I’m a cross-cultural missionary at heart. Yet with the advent of COVID-19, I’ve been in lockdown with the rest of us here in the United States.
But undergirding every missionary, and rightly undergirding everyone who calls themselves a disciple of Christ, should be the notion of missional living. This means you understand that God has a mission and you are potentially executing that mission on His behalf wherever you are and whatever you are doing.
This means if you are doing zoom meetings, you can still be on mission. If you are standing in line, even six feet apart, you can still pray for people. Whether at work or at play, God may do something special with you, if you are simply alert and available.
And it means you don’t necessarily have to be overseas for God to use you. That being noted, my call is overseas but that doesn’t mean I forget about the mission of God when I’m in the U.S.
In fact, right now in the U.S. God is doing some special things with prayer, outdoor meetings and revival. It’s almost like He’s setting America up to experience a national revival that will lead to the nation becoming a sending nation once again—and that is truly my hope.
Yes, that God would turn the United States of America into a nation that sends empowered disciples around the globe unto His glory. Even in the time of COVID-19, the ministry of The Last Reformation is moving forward with disciple making, starting house churches and holding tent meetings in different cities across the U.S.
Recently, I discerned that Chicago was a city that fear seems to have utterly gripped. It was here that I found myself ministering the Word under the camp meeting tent. Several nights of preaching saw many people give their lives to the Lord. I was blessed to preach a night of revival where a distinct spirit of freedom came over the attendees.
A couple hundred people heard the Word, with the majority responding to the altar call and receiving ministry. But there was something that made these tent meetings quite distinct in my view, and that was the deliverance taking place.
You see, in this time of oppression and fear due to the “super virus,” people were being set free from demonic influences that take advantage of such a situation. As the full gospel was being preached, numerous people responded to the messages with the desire to be baptized immediately: a sure sign of an empowered message. And when combined with faith (Gal. 3:26-27), the power of God is present and transformative in baptism! So, I loved presiding over the baptisms at the tent meetings.
We set up four baptismals outside of the tent and had around 50 people baptized in the middle of the night after the meetings. It was here that the power of God was manifesting in such a way many people gathered around to hear the shrieks and to view the thrashings of individuals being set free from tormenting spirits.
Although projectile vomiting is never a lovely sight, their dignity is never in jeopardy as we know the enemies behind it. We believe that when a person is obedient to Acts 2:38, they will be set free from sin and demons. Then they are subsequently filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Some people take longer than others to experience freedom, but the joy and peace people receive when the Holy Spirit comes upon them makes it all worth it. Further, I cannot tell you how many tears I saw as people’s hearts were mended from emotional trauma and physical abuse in those baptismal waters.
At the end, everyone was so glad Christ has prevailed and freedom has now taken hold. All of this is happening not in some third world country, but rather right here in the good old U.S.A.
This is why I do what I do, because God is always on mission, and I simply want to be part of that no matter what the conditions are and no matter what the setting might be. And I want to encourage you: you can live missionally too—wherever you are. {eoa}
For more information about Modern Day Mission, please visit modernday.org.
Billy Hallowell 
Shawn Akers 
James Lasher 
