Yakima Special Meetings

The Yakima Apostolic Faith Church held special meetings the weekend of May 4-6. The guest speaker was Reverend Byron Parker, the pastor of the Los Angeles, California, Apostolic Faith Church. The weekend theme was “Being Seeker Sensitive.”

Visitors from the Chehalis and Seattle, Washington, churches began arriving Friday evening for the combined young people's meeting. Gary Riler, from Chehalis, started out the service with a saxophone prelude. After the song service, many visiting young people gave personal testimonies. Reverend Parker preached from Luke 15:1-7 about how the shepherd sought and found the one lost sheep.

Saturday morning started out with breakfast and then Gary Riler brought the morning devotional. He challenged the young people to find a $20 bill he had hidden somewhere in the room. What no one knew was that the money was in his pocket! Some walked around him and asked if he had the money, but no one directly asked for it. He likened this to seeking God. People can go through the motions of praying for what they need spiritually, but fail to ask God directly to fill that need. His point was that God will reward those who diligently seek Him! A time of prayer followed the devotional.

Saturday afternoon the young people went on a hike and had a picnic lunch. They returned to the church afterwards where a pizza dinner was provided for them. Saturday evening the movie “The Visitation” was shown, which is based on Frank Peretti's book. Visitors from the community also attended the movie in response to a newspaper article about the weekend meetings.

Sunday morning began with Sunday school. The previous Sunday the students had been challenged to bring new students to show the visitors their missionary efforts, and seven new students were brought to Sunday school!

A piano/keyboard duet by Brenda Bishop, from Yakima, and Janelle Parker, Reverend Parker's wife, opened the Sunday morning service. After the song service, Janelle testified, as did Gerdy Engle from Portland, Oregon. Then Art and Gerdy Engle sang a duet before the sermon. Reverend Parker preached on the topic of seeking God, using Ruth 1:1-17. He emphasized verse 16 of the text in which Ruth says “Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” The presence of the Holy Spirit was very tangible during the service. In the prayer meeting which followed, four young people claimed salvation. Other blessings were received by those who were hungry to seek God.

The Chehalis young people had to start their return trip home Sunday afternoon, but not before everyone ate a barbeque lunch prepared by Barry Heid.

In the evening, a combined meeting was held with those who had come from the Tacoma and Seattle churches. Visiting musicians were present for the service, and the platform was full of musicians and their instruments. After the prelude, Gary Bertram, from Tacoma, led everyone in a rousing song service. There were many testimonies before the sermon. Reverend Parker preached from Jeremiah 29:13-14, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart,” emphasizing in verse 14, “I will turn away your captivity.” He said nobody likes to be in physical captivity. He then compared this to the enemy of people's souls putting them in spiritual captivity. It is time to seek God for spiritual deliverance. A good prayer meeting followed the sermon, with two more young people claiming salvation.

The busy weekend ended on a high note, and the participants left feeling spiritually filled and refreshed.