Ministry Update: Spring - Summer 2025

 

We are thankful to have been ministering in some different places and events in the past few months.

Canada 🇨🇦 

It was a blessing to get to visit and minister in Canada once again. We ministered at both the South and then the North end of Vancouver Island.

We did a lot of ministry way up on the Northern end of Vancouver Island, which is a gateway to those heading up to Alaska. We were doing some ministry, for the first time for us, amongst the indigenous peoples from the Kwakiutl Tribe at Fort Rupert.

Fort Rupert had the first known inhabitants of the island many thousands of years ago. We were told that they haven’t been that open to Caucasian people, but thanks to friends Lance and Sarah who set things up, we were welcomed, and the Lord gave us favor. 

Grand Chief Dave shared he was hungry for the Holy Spirit to move and that there were those, including in his family, who had become dried out and in need of renewal in their walks with Christ. We were stoked to experience the Holy Spirit moving amongst us powerfully as we ministered, and especially touching, filling and renewing, members from the Grand Chief’s family.

The Grand Chief and his mother, who is 93 years old, both encountered God’s presence in a major way in our first meeting. The Holy Spirit came upon him and his mother in a radical way and they, as well as others, spent a long time on the floor having been inundated under the presence of the Lord. They were there receiving and being filled with the living water which was renewing their hearts! His niece got powerfully filled in the next meeting we were doing and shared afterwards how she had been feeling so dry and really needed this touch from God as the tears were streaming down her face.

Then later I had a divine appointment when we were on the reserve visiting and helping out with some things. I felt the Holy Spirit’s leading that there was someone that needed ministering to. I ran into the niece whom we had prayed for the night before and began talking with her. 

She began to explain how her mother was so in need of ministry and renewal and while talking in the community kitchen, her mother unexpectedly showed up. We shared that we had just been talking about her and said we would like to pray for her. I went and got Mercedes and brought her over and we began to pray for her right there in the kitchen and the power of God came down on her in a very radical way and she began to weep heavily with many tears as God’s presence touched her deeply, then later the Lord began to fill her with joy, and she began to laugh and have burdens lifted off of her. It was a very powerful divine appointment. 

I was also able to share and witness and plant some seeds with others around the reserve and the surrounding area. It was also interesting to hear some stories Grand Chief shared of missionaries in the early 20th century—not too long ago really—who worked to translate the Bible into their Kwakiutl language!

We also ministered in Port Hardy later at The Bridge Christian Fellowship with Pastor George and his wife Karen, which is not too far from Fort Rupert. We were stoked to experience the Lord’s renewing presence filling, and empowering, and bringing healing, and had a few people rededicate their lives to Christ as well. The Holy Spirit moved powerfully amongst us the whole time with a radiant renewing presence that was so refreshing and just releasing healing and new life. Was also stoked to be part of the worship team in both situations in both Fort Rupert and Port Hardy, as well as leading some worship too earlier down in Victoria at a home meeting.

We were in the South of the island as well, ministering in the Victoria area. We were speaking at The House of Shiloh about the “Mothers Day Holy Spirit Outpouring” which took place back when Lonnie Frisbee (Jesus Revolution movie) ministered back at the then Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda, which was later to become the Anaheim Vineyard. 

We were stoked to have the Holy Spirit‘s presence moving amongst us and release “healing, deliverance, strength, and power”—as one friend put it who was at the meetings—as we ministered together at the House of Shiloh. So many were ministered to and touched and renewed and a few people experienced the Baptism and Empowering of the Holy Spirit for the first time in their lives at this service, including a young man who was very powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit to overflowing. 

We also did some other home meetings during the week where we led worship as well as experienced the Holy Spirit pouring out healing and freedom.

The Mother’s Day Outpouring was actually connected to the Jesus People Revival since Lonnie Frisbee was one of the principal evangelists of the Jesus People Revival. It has come to be understood as a historic outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Fuller Seminary Professor Peter Wagner called it an integral part of the “Third Wave Revival”—meaning there were 3 main outpourings in the 20th century that had an emphasis on the Baptism/Empowering of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5): The Pentecostal Revival, The Charismatic Renewal, and The Third Wave Revival. (There is a list at the end of this newsletter, including a new video we've done as well on those 20th Century Outpourings.)

We also had a couple of other divine appointments along the way in Canada with some people we met: One was with a Filipino guy we met that we witnessed to and prayed for! Another guy lost some cold-weather gloves that we found and caught up to him and shared that the Lord was watching over him and sent us to him to give him that message…he was very touched! PTL!

We also got a nice little break in along the coast in between things where Mercedes and I were able to get in some Canadian surfing and hiking etc. in the beautiful natural surroundings, as well as enjoying a little time in the Columbia Icefields area when we arrived in the country.

 

California Dreamin’ Conference 

We had some blessed meetings we spoke and ministered at in Costa Mesa at the “California Dreamin’“ conference, held at the original church where Lonnie Frisbee began to minister with Chuck Smith in the inception of the Jesus People Revival, as featured in the “Jesus Revolution” movie.

Mercedes and I were blessed to share about the significant revivals of the 20th century and how they were connected to California, including as we just referenced, the Pentecostal Revival, the Charismatic Renewal, and the Third Wave Revival. 

 

Salinas 

We had a blessed time ministering together as well as hanging out with our friend David Estrella at the Vineyard in Salinas with Pastor Dave and his wife Renee where we shared about the move of the Holy Spirit in different aspects of history, as well as the filling of the Holy Spirit Dave experienced when Mercedes and I ministered at Surfing the Nations (STN) in Hawaii some years ago. It was when we were ministering there at STN that David got filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit for the first time in his life after having grown up and gone to church his whole life.

The Holy Spirit moved amongst us as we ministered at the Vineyard and poured out His loving and healing presence over those who were there, including a young lady who wasn’t even gonna come to the meeting that night, but just showed up at the last moment because of a stress issue and got radically touched by the Lord!

We also got to enjoy taking a little time to enjoy some of the area and do some fun things in that scenic region. 

 

Orange and Dana Point

 

We were blessed to minister in the Orange area at Centro Cristiano Esperanza where we experienced the Holy Spirit filling many of the young people including touching some very young teenagers. 

We also joined Patrick and Emily as they led worship at OC Rock Church in South Orange County. We were the support team in the worship and praying for people, as they both taught from the Bible at that service.

