Catch The Fire Raleigh have received an astounding financial donation.

Three and a half years ago, Duncan and I, with our family, left the safety of our incredible lives in Toronto and started Catch The Fire Raleigh in North Carolina from scratch. It has been an amazing adventure of love, a daily invitation by the Holy Spirit to trust Him in the midst of impossibility. Over the past 9 months we’ve seen tremendous blessing. But our landlords recently announced to us that they were selling the building we’ve been leasing since January 2010 and that they had three buyers lined up, wanting to buy it. We only had a few days to let them know if we were interested in buying the building, and they informed us that we would have just three months to close. We had the choice of seeing this as a crisis or as a golden opportunity from our Heavenly Daddy. So we chose to take a risk by entering into negotiation with our Landlords, knowing the Lord had shown us that this is the building he has for us.

We agreed on a purchase price of $1.4 million, down from the $1.6m price they offered us two years ago. We already invested $75,000 into the building, which has been a fantastic resource and ministry center for our local church family, our full time School of Revival, our epic monthly 6 hour Burning Nights, our conferences, our outreach to the poor in Raleigh and a base for the Catch The Fire USA ministry.

We gave them $15,000 earnest money and then went to eight banks to see if we could get a mortgage of at least 75%. All of them except one refused, saying, “no, come back in 10 years.” When one bank finally said yes, the whole team was excited. We felt that the $350,000 deposit was within reach. However, the Lord kept saying to Duncan and I, “Trust me, I’m going to pay the whole amount for you.” Then, as Duncan was preparing to go to Niger for two weeks to feed our Fulani church planters and missionaries who are facing starvation, the bank pulled the plug, telling us they wouldn’t loan us anything after all.

Our team was knocked sideways, feeling it was all over, but the Lord kept inviting us into the realm of impossibility. We’ve realized that this is the place where it’s absolutely necessary for a great miracle. In our weakness Jesus is perfectly strong. Carlos and Catherine Rodriguez, our newly appointed Lead Pastors, were in total agreement that we must press ahead. We knew that as Senior Leaders we could not shrink back. Jesus gave us faith – we were convinced that He was able to pay fully for our building. We went ahead with our vision of ‘One building for Revival’.

Just one day after sending out an appeal letter, Duncan got back from another trip feeding the poor in Niger and a letter arrived at the office addressed to Duncan. His brother Murray, one of our pastors, opened it. A check for $1.2m fell out; Murray went ballistic! The check was made out to our church, and the covering letter was from a charitable giving organization on behalf of an anonymous donor. Murray hurried over to our house and when Duncan saw the check he collapsed on the floor, shouting of praise and worship to our big Champion Jesus! We were astonished when we realized that the check would have been sent long before our appeal letter had even gone out!

Our bank manager has walked the road with us since we arrived in Raleigh 4 years ago. He was totally blown away and could not stop shaking his head over and over again when we showed him the check. We know that this will be a huge door into his heart for his salvation.

Not only does this enable us to buy our building, but it’s a gift of $10,000 a month for the next 15 years because that’s our current lease payment and would have been our mortgage payment. This is a MASSIVE kiss from our Daddy that propels us forward like a huge turbo charger!  Yay Jesus!  All mountains are now lower, the world is so much smaller and Jesus is so much more majestic. He is not confined to the realm of our little lives or the borders of our limited yet best efforts at theology.

When we called John Arnott, he was hugely excited and reminded us of a prophetic word given to him 18 months ago, that the Lord wanted to bless Catch the Fire with an abundance of finances. The man told John that as a sign of this, Catch The Fire would receive three major donations. The first would be for $400,000, the second would be for $1.2 million and the third would be for $22 million! Last year we received a gift of $400,000 in Toronto from someone in the church. Now we have received this gift of $1,200,000! Duncan and I are both very, very excited at the significance of this. Now we are expecting the gift of $22 million that the Lord has promised. It has occurred to us that it would be sin if we didn’t expect it!

Thanks so much everyone to everyone who has stood with us in the past 4 years of church planting. We’re so glad we said yes to His invitation of LOVE to join Him where He alone dwells – impossibility – the place where He truly gets to shine! 

In January this year (2012) Peg and I embarked on a 30 day fast at the direction of the Lord.  The majority of the motivation behind this fast was desperation. For the previous 2 ½ years, we have been through the most trying season of our lives both personally and with the church.  The very core of who we are personally and as a church was challenged and attacked from within. We needed the Father desperately and needed a restoration of our purpose and identity.  Peg extended her fast 1 week longer than mine. It was Saturday evening February 11^th and we were preparing for service the next morning. I had gone to bed early and Peg was still up, crying out to God. She desperately asked God for a fresh outpouring for us personally, for our family and for our church. The Lord manifested Himself in a tangible way that evening and filled her with His presence.

