For our second ministry site, my squad and I found ourselves in Phenix City, Alabama. We went there to work with the Take the City ministry and especially with the program, Redeem. This program (located on the other side of the river in Colombus, Georgia) focuses on aiding those who are victims of human trafficking, particularly sex workers and the marginalized in society who are most susceptible to being trafficked. As this was our first time working with this population, we were all pretty excited to get started!
The first day that we got there, my team split up in two. Four of us went out with Redeem’s ministry team for street evangelism, while two of us stayed behind and interceded. We later came to find out that we were actually a part of what Redeem calls “War Weekend.” During War Weekend, the ministry spends 2 full days (and I really mean two FULL days) in constant worship and intercession while a team hits the streets to spread the love of Jesus. Some of the teams even go inside strip clubs to do so.
Needless to say, this ministry experience was wild from start to finish. Morgan and I stayed back to intercede on the first night, and it was STRAIGHT. FIRE. It was probably the most incredible time I’ve ever had in prayer. We prayed for 5 hours, but it actually felt like 30 minutes. We walked around the room, praying and speaking out words of Scripture as we went. We prayed loudly and boldly, even lifting up our heart songs to the Lord in the midst of our prayers.
As we were praying, we would message our teammates if we saw any visions of people the Lord put on our hearts, telling them things like, “be in the lookout for someone wearing a blue and purple jacket.” What was amazing is that some of the people we “saw” were people that the team ended up reaching out to. But the most amazing thing happened the next day.
As the ministry team was walking around, they met a guy who was wheelchair-bound. Immediately they went to pray for him. And then, the Lord showed up. The man got out of his wheelchair and was able to take his first independent steps EVER. Wow. You can NEVER underestimate the power of prayer especially if you step out in faith to approach a complete stranger. God is still in the miraculous healing business!
That week, I learned a lot about ministry in the United States. First of all, I learned what intercession can look like if you fully submit yourself to the will of the Lord in it. It truly does have to power to move mountains. Second, I learned that ministry in the States does not have to be complicated— it can simply look like going up to a stranger and starting a conversation. We just need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s proddings and gentle nudges and willing to look like a fool for the name of Jesus.
In all things, be blessed!
AG
