Matthew Lilley’s passion for God’s presence bleeds over into everything he does: speaking, writing, podcast hosting and his ministry, Presence Pioneers. But when he can share that passion with others, he knows he’s fulfilling the calling God first put on his heart as a teenager.
A few years ago, Lilley had an experience reminiscent of Paul and Silas’ ministry with the jailer in Acts 16:25-40, where the man and all his household were saved. It all began with 100 hours straight of worship and prayer that Presence Pioneers set out to do in a low-income neighborhood in Greenville, North Carolina. He shares the story on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network.
“We gave away free food, free hot dogs, had ministry teams going out into the neighborhoods, knocking on doors, sharing the gospel with people, offering to pray with people,” Lilley explains. “And there was a couple who came over to the tent to get some free hot dogs. As they’re standing in line, someone from our team goes and talks to them, shares Jesus with them, they get saved on the spot.”
The next day, Lilley says, his team discovered the couple lived right across the street from their outreach tent, so they went over to visit them. “Come to find out, there’s about three or four generations all living together in this house,” he says. “And they’re talking to this great-grandma who’s in a wheelchair … And she’s a believer, and she’s been praying for her family to come to Jesus. And so she was excited that this couple had accepted Jesus. But she said there were others in her family who still hadn’t. And so they invited those in the family who were there.
“At the time, seven or eight people … come into the living room,” Lilley continues. “They shared the gospel with them. They said, ‘Hey, your grandma’s been praying for you. Would you like to follow Jesus?’ And all of them who were in the house got down on their knees and put their faith in Jesus on the spot.”
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