Milford Center, OH March 8-11

With Ryan, Crissy, Cameron, Cailynn, and Cooper Bash

Carey and I were privileged to be in Milford Center, OH this past week for revival services March 8-11.  I met Pastor Ryan Bash this past summer as we were co-evangelists together at Camp Sychar, where I immediately saw his heart and sensed an instant connection in the Lord Jesus.  There was a special sense of team work and oneness among the workers at that camp, and God worked in a powerful way throughout the entire event.  I knew that I had been granted an eternal brother and friend in Ryan Bash.  He is the pastor of Trinity Chapel in Milford Center, a small farming community northwest of Columbus.  The church belongs to a holiness denomination called the Churches of Christ in Christian Union, and Ryan has been the pastor here for the past 8 years.  

We were immediately struck by the warmness of the fellowship in the church.  The people there have a deep and genuine love for one another, and they extended that to Carey and me from the very first moment.  While having revival services was something new to many if not most of the congregation, the response was nothing short of amazing.  In short, the Lord answered our prayers for revival.  The people responded to the moving of the Holy Spirit in each and every service, and there was a very real sense of something “building” throughout the meeting, culminating in a wonderful closing service on Wednesday night.  I have a personal prayer and picture of what I always hope for revival to be.  I have the image of a group of people on a hike up a very tall mountain.  My prayer for revival is that the group “base camp” is moved higher up the mountain.  This seems to have taken place in this time as people responded to Jesus, and we are so grateful.  

Perhaps the greatest blessing was to get to visit with Ryan and his family, with whom we stayed for our days in Milford Center.  The entire family was so gracious to us and we are thankful for the times of fellowship around meals, Cameron’s soccer game, and evening family devotions.  Thank you so much to Ryan, Crissy, Cameron, Cailynn, and Cooper for your sacrifice and welcoming us into your family for the week.  In addition to this, we were further blessed by some of the people from Camp Sychar who came throughout the week, with a “mini” Sychar reunion on Wednesday night.  We are deeply grateful for the relationships that God deepened even further during this week, and I was reminded anew of God’s precious gift of the people He has placed in our lives and the eternal value of relationships, 

In Christ,  

John

Trinity Chapel in Milford Center, OH