The Pentecost Sunday Vision
History
In June of 1994, I had one of those moments. We had just finished Easter services where I was pastoring in Lynchburg Virginia, and my mind began to think of what was next. I needed something to keep our young growing church focused on evangelism. During this time, I saw a calendar with the holidays listed and saw Pentecost Sunday was coming up in 7 weeks. That’s when it hit me. Wow, we could start now and plan for an outpouring of the Holy Ghost on that day. Why not? It’s Pentecost Sunday, and we are in fact Pentecostal! This was perfect. The vision began to grow in my spirit.
Finally, the vision couldn’t be contained any longer. My friend Jack Cunningham was the General Home Missions Director at WEC, and I told him about the idea for a unified worldwide evangelistic outreach. He certainly wanted to hear that! When we realized the next year 1995 was the 50th anniversary of the merger and the UPCI Pentecost, we felt it was a sign from God.
The Pentecost Sunday Campaign became a national evangelism effort with thousands of churches participating, USA Today Ads and Time Magazine Ads and resulted in tens of thousands receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost. I have always believed Pentecost Sunday is one of the greatest opportunities we have to focus on the harvest fields of North America.
Vision
Recently I was appointed by the NAM Director to serve as the National Evangelist Director. We have 81 officially enrolled evangelists in the UPCI. When I began to think about what we could do to reach the harvest of North America, it was like a gentle breeze blew on the low flickering flame in my heart. The vision for Pentecost Sunday fired up!
The Evangelist Department is launching a new Pentecost Sunday initiative for 2018-2020.
The Pentecost Sunday Campaign continues to place a vital emphasis on reaching the lost with the message of repentance, water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost evidenced by speaking with other tongues!
This coordinated effort of thousands of UPCI churches working together for a great outpouring of the Holy Ghost helps fulfil what has become a divine mandate for the United Pentecostal Church International “The Whole Gospel to the Whole World by the Whole Church.”I want to encourage every church and minister to participate in the Pentecost Sunday Campaign this year. Through the unified, simultaneous efforts of the church, the evangelization of North America is a reachable proposition. With the support and participation of every minister and church member, we can expect the highest harvest the church has ever known.
Sincerely,
