Circuit Rider School
Dallas, TX
Summer is filled with rest, rejuvenation, training, and activation. Circuit Riders runs ten day accelerated leadership training schools for youth and college-aged students. The ten days are dedicated to learning to live out the cultures that Jesus set when he was here on earth. It is vital that students understand his priorities are our priorities, and his mission is our mission. Every student who comes to our schools receives training and teaching about growing in their relationship with Jesus, finding their mission and practically being equipped to live it out.
Our goal is that students would not only receive biblically based teaching, but also be trained through small groups and practical activation steps; so that each student is commissioned to preach the gospel wherever God calls them. You would be amazed at the hunger that filled every student who attended this school. It is as though God handpicked every single one to be his hands and feet. Most nights we would find them worshipping and praying late into the night; crying out for God to use them to reach their generation. As they cried out for God to break their heart for their own generation, I believe that God heard every prayer and moved through every one of them. Not only were these students called to many nations, workplaces, or universities – but to reach people local people in Dallas, TX.
Reinhard Bonnke was known for the millions of souls he led to Christ during his lifetime. He was one man, convinced of the power of the gospel and the conviction to go and seek and save the lost.
He once said,
“When I see what the enemy has done to my generation I cannot purr like a kitten, I must roar like a lion.”
– Reinhard Bonnke
Now I want you to imagine a room filled with young adults repenting of their passivity to the assignment of the enemy to kill their generation, declaring that they renounce comfort, say yes to persecution, yes to pioneering, yes to losing their reputation. The whole room erupted in crying out for God to save their generation and to use their “yes” to reach the lost no matter the cost. The room was filled with courage and faith, and their was a hush over the room as the fear of God settled in our hearts!
Can you imagine what God will do with a generation of evangelists? There will be no place unreached, no sphere untouched with the love of God.
Here are few testimonies from the students, as well as highlight moments from our worship and teaching sessions.
What’s Next?
An opportunity to go to Cairo, Egypt to train young Egyptians
The fall is full of new opportunities to continue with the assignment of finding leaders who are ready to be empowered & equipped to reach their campus, city, or nation. Stepping into the fall, I will be going to Cairo, Egypt for ten days to be apart of training young Egyptians in the Bible, being a messenger to their nation, and training them in the cultures of Jesus. This school is no small assignment or coincidental connection. We are believing to unite as many University ministries together, churches, and young people. As we equip and empower these young Egyptians, we believe that their yes could be attached to first great awakening in Egypt. I fly out August 29, and will be gone til September 9 serving in this school. Look out for testimonies from this school, I know it will be FILLED with the glory of God!
When I return, I will be planning an eight week tour on the East Coast, alongside a team of staff members from Circuit Riders. After touring there last spring, I am excited to continue to build relationships with the students on the East Coast who are called to their university! There are so many students who are so hungry for God and have great influence to reach their classmates, teammates and peers.
The goal and vision will continue to be seeing the lost saved, the saved revived, and to training them all!!
I am believing that God has been raising up leaders that are just about to step into the doing life with the heart of Christ. That their hearts will be filled with love and passion to see their whole campus met by the love of Jesus and they will be unstoppable, because their hearts will be broken over the very things that Christ heart is. Just think, about how quickly this great awakening within the college campuses will cause eyes and ears to seek God, and want to know him! We get to live in the midst of history being written and I cannot wait to write about these very days in history that we are living! Can you imagine what the headlines will be? I recently heard a quote that makes me think of the times that we are living in,
“Revival takes place when God gets tired of being misrepresented, so he just begins show up in ways that only he could”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwUYisg8trQ&feature=youtu.be
A glimpse into my walk with Jesus
I wanted to share bit about what I have been learning in my personal walk with Jesus – my prayer is that it encourages you.