We also shared about the Jesus People Revival and the real St. Patrick on a Zoom meeting recently as well. We also have a new video about a “Holy Ghost Ski Story” that involves ministry we were led to by the Holy Spirit that involved us sharing about the real St. Patrick on St. Patrick’s day as a way to share the Gospel We have continued ministering as well in other places and in other venues including some blessed meetings in San Diego we just did that our friend Lauren set up which had some blessed worship we all did together and some breakthroughs for those we prayed for! 

 

Anniversary 

We are thankful to be celebrating 33 years of marriage this summer, and we were stoked to finally get a chance to get a little time up in the mountains together to take time to celebrate that important milestone. We praise God for His grace, mercy, and are so grateful for the Holy Spirit’s presence that has blessed us and carried us through all these years.

 

We are so grateful for your ongoing prayers and support!

God Bless!

Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux

New videos on YouTube which can be found on the Grace World Mission page:

www.youtube.com/graceworldmission

• Wind Wind…music video and brief teaching on the Holy Spirit
• Holy Ghost Ski Stories…sharing about some traveling divine appointments
• Light of the Lighthouse…music video with pictures from our recent Canada mission trip
• NEW VIDEO and ARTICLE: 20th Century Outpourings of the Holy Spirit and the Healing of Cultural Divides

 

Other videos mentioned in newsletter which can be found on the Grace World Mission page: www.youtube.com/graceworldmission

• Testimony of Dave Estrella getting filled with the Holy Spirit when we were ministering at STN
• Video on Lonnie and his impact on Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard
• Video Interview about Lonnie Frisbee

Articles mentioned in newsletter:

• Mother’s Day Outpouring article: gwmgracenotes.blogspot.com/2020/05/40th-anniversary-of-mothers-day.html
• Lonnie Frisbee and the Jesus People Revival, (article was published by an international renewal publication, has since been expanded): www.graceworldmission.org/Jesus_ppl_revival.html

Happy Easter: He Is Risen!

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/lnRtYkUfdaI?si=lntFiJFMIHwZQ-7s

Praise God! Jesus died on the cross and rose again victorious over sin and death! "God credits righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:23-25 NIV) He died to give us eternal life through simply believing upon Him as our Savior and Lord and He also gives us his Holy Spirit freely! 

Road Adventures: Signs, Wonders and Resurrection

We were venturing out on the road recently, and just headed out seeking to be led by the Holy Spirit. We knew that the Lord had something He was leading us to… but we weren’t sure what yet. On the way, after being on the road for a bit and stopping for some adventures, with nothing set up, the Lord suddenly opened the door to minister in Colorado, which we responded with: “Well, we are in range to make it over there so we will be there!”

 

We had a powerful move of the Holy Spirit in Colorado Springs at Iglesia Arbol de Vida on Missionary Sunday which we just happened to be there on that date—where we shared about some historical missionaries and we also had a bunch of teenagers, as well as others, getting filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit! Then in Denver at the YWAM Base, we shared about some of our own missionary adventures and prayed over those getting ready to depart on a mission trip themselves, all of it planned by the Holy Spirit…we just had to follow the Lord’s plan as it unfolded!

 

One of the adventures we felt led to take on the way was to go through Death Valley.

 

Death Valley Days

 

Death Valley is the lowest point in North America, as well as having the hottest recorded temperature on earth, and as we went through, we came upon an unusual phenomenon there at a place called Badwater Basin: This ancient dry basin, once a lake in ages past, was presently filled with water!

 

As we pondered this highly unusual phenomenon, the Holy Spirit fell on me with this verse: “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19) And the Literal International Translation for this same verse reads: “Behold, I am doing a new thing, now it springs up, Do you not know it? Indeed, I put a way in a wilderness, In a desolate place—floods.”

 

Badwater Basin filled with water!

The reason behind this unusual occurrence was due to another rare event that took place some months back: when the first tropical storm to land in Southern California in 84 years, the remnants of Hurricane Hilary—originally a category 4 Hurricane—came ashore in Southern California. After dumping a truckload of rain in Southern California, the tropical storm blew out into the desert and stalled over Death Valley, dumping a whole year’s worth of rain in just one day. Death Valley was heavily flooded, and many parts experienced a lot of damage, causing it to be closed for repairs for months afterward, the longest closure in its history.

 

It was wild to see such a dry desert place like Badwater filled with all that water! In fact, we have visited here together a number of times over the years, and it has always been 100 percent bone dry… never even so much as a drop in it…it was so surreal to see it full of water! We felt it was a sign from the Lord of what His plans are to come, for His word declares:

 

“This is what God says will happen in the last days:I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.Your young men will see visions.Your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women,I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth below…  And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 2:16-21

 

We were blessed to be friends as well as be mentored by two people who were used to reach unlikely groups that many saw as resistant: one was Harald Bredesen who led many people, such as mainline believers who had formerly rejected and resisted the work of the Holy Spirit, into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as well as lead many people to Christ. The other one was Lonnie Frisbee, who was also used by God to reach an unlikely group, far-out hippies, who most of society, as well as the body of Christ, had written off, and he led them into salvation and the filling of the Holy Spirit as well. 

 

The Water of Life

 

There is an implication in the above-mentioned verse from Acts 2:16-21 that as the days become more last, we shall see more of the work of the Holy Spirit! Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as living water, we cannot live without water in the natural, and we need the living water in our spiritual lives as well.

 

When Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again, He made the way for our salvation, as well as for His Spirit to be in and with us. His disciples were indwelt with the Holy Spirit (John 20:22) right after His resurrection, and all who receive Christ are also automatically indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6:19). Even though His disciples were indwelt, they also needed the empowering of the Holy Spirit. This took place on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out in power.

 

Billy Graham, one of America's greatest evangelists, said we need to understand that Paul made a command in Ephesians 5:17 that we are to seek to be regularly filled with the Holy Spirit, on an ongoing basis. The Reformer Martin Luther also said: “You need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit for the rest of your life, on an ongoing basis, lest we fall back to the world and unbelief.” We need to be like the wise virgins who kept their lamps full of oil and burning. Christ holds out an open offer to freely receive of His Spirit, all we have to do is ask.

 

The Cross Has Made the Way

 

Jesus went to the cross and paid the price for our redemption, a price I could not pay, one you could not pay, He paid it once for all! He also gives the Holy Spirit freely just as he gives salvation freely. There is, however, a barrier that must be overcome in the human mind and human way of thinking. Everything has to be paid for in this fallen world: you have to pay for gasoline, you gotta pay for your car, gotta pay your bills, gotta pay this and that and the other thing, pay pay pay pay! However, God gives us salvation and His blessings freely. 

