If you are interested in watching or listening to the teaching from the conference, it has been made available on The Springs Church’ website.

“The conference has more than met my expectations. I came with a heavy heart in some areas and God has just met me here and spoken to me through the messages, the worship, and the people from all over the world, I have met here. It has been a really good conference for me.”
— Pastor Rich Lammay

“This has been a fantastic conference. You just feel God move. It’s the real thing. It is helping us get rid of all of the cultural aspects of Christianity, and looking for the very heart of God and putting that into focus. I am so glad I came, and I am already looking forward to the next [conference].”
— Pastor Charles Todd

“Much of the teaching that is popular today can leave pastors feeling they are not teaching Bible correctly because [doing so] isn’t always exciting to the ears. What we are hearing here is reinforcing valuable and sustainable faith — something that will keep on going.”
— Pastor Rich Lambright

“It’s very relaxing just to know that we can trust [the speakers]. You don’t have to be listening and always on guard, questioning whether they are speaking the truth or not. These are seasoned men. We have read their books, we have listened to their sermons, and we know we can trust them to speak the truth. It’s refreshing to the soul to come and to hear from men that love the Lord with all their heart.”
— Sheri Lambright

“[The Expect Conference] is challenging in a way that causes you to stop in your ministry and consider where you are, and where you need to be.”
— Pastor Alex Sushchik

“[The speakers] are imparting life to us, and sharing the grace and power, to encourage us to not loose hope but to look up and find God as our source. I thank God for the investment these man have made to come together and share with us.”
— Michael Beene, Missionary

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In this season of unrest and uncertainty in world, Pastors are needing sound guidance from the Lord as never before.

Won’t you please pray for…
· Pastors and ministers to be encouraged in their commitment to Christ in these perilous times
· A prevailing presence of the Holy Spirit throughout the conference
· A time of rest and refuge in Christ for those who labor on the front lines
· A powerful anointing on all of the speakers (Pastors Gary Wilkerson, Jim Cymbala, Carter Conlon, Teresa Conlon, Tim Dilena and Claude Houde)

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ…” (Col 4:2-3a)

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Session 1: Gary Wilkerson

Session 2: Jim Cymbala

Session 3: Dr. Tony Evans

Session 4: Gary Wilkerson

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Thank you for praying for the Philadelphia Expect Conference.

Below are some comments from those who attended.

“Expect Prayer Conference was off the charts…rich feeding in the Word by Gary Wilkerson, Jim Cymbala and Tony Evans…and the cherry on the top tonight with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers…WOW. Refreshed, renewed, revitalized and rejoicing in God’s faithful love!!”

“The Lord has led me to one of those crossroads. Listening was the refreshment I needed.”

“The unity and enthusiasm was so evident all day and into the evening.  Each one we spoke with was so encouraged and uplifted as a result of what they heard and saw.”
- Wayne and Kay Guzman

“It was truly inspiring to see a city come together in hope like the people of Philadelphia did at the Expect Conference this year.”
- Erin Lytle

“The Expect Conference was truly inspiring.  It was a pleasure to worship the Lord with so many different denominations and styles.  I left encouraged and motivated to continue the work God has ordained me to do.”
- Robert C. LoRusso

“Marney and I have found ourselves frequently relating our current experiences to what we heard at the Expect Confference.  As a result the tendency to drift into extended worry or fear has been greatly diminished.  The points made by Pastors Jim, Gary  and Tony, while extremely valuable toward pastoring a church, also speak to individuals (us) as we deal with problems.”

“So powerful. To be part of such a God honoring multicultural, multidenominational Christian gathering was awe-inspiring!”
- Russ Whitnah

Your prayer support is crucial. Our next scheduled Expect Conferences are in Colorado Springs September 25-27  and Chicago on October 11.

Thank you again and blessings.

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We have just returned from our recent conference at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as, “Angola Prison.”

