By Daniel Clymer, Special to the Message
The moving of the waters is a beautiful thing, when it is caused by the new birth of a believer in Jesus Christ. All across New Mexico, baptistries are being filled and the water is being stirred by those who gave their lives to Jesus during last fall’s Native American evangelistic events.
“Jesus, Hope For All Nations!” revivals and evangelistic events have brought new hope to 89 Native people who made professions of faith and have brought more than 150 people to a closer relationship and commitment to God through rededications.
[img_assist|nid=6009|title=Fruitland Community Church in Farmington NM partnered with Mt. Olive Baptist in Louisiana during a 2009 fall revival.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=71]Nearly 50 congregations from New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma hosted events, and 35 of those were New Mexico Native American congregations. Two others were multi-cultural churches in New Mexico.
God moved in amazing ways through these churches and their evangelism partners from Louisiana, Texas and Canada; and the effects of the Holy Spirit moving in New Mexico reached Louisiana, New York, Illinois, Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana and Alberta, Canada.
Truly, a movement of God has happened through what is being referred to as the “New Mexico Awakenings.” Follow ups from the evangelistic revivals and events are under way, and baptisms are occurring as a result of what God has done.
Mescalero Baptist Mission in Mountain Valley Baptist Association reported 15 salvations, and seven have already been baptized. I had the privilege to visit the congregation in November, and I can truly see God’s movement among the people. The revival in Mescalero turned into quite a community event, and they are planning more partnership outreach with the Louisiana ministry team that joined them in October.
There are 24 congregations from Louisiana and New Mexico that partnered with each other during the fall events that have already made plans to do more projects.
There are stories from all across New Mexico of what God is doing and how He is changing lives. A woman attending a renewal gathering felt the Holy Spirit moving her to commit her life to the Lord but didn’t even realize what was happening inside her. She knew it must be God, but she had never before encountered God in such a real way. She gave her life to the Lord and testifies that life is very different now. She sees each day in a new light and has found joy in simple things in life that she use to ignore or even notice. She now is continuing a heritage of faith in God that her mother hoped one day she would embrace, and now her late mother’s prayers came to fruition.
The New Mexico Awakening has brought about Native American mission teams that are planning to minister to First Nations people of Canada, and the first team will assist a training event in Canada’s Northern Territories in March 2010.
Leadership equipping classes and conferences for Native American Southern Baptists will be held in five different associations in New Mexico throughout 2010, which is designed to develop leaders and laity for ministry.
The New Mexico Awakening has just begun.
Daniel Clymer is Native American strategist with the Baptist Convention of New Mexico.