The weather was frightful. The roads were treacherous. The snow was falling. The temperature was frigid. In spite of all the challenges about 400 people braved the elements to attend and be blessed by the Day of Prayer held at Auburn Adventist Academy Church on Jan. 3.
The program began with John Freedman, Washington Conference president, introducing Dave Wolkwitz as a new assistant to the president for spiritual growth. This position has been added to his current responsibility as trust department director. Wolkwitz will be working with and planning revival meetings throughout the conference.
The Day of Prayer continued with a concert by Charles Haugabrooks accompanied by Michael Andrews that truly warmed the hearts of all who attended. Sprinkled throughout the concert were portions of Haugabrooks' testimony of how the Lord became a part of his life through a series of evangelistic meetings held in Florida.
The most important part of the meeting, however, was prayer. Ample time was given throughout the musical concert to pause and to pray in groups of two or three for several specific prayer focuses that marked the beginning of the new year.
The prayer time was led by Freedman. There were four major items that were the prayer focus for the day. The first was highlighted by Keith Hallam, Auburn Academy principal, who shared miracle stories from the recent dormitory fire. The congregation then prayed for God's continued guidance as the dormitory is rebuilt. They also prayed for a revival among the students and faculty of the academy as they continue the school year.
The second prayer focus was a seeking of the Holy Spirit and a spirit of revival throughout the Washington Conference. Wolkwitz challenged the congregation to pray for the Holy Spirit and the latter rain to fall. Once again the congregation knelt to pray for God's Spirit to fall.
The third focus was church growth and church planting. This conference-wide priority can only happen as a result of prayer and God's Spirit working throughout the conference on each person's heart. Doug Bing, Washington Conference vice president, highlighted a few of the meetings that will be held in 2004 along with several of the new churches that are being planted this year.
Lon Gruesbeck, Washington education director, challenged the attendees with the final prayer focus, which was our young people and Christian education. Each year 30–40 young people who attend our school system are baptized. Our teachers and students need special prayer as they continue to grow in their relationship with Jesus.
Yes, the weather may have been terrible, yet the Day of Prayer was exactly that, a time to pray and seek God. May the Day of Prayer be an everyday experience for our conference as we go throughout 2004.
Charles Haugabrooks shared his testimony in word and song.
Ample time was given for prayer throughout the program for people to pray for their many concerns for the new year.
Dave Wolkwitz challenged the attendees to seek the Holy Spirit.
