We arrived in central Texas at Harker Heights Apostolic UPC, pastored by Robbie Hendrick on Friday.  That night, we spoke at a soul winning seminar/service.  

After the service, I noticed a Spanish gentleman in the back of the sanctuary, and felt the need to speak to him about water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.  After a few minutes of conversation, I discovered that he had lived for the Lord for many years.  Without hesitation, Brother Aguilar responded, "Let's do it right now!"  (This was a great start to a great week in this city.   That night, approximately 20 people from the church went into the city to reach for the hungry and hurting.)  

The next day, I visited Brother Aguilar at his restaurant, and had a chance to witness to his 19 year old son and his girlfriend.  Within twenty minutes, they were in our vehicle heading for the church to be baptized.  Sharing the Gospel is not difficult.

While we were eating at Brother Aguilar's restaurant, I noticed a young man walking down the street.  I felt like God was dealing with him, and I knew he was open to this wonderful message.  After introducing myself, he told me that he was just bitten by a neighborhood dog, while walking to the store.  I noticed a large puncture wound on his right leg, and several scratches on his leg and arm. 

His vehicle ran out of gas, and he was walking to the local gas station to purchase some gas.  We took him to the store, bought him some gas, and made our way back to his vehicle.  During this process, we spoke to him about the plan of salvation, and he said that he was definitely interested in being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ!

After speaking with his family for a few minutes (on the side of the highway), Matt followed us back to the church and was baptized.  He is a basketball player (point guard), for Temple University! To God be the glory!  This is an awesome young man, and has a mind and heart toward God!  Please keep him in your prayers!

The next day, I noticed that Tracy Bird (a country music singer), was scheduled to perform at a local nightclub, so myself and a few men headed there on Sunday night after church service.  Allow me to clarify something…  We headed for the "parking lot" of the club. (lol).

We parked near Tracy Bird's bus, and awaited for him to leave the club.  As he exited the building, I spoke to him about the Lord.  I felt his sincerity, and realized that he had many fans that anxiously awaited his appearance.  However, I know he will not soon forget our conversation.  I wanted him to know that I cared more about his soul than I did his autograph.

Allow me to insert something….  In your soul winning endeavors, please don't be intimidated by one's social status.  Remember this: "You have what they are looking for!"

(We endured cold and rainy weather most of the week, but God honored our efforts.  The Sunday service was tremendous, as people were being touched by God throughout the sanctuary.  At the conclusion of this powerful time, 30 people were baptized, and many received the Holy Ghost!) 

If you are anywhere close to Harker Heights, you'll want to stop in and meet these sweet people.  Brother and Sister Hendrick know how to make people feel welcome, and they are very loving.  What a great church! My wife and I fell in love with this church, and were moved by their overall kindness.

P.S.  Brother Hendrick told me that one particular lady who received the Holy Ghost on Sunday, called her mother (who was away from the Lord), and when she heard the news….  she received the Holy Ghost, and began to speak in tongues….right on the phone!! 

"TAKE THAT DEVIL!"

We spent the first week of January in Madisonville, Kentucky with Pastor Ron Hendricks, and the great people of Greater Lighthouse Pentecostal Church.

After a wonderful service on Thursday night, we went out to eat at Arby's with Brandon Shanks (youth pastor) and his wife, Kara.  (These are sweet people who love the work of God).

While placing my order, I overheard a conversation between a young man named Anthony and one of the employees.  I began speaking to Anthony, and noticed that he was very easily approached.  He maintained a positive and respectful disposition throughout our conversation, as he shared with me the events that surrounded his previous few years. Not knowing who I was, nor my occupation, Anthony spoke openly about past failures, and assured me that he wanted to make a fresh start in life.  

Allow me to suggest that there are people in your city that are hungry for "attention."  They are hungry for someone that will listen to them, befriend them,     and take a personal interest in their life!

Within twenty minutes, we were on our way back to the church to baptize Anthony in the name of Jesus Christ!

The weekend services were absolutely tremendous, and the atmosphere was so incredible!  On Sunday afternoon, Brandon and I, as well as a few folks from the church went out for a short while for outreach.  That night, there were 31 first time visitors!

After service on Sunday night, we stayed around and spoke to many people that were interested in taking their outreach efforts to a new level.

We can't say enough about this church.  What a great group of people!  We have learned to love them in a short period of time, and look forward to hearing great things in the days ahead!

After a refreshing week at Because of the Times, we headed to Orange, Texas, to be with the Pentecostals of Pinehurst.

We were in revival from Sunday through Wednesday.  From the very first service, we focused much of our attention on outreach, and soul winning.  Within the first five minutes of our outreach efforts, we met a middle age man, that was open to the message of Jesus Christ!  After speaking to him for several minutes, he was eager to come back to the church and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ!

Throughout our four days in Orange, we held two soul winning seminars and went out into the streets of their city several times.   On Wednesday night, we had 40-50 visitors from the community.  To God be the glory!  

Many of the people in this church were excited about soul winning, and assured us that they would continue to reach for the people of their city in the days ahead.   

