By Matthew Legere

Winterfire 2007 was a conference anointed by the Lord Jesus Christ to provide strategic direction and relevant messages to a united group of Apostolics.  Held February 15 -17, 2007 in Bloomfield, CT, it was a meeting of destiny and a harbinger of hope to a mission field on the verge of a breakthrough--the Northeast U.S.A.  The results of the conference were true to what the Winterfire website stated as follows: 

Walking in the door, a sense of expectancy fills the atmosphere – here a life can be changed, Divine direction is discerned, a leadership team reawakened to God’s priorities, a calling imparted, a church birthed, unity is forged – that sense of expectancy arrests our attention as God begins a personal work of fulfilling the faith that burns in each heart.

Snow What?

A cold blast of winter precipitation, indicative of this area of the country, thwarted the travel plans of many attendees and speakers, but God still moved in a mighty way despite the weather.  As Bro. Jon Petoskey, one of the co-founders of Winterfire, told me the day prior to the meeting, “We’re having winter today, but the fire is tomorrow!”  How true that statement was as the fire fell upon approximately 1,000 individuals on-site and over 900 tuning in to the services via webcast!  Winterfire!

We began Thursday night with worship and praise led by Bro. Sam Emory and the presence of the Lord filled the First Cathedral church auditorium that was rented for the meeting.  While Bro. Kenneth Haney was unable to attend due to the weather; Bro. Paul Mooney was there and preached a powerful message to us about how our Acts 2:38 message is “future-proof.”  We may be living in “perilous times,” as the Scripture says, and our tomorrow is uncertain, however, the Acts 2:38 message lives on and is relevant to our culture today.  Towards the close of his message, he signed the bottom of his shoe, and the shoe of a volunteer, with the words “Acts 2:38.”  Soon, many more individuals were running to the front of the auditorium to be made “future-proof” with the signature of Bro. Mooney. 

Friday Fire

On Friday morning, Emory warned us that the church was losing its significance because we are too “church-focused” and not “Jesus-focused.”  He jokingly stated that, “If you want Starbucks, you won’t find it in my church foyer, but, if you want Jesus, you will be sure to find Him!”  He ended his message with the statement that “too many people are falling in love with “the church” instead of Jesus.  Then, when life gets rough, they can easily fall away from the church because they are not grounded in Christ.”  

Bro. Mike Mitchell preached a message about Elijah as found in I Kings 19 in which he challenged us with the same question that the Lord asked of Elijah: “What doest thou here?  God has given us the opportunity to rest in the mount of God (Horeb); however, due to our fears, we run to the security of a cave.  Elijah needed to leave the cave so he could anoint three more people and pass on a mantle.  Interestingly enough, one of the individuals that he still needed to anoint (Jehu), ended up being the person who killed the origin of his fears (Jezebel)

Bro. Mark Morgan then brought us a message from the roots of Christianity 101: “The Avenger is coming…and it’s not you!”  Morgan brought a timely message of trusting in the Lord’s timing and letting Him be the one to avenge our wrongs.  What a spirit of prayer and repentance that swept over us! 

Due to the weather, Bro. Jerry Jones arrived just in time for his message on Friday night.  What an excitement swept over the crowd as he mentioned that his text would be from I Kings Chapter 19!  He took a different slant on the story and had us look at why Elijah was under the juniper tree as verse 4 states: “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”  His message to the church was that “we are not better than our fathers” and that we need to “hold fast to the doctrine that was first delivered to us”.

Saturday Excitement

The services on Saturday morning started at 9 a.m. with a minister’s forum that was designed to provide relevant information about church growth, how to keep a revival spirit, organization, and evangelism.  When Bro. Darrell Johns stepped up to minister to us when the forum was over, the Lord moved in a mighty way. 

Mitchell reminded us about the power of the anointing.  Gehazi had a servant mentality, but had never allowed the anointing to affect his life; therefore, he easily fell into temptation.  Even through he had seen Naaman healed of his leprosy, he did not seek this healing for himself when God’s judgment fell upon him for lying to the man of God.

For the finale, Morgan preached about the spirit of sacrifice that swept over the Book of Acts church.  Towards the end of his message, a spirit of sacrifice swept over everyone and we were given the opportunity to give towards the cause of two home missionaries (one from Philadelphia and one from Metro New York) and foreign missionaries that were present at the meeting.  In a matter of twenty minutes, over $78,000 was raised for the cause.  Even young children were giving sacrificially evidenced by one young boy who pledged $23 because it was all that he had.  

Last year, individuals at the Winterfire Conference gave money sacrificially towards the work of God in Boston, MA under Bro. Kevin D. Howard.  During this year’s move of God, Howard pledged to give a 2000 Dodge 15-passenger van to the home missionaries in Philadelphia.  Wow, home missionaries giving to home missionaries!  It was a very touching moment.

I firmly believe that what was accomplished at Winterfire 2007, cannot be limited by the words in this article.  The true results of this monumental meeting will be felt in the lives of people that left this conference changed and delivered from mindsets that are not conducive to revival.  It’s easy for many individuals to call us the “cold Northeast”, but I would challenge those same individuals to leave the security of their current arrangements and partner with us to reach this Northeastern part of the United States.  

The dates for Winterfire 2008 will be February 14-16, 2008; come be a part of what God is doing for the Apostolic movement!

ninetyandnine.com 

© 2007, Matthew Legere

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Matthew Legere resides in Bristol, Connecticut with his wife, Heidi, and son, Connor.  He has had some articles published in a variety of publications and is currently pursuing his local UPCI minister’s license. Soon he will be launching “Spirit Driven Ministry”--a ministry dedicated to encouraging the body of Christ to be led by the Spirit of God.