For the past three days, Sulojana and I have been enjoying the blessings of the Pastors and Leaders Conference at Catch the Fire, Toronto.

One of my great delights over the years has been introducing ministry colleagues who are not all that familiar with the ways of the Holy Spirit to the atmosphere and the anointing that flows so freely here at CTF Toronto.

This year, I was delighted to discover that a minister whom I had encouraged to attend a few months back had indeed decided to come.

This was not Kimberly’s first time here. She had been here in 1996 and experienced the Father’s Love in an incredible way (as she explains in this video).

So, she knew that she was not coming to a mainline denominational Conference 🙂

But even when you come prepared for something entirely different, it can still be a rather unsettling experience for someone who has not been exposed to Holy Spirit joy, healing and other manifestations firsthand with the frequency and intensity that is common at such events.

This afternoon, we had a choice of two workshops.

One was led by the Senior Pastor of CTF Toronto, Steve Long, on how to establish and grow multiple campuses of the same ministry (as they have done).

The other, offered by Carol Arnott, who along with husband John is one of the Founding Pastors, was about experiencing the Holy Spirit.

The précis of Steve’s presentation gave the impression that his workshop would be more logical, loaded with practical steps and strategies.

Carol made it clear that her workshop would include a time for participants to encounter God in a personal way that was sure to impact them powerfully.

Kimberly chose the former, as did I.

As expected, Steve went through a methodical presentation, weaving illustrations from real life, answering questions patiently and demonstrating once again that he is a teacher extraordinaire.

Once the presentation ended, he offered those who so desired an opportunity to receive prayer ministry. He would ask the Holy Spirit to impart the grace everyone needed to follow through with the teaching.

I saw Kimberly standing on the prayer line, along with just about everyone else who was at the workshop. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her gently falling to the ground as Steve prayed for her—a very common sight at this Conference!

As a member of the Prayer Ministry Team, I was ministering to those who were already doing “carpet” time, when I suddenly heard sobbing and weeping coming from behind.

Yes, it was Kimberly who was responsible for these sounds. As I moved closer to her, it was evident that she was experiencing a powerful encounter with the Father that resulted in the expression of strong emotions.

I blessed what the Holy Spirit was doing in her and moved on.

Later on that afternoon, Kimberly explained that she had chosen Steve’s workshop as she simply wanted to be in a place where she could listen, learn and take copious notes of practical solutions. This way she would not have to subject herself to the emotional expressions that would surely be stirred up by receiving prayer ministry in Carol’s workshop 🙂

Aha! God had other plans for Kimberly, though!

She discovered that the God who has been described by various titles such as Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha and Jehovah Nisi, is also known to show up as Jehovah Sneaky!

Can you relate?

We would love to have you share your experiences with the rest of your DWOD family