Rabbi/Pastor/Teacher/Mr/Uncle/Grandpa Stephen Hawkins spoke to the church family this past weekend and it is just a taste of what is in store for us at the Family Weekend.
As Ryan and I were reflecting on where God has taken the Lifespring family, one of the major moments of gratefulness was the fact that God has brought amazing people to teach and impart us Kingdom principles that have truly blessed us and carried us to where we are today.
I think of (there are many more as well):
2005: Dennis Ignatius prophesying that we would have fire teams sent all over the world. All while we were still recovering from a church split.
2006: Jean Lim spoke about Kingdom Power and it was at that weekend, personally, where I encountered a miracle in my life.
2009: Michael Puffett spoke on Keys of the Kingdom and he emphasized the importance of being a family. This was before we realized God’s call on Lifespring to be a Kingdom Family: Genuine Love for God, Genuine Care for Others
2010: Clive Pick spoke on Open Heavens which taught us the principle of tithing. Today we see the church finances and blessings of an Open Heaven over the Lifespring Family.
2014/2018: Donna Parachin speaking on Family Relationships and how building the family of Lifespring was the difficult route, but the correct route.
2024/2025: Adrian & Soroush speaking on Refugees & Trauma Care. Helping us discern and reflect on our journey of helping and sponsoring the persecuted church.
God has been so good sending us people to speak and refine the Lifespring family. Every speaker was God appointed at the right time. We had no idea what God was planting, but as we say “yes and amen”, we see the fruit of it sometimes days, but most times years later.
I truly believe that Grandpa Stephen Hawkins is the right person at the right time. He is the speaker of our Family Weekend, for such a time as this. Stephen carries the gift of evangelism, something the Lord has been highlighting as an area of growth in the church family for years. As we Increase Our Faith, I believe God wants to break through in this area. New can be scary, new can be uncomfortable. But so was every Family Weekend I can remember. It was new, it was uncomfortable. But if God is in it, I want to be in it too.
I pray that God would use Grandpa Stephen to not just teach us, but to impart to us his gift of evangelism. That we would see people we know and people we don’t know in heaven one day. The more the merrier.