Spiritual Awakening

There are times when the Holy Spirit wants to take one’s faith to a whole new level, when He takes the lid off human limitations, times when He desires to expand hearts and minds of what is possible and what He’d like to see happen. Both in a city and a region,” says Chris Conrad, director of church planter development for the Department of Evangelism and Church Growth (E&CG) of The Wesleyan Church.

Eastern New York/New England District Superintendent Paul James envisioned taking a prayer and vision tour with a few of his pastors throughout the district on which they serve. The district encompasses eastern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Vision Trip Born

Many of the district’s churches are located in rural, mountainous areas, yet within the six states of the district there are an estimated 20 million inhabitants, many of whom don’t know Christ. Rev. James and Rev. Dean Brown, pastor of Ridge Road Wesleyan Church in  Queensbury, N.Y., and district director of Evangelism and Church Growth, dreamed together about a vision trip. The result surprised even them.

Forty individuals (pictured) departed from Albany, N.Y., on a chartered bus on March 8, 2010, and spent two days traveling through communities in several states, stopping to pray for churches, colleges and universities, governments, and institutions.

Also on the tour were Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent and interim general director of E&CG; Central New York District Superintendent Wayne Wager; Lynn Ensign, pastor of Mt. Pisgah Wesleyan Church in Smithfield, Pa., and E&CG director in Central New York; West Michigan church planter Rev. Phil Struckmeyer; Chesapeake District Superintendent Rev. Stan Hoover; North Michigan church planters Rev. and Mrs. Wayne and Amy Otto; Ryan Kozey, founder of Infinity Alliance; and several pastors and spouses, and special guests.

Stops Along the Way

Poughkeepsie, N.Y., New Haven, Conn., Providence, R.I., and Boston, Mass., were among the cities the group explored. Included in the stops were visits to Ivy League universities Harvard, Yale, and Brown, where the group talked with students and faculty and prayed on cobblestone campus sidewalks.

“The quiet hallways and pristine walkways bespoke the spiritual barrenness that was evidenced by all,” says Rev. Brown, of the institutions known for intellectual and cultural superiority.

A tour atop the Prudential Building, the second tallest structure in Boston, allowed the group to see miles of the historic city. Rev. James commented that there is only one Wesleyan church within those miles.

“As a district superintendent, these are ‘my’ people,” said Rev. James. “I am responsible for them.”

“We observed just how huge our vision and determination must be if we’re to reach this city,” says Rev. Brown.

Trip Purposes

The purpose for the tour was to search out places to plant new churches. The group also witnessed firsthand the vast area encompassed by district and saw the need to pray for the places in which the United States began as a nation.

The district envisions planting five churches in the next five years but recognizes that they can’t accomplish this feat alone. Anyone who is led to help in the church planting process either by short or long-term involvement may contact the district office at 518.793.4565 or ds@enynewesleyan.org.