 

This is thus something that is antithetical to the human mind and thus the word of God must be dwelt upon to let the Holy Spirit bring revelation so we can grasp this truth. Human teaching that does not line up with the Word of God and His grace only muddies the water and makes it difficult for people to receive. Trying to earn His blessings often becomes a barrier to being able to freely receive.

 

No matter how good a life one might live, nor how many good works one might do, no matter how much one may fast, or pray, or seek to do good works… it can never be sufficient in itself nor supersede the work Christ has already done for us. There is only one sacrifice that is sufficient, and Jesus made it for us when He, as God's spotless, unblemished, lamb of God, who was without sin or stain, laid his life down freely for us on the cross, to redeem us. Jesus went to the cross and died for us because we cannot do it for ourselves; we cannot pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps or be good enough, and we can never do enough good works. We are sinners who need a redeemer and redemption. 

 

Praise God Jesus is the redeemer who wrought that redemption on the cross, and through simple faith in Him alone He freely gives us that redemption, as well as by that same grace gives us His blessings.

 

The Bible says: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things.” Romans 8:32. God, in offering up His own Son as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, has already given us the best. Thus, by that same grace, He will give us His blessings when we ask in faith and humbly rely on His grace.

 

Understanding Christ’s Payment and Redemption 

 

Paul in his most systematic and comprehensive epistle, lays out clearly in Romans 3:21 – 25 Christ’s payment for us:

 

“But now, completely apart from the law, a righteousness from God has been made known. The Law and the Prophets testify to it.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all who believe. In fact, there is no difference,  because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God but are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

 

Righteousness only comes through faith in Jesus Christ. 

The Bible says righteousness is credited to us when we believe upon and receive Christ. We cannot create a righteousness of our own to recommend ourselves to God as justification. 

God justifies us Himself through the sacrifice of His son on the cross and through faith in that sacrifice and receiving it by grace. Jesus offered himself up as God's once for all sacrifice for our sins on the cross.

 

It is apart from the law: Paul uses the law and works often interchangeably, and is saying no attempts to keep the law on your own, nor seeking to be without sin on one’s own terms, can ever suffice, we must look to Christ alone as our redemption.

 

Paul goes on to say “all have sinned” and as he states earlier in Romans 3:10: “There is no one righteous, no not even one.”  One cannot make themselves righteous through their works, law-keeping, prayers or fasting. All have sinned therefore they must find redemption outside of themselves. As Paul, a man who was a Pharisee and religious person, yet whose heart was dark, realized when he encountered Christ: all his religious works and religiosity were a pile of dung and worthless (Philippians 3:1-9).

 

Paul is emphatic in his teaching: “It is by grace we are saved, through faith, it is the gift of God, not by our works, so no one can boast!” Ephesians 2:8-10

 

It is by grace, and grace alone, meaning unmerited favor is given us through faith, thus it is not by our works, not by our striving, nor our good lives, but by God’s grace through Christ’s redemption are we saved and by that alone. We are called to do good works of course as believers, but those good works do not merit salvation, they should be a result of knowing and walking with the Lord and being led by His Spirit.

 

The Subtle Deception of Familiarity 

 

Some will no doubt say: Well, I'm familiar with all this, this is nothing new. And in their zeal to find some fringe new secret revelation, they go off into the weeds and soon they don't see the forest for the trees. As Luther declared: We can never know, understand, teach enough, preach enough, on this great truth of Christ’s great redemption for us. Its depths can never be fully mined. 

 

We must therefore as the Scripture says: Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And let his Word and his Spirit continually open our eyes more clearly unto the magnificence of all He has done for us through His death and resurrection.

 

The Holy Spirit and God’s Peace

 

Romans 5 says: Now that we understand this justification that comes by faith through grace, we have peace with God. Though we may have trials, tribulations, difficulties and spiritual warfare in this life, we must understand that we have a relationship with God that is solid, secure, and nothing can separate us if we are in Christ. 

 

Peace with God is the longing of every human heart: Though people may not understand it, it is what they are longing for, it is what the heart seeks. Praise God, we have it through Jesus Christ, who paid the full price when He died on the cross for us and rose again to give us life. Not only that, but Romans 5 goes on to say that He gives us the Holy Spirit, and it is in the infinitive form when he says “gives” meaning He has, He does, He will! We need to learn to live in and walk in the Spirit. The Scripture declares that the Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing.

 

Times of Refreshing

 

There are epochs in history where the Holy Spirit is poured out corporately in great measure. Personally you can always have as much as you want,  all you need to do is ask and believe and receive: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13) In these corporate outpourings, however, there is typically a heightened understanding of the great redemption of Christ, His work on the cross, and the righteousness that comes by faith. This is something that has been altogether missing in many modern attempts people have had to whip up a revival on their own.

 

The Reformation was a return to a focus on Christ and his work on the cross for us and His grace given freely to all who believe: A return to the righteousness that comes FROM God and is by grace! This became the foundation for the revivals that followed in its wake: in England, in the early American colonies, and on and on!

 

George Whitfield, known as the Grand Itinerant, who was one of the main leaders of the mass revival in the early American Colonies known as the Great Awakening, regularly preached on: “The righteousness that comes from God.” As Nathan Hale came into a meeting Whitfield was about to preach in, he walked into the Holy Spirit’s atmosphere and was touched by the presence of God and a word came to him: “Are you trying to create a righteousness of your own by your own works?” He was convicted and surrendered his life to Christ and was born again on the spot without a word even having been preached yet.

 

We are told that the Lord will bring times of refreshing. We thus must turn and fix our eyes on Jesus who did it all for us on the cross. It is Him, Jesus Christ, whom we are to glorify and lift up, Christ whom we exalt! 

 

As we celebrate Easter, let us fix our eyes on Jesus and receive freely the abundance of his Spirit, letting Him pour out on us, bringing refreshing, renewal, and filling every dry empty place in our hearts and making them full! Hallelujah, He is Risen!

Connect to Grace World Mission: https://linktr.ee/graceworldmission

Ministry Update: Lonnie Frisbee and the Jesus People Revival as well as 2022 In Review

Lonnie Frisbee has been in the news recently with the release of The Jesus Revolution movie. We’ve updated and revised an article we did on him. Our ole buddy John Ruttkay said: “This is one of the best articles on Lonnie and the Jesus People Revival I’ve ever read.” Check it out! 

