The final message of the Revelation Speaks Peace meetings was given by Shawn Boonstra at various churches in the Denver area. This series was held throughout January and into February at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver, and some joked they would go through withdrawals after investing so many nights at the meetings.
Decisions for baptism reached 150, with more expected over the next year as people continue to study. “There are as many as 600 interests per church to follow up on,” commented Eric Nelson, RMC vice president for administration and Revelation Speaks Peace RMC coordinator.
DeeAnn Bragaw, prayer ministries coordinator, met with nearly 35 prayer warriors, some of whom arrived each evening 45 minutes before the meetings began to pray over every aspect of the event, walking the venue to pray for the people who would be attending that night, the sound, the speaker, the children’s area, the volunteers, the baptistery, those making decisions and prayer requests turned in through the prayer box.
“We all prayed over each request,” said Bragaw, “and as person after person prayed, the name on the request became precious to us, as if they were members of our own family. Sometimes, we cried over these dear people as we prayed over them. It was a sweet and sacred privilege.”
Follow-up meetings around Denver drew 75 individuals to the Denver South Hispanic Church, 125 to the Chapel Haven Church and 243 to the Denver South Church, where Boonstra again spoke of God’s love for His children.
Commenting on the Denver-metro outreach, Boonstra said, “Seldom have I seen such high levels of conviction. The strong response to the appeal on the final Saturday night took me by surprise, and it’s hard to surprise me.”
Boonstra continued, “Some of the stories developing have moved me deeply. We have seen a lot of church members rediscover that public evangelism is as effective and as powerful as ever.”
Baptisms for 2017 were up considerably from 2016 as a result of Denver-metro area churches focusing on evangelism in preparation for the Revelation Speaks Peace meetings. While baptisms were at 356 in 2016, 423 new members joined through baptism in 2017.
