Where to start…

Well… The travel season for the 2021-22 Encounter Team has come to a close! It’s crazy to think that about 8 months ago we headed to our first church in Rochester, NY! 

As we look back at all God has done in those 8 months, we are amazed!

During the Spring travel season, God truly worked in ways that only He could. The verse that comes to mind is Ephesians 3:20-

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."

So many times I don’t even know what to ask for. In general, yes. “God, I pray for revival”… but the specifics? Only God could orchestrate those things. He knows what we need and he’s interceding on our behalf. That’s pretty awesome!

We wanted to give a quick recap of the second half of the travel season so you can celebrate with us in all God did! 

Our first week was in Stanley, VA. If you watched Bailey’s video, this is where we spent a few nights on air mattresses in the church nursery because we couldn’t get to our Airbnb due to the weather conditions! 😂 Many adults were refreshed, encouraged, and made spiritual decisions to follow Christ more faithfully. Teens and children were ministered to and this helped stir a new work of youth ministry in the church. They have also secured a week of meetings for next year and want to expand by doing suicide prevention seminars in the local public schools. 

Next, we headed to Roanoke, VA where we stayed at a camp property and had many ministry opportunities in the area. The team was able to visit Colonial Baptist Church. This was their first exposure to ERM. They have secured a week of meetings for the spring of 2024. People were deeply refreshed and encouraged. We also did 2 workdays at Camp Eagle Christian Camp, ministered at a local pastor’s conference at Victory Independent Baptist Church, and ministered at a local church leader “Refresh” conference at Catawba Valley Baptist Church with about 100 in attendance. We had a true revival that morning. Many decisions were made and leaders were refreshed! Finally, over 100 came out for a Thursday night revival meeting at Camp Eagle. A teenager trusted Christ as Lord and Savior and there were many other decisions!

Next was Siler City, NC. This was a great week! The church was so packed the team could not sit down. (Which is a great problem to have!) People were refreshed, encouraged, convicted, and stirred. The pastor and his wife were encouraged and sensitive to the Lord’s work, the church was convicted about reviving their prayer meetings, and some young people made a profession of faith in Christ this week!

Then we headed to Asheboro NC.  We would say true revival took place this week. Many people came forward during the invitations. On the last night, the altar was full of people who were burdened for the lost. The church was also deeply convicted to revitalize their prayer meetings, and they decided to move their prayer meeting from Wednesday to Sunday mornings before the worship service. Two-thirds of the church came to the prayer meeting the Sunday after we left, and they had a testimony time that lasted the entire service! We also had the privilege of staying at Anna and Isaac Fetterhoff’s house that week. Bailey and I both traveled with them on Encounter, back in the day. It was so good to spend time with them! Mom Farrell and the kids were also able to come up this week to visit, and it was nice just to spend time with family! We’re so thankful for family who is willing to make long drives to see us, even for just a couple days!

We then headed back to Ramseur, NC for a week of meetings at Faith Christian School and Church! It was a great week. Many decisions were made, and everyone except for a few students came forward in the public invitation on Friday stating that they were going to live for Christ. Several professions of faith happened this week; at least 7 that we know, and there were more after we left! Over 60 students made decisions about quiet time and asked for devotional material; many students were asked to follow up with their teachers about decisions that they had made! My Uncle Dean lives near here, and I was able to go visit with his family, My Grandma & Grandpa, and My Sister's family who was in the area as well! It was another refreshing time with family!

We left North Carolina and headed back to Roanoke VA to visit two churches, one which Encounter had never been to. They both were great weeks! People were encouraged and a few young people made professions of faith in Christ! 

Next was Asbury, WV. This was a truly incredible week! People were saved, some came forward and publicly repented in front of the congregation, and many decisions were made. Next year, they want to do a multi-church revival meeting along with Christian school chapels in the area, a First Responder’s night, and a few other exciting things! We also went to two Christian schools in the area to do chapels and there were several professions of faith!

We left West Virginia and headed to Emporia VA. Sixteen churches gathered together at the Greensville Elementary School Monday-Friday night for multi-church revival meetings. We did Sunday A.M. meetings at Forest Hill Baptist Church which was the host church. God was at work! During the week, many responded publicly with the decisions they made and at least 10 people made a profession of faith in Christ! An entire community was impacted through the meetings, a downtown concert, and singing in local restaurants, nursing homes, local businesses, radio, and more. We were able to do 7 public school seminars on suicide awareness. In two days we were able to impact 1,600 students! Some of the students came to the revival meetings and brought their parents/grandparents as well!

After this, we headed back to our home base in Harrisburg, PA to prepare for the mission trip to Hurricane, WV. They did meetings for 6 different churches. These churches were very small but the services were some of the best of the year. People were truly encouraged and impacted. They also put on an overnight youth retreat and were able to share the Gospel and mentor the teens on how to have a daily quiet time. The team worked hard helping do some much-needed maintenance work for a local Christian camp that had limited help. The team was able to minister to several home-bound folks as well!

Not long after the team got home from the missions trip, we headed out for our last week of meetings in Honesdale PA. What a great way to finish the travel year! Many decisions were made. The church was full to the point they had to add chairs on the final night. We also had some opportunities to minister to the lost in the local community. God did a great work in the lives of the teenagers and children, and they are sending many teens to Mt Lou. San this summer, not just as campers, but as summer staff as well!

We got back to camp and jumped full swing into local church ministry and getting prepped for summer camp, which is just around the corner! We are so excited about this!

So there you have it. A little glimpse into what we’ve been up to the last few months. Obviously, this is just bits and pieces.. but I hope it encourages you to see just how much God has been working!

I also want to add how proud we are of the team members. They have been so sensitive to the Lord and have grown so much. I may be biased, but I think it’s the best crew Encounter has ever had! Even on break, we are getting updates almost every day on how God is using them! They are sharing in their local churches, sending us what they are getting in their Quiet Times, witnessing to the unsaved, being a light to their families, and so much more. We want all of them to come back next year… but we’re excited to see how God uses them as they move on! If you’re reading this and are a team member of the 2021-22 Encounter team, the Farrells love you so much!

We are so thankful to be able to be used by God in this way. To all of our supporters, there are not enough words to say: "Thank You!" This would not be possible without you. 

Whether you’ve prayed for us once, everyday, or whenever you think of us: Thank You! 

If you have supported us financially, $1, $50, $200, $1000: Thank You! 

If you have supported us with words of encouragement or random acts of service like, “hope you have a great day.” or “Praying for you.” or “Here’s $15 for coffee.” or “Here’s $40 to go to dinner.”: Thank You! 

It means more to us than you know!

To close, below are a few Prayer Requests:

-Pray for the campers who will be joining us at Mt. Lou San this summer. Pray that even now, God would start to soften their hearts!

-Pray for the staff! Pray that our hearts would be soft and ready for what God wants to teach us this summer. Pray for energy! Pray that we would be strong spiritually! Pray that we would impact the campers and those around us in a way that makes them look more like Christ!

-Pray for wisdom as Mark and Bailey as they prepare for the next travel season.

We would count it a privilege to pray for you! Let us know if there is anything we can be praying with you about!

If you’d like to stay connected with all that the ministry is up to, make sure you follow the Encounter Revival Ministries Facebook Page!

Also, don’t forget to watch Bailey and Reid’s Update Video!

Thank you for taking the time to catch up with us!