The next morning prior to service, I was reviewing my message and soaking in the Lord’s presence. I began to journal and I asked the Lord what He wanted me to do in service that morning. Here is His response:

I want you to impart my Spirit to my people this morning. I want a direct, clear call for impartation. I have come that they may have life and I am here this morning among you to give you an abundance of my Spirit.  To those willing to receive and take risk this morning will see and understand what I mean. I want this day to be a turning point. Follow My voice and My heart today and you will see a dramatic increase in the activity and power of the Spirit in your midst.  

I became overwhelmed by the presence of God, but expressed my fears to step out in this way.  His response to me:

It is okay, my son…You will feel my Spirit’s presence like you are feeling it right now.  For even this day is a new beginning for you.  I am refreshing you this morning with my Spirit.  You have given me your heart and I am giving you a newness in my Spirit. You will know the time this morning to step out.  It will be clear to you.  Even as you are challenging my people this morning to take risk, I am asking you to risk. You are entering a season of the demonstration of the Spirit’s power.  You are ready.  It’s time.  Do not be afraid. Trust. 

Our service began that morning, and I never had the opportunity to preach. During worship, the joy of the Lord fell on the congregation. Dancing, shouting, joyful praise like we have not experienced in a long time.  After a long time of worship we just began to lay hands on people and God poured out His Spirit with power!

New Life Church has not been the same since that Sunday. We continue to experience His joy and His overwhelming presence every time we gather. The main fruit of this season is growth among young people.  They are on fire for God and each Sunday bring friends to service.  We are seeing young people being restored to the Kingdom of God.  They have begun to meet for 2 1/2 hours after morning service for more worship, prayer, and seeking God’s face!  Father God is ministering to them and restoring their lives and they have become a force for the Kingdom!

Here are just a couple of testimonies:

I was experiencing a low unlike any I’ve felt since my early 20′s. I’d fallen away from my faith as a result of non-stop financial, marital, health, & work issues; plus two car accidents– that allowed me no recovery time. Problems began in November & DID NOT CEASE. I sat in my room staring at the wall, silently letting tears pour. I was so angry with God I’d given up talking to Him. I was like this for more than two months. I finally got myself back to church but I was numb and had NO idea how God was going to fix the mess. Then in a miracle of only the Jesus-kind, someone put their arm around me at church when I had no words to say and no words to pray. The healing began. Not only did the Lord reveal Himself and make Himself tangible for the first time, He took the imbalance of pain and balanced me out. Then He elevated me to a JOY I’d never had. A level of JOY that has ministered to my friends, my family and now my husband, which PROVES His plans for us are good!!! As He allowed me to fall to my emotional rock bottom, He used it to show me what a TRUE walk with Him is like. Now I know how to seek Him through all circumstances, and because of this no difficulty can conquer me. For I serve the Living God who reigns over my heart and life. My depth of relationship with Him is undeniable and His love embraces me, unlike the legalistic past I tried to exist within. Even though I’d never want to re-live the beginning of this winter, I would do it again if it was the catalyst to bring me as close to Jesus as I can celebrate being now. I love New Life Church and all of you for impacting my walk and showing me I could have so much more Jesus. Signed, Emily – living a NEW LIFE.

Healing Testimony

Nearly 10 weeks ago God restored to me my worship to Him in dance. It has been one of the most incredible gifts He has given me to be able to worship Him with my whole being! However, the excruciating pain my knees I started feeling was almost more than I could bear. This continued for weeks. Young adults in both our prayer and worship time and our young women’s home fellowship continued to lay their hands on my knees in faith that God would heal me. I continued to dance regardless of the pain because I knew that God had prepared this time for me to dance in pure joy to Him. This was a clear attack to get me to stop and if it killed me I was going to dance for my King. Then four weeks ago tomorrow something incredible happened. Completely engrossed in His love for almost an entire day, when I say engrossed I mean full on wrapped up in the arms of fiery love, I was completely healed! My knees have no pain. None. I decided that this vessel was going to be His vessel and we stood and believed that God created us to worship. God, always being true to His word and never failing in Love, healed my knees. Now I get to be an even greater crazy worshiper for Him!!!!!!   Aubrey L.