The Ohio Independent Baptist, January 1973

• tio111 a111, To Our Town By Wilson Wahl \ f,tther: ··~t\ cl1ildrcr1 arc grt~w11 tl<)\\ l ,vi ' h I l1,1d ktll)\.Vn l1ct(1rc \\l1at I lc~1r11cd th1. \\eek." \ Sunda)' chool teacher: ~· 1 'vc let tht: tcc11. dt1\\:n in ()Ur church. My life }1a. n't been ,,t1at it hould have l1ec11 l1t:fore tl1 m. The Lord has : pl k.cr1 to n1e about it." deacon: HI have tl1rce children at l10111e that are different this week. The} ha n 't aid much but they are different.. , Thing are different in our church becau e LIFE ACTION can1e to our town. They may have been invited by our church but the whole county knows they were here, because they helped God's people at First Baptist Church of Gallipolis, Ohio meet God's con– dition for revival. Revival came and everyone knew it. ·r11cy saw with their own eyes that Chri t docs bring completeness to one· life. The music, behavior, and 111ode t dress made them realize that II Corinth ians 5 : I 7 is st i 11 truc today. ' 'Therefore if any man be in Chri t, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.'' Teens who had been church members realized that there had never been a real change in their Jives. They came in repentance and gave their hearts to Christ. Now there is a change. 11cl we saw 111iraclcs while LI Fl l'ION was i11 town. Tuc~da, was l41allowccn and the whole tow, was expec ted to attend the annua ~,arade, costun1e judging and othc tcstivities. The high chool bane was to march. By 6:30 that cveni ni the whole event was rained out - cancelled completely. The churcl was packed instead. Friday Even ings in Gallia County are devote< to football and bands. The adult• are devoted fans as much as any one. Yet, on Friday night because of the crowd we had to move to , school auditorium. Pastor Wilson Wahl says abou the preaching and teaching of tht two Evangelists: 'Never in ffi) ministry have I had had in my churc} an evangelist who so clearly under lined and capitalized everything preach and teach myself. No fanc~ new translations or gimmicks, nc new message just the old fashionec gospel working in God's power. Tht invitation held no tricks, just a clea, LIFE ACTION is a group of eighteen college age young people under the direction of Evangelist Del Fehsenfeld, Jr. and his associ– ate Dr. Ed Hindson who are dedi– cated to bring revival to America through fundamental churches. Their ministry has a fantastic ap– peal to teens through the music of the nine LIFE ACTION singers and the pre-session rap times with Del. The ministry, however, is aimed at the whole family. Realiz– ing th at the root of decadence in America lies with the family, a pre– session seminar is conducted for adults with Dr. Ed. At the same time a Dynamic Club is held for children in grades 1-6 under the leadership of a team member Candy Erhard. The Life Action Team At the evangelistic hour everyone converges for a musical concert by the sing~rs prior to the message by Evangelist Fehsenfeld. The ref rcsh-_ ing thing about the inspiring music is the absence of the current rock beat found in so many Christian groups atte1npting to reach teens to– ~ay. The songs are accompanied at times by the pianist and at times by a stereo tape orchestration. Each evening one team member gives his personal testimony. The greatest impact on our church te~ns was brought about by the evidence of complete dedication in the lives of the team members. 10 JANUARY, 1973 Another ministry of LIFE AC– TION must not be overlooked. They have prepared a very profes– sional high school assembly pro– gram with the use of multi-media. Three large screens and six pro– jectors work simultaneously with the Singers and their orchestration ac– companiment to tell the story of the Happy Side of Life in contrast to the Flip Side. The heart of the program aims at the number one problem among teens today suicide. In our county, four schools opened their doors for the program. No invitation was given but spon– taneously h u n d reds of teens thronged the stage afterwards to talk to team members to confess their. sins and find the happy side of life. The resulting conversions were not made in mass. Each one was dealt with from God's Word individually. call for God's people to obey God'~ Word. This was not another Evan· gelistic meeting. The messages were not aimed at the unsaved, but were directed for revival among God'~ people. The result was according to II Chronicles 7: 14 ' 'If my people. which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." It has been a thrill to know that the church that God called me to nine months ago was willing to meet God's conditions for revival. Now, with renewed love for Christ we are trusting God to continue to pour out His blessings on this place. THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST