A Sunday Morning in Mobile, AL
A Sunday Morning Miracle in Mobile, Alabama
On March 19, 2023, Clayton and I experienced something we'll never forget at Cottage Hill Church in Mobile, Alabama.
We're so grateful to Pastor Alan and Kathy, and to Neil and Ali White for their warm hospitality throughout the weekend. Sunday morning, we experienced an amazing miracle.
The service began with worship and four baptisms. One of the young men who was baptized had become so curious about how to know Jesus that he simply called and asked someone at the church to explain how he could be saved. Once he understood, the person led him to Jesus on the phone. Afterward, this young man shared his story with his roommate, who also became curious and also came to know Jesus by asking someone at the church to lead him to Christ over the phone.
After witnessing these baptism stories and worshiping, my soul was filled with Jesus' presence. When Clayton and I sat on the stage to teach, I became overwhelmed at the presence of God in the room. Clayton thanked everyone for having us, introduced me and paused for me to share, but I was unable to transition into teaching. Instead, I began to weep, shared how I felt the presence of Jesus in the room and said something like, "If you've never felt the presence of God before, I pray that right now, in this service, you would feel his presence and that he would reveal himself to you." In this moment, Clayton knew we needed to give a call to know Jesus as Savior—even before any preaching of the gospel from our lips had occurred.
Thirty people responded to the gospel in this moment. They prayed with Clayton and raised their hands professing their newfound faith. I proceeded to share that although neither Clayton nor I had taught on how to know Jesus, the worship music and the baptisms we had witnessed were a kind of experiential preaching—both confessing and displaying what it means to die to yourself and receive Jesus' gift of salvation.
Clayton and I have experienced this kind of service (worship, salvation, then preaching) at other speaking events, but never when we were co-teaching on marriage. And never when we were speaking on marriage in a venue not hosted by our ministry. So for us, this was a first-time experience which I am treasuring and marveling at today…and I think forever!
The Lord is so good. God's design for marriage preached the gospel and led people to salvation on March 19, 2023 at Cottage Hill Church in Mobile, Alabama. You can watch the service here..
