People who are surrendered and committed to God and His Word can be catalysts for revival in their homes, their cities, and throughout the world.

That was the message of Fresh Encounter 2009, an event that brought renowned authors Henry and Richard Blackaby to San Diego on May 15-16. The conference, hosted by Horizon Christian Fellowship and sponsored by Vision San Diego and a coalition of ministries and pastors, drew 1,000 attendees to hear how personal spiritual awakening is a natural starting point for widespread revival.

The Blackabys were joined by San Diego pastors Mike MacIntosh and Miles McPherson, who led sessions on Staying Strong in Ministry and The Revived Church Reaching the City Together, respectively. Each message called for Christians in San Diego to bend their hearts and minds toward the plans God has for this city.

“God is using Henry and Richard Blackaby around the world to call His people to renew their love relationship with Him, so that they can return to being ‘on mission’ with Him to reach a lost world,“ said Thomas Bush, Vision San Diego Prayer Director and Fresh Encounter event coordinator. “Through this conference, we are trusting God to renew His people, making them agents of revival, available to God to bring revival to our region.”  

When we seek God, He works in us to cultivate “spiritual eyes to see,” said Richard Blackaby. When we wonder why revival isn’t happening, he added, it could say more about us than it does about how God is working.

“Could it be that God’s people aren’t recognizing His activity?” he asked. “Is it possible to see God working and changing lives, and totally miss what’s going on?”

That ability to sense and see where God is working is available to all believers, especially those who know that they are inadequate on their own to transform an individual life, much less an entire city.

“Don’t say, ‘I’m just an ordinary person,’” Richard Blackaby said. “If you are, then you are the substance out of which God usually calls.”
Henry Blackaby echoed his son, encouraging his listeners to make knowing God their top pursuit, so that He has fully surrendered vessels through which to work.

“Out of the overflow of a relationship with God, He makes an assignment that is always God-sized, and it has God-sized potential beyond what we can imagine.”

During the weekend’s final session, Pastor Miles McPherson of The Rock Church, honed his focus to San Diegans, urging pastors and leaders to be fearless in preaching the truth, tireless in praying for revival, and responsive to how God is moving throughout our county.
As San Diego churches work together toward this year’s Faith in Action Xtreme initiative, we trust God will use people who are committed to Him above all else to be catalysts for revival.

For more information on Henry and Richard Blackaby, and other Fresh Encounter events, go to www.blackaby.org. To obtain recorded copies of Fresh Encounter 2009 messages, contact the Horizon Christian Fellowship Bookstore at (858) 244-2944 or bookstore@horizonsd.org.