God has been moving powerfully thus far in 2018! In faith and obedience we have launched different projects and endeavors this year while continuing what we’ve been contending for. As we are already underway in the second half of 2018, we wanted to take time to reflect on the past 6 months. Remembering is one of the key disciplines of faith and one we value greatly. Psalm 105:5 in the NLT says, “Remember the wonders He has performed, His miracles, and the rulings He has given…” We wanted to share with you several testimonies that recall, recount, and remember what He has already done so far this year. More than giving an update from our end, we wanted to share testimonies from our fellow brothers, sisters, leaders, and friends throughout the region. With gratitude, it’s an honor to share them with you. Glory to God!
In my dry season of waiting and being uncertain about the future, all I wanted was a personal encounter with the living God. It wasn’t that I couldn’t be in God’s presence in my personal devotion time or that God only speaks to me through large events, but I was just hungry and thirsty for something more. Honestly, I needed some spiritual help, so I drove 3 hours to Pursuit’s July Gathering in hopes that God would do something new in my life with a body of believers who also hunger to see God move like never before.
“What can you offer to God” were the words spoken by the praise leader as we started worship. I hadn’t been serving at church at the time. I wasn’t even in the best place spiritually. But, in that moment, I could worship the Lord simply for who He is and with my all, despite my circumstances. As the speaker said, I could obey, be salt, and be light, even if it doesn’t make sense to the world. With my all, I began to worship, be honest with God, cry out to our Provider asking for love to help my unbelief, and the Holy Spirit was upon us.
Before my eyes, I saw a region gathered together offering their fullest worship to the Lord. There was freedom in the room as both young and old prayed over me and others. There was healing in the room as I witnessed people with lower back pain and sprained ankles be recovered in Jesus’ name. There was power in the room as people of God from different walks, different churches, and different ethnic groups yearned to be used by God for His glory.
I left the gathering – a birthplace of revivalists – embracing my season of waiting, reveling in freedom, and excitement for what is to come. I witnessed the Church ready to bring itself outside its four walls, shining as light, and radiating as a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. I can’t imagine what door the Spirit will open when a whole region asks, seeks, and knocks. But, I do know that it will only bring us closer to the final revival and the ushering of our King Jesus who will receive the full glory He deserves. Truly, God is doing a new thing in our midst.
Brian L.
It is one of Jesus’ prayers that, “all of them may be one… so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” He was praying for the hearts of future believers: us. One reason I was drawn to and blessed by Pursuit is their passion for Jesus and willingness to do it together. At one of their monthly gatherings, I could feel that this was less about one church or one group, it was about going after Jesus together and doing His will. Sometimes there is an undercurrent of Christ’s people being fearful or judgmental or even lifting the name of their church, but my hope is that in the Spirit we are one and can lift the name of Jesus together. What a powerful sight to see when God’s people come together and contend for the things of God. We are not alone. I see Pursuit Foundry as a place for leaders to glean from Jesus and empower each other to advance His Kingdom. My prayer is that Pursuit is a vessel of the Lord’s heart and beauty unto the larger body of Christ as they stay intimate with Jesus.
P.Kevin
When I first heard of Create Collective, I was excited to learn what it was about and meet other creatives of faith in the area. For several years, while pursuing my own ambitions and goals as a creative, I had struggled to find mentors and friends who understood exactly what the life of an artist entailed, and how to navigate it with a Christ-driven purpose. An invitation to join Create Collective came at a perfect time for me where I was really questioning the purpose behind my career.
I’m a graphic designer by profession and because I’ve never had the opportunity to formally learn or go to art school, I always pushed and reached for my own opportunities to teach myself skills and land the internships I wanted. In 2016, I finally landed a dream job at an agency working for clients like NBA, Nike and J.Crew and was creating content that was at the forefront of sports, hip-hop and social media. However, I found myself becoming depressed from the mental hustle that was required to keep up with a fast-moving industry and an environment that was so saturated and influenced by pop culture. I found myself constantly stumbled by the glamour of working in the city and pursuing brand names that I was just proud to put into my portfolio, meanwhile I was slowly losing meaning and purpose in my work. I felt a huge disparity between my life as a believer and the lifestyle propelled by media and internet culture.
In 2018 of January, I was laid off from my dream job because of a budget cut and since then, have had time to reflect on the past several years and really question what I was chasing in my career and why I was chasing it. I realized underneath all the hustle and motivation, I was just chasing my own glory and had lost sight of why God had given me these opportunities, and for what purpose He wanted me to put them to use.