Lonnie Frisbee and the Jesus People Revival: 

.pdf version of article

https://www.graceworldmission.org/Jesus_ppl_revival.html

With all that has been going on with the release of the movie The Jesus Revolution we got a little delayed with our online version of our 2022 Year in Review, so have a look at that as well!

Year in Review – 2022

We were blessed to minister in various places this last year as things began opening up more after the last few crazy years with so much being shut down. 

Amongst the highlights were some places we haven’t traveled to, nor ministered at in a while, like: Colorado Springs, Colorado. We were blessed to visit with some old friends that we had not seen in a few years as well as minister at their church. We experienced an awesome visitation of the Lord’s presence that was just phenomenal and many of us ended up overwhelmed and floored by the amazing grace and presence of the Lord! 

 

We had similar experiences up in Salinas in Northern California where we caught up with old friends as we ministered at the Vineyard up there with our friend Dave who we connected with years back when he prayed for him, and he got filled with the Holy Spirit. We experienced a powerful outpouring in Salinas that carried on until late in the evening as the Holy Spirit touched most of those who had come to the service. 

We were blessed to get back up to Canada after a few years of not being up that way, after they finally opened up their border. We ministered in some different places throughout Vancouver Island including various places in the city of Victoria, as well as in the towns of Port Alberni and Port Hardy—where we experienced a visitation that overwhelmed the whole church and flooded the place with the Lord’s presence so powerfully that nobody could even hardly move! It was a blessing to see the Holy Spirit ministering in power and filling, healing and setting people free, in each service as well as a having few people receive Christ along the way, including a First Nations lady who got saved and delivered in a powerful way! 

We were also thankful to get up to Mammoth Mountain in the California Sierras, where we ministered at the church in town up there after a series of divine leadings and encounters connected to another meeting down on the coast where we led worship when our friend Lauren was visiting. Lauren’s friend, whose house we had been ministering at down on the coast happened to be up in Mammoth and came to the meeting and got powerfully ministered to, along with a few others there too, it was a blessed time! 

We also had some powerful ministry in various places in Orange County including when we ministered at Centro Cristiano Esperanza and experienced the Lord’s presence in an awesome way with so many at the congregation receiving from the Lord in an amazing way, as well as a few who received Christ and others who rededicated their lives to the Lord. We were blessed to have our son Patrick and his girlfriend Emily, as well as our friend Dave, help pray for people, which led to many getting ministered to. Later on at lunch that day, we prayed for the pastor’s granddaughter who got powerfully touched at a restaurant! 

We had other powerful ministry in various places as well: We ministered in Los Angeles at an old friend’s church where some people received Christ and many got filled with the Holy Spirit as we ministered, as well as in other places in Orange County, which included sharing about The Jesus People Revival at Chuck Smith’s original church in OC, and other ministry along the southern border, where we continued experiencing the Kingdom of God in power each step along the way. 

On the Home Front 

We were blessed to be able to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in 2022 and thank the Lord for His grace to us over the years. We took some time up in Canada, aside from ministering up there, to travel out to Jasper National Park and the Columbia Icefields which was a refreshing time together! 

Our son Patrick got engaged to be married and we are happy to have had the Lord connect him to Emily, a Spirit-filled young lady from a missionary family! 

My (Bryan) stepfather passed away, who was in his 90’s. We were thankful to be able to minister to others in the family along the way in the final days of his illness, as well as conduct the memorial where we shared the Gospel. Along the way, we led a relative in prayer to receive Christ, and prayed for others as well, including my mom who we led to Christ a few years ago. We had some spiritual warfare in the midst of it all and got hit by a distracted driver on his cell phone right after doing the memorial. The insurance is looking to total our car—you don’t get a lot for a 17-year-old vehicle—which is our main car. So we appreciate your prayers and any contribution the Lord may lay on your heart for this need! 

We thank the Lord for each and every one of you and always really appreciate all your prayers and support. 

Blessings to you in Jesus’ Name! 

Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux

https://linktr.ee/graceworldmission

Ministry Update: Fall/Winter 2021

Praise God! Jesus said: “I have come that they may have life and that more abundantly.” John 10:10. We are thankful for the life eternal and abundant Christ has given us and that He gives us opportunity to share it with others.

 

We have been ministering down in the Southern border region recently, where we preached at a meeting at Iglesia Antioquia which is a church where we have old friends and one that we have been connected to for many years. In fact, in the past we spent 7 years there teaching and preaching and helping out on a monthly basis. We preached on how Christ has paid the full price for our sins on the cross, as well as the righteousness that He credits to us by faith along with the grace we are given in Christ. As we prayed over the congregation the power of the Holy Spirit filled and renewed those we prayed for, giving a deeper revelation and understanding of Christ’s sacrifice for us. It is amazing how the Holy Spirit brings a deepening of the revelation of the cross, and it is always refreshing when His presence moves among us.

 

We got to share some Holy Ghost Stories as well as some Revival History and perform some Worship and Revival Songs together on The Art of Worship podcast with Cheryl Deborah Thomas on the Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network in OC, which appears on numerous platforms, channels, and formats. It was a blessed time of sharing together on a couple of different programs with Mercedes, Cheryl, and myself, as we spoke and sang. 

 

As we approached the 504^th anniversary of the Reformation at the end of October, we also shared on a Zoom prayer meeting, telling about Martin Luther and how the grace of Christ touched his life in such a deep way that it eventually reverberated out through Europe and then to other nations. This year is also the 410^th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. We share about the connection between the Reformation and the King James publication in our latest video and blog which you can check out here: https://youtu.be/SVny9ov569E

 

We have also shared at Calvary Chapel in San Clemente a couple of times recently on the work and power of the Holy Spirit, in and for evangelism, and the need for the Holy Spirit to empower us to reach people with the Gospel, something the Jesus People Revival was all about. We prayed for the group of people there at the end of one of the meetings. The Lord gave me a word as we were praying for people and the Holy Spirit then fell in power as I shared it! A young woman got touched powerfully and began crying as I shared the word and the Spirit filled her and then others started getting touched and filled with the Holy Spirit, in the end everyone there got touched and ministered to, hallelujah!!

 

Outreaches 

 

We also joined up with that particular young lady who got touched at CCSC and we prayed for, going out on the weekend to do an outreach at the beach in South OC. We shared the Gospel and planted seeds with many others, as well as prayed for different people on the beach. This included a Hispanic woman who we had a divine appointment with who was deeply touched when we prayed for her right there on the beach and who then wrote us a very nice note afterwards sharing how deeply ministered to she was! We also ministered to a young Marine. I was able to share with him and also counsel and pray for him to help him move forward in his walk with God.

