October & November 2015 –
At the end of October we hosted our third annual revival conference called Phenomenon 2015. On the weekend of Halloween we united worshipers from eastern North Carolina for awakening. Guest speakers included Abner Suarez, Michael Thortnon and Niko Peele. God moved powerfully at the sessions, and some of the attendees even took to the streets of downtown Greenville on Saturday to share God’s love with people.
One of the highlights for me was the Saturday afternoon session where we hosted a “mini-Burn” with six hours of non-stop worship led by ECU campus ministry worship teams. Niko Peele, a campus missionary from Raleigh, spoke in the midst of the Burn. The Holy Spirit led us to invite all those under 25 in attendance forward (see photos above) and God’s power and Spirit landed on the young generation! Many students were on the floor weeping for extended periods of time as God called them to be leaders of awakening in our nation. One student Harper said:
“It was a catalytic moment for the revival of hearts and the strengthening of the next generation for the pursuit and hunger of God. It spurred the younger generation to be burdened for God’s heart for the lost in our community and opened our eyes to the Great Commission before us.”
We also utilized the same weekend to host an invite-only eastern NC Presence Pioneers gathering. About 25-30 leaders of Burns, houses of prayer, missions ministries and churches gathered for lunch, prayer and strategic discussion. God is knitting the hearts of leaders together in our region in beautiful friendship and family!
The day after Phenomenon, we packed up our family of six and took a ministry trip up the east coast to Harrisburg, PA! Yes, it was crazy and we were exhausted when we got back, but it was awesome! A few highlights:
- Got a new “top carrier” for the van (see photo) because with my guitar, clothes, baby stuff, etc. we officially can not fit everything in the van!
- Lead worship for “Mondays at the Mansion”, the Burn 24-7 base. God came with a sweet sense of His presence, and many ended up on their knees, receiving a fresh dose of the love of the Father.
- Taught a two-hour class on Persistence in Prayer to the Burn 24-7 School of the Heart internship
Connected with Burn 24-7 leaders such as Sean Feucht, David Fritch and Tannon Herman. There are potentially some really exciting things in store for the Burn locally and nationally! - Lead a two-hour worship set at David’s Tent DC where they are hosting as 10,000 hour non-stop love song to Jesus in a tent outside of the Washington Monument – seriously!
- Meanwhile, while I was at David’s Tent, Shepard took all four kids into IKEA for about five hours and didn’t totally lose her mind – seriously!
- The last few days of our trip were spent in Fredericksburg, VA at the Prayer Furnace. They have an amazing community there with a prayer room that runs about 18 hours each day, a local church and tons of outreaches/missions. I got to spend some time with David Bradshaw, the Prayer Furnace director, and glean from their work. Also got to spend some refreshing time in the prayer room alone and as a family.
- PRAISE GOD: We have received $5600 of the $6000 we requested for our four missions trips! Please pray for the remaining $400.
- Rest and refreshing for the whole family after 2-3 weeks of being very busy.
- Boiler Room staff retreat in December. We are seeking God for fresh vision, strategy and perspective for 2016.
- Shepard’s sister got married in mid-October, with Shepard helping plan the wedding and Matthew officiating. What an honor!
- In other news… Matthew turns 32 (and is officially old) in November!
Thank you for your ongoing support and prayers! Please let us know how we can pray for you.
The Lilleys
Matthew, Shepard & the kids