I recently received some incredible news concerning the mobile baptistery fund. A pastor in Alabama presented this burden to his church and raised an offering of $2,000!  

I have only met this pastor, on one occasion, two years ago. I did not petition him, nor mention this project to him.  He heard about this project via one of my friends and quickly realized that this was not for Ken Cook.  Rather, this was for the kingdom of God.  Our hearts are moved by this man and the church he pastors!!

"Why are you so bold to ask for donations?" Ken and Julie Cook will not make one cent on this much needed trailer. This can not be seen as a plea to help our ministry.

We must take this message to our world! It's not getting done by building bigger buildings, and locating them on the interstate, or other strategic properties…in hopes that there will be a mass ingathering!  It doesn't work that way!  There is no substitute for taking this Gospel to our world!

The last thing any of us need is to keep this life changing message in our church buildings!  We can't afford not to revolutionize the concepts that have kept us from reaching the world!

I realize that we all have different methods for reaching the lost, and I honor those methods.  This is simply one method……but I firmly believe that God wants us to do all that we can to reach each and every soul in our cities. What better way than to take the message, and the Name of Jesus to the world?

The fund is set up at Harker Heights Apostolic Church, 2314 Indian Trail, Harker Heights, Texas 76548. It is called the "mobile baptistery fund." Pastor Robbie Hendrick can be reached at 254-698-4660. This fund will be closed as soon as the trailer is paid off.

Checks, money orders and cash should be sent to the above address.  If you are using a credit card, you can access our paypal account through the "donations" section of this website.

Each person or church that donates will receive a list of people that are baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost, via this project, during the first year.

We love each of you, and trust that you are "personally" experiencing revival!

Revolution: "a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving."

In 2008, I have made up my mind….I will no longer be content with writing New Year's resolutions. For me, resolutions have always been ineffective. I can't recall a time when I carried out, over an extended period of time, any New Year's resolution.

This year, I am determined to make "drastic and far-reaching changes" in the way I think and behave. Especially when it comes to sharing the wonderful message of Jesus Christ.

Allow me to share several examples of the incredible things that have taken place since New Year's Eve. 

Let's go back to Saturday, December 29. I was driving around Knoxville searching for a open field where my dog could enjoy some exercise. After driving twenty minutes, I noticed a (Weslayen/ Methodist) church, that appeared to have plenty of acreage.

As I drove into the driveway, I saw a car pull in behind me. In case this person was nervous about me being parked in the back of their church, I thought it would be best to introduce myself. As I walked up to the vehicle, I noticed that the man inside was Spanish. I was somewhat concerned that I would not be able to explain to him what I was doing on his property. Much to my surprise, this man was the pastor of the church, and he spoke a fair amount of English.

Pastor Funes wanted to talk about the Lord, and I felt that this meeting was not by coincidence. At the end of our conversation, he asked me to preach their New Year's Eve service. Pastor Funes is an incredible pastor, with a heart toward God!  He is so passionate about the work of God! 

Fast forward to New Year's Eve…we went to the NLDM (New Life Deliverance Ministries) youth service. What an fantastic group! We talked with them about purpose and how that purpose, by definition, was the end of a thing, and not the beginning.  Finally, we encouraged them to fulfill God's purpose in their lives, and take their walk with God to the next level in 2008. 

We headed back to our trailer, to get ready for service, when Pastor Tharp called and said we needed to get to the church right away. During another New Year's Eve party, the group began discussing worship, which led into a discussion of baptism. Before long, 6 people had been baptized in Jesus' name and 7 had received the Holy Ghost!!!  What a party!!

We raced to Pastor Funes' church. The incredible worship was led by a passionate group of young men, (Obed, Angel David, Felipe, Guirremo, and Israel), and the presence of the Lord quickly flooded the sanctuary. It's true…even with a language barrier, the presence of God is undeniable!

I preached with an interpreter. (Alisha did a fantastic job!) The church responded to the presence of God and by the time the clock struck midnight, people all over the sanctuary were speaking in tongues, and worshipping the Lord! 

What an incredible New Year's Eve!  

On New Year's Day, we enjoyed a visit from Jarrod and Kathy Brunelle. Jarrod and I grew up one block from each other. We laughed about old times and shared stories of where God had brought us from. This couple really loves the Lord, and is open to going deeper with God.  

Jarrod spent several years in and out of prison, addicted to cocaine, and many other substances and vices.  However, in one of our recent conversations, he told me that God delieveed him from the drug use, as well as nicotine!  This is incredible, as he has smoked since we were kids!

Kathy is a nurse in Alabama, and is an incredible balance for Jarrod.  she loves the Lord, and is a very sweet lady.  We really enjoyed our time together with them, and look forward to the future.  

As we sat in Starbucks, we began to talk about water baptism. Jarrod and Kathy had been baptized another way and realized the importance of being re-baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. 

Jarrod stopped me and said "I want my sins forgotten. Can we do this now?" His wife responded, "I want to be baptized too." Thrilled with what God was doing, we went back to the church and baptized both of them in the name of Jesus!!

What a New Year…and it's just beginning!

Take that Devil!!!