 

In fact, we have been participating in some other outreaches along the Coast in different areas recently as well. 

 

One of the other outreaches was down in San Diego, where we had a divine appointment with a woman we met and prayed for who got ministered to powerfully, as well as running into an old friend. We joined together and prayed for these guys and ministered to them, which included our son Patrick who was at the outreach too with a friend. The Holy Spirit swept in and fell in power, knocking a number of those we were praying with to the ground, and deeply and powerfully impacted them with Christ’s love, power, and glory, hallelujah!

 

We shared about Lonnie Frisbee and the Jesus People Revival at an outreach at Pirate’s Cove in Corona Del Mar, telling about the large baptisms that used to take place there. Lonnie was used to lead others not only water baptism, but also the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We also shared and prayed for numerous people there who we met and who were impacted by the Holy Spirit when we ministered to them!

 

More Divine Appointments…

 

We also had a divine appointment with a Hispanic lady at a coffee shop. The Lord gave me a word for her about her needing prayer when I talked with her. 

 

She asked us to wait a few minutes until she was done working to pray for her. In the meantime, a lot of spiritual warfare started happening when the manager, out of the blue, started acting rude and hostile to us. We knew it was spiritual warfare and just ignored it. We waited until she was finished, and then and then began to pray for her with some friends, who we have been ministering together with at their house church,and the Lord touched her very, very powerfully. She was a believer going through many trials and the Lord ministered to her deeply, with many tears coming down as the Holy Spirit filled her up! Glory Hallelujah!!

The Lord has been leading us into many other divine appointments as well. 

 

We went up the Northern Coast of the Pacific for a family wedding where Mercedes’ nephew was getting married. On the way up, we stopped to camp along the coast, where we encountered some hippie guys who lived there at the camp, and we ended up spending some time sharing the Gospel with them and planting the seeds of the Kingdom of God in their hearts. 

 

It is important to note that a significant part of the evangelistic process is planting seeds. A person who we led to the Lord recently had someone else sowing the seeds of the Kingdom in their life, which we got to harvest in leading them to Christ. As Jesus said: ‘One sows the seed, and another reaps the harvest…’ John 4:37.

 

We also had some divine appointments at the wedding. I met a well-known Christian author who I connected with and prayed for, and he began sharing some of his own private Holy Spirit encounter stories with me when he found out I was Spirt-filled, which led him to open up to me (he is not publicly known as Charismatic but has been having some Charismatic experiences). We also prayed for one of the cooks there at the wedding as well as witnessing to some other people we met while having a few adventures along the way!

 

We also had a Holy Ghost rendezvous on the way home with our old friend Dave from up north. We met together up north while we were traveling and experienced some refreshing waves of living water as we shared and prayed together. 

We have also been ministering in some small group settings where we have experienced the Lord ministering powerfully in healing and mercy by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

 

We thank you so much for your prayers and support which helps keep us out there ministering the Kingdom of God and the love of Christ to others. 

Blessings to you!

Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux

Ministry Update: Winter 2021

We recently ministered with Centro Cristiano Esperanza in Orange County sharing a message of hope on the grace given to us through faith in Christ and His power that is available for our lives today. It was a blessed time and the presence of the Holy Spirit was very refreshing. 

We also just had a divine appointment recently when we were driving home and it was getting late, so we stopped at a motel for the night. When leaving the next morning, I forgot something in the room and had to go back. A male service worker had already begun taking care of the room. I started talking for a few minutes and as we spoke I felt led to ask if he needed prayer for anything. It turned out his good friend had just died and had the funeral coming up the next day and so he would actually really appreciate some prayer! He went on to say that he had been a believer for some years but had some ups and downs and his friend passing away had really shook him up. I spoke to him about God’s mercy and love and then prayed for him and he was clearly ministered to in a significant way. He shared afterwards that he was greatly encouraged by this divine appointment and thanked me for stepping out in faith to ask if he needed prayer! Hallelujah! 

Reflections 

 

As we have entered fully into the new decade, it causes us to reflect on the grace that the Lord has blessed us with to be able to minister in different places around the world over the last few decades, including: Latvia, Romania, Kosovo, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, England, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Argentina, Ghana, West Africa, and in the US: all over California, as well as in Arizona, Oregon, Montana, Colorado and Hawaii.

We are thankful for God’s grace to minister through us and have been blessed to experience many receive Christ, get filled with the Holy Spirit, and receive healing and deliverance. It is a blessing to see lives impacted by the Kingdom of God in these different places as we have ministered over the years. We are thankful for the different divine appointments we have experienced along the way as well. 

 

Books We’ve Been Published In 

 

We have also been blessed to have some Holy Ghost Stories published in some different books over the years, including: 

• Stories From the Front Lines: Power Evangelism In Today’s World by Jane Rumph. Tells about some Holy Ghost healing stories and wild divine appointments we have had in Mexico. 

• Signs and Wonders in America Today by Jane Rumph. Miracles taking place while we are ministering in the Bay Area. 

• Divine Intervention: True Stories of Heaven Invading Earth by Julia Loren. A radical Holy Ghost surfing miracle and divine appointment on the coast of Israel. 

• Kernels of Hope: Real People, Real Stories by Bob and Gail Kaku. The divine appointment sequel to the Israel story but this Holy Ghost surfing miracle is on the Coast of Spain where a divine appointment took place with some guys who just turned out to be friends of the surfer from Israel! 

• Not By Might Nor By Power: The Great Commission (Book Two) by Lonnie Frisbee with Roger Sachs. Shares about Lonnie’s influence on us as well as a story of Bryan getting filled with the Holy Spirit. 

• Not By Might Nor By Power: Set Free (Book Three) by Lonnie Frisbee with Roger Sachs. Shares stories from a mission trip to Colorado with Lonnie (interestingly enough, much spiritual warfare was experienced in the Colorado trips mentioned) and a wild encounter while hiking in Tahquitz Canyon in Palm Springs, amongst some other things. 

If you’re interested in one of the books we’ll get you a copy for a donation of whatever you can afford—typical suggested donation is $15 per book. These are also all available at Amazon.com. 

Audio and Video Programs 

We have also been able to create a host of different audio and video programs that are available on different formats and platforms. They have covered lots of different topics, including those from Christian History such as the Reformation to Revivals to Biographies on Revivalists and Reformers as well as Divine Appointment Stories and Mission Adventures and many other topics. 

