I want to be used by the Lord,” is frequently expressed by people when they become new creatures in Christ. This book is the story of how the Lord granted my desire to see a new work begin in an unlikely setting–the cornfields of Iowa.
The support of my wife, Carol and our five children was crucial to the raising up of a new fellowship of believers who now meet at Countryside Bible Chapel in rural Stratford, Iowa.
God always blesses more than we can anticipate. Not only did He establish a new church locally but during the revival He brought salvation to over 450 young people. Many of them have relocated because of careers and marriage but are still going on for the Lord. Many are witnessing and serving the Lord as elders, commended workers and Christian teachers in many states; one is a missionary to Taiwan. Hundreds–perhaps thousands–have come to the Lord Jesus Christ from the witness of those saved during the Stratford Revival.
How the Holy Spirit gave the increase from seven believers to over 150 now meeting in our local assembly is the story of the God Awakening. The following are a few excerpts from the book:
“Andy’s conversion came on November 4, 1970. Carl professed a belief in Christ that night, too. It soon became apparent that their conversions were genuine. Both lost their love for rock music and started to clean up their lifestyles. Andy quit using drugs and doing parties. Carl had trouble breaking the nicotine habit. It took him longer, too, to cut his long hair and give up his hippy clothes but his interest in Eastern religions faded away.
“Andy began to dress more conservatively. And amazingly, the Lord gave him the strength to make a clean break with drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.”
“Other hippies in Booneland were flabbergasted by the change in Carl and Andy. ‘It probably won’t last,’ they figured, but the reality of their conversion began to hit home when Carl and Andy lost interest in rock music and disbanded ‘Road’ (their band)…”
“It was a vulnerable time in their Christian growth, and they both sensed it…’It’s like we’re in limbo,’ Carl said, ‘like we’re caught in the middle of an unchartered path and can’t decide what to do. Go forward on this new adventure or go back to our old life.’
“‘I don’t want to go back. What did it do for us? I’m through with rock music and drugs and wild parties forever,’ Andy said.
“‘Forever?’ Carl queried, almost with a half laugh which Andy ignored. ‘But I agree. We can’t go back, but change is hard.’
“‘Some lifestyle,’ Andy laughed. ‘We were pretty crazy and those flashbacks from acid still bother me. If we could only find someone who understands what it means to be born again. To be forgiven our sins by the blood of Christ. To be saved.’
“‘Sure wish we could find someone who just wanted to talk about salvation and nothing else. Maybe we should pray about it and read the Bible ourselves. Ask God to direct us,’ Andy said. And so they did…”
“In God’s mysterious ways, it turned out in the days that followed, that Carl and Andy had been groomed for a special mission. Their old hippy ways and knowledge of the dark side of life was an asset in winning converts to Christ. Hippies and druggies knew that Andy and Carl were for real, and had been where they were, trapped in the dark side of life. They also knew that Carl and Andy, had been set free of their bondage by a higher power.
“Upon hearing the gospel for the first time, many of their old rock music fans and their hippy and druggie friends in Central lowa said, ‘Carl and Andy, we want that freedom, too. Tell us more.’
“Carol and I would soon be involved with Carl and Andy’s friends, and our home became the battle field where the Holy Spirit was pleased to fight a spiritual war and set the prisoners free. Amazing things were about to happen in the Heartland. The God Awakening was under way in the full power of the Holy Spirit.
“Andy was like a Pied Piper, telling his old party friends that they had to come out and hear this wonderful news. His friends followed him out to our house. We offered them pop and cookies–and God’s Word.
“We discovered that a can of pop to a teenager is a great way to break down the barriers in a crowd, and we kept plenty of pop on hand.
“Andy and Carl were coming out of the hippy life, but many of their friends were still in bondage. These druggie friends wore long, straggly hair and dressed in sloppy clothing. They talked in hippy language, packed our living room and spread out to other rooms. Despite their odd dress and behavior, we opened our hearts and home to them for the love of Christ. There was a great thirst for the Word. It was thrilling to watch the Lord satisfy the spiritual needs of these young people seeking truth.”
“The God Awakening is written in a conversational style; it shows how God can use ordinary people to win souls to Christ; it confirms that when someone is hooked on sin, society can do little to help–but the power of God can ‘set the prisoner free’ from the power of Satan; it tells how Carol and I prayed for nearly four years for a revival; it gives testimonies of those involved in or who witnessed the revival; it gives 18 reasons why we believe the Lord may have chosen to bless the ministry there in rural Iowa. To God be the glory.