Spiritually Vital Churches Linger in God’s Presence

As I think back over the years to the most formative and significant moments I have had with the Lord, those moments were marked by waiting and lingering in God‘s presence. I think each of us that have experienced God at work in our lives can probably point to similar moments… soaking in God’s presence in extended times of worship, pressing in at the altar, waiting and listening and longing… and, in doing so, experiencing the life and power of the Holy Spirit.

In this, our centennial year as a district, I’ve had the opportunity to read and reflect on some of our history as a fellowship and, particularly, district. Our story is regularly marked by men and women hungering for more of God and being willing to tarry and linger in God’s presence until God moves and they receive from him. W.E. McCallister, who would become our first district superintendent, held meetings north of Turtleford in the area of Emmaville, where hungry people gathered in a one room schoolhouse to experience God and the power of the Holy Spirit. The schoolyard would be filled with horses tied to all the trees as people arrived from all over the region, seeking the Lord.

In Parkside, the primarily Swedish community would gather for church at 6AM to worship and seek the Lord, meaning the pastor would need to light the furnace at 5AM to ensure the building was warm and ready for those eager to worship. (How many of you would like to be opening your church that early?).

In Winnipeg, A.H. Argue, a businessman and realtor, heard God was moving in Chicago and boarded a train, travelling south and spent 21 days lingering in God‘s presence until he received the baptism of the Spirit. He would later go on to travel and minister all across Canada, leading people to Christ and the baptism of the Spirit.

This is all part of our story, our history, but I pray it is (or will be) also a part of our current reality.

If we are to be spiritually vital churches, where people experience the life and power of the Holy Spirit, we need to be intentional about creating space for God to move and for people to receive.

This may be foreign in some of our contexts, where people are accustomed to an established routine and an expected timeline for dismissal. It may require teaching your worship leaders to linger and “flow” to create space for response. It may push you, as a minister, out of your comfort zone to not rush ahead to the next item on the service schedule but rather encourage and call your people to press in and wait on the Lord. It will take willingness, work, and courage to shape a culture of waiting in our ministries.

Friends, I believe that if we are to be a spiritually vital and renewed fellowship of churches, where people regularly experience the presence and baptism of the Holy Spirit, we must learn to create holy space for God to speak and move. We must let our children and youth witness and experience the presence of God as we model both hunger and response, being willing to turn aside from our set agendas and press in and tarry before the Lord.

In Luke 11, where Jesus teaches us how to pray, also teaches us how to continually ask, seek, and knock God, a good Father, for more of the Holy Spirit. This is God‘s desire for us. That we would be a hungry people willing to seek and wait on Him.

Paul Israelson District Superintendent