The sermons/talks at Create Collective was so helpful for me in deconstructing my feelings and understanding why my passion for the creative field was burning out. Although I put my identity in creating things, I always depended on my own emotions and expression to inspire me, so that eventually led me to feeling constantly unstable, unmotivated and unenthused. I was reminded by P.Sam that true passion “is consistent and enduring” and how God “honors the process of creating” even if we fail or do it badly. I was affirmed in my identity as a creative, that it isn’t necessarily about what I make or how I’m received by the world. There are also many times I felt misunderstood and lonely in my field, and many times I wanted to give up because I didn’t measure up to industry standards and the numerous talents in the art world. Through Create Collective sermons, I feel empowered to just have the “desire and courage” to keep creating and keep taking risks, and how that is pleasing enough to God. I also found so much joy in meeting and fellowshipping with other creatives and sharing similar stories of endurance.
I haven’t returned to the work force yet, but I feel supported and way more equipped to tackle my creative ruts. I’m currently the media team leader at my church (PEM) and about to pursue dance in hopes of starting a ministry like REACH again. To me, God’s purpose behind these two groups are so apparent and challenge me to think less of myself/my personal brand and strive for community and outreach. I’m still excited to grow as a designer, but my intention of finding work is completely different now. If anything, I want a job that will hone my skills and provide for me so that I can better serve my church and my community with the resources that I gain. I still do think it’s important for creatives to be exposed to and learn from professional corporate environments so I hope to inspire and help young artists land these types of opportunities and gain that experience.
I am excited for the potential Create Collective has in fostering a creative family for people like me who were lost, unmotivated, or simply looking for others to share their creative journey with. Personally, I think it would be great to see projects formed and networks established, and also envision how we can bridge the gap between media culture and Christian art and worship through events or projects. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for this ministry!
Debby K.
I had a severe pain on my right shoulder from a workout. I think it had to do with my rotator cuff. I could barely do a push up. There would be times when I would move my arm in a certain way and it would hurt like crazy. It would go on for about 6 months and I got desperate and went to Healing Room. Got prayed over and the pain went from 6/10 to 2/10, and now I’m back in the gym!
David L.
This past June was the first Pursuit Gathering I had ever attended. I always knew these gatherings were happening nearby, but the danger of familiarity had always deterred me from just trying it out. In my mind, I had this idea of what a worship night was and what was suppose to happen, but I think in God’s sovereignty all I did was show up and I ended up leaving with a change in perspective and a more open heart.
Same Bible, same believers, same God, but I had the privilege of hearing from our speaker, Felippe Borges, on how God has been moving in his life and ministry in ways I didn’t know were possible. He talked about the “greater works” from John 14:12 and his journey in seeing this verse come to life. So many stories of healing that can’t be explained medically, the Spirit moving in the most unlikely of encounters, and miracles that we read about in the Bible coming to life.
Normally at this point, I would just write this off as “too charismatic”, but hearing Felippe continue to speak, I only heard someone who loves God so much more deeply than I do. Taking a look around, I saw people around me who are that much in love with Jesus as well. And in that moment, I realized how much more there was to discover and how familiarity had destroyed my awe and wonder toward God. That God was no longer a mystery at times, but my spirituality had been contained and limited to what I saw, heard, and knew. No longer did I come with expectancy that God could work outside the constructs of my own imagination and yet there was this uncharted sphere of spirituality left inexperienced where God wanted to meet and walk with me!
All this to say that these signs and miracles that Felippe was talking about wasn’t the point, but pointed to something greater. The greatest miracle that could have happened to us. When Felippe shared his experience with witnessing to thousands of people dedicating their lives to Christ and receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, God spoke to him saying, “Felippe, these are greater things”. What can be greater than witnessing the spiritually dead come back to life through the salvific love and grace of Jesus Christ?
This has left me not with obtaining an additional perspective on Scripture or view of God, but a deeper understanding of my relationship with God and my sonship with Him. It’s restored the flame to pursue Him more fiercely as if it was the first time I received Christ into my life. I see people like Felippe and how he loves God so much and I tell myself, “I want that!”
Sure, I’m not there yet and I am in the process, but I am in awe and wonder to what God can do and am excited for the mystery that God has planned for me next. I believe I’ve received something more transformative than behavioral so despite failures or mistakes, I want to keep pursuing, keep asking, keep knocking until I see revival and expect nothing less.
David P.
After ending my long season in Boston, I felt God calling me to come back home to NJ. I felt defeated and discouraged because it felt like I was stepping backwards. Pursuit was my first gathering after officially moving back home. As I was anxious and worried about starting my new season back home, I was reminded that I wasn’t alone. I looked around and saw brothers and sisters earnestly seeking after the Lord and so unashamedly being intimate with God. I was assured that I was not in this fight alone. It was refreshing to be around people who had no other agendas except to give God glory and praise. Pursuit gatherings have been just that – a breath of fresh air. It’s shown me glimpses of what heaven is going to be like where people of all backgrounds will come together to honor the Holy One. I didn’t realize how much I needed that breath of fresh air until that night and it’s making me excited for more.
Cathy J.
