Southern
Baptist Convention Church Hosts First Ever Prophetic
Conference
"The words
he spoke shot through me like a lightening
bolt," says Hicks. But this was not the first
time Hicks had heard these words. Jerrell Miller had
prophesied over Hicks weeks before that as an awesome
prophetic mantle would rest on Him
MARSHFIELD, MO. --
"This church will be a prototype for other
churches. God is preparing you to be a training
center," thundered the voice of Jim Maloney who
was called to Calvary Baptist Church as the main
speaker of the Baptized with Fire Prophetic
Conference. Jim is a Prophet of God called to the
nations and has a directorship at Christ for the
Nations Institute. "What God is doing here is
very unique. Very unique." Jim was at
Marshfield, Missouri, at Calvary Baptist Church as a
guest of Pastor Roger Hicks.
"For eighteen months
Marshfield’s Calvary Baptist Church has been
enjoying the river of God. He’s been faithful to
pour out His Spirit beyond what we ever would have
imagined! Every night is different, every night is so
powerful. But the events of last week have taken us
to a place that we didn’t even know
existed," says Roger Hicks, the pastor of
Calvary Baptist Church. "For all these months,
we’ve just been glad for God to show up. But now
He has given us some strategic instructions for the
future." He smiles, "It really began months
ago when God began to speak to me about the five-fold
ministry. Evangelists, pastors, and teachers... I
know how they fit, but apostles and prophets? What do
we do with them, God?"
God began to answer that question
when He moved on Roger’s heart to host a
prophetic conference. The Miracle at Marshfield
continues largely because of the Pastor’s
obedience to ‘move when the cloud moves’.
So when God began to speak "I am establishing
the prophetic here," Pastor Hicks simply said,
"Yes, Lord".
The conference began Thursday
night. The corporate worship was intense, and the air
thick with the anointing. As Jim Maloney taught the
word of God, he proclaimed that a prophetic mantle
would rest on the corporate body of Calvary.
"The words he spoke shot
through me like a lightening bolt," says Hicks.
But this was not the first time Hicks had heard these
words. Jerrell Miller had prophesied over Hicks weeks
before that an awesome prophetic mantle would rest on
Him. "This doesn’t mean the prophetic will
become our focus," assures Hicks. "God
showed up in Marshfield, MO. because a group of
people became desperate for more of Him. Every night
before service we cry out to Him to move in our
hearts. If our focus gets off, we’ll lose the
very thing we’re living for, the presence of
God!"
A good turn out for the conference
was expected, but as people continuously poured in
even after the praise and worship began, everyone was
surprised. Extra chairs were set up the first night.
By the second night there was no possible room for
chairs. About 100 young people sat on the floor at
the front of the sanctuary to hear the Man of God.
At the Saturday evening service, as
the Worship Leader, Jim Groves, led the people into
the Holy of Holies, Pastor Hicks admonished the
people to fill the house with praise. A shout to God
rang through the atmosphere, and a release of the
love of God filled the sanctuary. A river of
forgiveness washed through the crowd.
"We were drawn into a place of
worship we’ve not been before," said one
conference attendee. "The worship at Calvary is
amazing. It’s so pure, so clean. There is such a
purity of heart it’s overwhelming. But the
conference meetings had an element in them that
we’ve not seen yet. It was an even richer hunger
for God to come down. There was such a corporate cry!
It was as if everyone knew to expect God to show up
in an unusually powerful way, and God certainly met
our expectations.
Brother Maloney preached on Ezekiel
37, the valley of dry bones.
There’s noise, there’s
shaking, and then there’s the coming together.
The body of Christ has been
experiencing the noise and the shaking for some
time, and there’s more to come. "There’s
dry bones in every denomination. We’ve lost our
fire and our fervency!" says Hicks.
"We’ve planned, plotted, and programmed God
right out of the church. And the real problem is, we
seem to be perfectly happy with the status quo."
So, does the idea of God
establishing a "School of the Prophets" at
Calvary Baptist Church frighten Pastor Hicks?
He shrugs, "There hasn’t
been one thing about this revival that didn’t
frighten me at first! The freedom in worship, the
intercession and deep travail in the young people,
the masses that come flooding in every night
desperate for a touch from God... It’s all a
little frightening. But I believe if you want
something you’ve never had before, you’ve
got to be willing to do something you’ve never
done before. We’re just taking that next step in
our destiny." Pastor Hicks, a man of wisdom, is
already preparing his people for this new prophetic
flow. "We’ll make sure the right teaching
goes forth so that we don’t end up with problems
on our hands."
"There has always been a
degree of prophetic flow," explained one staff
member. "The intercession that goes on in the
youth prayer room before each service has always had
a prophetic slant. "We come in to seek the heart
of the Father, and allow Him to direct us in our
prayer. Usually, one of the youth will pray out what
God is speaking to them. We link up, and pray in that
direction until a release comes. It’s usually
only one word that God gives, but often it is the
thrust of the service that night. When that word is
spoken, it’s like a bomb has been dropped in the
room. The prayer goes up with intensity and fervency
until we know the answer comes. Sometimes the focus
is purity. Sometimes it’s souls. Last month, in
a Sunday night prayer meeting, the youth were
burdened to pray for unity. The burden lasted through
several nights of prayer. No matter what direction
they took, they ended up on unity. Last week at the
prophetic conference, Jim Maloney spoke during the
Friday Night meeting that an incredible spirit of
unity was falling on the congregation.
"God can do prophetically
whatever He wants to do," says Hicks. "Our
focus remains the same. Intimacy with the
Father!" Are there more conferences to come at
Calvary Baptist Church?Definitely. Conferences are a
part of the vision for C.B.C. They are having a youth
conference the 1st. week in August, a Pastor’s
conference is in the works, as is a women’s
conference. The prophetic conference will be done
annually.
For more information on these
upcoming events or for the revival schedule call
1-417-859-5433.
