2018 Florida Spring Advance Highlights by Edna Race

There was a great anticipation in the hearts of those who were at the Spring Advance. It all started with Jeremiah 15:16, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts." And indeed there was great joy and rejoicing in all of our hearts.

Mary Powell started off the advance with a great teaching giving us insight as to the difficulties and great challenges that Jeremiah had to face in order to obey and speak for God. In spite of all the difficulties, God helped him through it all and helped him to do what God asked of him.

We were all blessed with the amazing teachings of our young adults. Geoff Furey taught us the importance of studying Gods Word. Psalm 119:11 stood out in that we can hide God's Word in our hearts so that we can have access to it at all times. Then Annie Suminski taught that man was not meant to be without God's Word. We are spiritual beings and we need spiritual food. She related that Jeremiah fought hard to keep God's Word at the center of his heart and life. She showed us that it’s believing God's Word that pleases God. Danielle Davis taught on the family of God.  She reminded us that we are all important in this one Body. We all have different talents but God's Word is our standard. God did not want everyone in the Body to be alike and that we need every part of the Body to function. The teachers all did a remarkable job sharing God's Word.

Steve Spaulding brought the entire weekend together with a teaching on taking a stand for God. He taught that people will stand for a lot of things but it is not uncommon to see those things collapse. But when we take a stand for God, we are taking a stand for the Creator of the heavens and Earth. Wow that is powerful!

Pat Powell reminded us all at the close of the House of His Healing presence that some people have prayed and waited for years to see a promise come to pass, but that we should never give up on claiming the promises of God.

There was great deliverance in the hearts of God's people and great joy and rejoicing having spent a glorious weekend in God’s Word.

2018 Spring Advance Highlights by Lane Furey

This was my first time helping out with Registration at the Advance and I had such a fun time! I worked alongside Judy Monteilh,  Brittany Dorch and Annie Suminski; of course James was a big help too! I was able to learn a lot from these ladies who greeted every believer with a big smile and warm embrace. Greeting the believers at the Advance is like greeting your family at a family reunion - it may have been a while since you’ve seen some of your family, but you love them all just the same. Being on the registration crew is an opportunity to walk with God to see what we can do for each believer that arrives, with the ultimate goal of leaving the world behind and preparing hearts to receive God’s Word!

2018 Florida Spring Advance Highlights by Michael Davis

This year’s Spring Advance was wonderful. The theme verses this year was Jeremiah 15:16, which says; “Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and they were the joy and rejoicing of my heart: For I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” Our weekend was full of God’s wonderful Word, and all of us were exhorted in each of the teachings to make God’s Word the center of our lives. This verse in Jeremiah is a figure of speech. The verse is saying that Jeremiah devoured God’s Word, and that God’s Word was the joy and rejoicing of his heart.  

Besides the wonderful teachings of God’s Word, I enjoyed the family night.  All the children were welcomed to the evening fellowship on Saturday for a teaching on the family of God. Then, after the teaching, some of the believers shared a bit of their life with us, and it was a joy to hear from each of them. We heard stories about marriage, making a commitment to teach God’s Word to your children, a beautiful song on the violin, and two very funny comedy acts! But what made all of them so special was the love behind each one.

I’m thankful to be standing on God’s Word with so many wonderful believers who are concerned about the accuracy of God’s Word living in the Tampa Bay area!

Click through the slideshow below to see some more photos from the wonderful 2018 Spring Advance.

We can't wait to fellowship with you at next year's Spring Advance!

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Photos by Robert Kyle, Josh Wolff, and Jordan Powell
Jeremiah 15:16 artwork by Julia Wolff

“...but as for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord.”

— Joshua 24:15 KJV

2017 Spring Advance Highlights by Rebecca Eisenstein

When we think of being a servant, our minds are often flooded with the negative perceptions fed to us by the world. But what does God’s Word say about being a servant?  Well that’s what we began to study at the Florida Spring Advance, and let me tell you, what the Word says and what the world says about being a servant are pretty darn different.  In fact, serving the One True God in love is an awesome and exciting privilege! Throughout the weekend, we looked at the life of our Lord Jesus Christ and how he served God in love. In Philippians 2:7, it says that Jesus Christ “…made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant…” – As Mary Powell put it, this is the man who had legions of angels at his command, and he grabbed at service! How much more should we desire to serve the One True God by studying, believing, and acting upon His Word.

Serving God in love was manifested throughout the weekend.  As we learned about serving God, we also got to be surrounded by His people as our yearnings to serve grew.  We laughed together, we broke bread together, and we built each other up in love.  When something was on someone’s heart, it was prayed for. When someone read something cool in the Word, it was talked about.  When we are walking with and for God, God works with us to accomplish what He needs done.  We’ve got the best teammate there is working with us around the clock, and during this sweet weekend, we got to go to the Bible and read what God says about serving.  What a privilege it is to serve God!  What a privilege it is to be able to choose life by serving the One True God, and to exclaim like Joshua did in Joshua 24:15 “… as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

2017 Spring Advance Highlights by Mary Powell

From the joyous greeting at the registration table to the rousing rendition of "Roll Away" at the closing meal; the 2017 Spring Advance was a joy. There was great Word, great fellowship, and great food! The House of His Healing Presence was a wonderful blessing. I especially enjoyed my last time of prayer there on Sunday morning with (among others) the entire Penfold family. It was a sweet and peaceful time.

I had so much fun helping at Toddler's Fellowship! Everything was so well thought through and organized. There was even a time of prayer and devotion with motion and scripture retemory. Not only were the young'uns a delight, but the fellowship among the adults who were serving together was sweet!

I probably say this every year, but I think the 2017 Spring Advance was our best one ever!

2017 Spring Advance Highlights by Julia Wolff

This year driving into Lakewood retreat I couldn't wait for a whole weekend of hearing God's Word, fellowshipping, and having my favorite camp salad bar at every meal!

Looking forward to a weekend to build my believing, I was so blessed to learn about the believers at Thessalonica who went to the Word believingly and walked with God, choosing to be committed. What a refreshing reminder that we can serve just like they did with an infinite supply of the love of God. Being workmen of the Word like it says in 2 Timothy 2:15 helps us to have God's Word in our hearts so that we can believe it and successfully serve. I loved hearing the kids from children's fellowship loudly singing their newly learned song to help them remember Romans 8:37 wherever they went.  I'm already excited for next year, and I'm still singing Romans 8:37, looking to sound out the Word like the Thessalonians.

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Photos by Geoff Furey, Erik Nathe, Josh Wolff, Julia Wolff, and Jordan Powell.

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