Thousands of churches across all six inhabited continents declared God’s power from their pulpits on Pentecost weekend—and the testimonies are pouring in.
Pastors commemorated Pentecost 2012 by preaching and teaching on the Holy Spirit and His work among God’s people in a weekend of unity and power—some of them for the first time in the history of their church.
Billy Wilson, executive director for the International Center for Spiritual Renewal and Empowered21 and co-chair of the Empowered21 Global Council, challenged constituents of the Spirit-empowered movement on Pentecost weekend to answer God’s call.
“First Samuel chapter 3 gives an account of Samuel’s calling. Samuel misperceived the call as coming from the priest, Eli. The call continued until finally Samuel answered God’s insistent call to him and became a flaming prophet to his generation,” Wilson says. “God is calling for a new generation to awaken to experience His fire and reach the world in the 21st Century.”
Hundreds of churches participated in Empowered21’s Pentecost Sunday Initiative, which issued a fresh call to new generations encouraging them to embrace the Holy Spirit and experience the power needed for 21st-century evangelism.
“We had great services this weekend,” says Greg Surratt, president of Associated of Related Churches. “It’s the first time we had a full-on celebration of Pentecost Sunday in 24 years of the church’s existence. We started a new tradition!”
Personal testimonies and reports of salvation, miracles, healings, baptisms and persons receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit have been submitted from locations around the globe—Australia to Argentina, Burundi to Brazil, Canada to Costa Rica, Philippines to Puerto Rico, Slovakia to South Africa, the United Kingdom to the United States.
“I was completely humbled and honored to preach on Pentecost Sunday in Gosforth, New South Wales, north of Sydney, Australia,” says Tim Ross, founder of Tim Ross Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas. “Preaching on the Holy Spirit with awareness that millions would be doing the same worldwide created an anticipation that was nearly palpable! Many people were filled with the Holy Spirit for the first time and many believers were refilled—something we need to teach more of.”
You can read more testimony highlights from pastors and lay people who participated in Pentecost Sunday commemorations, along with a daily blog tour from leaders in the Spirit-empowered movement, at pentecostsunday.tv.