The programs on historical Christian figures are amongst our more popular topics on different sites. I see now more than ever the dire need for programs like ours that tell the history that has largely been ignored by secular institutions. Moreover, our programs do it from a uniquely Spirit-filled perspective which is something that is greatly lacking in this arena. For example, our recent program we put out on Charles Finney talked about his powerful Baptism in the Holy Spirit, others who’ve done programs on Finney have omitted this important aspect of his life and ministry, not even mentioning it at all. 

Here is an endorsement of our ministry (link: https://youtu.be/TYtTLR5K_pY) from a historical figure himself, Harald Bredesen, one of the fathers of the Charismatic Renewal, and some of what he had to say in his endorsement of our ministry: 

Of all the ministries I’ve worked with, there is none that I have the greatest confidence in the purity of the motivation and the fact that it was the Holy Spirit who gave birth to it than Grace World Mission, led by its founders, Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux...I’ve seen the sacrifice; I’ve seen the zeal; I’ve seen the Spirit-ledness…and I am so happy to be a part of it—I hope you will be and will support it as well... I’m sure He’ll bless you for it.  

We greatly appreciate your prayers and support! 

God bless! 

Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux

40th Anniversary of the Mother’s Day Outpouring

Introduction

Worship service at Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda
held at the Canyon High School gym.

Although I have written other pieces on this topic, this one has a little more background on some of the events surrounding and leading up to my own experience with being filled with the Holy Spirit, which took place at what was called then Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda. Some of what happened with me is covered in Roger Sachs’ recent books on Lonnie Frisbee. I am giving a little more in-depth personal account from my own perspective:

The Mother’s Day Outpouring of the Holy Spirit that took place when Lonnie Frisbee shared his testimony and ministered at Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda, turned into a full-blown revival.

Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda, which held its services in the Canyon High School gymnasium in Yorba Linda, was pastored by John Wimber. It was some years later when it changed its name to Anaheim Vineyard. Wimber had invited Lonnie Frisbee to share his testimony, which turned out to be on Mother’s Day. Lonnie had been one of the main early evangelists in the Jesus People Revival and he preached regularly at evangelistic services held at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa for years, where many people were saved, and back in the day, also often included people being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Sometime along Lonnie’s second stint at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, he met and connected with John Wimber. Lonnie had left some time ago to Florida to try and mend his marriage, and then came back later and was on staff again at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa for a second time. Wimber and Frisbee met at a Calvary Chapel conference in Lake Arrowhead and he later invited Lonnie to share his testimony at Calvary Chapel church in Yorba Linda.

Mother’s Day

Lonnie shared his humorous testimony laden with stories of the Jesus People days and anecdotes of himself learning to operate in the Holy Spirit. This included some of his missteps like trying to heal a guy with a neck brace in a restaurant bathroom who ran out screaming, as well as how he had a deerskin cape with a picture of Jesus on it that he would throw on top of people when they got slain in the Spirit. When he finished, he invited the Holy Spirit to come and a very powerful outpouring of the Spirit ensued. Many people fell over, some on top of one another, some began speaking in tongues, including some of those who didn’t even believe in tongues.

The Spirit of God was poured out in radical and raw power and knocked some over to the ground, a dogpile of young people fell near the front inundated by the power of the Spirit, and one of them ended up on top of a microphone crying out in tongues over the amplification system, which seemed to cause a reverberation of the Spirit’s power throughout the meeting. An all-out radical outpouring of the Holy Ghost took over. Wimber, who had no idea what was happening, was completely perplexed and in his own words “fit to be tied.”

After such a wild service, Wimber was at first angry, but as he began to pray and examine the Bible that night, he came to the conclusion that, Lord, maybe this is from you. In the middle of the night he received a call from Tom Stipe, a fellow Calvary Pastor who had a word from God for him. Stipe called him and told Wimber that he had been kept awake all night long with this word from God for him: “John, the Lord says ‘This is of Me.’ ” When John then explained to him what happened in the service that Sunday, Tom told him this activity was common in the Jesus People Revival.

With the word from God confirming this was of the Lord and a fresh examination of the Scriptures, Wimber had what in the lingua of Fuller Theological Seminary is called “a complete paradigm shift.” Basically, an ability to see things he had overlooked or ignored before, in a completely new and fresh way. He saw that the Scriptures were laden with the power of God moving from Jesus’ whole ministry to the Book of Acts and on and on. John Wimber, to his credit, decided to move forward with what God had just done. He wouldn’t just allow, or tolerate, the occasional work of the Holy Spirit. He saw that the Scriptures actually commanded God’s people to be filled and the gifts to be in operation.

A Continued Outpouring

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit continued on from that point as a regular thing at Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda and many were filled and baptized with God’s power. That Mother’s Day outpouring sparked a revival that continued on at full throttle. The church in Yorba Linda tripled in size over that next year and many, many people began to get saved, filled, healed, delivered as well as experiencing the outpouring and fullness of the Spirit in their own lives.

I also got baptized in the Holy Spirit in this revival season that followed sometime after the Mother’s Day Outpouring. My own experience, and what led up to getting baptized in the Holy Spirit at Canyon High School back in that time, follows.

Events in My Life Leading Up to Being Filled

I was occasionally attending some Bible studies at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, as well as in the Newport Beach area that were linked with Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, around this time.

I had been around Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa for some years now, after ending up there through a divine appointment and would go to stuff mostly when I had time as well as transportation that worked. Transportation was an ongoing issue for me back then. I had traded a surfboard for my first beater of a car, which was before I was even old enough to have a license. My parents had gotten divorced and I had to fend for myself and needed transportation. That crazy car had these dysfunctional broken seats that swiveled around like an office chair. It didn’t take long to fall apart and a small crash finally finished that thing off and it was out of commission.

I saved up some money from various jobs like working at a car wash and washing dishes at a restaurant. I eventually bought a Volkswagen Squareback, which was cool because it was like a little station wagon and I could put my surfboard in the back. This Volkswagen had its own problems too. Sometimes it wouldn’t start and had to be push started and other times the lights wouldn’t go on. Being a young teen, I was willing to take some risks, so after driving to the beach from the inland tracts, I would sometimes have to round up some other surfers to help me push start that car to get it going again.

So, after getting out of the water from a surf session, if I had time, and the car would cooperate, I would occasionally go to an evening service during the week at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa or a Bible Study in Newport at a home connected with Calvary, depending on what night it was.

