Richard Cecere
For three weeks in August 2021, Ryan Day, presenter for 3ABN Television Ministry, powerfully preached the Gospel at the Phenix City, Ala., Church. “Amazing Revelations in Prophecy” was presented to a faithful nightly crowd of nearly 50 people from August 1 to 21.
“We had a chance to do a full evangelistic series,” said Day, “diving deep into Scripture, talking about Bible history, prophecy, and last day events, all to reach the hearts and minds of people and draw them to Jesus Christ. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn together, to grow together, laugh together, and even cry together.” Several attendees have signed up for further Bible studies, and many children have begun baptismal studies as a result of the evangelistic campaign. Deloris Vaughn was baptized, and Rita Mendoza was re-baptized at the conclusion of the series.
Vaughn was invited to the meetings by a good friend and neighbor who is a member of the church, but recalled having some concerns when the evangelistic series first began. She says, “Some people were telling me that I should stay away, that Seventh-day Adventists were a cult. But, that’s not what I was seeing, so I just kept coming. Being thirsty for God’s Word is one thing, but God says that He’s going to show up if we keep seeking.”
Regarding the series of meetings, Vaughn says, “Ryan was awesome. He made the atmosphere each night very pleasant. He just talked and laughed and made me feel so comfortable. I want to be around people who love the Lord and what they do, and love sharing and caring about others. Someone just asked me what I was going to do with the rest of the day. I said, ‘I’m going to go home and study and meditate about how good God is to me.’ I’m a cancer survivor, and I survived three tours in combat; I walked away without a scratch. God just keeps on blessing me.”
Mendoza was looking for a new start, a new chance in her relationship with God. “For so long, I was the person everyone leaned on. And what happened was I left God out of the equation too much. I was reading my Bible, and I was sitting in the pews, but I was just going through the motions. The relationship I wanted so desperately to have with my heavenly Father was lacking so much. But, listening to Ryan talking about renewing your life, I had to take a really good look at myself,” says Mendoza. “There was one particular night when he was speaking about the saints of God and who God would recognize in the end. At that moment, I had the feeling that God wasn’t even going to take a second look at me. He’s not going to know me. And I knew I wanted to do something different. There were too many other things in my life that I had made too important. So, I asked God to take control right at that moment, and I felt Him touch my heart and say, ‘I’m still here. I’ve been waiting all this time. You’re 65 years old, Rita, and I’m still here. I never left your side.’ And I just started to cry, and I knew I wanted to be re-baptized.”
Dwayne Campbell, senior pastor at Phenix City, considered the event a success for the church members and visitors. Campbell stated, “The Amazing Revelations in Prophecy series has been a great blessing to our church and the Phenix City community around us. God has used Pastor Ryan to give us Bible truths that will prepare us to go faithfully through the end times and to be ready for the second coming of Jesus.”
Gulf States | April 2022
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