This conference was one of the most spiritually gripping and powerful meetings we have experienced. Over 200 inmate Pastors, Ministers, and Missionaries sat along side Pastors from local churches around the city and state. To see these men worship Jesus together in one accord was a literal testament to the kind of truth that sets men free. We could not tell the difference between the inmate pastors, and their counterparts who live and serve God outside of the prison. Most of the inmates are serving life sentences and will never have the opportunity to attend a Pastor’s Conference outside of the prison walls of Angola.

What a privilege to see – first hand – the boundless reach of God’s love for His people.

Thank you, so much for your prayers. We are well aware that your prayers have greatly contributed to the success of this conference, and your continued prayer support is greatly appreciated.

Testimonies

I was privileged to be able to attend the “Expect Conference” in Angola Prison last week. In fact, it was one of the highlights of my spiritual life.

For a free man to say he was privileged to go to one of the world’s most infamous prisons might seem a bit strange. Likewise for a preacher of many years and experiences to say attending a conference with 800 pastors and (+) prisoners was a spiritual highlight appears at first thought to be incorrect or incomplete. For anyone not at Angola Prison during last week’s Expect Conference there’s really no way to explain what happened in a way you could understand it.

Yes, there were many prisoners, all serving life sentences, who gathered to worship and praise our Lord. These men were led in worship by an anointed Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers praise team. When the choir sang, “This Is What It Means To Be Free” these men serving life raised their hands in praise. I cannot even begin to describe that scene or my own heart’s response to it. Suffice for now to say time and place blurred with eternity in that prison chapel during that praise.

Yes, Gary Wilkerson and Jim Cymbala preached. They preached like the Apostle Paul at Mars Hill, facing the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of men behind bars with no real hope of ever being free again. Pastor Gary and Pastor Jim brought freedom to them through a life-giving, liberating word from God’s Word. I’ve heard Gary and Jim both preach before, but never better.

I have been blessed, honored…humbled to have been a small part of World Challenge’s ministry for over 30 years. I attended Brother Dave’s school, “Twin Oaks Leadership Academy” in 1980. I worked for World Challenge from 1985-1987 (with Roger Hayslip, doing small town evangelism). I visited new York in 1985 and watched (mesmerized) Brother Dave do street rallies. I have had the honor to preach from Times Square Church’s pulpit and share the graduation commencement address at Summit International School of Ministry. World Challenge has long been a “world class” ministry. I have seen it. The “Expect Conference” at Angola Prison may have been the most great and genuine spectacle of pure Christian ministry and service I’ve ever beheld. It was…simply put, it was faith as it should be; Christ truly in us (in Gary, Jim and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers) the hope of many a man’s glory.

Thank you Pastor Gary and World Challenge for providing this service to the “least of these”, 5,000 inmates at Angola Prison. And thank you dearly, for allowing me, the chief among them to be a humble witness on such a grand occasion.

Rick Hagans
President, Harvest Evangelism, Inc.

I had the honor to attend the Expect conference last week at Angola Prison. It was without a doubt one of the highlights of my 19 year ministry. The humble but spirit led preaching by Pastor Jim Cymbala and Pastor Gary Wilkerson not only refreshed all of us who were there but challenged us as we lead in our ministry. It didn’t matter if you were a Pastor in a city church, rural church or cell block church. You were inspired to love Jesus more, walk in the power of His spirit daily, and seek His face in prayer. Pastor Gary help all of us understand the gift of God’s grace and how we should all center our lives in and around it while Pastor Cymbala pointed us to a holy dependence on the Holy Spirit of God to work in and through us. They were such humble servants and their greatest passion was for every participant to leave not remembering them or World Challenge but Jesus. I can tell you this – they succeeded. I was refreshed and excited about seeing God work in my everyday life.

Buff McNickle
Idlewild Baptist Church

Dear World Challenge,

I would like to thank you for the meetings last week at the Angola jail. For some months prior, it has been on my heart to visit those in prisons, but did not know where or how. When I heard of the Expect Conference at Angola I knew it was God providing.

