder and now soul winning is just a part of who I am! I’ve never had a day out with the church soul winning where I had more people reject the gospel than people who received Jesus as their Savior! I remember one day I was with the Church and I began to pray and ask God for more boldness.

As soon as we got out of the car I saw two people. One was smoking pot and they were covered with piercings and tattoos. They definitely looked like someone who’d want nothing to do with religion! So thankfully, I didn’t offer them religion but a personal relationship with Jesus. They both got saved! It’s so awesome seeing people melt when they hear the Gospel and come to know Jesus! It’s completely changed my life, and the more I do it the stronger my passion for souls becomes! I never truly realized the amount of people who were hungry and desperate for a relationship with God. And I’ve learned to stop judging people on how they look or act.

Most of the times the people who you’d never think would want to hear the Gospel and the most receptive! Thank God for the Holy Spirit that convicts their heart as we share with them the love of God! Soul Winning is totally supernatural and totally life changing!

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

December 13th of 2009 was such a monumental day for The River at Tampa Bay! 349 souls got saved at the altar. Hallelujah! The joy of the Lord touched every age group from the Nursery to The River Kids to the main Sanctuary. We rejoiced as we gave away many toys to deserving children. It is such an honor and a privilege to be under a ministry with Pastor Rodney and Adonica Howard-Browne. They have such a vision to save 100 million souls this decade! I am fortunate to be a part of it.

Here at the River the word of the day is SOULS. Well, today there were two words, souls and toys! I worked in the Nursery this Sunday morning and many of the children’s faces reflected how they felt, grouchy because they missed their parents. In the Nursery, we prayed over every child that we held and played with. Little by little you could see the love of God that was in us overflow to the children.

“Lord, make this toddler a mighty man (or woman) of God for You. Teach them to walk in Your paths and guide them as they daily seek Your face. Thank You for Your abundant grace and love that is poured out on this innocent one. Give them a boldness to speak Your word. Thank You for saving them as they accept Jesus in their pure heart!” I prayed this prayer with such fervency.

1 Peter 4:8 in the Amplified Bible says, “Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].” Many of the children came in crying but as the volunteers in the Nursery prayed over them, God touched their hearts. As we gave the child back to their parent, some of the parents told me that they seemed much calmer. It is amazing what the Word of God can do! At the end of service, each one received a toy and their face lit up even more. God continues to do amazing things at The River at Tampa Bay! We are blessed to be a blessing.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

I learned many important values from Pastor Adonica’s class, Matters of the Heart. I learned that the attitude of your heart will determine where you will end up in ten or twenty years down the road. Since God looks at the heart and he is a discerner of it means that the attitude of someone’s heart is probably the most vital issue. Even with small issues someone can become defiled, but not if you keep your heart right. This really helped me learn how important it is to guard my heart and the content of my thoughts. Out of the abundance of the heart my mouth will speak. That is an important way for me to tell the condition of my heart. I found it interesting to learn that my heart has an alarm system that my brain corresponds with and that if you go with your heart you will have peace. Peace should rule your decisions.

I also learned that it is never a good idea to make important decisions when you are angry or upset and to always strive to walk in the love of God and let offences go. We should always come to the Lord with humility and avoid arrogance or pride at all costs. Walking in the love of God is something I personally want to accomplish on a daily basis since perfect love casts out all fear. I learned the importance of being teachable and receiving correction and not to even get involved with someone else’s offenses. Pastor Adonica taught us that you never want to major on manifestations and to do only what God wants you to do. Bitterness was another issue we were taught to avoid and that hidden sins of the heart can take you out and how whatever someone tries to protect from sinning will be lost anyway. Another issue that I thought was good to know was how someone can do the right thing with a wrong heart and be wrong. I felt like this subject is something that could be taught for an entire year and you would still be learning, but Pastor Adonica did a great job with it in only one week. It is amazing how God can give you a ton of knowledge in a short period of time. Isn’t God awesome!

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

Sunday was amazing here at the River. We had hundreds of kids show up all expecting gifts and ready for the word at the toy give away. It is truly a blessing to have been able to be apart of this, realizing that God rewards His servant’s and that it is always better to give than to receive. We have such an outstanding helps ministry here and all the helpers were more than eager and willing to devote their skills and time to make this event happen. Lives were changed as people came hungry for God. Over a hundred and fifty children came forward to the altar and gave their lives to Jesus, declaring Him as Lord and Savior. We bused in eight charter buses full of people who came to church ready for the main event. There were over 1,300 people in attendance and 350 people gave their lives to the Lord. With over 300 workers ready serve in so many different facets of ministry from giving out food boxes and distributing toys to camera operators and ushers. The crowds came in and we were ready to welcome them into the family with open arms just as God loves us and welcomes us in His arms when we surrender to His will and call for our lives. There truly is no greater reward for serving in the Kingdom of God than the reward from what we saw here at the River with the harvest of souls on Sunday as lives were changed, and people begin to experience the unending love and power of God. There is no limit to what God can do if you just yield and allow Him to do the work.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

The entire week of camp meeting was eye opening I was continually challenged in my daily life. I walked away each day with my faith increased as I prepared for the battle that was quickly approaching me. One thing that really spoke to me was the 2pm service on the Friday. The Lord had actually been dealing with me since the beginning of the year about pruning. I knew that the Lord was going to prune certain things from my life and from the ministry that I am involved in and I was ready for it. But on that Friday Pastor Rodney spoke about enabling cut of branches. It just really spoke to me because the exact passage that the Lord had been using to deal with me was John 15 which speaks of Jesus being the vine and the vinedresser and we the branches and Jesus will cut away the branches that do not produce any fruit. I didn’t realize that in my not standing up against someone who was doing wrong I was actually enabling them as cut off branches and I was even hindering them as well as myself because God could not use them until they were moved and graphed to the vine in another location. It just amazed me because this wasn’t even the sermon he was planning on. It was a commentary he was making before the offering. It was even more astounding that he used the exact terminology that the Lord had been using with me. That was the step that allowed me to rally up my courage and speak to them with loving firmness and even though I feel anger and dagger like resentment from that person I know in my heart that the Lord is using this as a means to grow us both and to further His kingdom. I am truly grateful and I thank God that Pastor Rodney yields to the Holy Spirit whenever possible because I’m not sure where I would have been without those words of knowledge in my life. Thank you Pastor Rodney