This spring, High Desert church hosted the first Revelation evangelistic series in its history. The theme “Everything Is About to Change!” was chosen by the church board from the desire to share Revelation’s end-time message of hope with Mojave and the surrounding community.
With experience in evangelism and assistance from church members, Jose Gutierrez, district senior pastor of High Desert, Tehachapi, and Lake of the Woods churches and seminar speaker, put together the materials for the seminar within four months.
“I had two goals,” Gutierrez said. “The first was to gain souls for Christ; the second was for people in the community to get to know our church.”
Meetings began on May 17, were held on Tuesday through Saturday evenings, and lasted for three weeks. Topics included One World Order, The Not-So-Secret Rapture, A New Life in Christ, The Final Judgment, The Mark of the Beast, and more.
During the first week, an average of 26 people attended each night, of which 50% were church members. The second week brought a reduction in attendance with a nightly average of 23 people. However, by the end of that week, two attendees made decisions for baptism. Presentations were added during the divine service on the first and second Sabbath of the seminar, in hopes of increasing attendance. During the third week, an average of 19 people attended each night.
Presentations concluded with the addition of five new members through baptism and profession of faith and High Desert church establishing a presence in the city with an awareness that the church preaches Bible prophecy. “I feel I’m in the place God wanted me to be,” an attendee shared with Gutierrez at the seminar’s conclusion. “Truly the truth can set you free.”
“Overall, we feel this was a worthwhile event,” Gutierrez said. “All of the current church members participated and assisted in many areas of need. This event has introduced our church to the community, and we are excited to welcome five new converts into God’s family.”
Plans for the next end-times seminar in Spanish are underway for later this year. Moving forward, Gutierrez hopes to host two seminars a year—one in English and one in Spanish.
Gutierrez is eager to share his experience with others. “I encourage other pastors and churches to get in touch with me if they would like to start a prophecy seminar in their area,” he offered.
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By Jose Gutierrez and Araya Moss