There have only ever been a few events in my Christian walk that has been as life changing as this one. The message was short and simple, NEW COVENANT! It was to the point and easy to understand. I thank the Lord for the freedom we have in Christ. Thanks so Pastor Jim Cymbala and Pastor Gary Wilkerson. But more importantly, I want to thank the Lord for the opportunity to visit our brothers that are incarcerated. I think I have experienced just a glimpse of the joy Paul the Apostle felt for his brothers in the early church. It was a life-changing event!

Brother Desmond

Prisons are seemingly terrible places symbolizing rape, murder, violence, carelessness, and ultimately defeat. I walked into the Expect conference at Angola prepared to sense the weight of this hopelessness deeply in my heart; yet, in exchange, I received a perspective of what hope and freedom truly are- in their purest forms. I saw that though all has been stripped away from these men, it is on this blank canvas that Jesus is painting His hope and freedom upon. God has moved in His great compassion, giving these men a purpose when all purpose was squandered. In exchange for their shackles He is them giving wings, in exchange for their emptiness He is filling them with HIs Spirit, in exchange for defeat He lavishes love and victory. My life is changed after seeing men that have lost their lives coming to find new life in Jesus. Though many will never leave that prison, they are not captive but free to expand God’s kingdom. Free to know their Savior and to lead others into that sweet freedom. This conference breathed such life into a place named for death. Hope cannot die for hope’s name is Jesus. His love knows no bounds. His faith reaches no end.

Today, I saw pastors from all walks of life, whether inmate or civilian, worshiping their Creator and learning together for one purpose – to expand the Kingdom of God. In Him there is no darkness or separation. Only a beautiful harmony of His children dancing in His light, proclaiming His name to the world.

Tori Ohlerking

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First of all Thank you so much for bringing this conference to Bakersfield. It was like dry dusty ground drinking up the fresh water from heaven. Not only was it desperately needed, but the Holy Spirit ministered so profoundly. From the anointed praise and worship to the timely Word, to the fellowship among Gods people. The  presence of Jesus was so real there are no words to describe it. It changed my whole perspective in ministering the word with the unconditional love of God. Now I know that the ultimate and most important thing in life is humanity of whom Christ died for. I knew that already but only doctrinally, theologically, and denominationally, but after the conference God gave me his love for people in a real and greater dimension.

Pastor Ray, Bakersfield.

The Holy Spirit used the Word, through Pastor Jim and Pastor Gary, to provide answers, give guidance, rebirth hope, and fan the fire of the Holy Spirit in my life. I left sensing God had orchestrated this whole event in order to minister to me. For which I am deeply grateful. The event was filled with “God moments” those special times when God’s presence, moving, and speaking is experienced.

Dr. Jerry L. Lanford, Pastor of the First Southern Baptist Church of Porterville

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The conference was attended by over 200 pastors, leaders and their spouse. Many were fed and renewed spiritually. Also friendships were established during these two days among those who attended. Below are some of the comments:

1. This was a different kind of conference.
2. The speakers were a real blessing at the right time in our life.
3. We felt very relaxed as the speakers ministered.
4. A heavy burden was lifted of us.
5. I am ready to stay longer on the field and serve the Lord.
6. It was awesome, I am renewed and ready for more
7. The speakers should come back again.

We are so grateful to all who prayed for us. We continue to serve and seek the Lord in ways that would encourage many through our conferences in other cities and nations.

The post EXPECT 2012 – Bangladesh appeared first on Expect Conferences.

Pleae pray for open heaven and God’s visitation during the event. Pray for a time of refreshing and encouragement for those who attend.
Pray for safe travels, good health and fruitful ministry for the US team.

Below are some prayer items that were sent it by our brethren in Bangladesh:

1. Pray for the unity of all the churches in Bangladesh
2. Pray for revival in Bangladesh
3. Pray that God will raise up godly leadership in each church
4. Pray that the church will be actively involved in sending missionaries across our region.
5. Pray for stability in political situation in Bangladesh

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