I preferred the home studies because they had food a lot of the times and there wasn’t much food at home ever since my parents divorced. I would also occasionally check out these Afterglow meetings at Calvary. (An afterglow was a meeting after the Bible Studies where people could have time to share a word, or a revelation, or get prayed for, etc.) I would go sometimes just out of curiosity to see what was happening, people would pray out loud in strange languages that I thought were like some kind of African language or something—I didn’t know why they did this since there were no Africans there—I didn’t realize back then that people were speaking in tongues. These afterglows are where I first encountered Lonnie Frisbee; I would see him around Calvary Costa Mesa at other things as well.

An Introduction to the Holy Spirit

I got an introduction and taste of the power of the Holy Spirit at a separate meeting one evening up in the city of Orange. A friend just happened to bring me to this meeting, which was quite unusual. The chairs were all facing each other in a circle and someone dimmed the lights before we began. That’s weird, I thought, how are we gonna see to read the Bible? Then they started this seemingly endless singing…forever. I was used to like three or four songs at Calvary Chapel Bible studies…this was going on forever and I was getting bored. Out of boredom I finally joined in with the singing, thinking it would help pass the time, but inside I was praying it would just end soon….please!!! I usually just waited out the singing part at Calvary.

I was hoping this endless singing would soon be over and was just waiting things out when I saw that hippie dude from the afterglows at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, Lonnie Frisbee, come into the meeting. He was floating around the back of the room and walked around behind a few people, placed his hands on them and prayed for them. He then came up behind me and laid his hands on my head and started praying over me. I suddenly felt a heavenly warmth come flowing through my body, in a very unique and unusual way. I had never experienced anything like this before! I did feel the love of Jesus from time to time after I got saved, but this now was on a whole different level. I spent the rest of the time in the meeting just thinking about what had just happened.

When we were finished and hanging around outside, I told this girl I knew: “Hey, something wild just happened in there. I felt a strange warmth come over me. It happened when that hippie guy who came into the meeting late came over and prayed for me.” She laughed at me saying, “Don’t you know anything about the Holy Spirit, where have you been?” Then she added, “Yeah, and that’s Lonnie Frisbee. Everywhere he goes radical things seem to happen!” I was definitely intrigued by it all.

Shortly after this, I was at a Bible study in Newport Beach. After the study, we were all hanging out in the kitchen eating some food, when I heard some of the older adults talking over in a corner. They all had looks of concern on their faces as they discussed the recent going ons up at Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda. One guy’s voice was getting louder as he exclaimed, “I heard Lonnie Frisbee is getting out of control up there. He was in the back room of the Canyon High School gym, standing on top of the wrestling mats waving his arms around like a wild man and people were falling over in piles on top of each other. It’s completely out of control up there!” The guy talking then realized that everyone else had stopped talking and eating and everyone was just listening to what he was saying. He looked over a bit embarrassed that he had gotten so loud and he then warned everyone: “Stay away from there! Don’t go up there, it is not safe!” Immediately, it had the opposite effect on most there, including myself. I wanted to go up there and check out whatever it was that was happening. The more some people  criticized what was going on up at Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda, the more it seemed to draw people there.

Many were hungry for the power and impact of the early Jesus People days when the power of God was moving in raw form with people getting supernaturally saved, and filled, and healed, in radical ways. 

In fact I would regularly see a lot of the same people from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, including leaders, coming up to Yorba Linda for the Sunday evening services and joining in with the worship and ministry.

Things similar to the early Jesus People Revival were now happening up at Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda after the Mother’s Day outpouring. In fact, it was like a second wave of the Jesus People Revival. But this time, it was a lot of different types of people, including skaters, surfers, rockabillies, punk rockers, etc, all kinds of cultural outliers, that were getting saved and touched through what was happening in the revival there.

John Wimber talks about how they were baptizing people in his and other people’s swimming pools regularly. It was similar, but in a different setting than the baptisms at Corona Del Mar in the first wave of the Jesus People. This wave of evangelism had started right after the Mother’s Day outpouring. I had personally been baptized in Corona Del Mar myself back in the day. It is a little more picturesque and romantic at the beach than a swimming pool, but a new wave of evangelism had started up at Yorba Linda just the same.

There was also a deliberate focus in this second wave on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the filling of the Holy Spirit as seen in the Book of Acts and talked about by John the Baptist and Jesus:

John the Baptist said of Jesus: “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16)

Jesus in Acts: “He ordered them…to wait for the promise of the Father...’you heard from me that John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” (Acts 1:4-5) Jesus said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses….” (Acts 1:7-8)

Rather than the work of the Spirit being an occasional part of things that was passively allowed to happen, Wimber had experienced a paradigm shift and saw that in the Scriptures it was central and furthermore endorsed and commanded in the Bible. So, Wimber went forward from that point with the attitude that he wasn’t going to just passively allow it, but rather endorse it and actively encourage it as the Bible and Christ had done.

I had experienced a foretaste of this Holy Spirit filling and power through that meeting in Orange. I was intrigued but didn’t really understand it all yet and still had my mind elsewhere, though I was curious. Nevertheless, God was about to give me the full download!

The Filling of the Holy Spirit

Bryan getting prayed for by Lonnie Frisbee and Jill Austin.

Paul talks about how the Holy Spirit indwells us when we get saved and I understood the Holy Spirit’s indwelling from the teaching of Paul in the New Testament. The Bible also speaks of the empowering of the Holy Spirit. I had experienced only a taste of that in that meeting in Orange. And then God arranged the circumstances to get me filled in an unusual way:

I was out surfing when I did a really hard backside turn. While I came down from the lip of the wave, I got upside down and inverted and fell over my knee, twisting it badly. I felt a sharp pain shoot through my knee. I tried to ignore what I had just felt and tried to get out and get another wave, but I immediately fell as my knee gave out.

I eventually had to face the music and go to the doctor. He said I had a ligament tear and “most doctors would send you straight to surgery, which in reality often turns into multiple surgeries. We are going to try and dodge a bullet here, I don’t wanna have to cut you open if we don’t need to, you are young so we are going to see if we can maybe, just maybe, avoid surgery. It’s worth a try, but no promises,” and then he stuck a big cast on my leg. (It is worth noting that back then knee surgery was much more invasive and involved making a huge incision.)