I’ve always wanted to attend a Pursuit event but always found an excuse not to go. I would also click “interested” on the events but I always knew I wasn’t going to go. I think it was the March Gathering when I finally decided to go. I asked people around me if they wanted to go and most of them said they would want to go with me, but when the day came, everyone backed out on me. On the way to the church, I contemplated more than a 100 times whether or not I should go. I also tried to think of more people I could invite to go with me… I even tried calling people, but not one person picked up. I thought maybe this was a sign for me not to go. But, I felt God tell me to go by myself. It didn’t make any sense but I obeyed and I went by myself.
I got to the church and I realized I was late, but I kinda wanted to be late so that I could avoid being by myself and being awkward LOL. So I went inside and immediately I felt all my anxiety and fears go away and I was able to worship freely. Service came to an end and I was waiting for one of my sisters, Deborah, to finish talking with people so we could go eat. But, she pushed me to the front and right in front of a pastor. She literally said, “Get prayed over”, and pushed me into the pastor and walked away. The pastor asked me if I had any specific prayer requests and I shook my head “no” because I didn’t want to be prayed for. As she prayed for me, she said that I’ve had a tough journey and it was never easy, but that God was always there with me. She said that I’m almost at the end of the tunnel and she hears God saying just a little bit longer. As she continued to pray for me I felt myself about to fall and to be completely honest I hate falling. I hate being on the floor and feeling awkward cause I feel like half the time I’m like … what do I do now? So I tried to keep myself up, but of course, it didn’t work.
So I fell and my initial reaction was to get up as fast as I can because I didn’t want to be left alone on the floor. But, as I opened my eyes the pastor was right there praying for me. She told me to stay in this place because God wants to speak to me, that God is going to show me something, a memory and He’s gonna make it new. So, being really vulnerable and honest, up until this gathering I struggled with depression. A couple of days before the gathering, I had actually tried to take my own life. It was something that I struggled to share with people because I felt like it made me look weak and it made me look “unfit” to be a leader. I remember sitting in my room thinking, I just want to be with Jesus. I’m tired of being misunderstood, I’m tired of living, and I’m tired of making the same mistakes over and over again. So, I wrote a letter. I wrote a letter and addressed it to the people that I love. I took out all the pills I could find in my room and I lined them up. As I took each pill, I told God, “I’m sorry. Thank You for giving me this opportunity but I can’t do it anymore”. God took me to that place.
He reminded me of the feelings I felt, the things that I said to myself, and He showed me where He was through it all. I heard so clearly of what God thought of me and from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, all I felt was peace and I felt all anxiety go away. God isn’t trying to teach me anything through my depression. God isn’t trying to teach me anything through my anxiety. I always wondered why God didn’t just take it away. If He can do everything, why doesn’t He just take my depression away? I realized in that moment that God didn’t want me to be crippled by this fear, this thing called depression, but He wanted to give me the sword to fight it. I used to think that when I got suicidal thoughts and depression, I just needed to pray to God to take it all away. But God was telling me that I already have everything to fight it, that He has already equipped me to overcome it.
Jena S.
“Revival or bust.”
A mission statement that is big, bold, and beyond the capabilities of any human being but what I realize from the Pursuit group is that this mission statement is being lived out because of their deep hunger to see God glorified in this region.
They have a faith that is contagious and it is because they live in such a way where they don’t go around performing a worship service every month but that they live in the supernatural daily due to their hunger to see God glorified through a lifestyle.
To actively seek for healing and contend for people to know God is a foolish endeavor when you look at it from the worldly perspective but they are in pursuit of it at every opportunity because to see God glorified is not a part time job but a lifelong endeavor of reflecting the love that has been deposited in our hearts. In the past two times we have hosted them, heaven broke out in healing, restoration, and genuine worship of His name. We have only recently started partnering with this ministry but I believe it is God ordained due to the fact that as I am getting older and hopefully wiser, the realization is that revival on historic proportions must have the framework of churches being united to seeing heaven be reality rather than theory. Pursuit is functioning as the glue that will help unite the individual churches so that we can see what God wants in this region and generation.
I believe that this ministry and those like it, are slowly rising up in this region as a representation of a desire to not simply talk about revival, study about revival, but live in revival that endures for generations to come!
P.Mike
I’ve been a pastor and leader at my church for over 5 years now and I have felt very alone. I felt like John the Baptist in the wilderness, alone and preparing myself to serve the Kingdom of God. But Foundry has been a great blessing in my life and ministry. Because it is encouraging to realize that there are other leaders going through the same struggles and able to hear about their own individual journeys is incredibly encouraging. Foundry presents great leaders that give great insight on their ministries and advice on serving God’s kingdom. During one of these lectures, God showed me the glory & the goodness of the process. We often want to be at the end of the finish line and dread the whole journey. But hearing testimonies, God has been revealing that He is not only interested in the finish line but the whole process and journey to the end. As leaders, we are not meant to have a one man show. But we need to run together, creating this sense of community and family. I am very grateful to Pursuit and Foundry because they really do equip leaders and gather us together.
P.Richard