“Weak love is true love, if you don’t believe that God loves you when your love is weak then your love will never mature.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 14:35
While I was in Amsterdam, during my Discipleship Training School with Youth with a Mission in 2019, I remember one of the most pivotal moments in my walk with God. I remember longing to feel God’s stamp of approval. Consciously and unconsciously the desire to be approved by God was motivating everything that I was doing. My thoughts would often consist of, “If I pray more throughout the day, God will love me more,” “If I give my coffee away God will love me more because he loves a cheerful giver,” or “God must love her/him more because they were given the finances they needed and I had to work hard for mine.” Feels childish to write out, I’ll admit, but if I’m honest, these thoughts filled my mind daily.
It seemingly was right theology to me, since all my life good behavior produced good rewards. The theology began to fail was when I did the right thing, but would no be rewarded. Or worse would not be given credit for my work. I even think of the times I would pray for something specifically from God and would not see the answer to my prayer, but would watch friends my friends receive the answer to my prayers! I remember the confusion and envy that filled me, because I need to know who God gives good gifts to.
I remember processing and contemplating these thoughts with lots of friends for days, that quickly turned into weeks. Every question was piling up within me, as I realized that I all I had known about God was put into question. I remember walking into worship, and not being able to sing the words written on the screens. My heart was so confused by the contradiction I felt between the words I read, and the what I was experiencing. Tears running down my face, many friends came to comfort and pray with me, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted what they were praying for. Finally, my mentor sat next to me on the couch and asked me, “Autumn, do you know what ‘grace’ is?” Confused and offended that she would ask me such an elementary question about my faith, I looked at her and said bluntly, “Yes of course.” She replied, “ok, I just wanted to be sure, because ‘grace’ is unmerited favor. You cannot earn it, it is receiving favor for what you have not done.” Still offended by her lack of remembering my knowledge of God, I shrugged off her words and walked away.
That night we had a prayer and worship set. I remember thinking there is no way I can be, praying and worshipping for next couple of hours. But there was no way of stopping or getting out of the schedule, so I sat down with my eyes open, determined to not engage. That attitude only got me through the first 5 mins. Faced with no other choice but to stay, I grabbed my closest friend and my mentor and told them to pray over me because I needed breakthrough. As they began to pray, all my emotions came to the surface and I began to uncontrollably cry. Their prayers were simple, “Autumn you’re worthy to be loved.” They repeated this prayer for two hours while I cried in their arms replying, “No I am not, I have not done enough.” Near the end of this set, it broke, instead of replying to the truth that I was ‘not worthy to be loved’ because of my lack of works, I replied, “Ok.” I felt the truth sink in and a joy fill me. All the sudden I understood that my Father does not call me worthy to be loved because of the things that I have done for him or because of my perfect behavior, but by Jesus’ blood that gives me confidence before God’s throne.
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” Hebrews 4:16
“But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13
This is one of the many things that makes the gospel so wonderful, is that it begins and ends with God loving us, because our love will fail. Knowing that there is absolutely nothing that I can do that will make me closer to Jesus, is actually so freeing because my weak efforts won’t effect our relationship. He made sure that my confidence could be in something that would be unchanging: His Blood. This has been a common theme recently in my walk with God. I will sit down to spend time with God and the first thoughts that enter my mind is the laundry list of reasons why God wouldn’t want to draw near to me. The list is always the ways that I have fallen short in my actions or thoughts, which tells me that I actually believe in my merit more than the blood of work of Jesus on the cross.
That is not what God is speaking over me, he only sees a daughter who has is pure and holy.
I think I am realizing that when I come before God, I look through the lens of my strength and therefore determine whether I am worthy of his affection or not. I look to my quiet times, I look to my efforts to build relationship with him, and determine if I am lovable or not. This is far from the truth. I recently heard a quote from a pastor saying,
“Weak love is true love, if you don’t believe that God loves you when your love is weak then your love will never mature.”
It’s in the acceptance of the fact that my love is weak, that I enjoy the great delight of the father’s perfect love. He has never once withheld his love and affection toward me and has not withheld his love for all generations.
This has brought me such freedom and joy in the last couple of months, because it’s true – even though I am called to proclaim the gospel to my generation, I still need to proclaim it to myself daily!