It was summertime and hot and I hated that gigantic cast. I was completely shut down and stuck doing nothing with that thing. Someone volunteered to take me to one of the services up at Calvary chapel Yorba Linda that I’d been warned to stay away from. They said they were having a revival; I didn’t really understand what they were talking about. My curiosity had been piqued by that warning at the Bible Study in Newport though, and I wanted to check what was going on up there. I was also hoping to receive healing for my injured knee. This stupid cast was putting the brakes on my activities like surfing and lifeguarding, and I was also starting to do a little modeling.

Mostly though, I had been surfing competitively in the amateur circuits where contemporaries like Tom Curren and a young Kelly Slater were making their mark. It was a wild time to be involved in such a sport. It was a new decade and definitely a season of great change in many aspects of surfing and larger society as a whole.

Bryan getting a tube ride! Photo by Surfshot

Bryan in a Quiksilver ad.

I had been influenced to turn pro by my sponsor Quiksilver, and shortly after I had the knee injury, which brought my new venture to a complete halt. Having appeared recently in an advertisement in Surfing Magazine for Quiksilver, the pressure was on to get healed up and get back on track with things. And so it was with that mindset that I went to this unusual church up in Yorba Linda meeting at the local high school gym, with the hope of getting my knee healed and moving on with my life, having no idea of the whitewater rapids I was about to be thrown into.

I entered into this hot gym with people holding their hands up in the air and singing what seemed like songs that never ended. Here we go again with more of this endless singing. It seemed like one song all connected together going on for what seemed like…forever.

Due to the lack of windows and air conditioning in the gym, the place was about as hot as a Swedish sauna. I looked around, some were singing with hands raised, others were crying or laughing, and some had even fallen over and off their seats, while still others seemed to be muttering in strange languages. I literally thought I had come to a church that was full of people who were  emotionally and mentally challenged, so many were crying, others laughing. I had been to a Shriners Circus for challenged kids when I was younger and just tripped out on the whole thing and watched the wild overly emotional kids as much as the circus. Sitting there in the high school gym I felt like I was back at that circus tripping out on this church full of emotionally challenged people. I didn’t yet understand that these people at Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda were just experiencing the love of God in a powerful way and were overcome by His presence.

So I just endured the endless singing escapade, sitting there sweating, befuddled at what was going on with these people all around me. Finally the speaker, John Wimber, got on with the message but just seemed to ramble for a while. He just seemed weighed down by the heat and kind of wandering through what he was saying.

Wimber finally wiped his sweaty face and said, “You know, it’s really hot in here, let’s just move on to some ministry.” He invited all those who wanted prayer, be it for healing or to be filled with the Holy Spirit, or whatever else your need was, to go to the back room. It seemed like half the church stampeded back there immediately. This must be where things are happening, I thought.

I was far behind the stampeding crowd, having to hobble along very slowly with these crutches and cast on my leg, and I got there way after everyone else. I entered in just barely through the door and was just standing there looking around. It felt like the train had left the station, there were just some regular people praying for one another. I’d seen a bit of TV preachers and was expecting some kind of mini miracle service in that back room. I was expecting someone to be throwing crutches in the air and proclaiming people healed, maybe piles of people on top of each other everywhere from what I’d heard at the Bible study, but nothing really significant seemed to be happening here. People were just praying for one another. To be honest, I felt kind of gipped.

However, as I was standing there just looking around, something started happening to me. All of a sudden, I felt God’s presence come down upon me in an awesome way and start flowing all over me! The love and power of Christ began to flood me and I started getting filled with God’s presence more and more as I stood there with no one even praying for me.

I began to be overwhelmed by God’s manifest glory, and like those people I had watched mesmerized, whom I thought had emotional issues or were strange out in the gym that evening, I was starting to cry and then laugh and then cry and then laugh and on and on for no visible reason whatsoever. God’s love and grace began washing over me like glorious waves! His love began to be downloaded from my head into my heart at light speed and it was overwhelming me. Waves of like liquid love began to wash over me, again and again.

Next, Lonnie Frisbee appeared while standing on top of some wrestling mats, he started pointing over at me, then he came over and put his hands on me and started praying over me. I didn’t know at that time that he was speaking prophetic words over me. He started yelling that the Spirit of God was moving powerfully now on this young guy here as he prayed over me. It was like being thrown into an ocean of God’s presence and suddenly, gloriously, drowning in His tangible mercy and grace. I became so overwhelmed I couldn’t stand up anymore and started falling and stumbling backwards like I was struck by some powerful force. Some people gathered around me and held me from falling and then sat me down on some rolled up wrestling mats where they prayed for me. I continued to get hammered, being baptized in the Holy Spirit, for the next three and a half to four hours at the very least.

When I finally opened my eyes, the place, which had been packed before, was almost completely empty. Just three people remained, myself and a guy who was still sitting with me and praying for me, and a janitor sweeping the floor who seemed very tired and looked like he was wondering when this was going to be done so he could go home.

It was an awesome and amazing filling of the Holy Spirit, a life-changing event. My life was completely transformed at this point, and I began to pray and read the Bible on my own regularly, something I never had done much of before. I also began to realize that God had a higher purpose for me regarding serving Him.

Being baptized with the Holy Spirit like this brought a complete paradigm shift in my thinking regarding the reality of God’s love and presence. I began to witness to others after this, and even lead others to Christ. I eventually even started a Bible study with those I’d reached as well as led to Christ, where we had our own Holy Ghost times. It was that filling of the Spirit which led into ministry and becoming a witness of God’s grace, love, and power, just like Jesus says will happen. (Acts 1:8.)

I went back to the doctor hoping to get the cast removed but he wouldn’t let me take the cast off early, in fact he scoffed at the idea. However, when I finally finished my stint with the cast and he took it off, he was blown away and stoked on how it had turned out better than expected and was in great shape: no surgery needed! I still had to do some weights to get rid of the atrophy from being in a cast. It was a break in time that God used to bring some reflection and redirection in my life.

I was brought into the reality of God’s presence and love and grace in a way that I had never heard of before nor knew could happen! Hallelujah! 

Mine is just one of countless testimonies of so many whose lives were changed and impacted for good in this revival that started on that Mother’s Day forty years ago. Me and my wife Mercedes were also blessed to connect with Lonnie Frisbee some years later, becoming good friends and being discipled by him, learning many important lessons during that time that would prove invaluable in our lives and ministry.

As you read and reflect on this outpouring of the Spirit, I encourage you to open your heart and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh, He is more than willing to bless you with that heavenly love and power. Ask and you shall receive!


Link for further info:

• Video on Lonnie Frisbee and the Jesus People Revival