Ready, Set, GO!

“It’ll be a task. There’s a good deal of darkness. Many families are in difficulties; the students need a lot of attention. But. You can do it. You are anointed. We will help,” he spoke to us with contagious confidence and joy.

“Youth ministry is family ministry, honey. Remember that,” she continued.

That conversation with Norman and Beverly Coad marked the starting gate through which Stephen and I entered youth ministry.

Learn Well, Lead Well

True to their word, they did help–whole-heartedly.

It took an hour (one way) to get to church, and we were expecting our first son. Beverly opened their home and cooked lunch, offering spiritual and physical hospitality so we could rest between church services.

During those lunches, we learned so much from their marriage, ministry, wisdom and experience.  We were keenly aware of our need to learn in order to lead well.

They mentored us, as we mentored the students. (Both sets of our parents also poured into our ministry, a chief way being prayer support and debriefing sessions.)

Three generations worked together.

What Pleases the Lord

Norman and Beverly donated a really cool sound system to the student ministry. The students enjoyed it. We employed sound to help diffuse their energy as they entered the building, and then to refocus their energy on the Lord before teaching commenced.

To our dismay, one afternoon we discovered the student building in disarray and the sound system missing (stolen). The students were angry. They felt violated. Stephen stayed with them, and I went searching for Beverly.

“You need to give it to them (whoever took it),” answered Beverly after hearing the situation. Surprised, I stared at her. “They stole it–you give it to them. Don’t hold it, give the Lord room to work,” she counseled.

We wanted to lead the students to respond in a way that would please the Lord, so I relayed Beverly’s counsel to the students.

At first, they vented their frustration and protests. Then, they agreed that YES they did want to respond in a way that would please the Lord.

Together, we prayed and released the item, and blessed the person.

All Good, No Bad!

Within a short period of time, church leadership discovered the young man who took the sound system. His life was full of difficulties.

The counsel Beverly gave us–which we led the students to follow–released spiritual motion which caused him to be found and dealt with in a redemptive way rather than pain upon pain.

Further, we were able to purchase a new, updated sound system through the student budget which had grown.

Just like our Heavenly Father’s actions, these actions, guided by wisdom from our mentors, released ripple effects that were all good, with no bad.

Still Burning Bright

Before moving to Texas, Norman and Beverly served as missionaries. They continued to carry a burning desire to see the Lord Jesus Christ enthroned in the hearts of people to such an extent that families and land are transformed.

A big key to harvest is three generations working together. The wisdom and experience of the grandparents. The desire and resources of the parents. The zeal and energy of the teens, tweens and children (at its zenith in this stage of life!).

Our students entered revival. Spiritual renewal and awareness abounded; salvations and baptisms abounded. It was an exciting time.

Revival is great–but for real change to happen in the culture, it has to be sustained beyond the initial emotional response (which is good, too, we just have to keep going). That work is stewarded by staying in a place of personal repentance and continual prayer. A PLACE to go to develop what’s been released by the Holy Spirit is key too. (Stay tuned for MORE on that below!)

We experienced their faith, work in the Lord, love, and steadfast hope in this direction. It sparked in us–and inspired us. We considered how hard the work is to “plow the fields” for harvest and NOT see what you are hoping for, for years on end.

And yet. . .to continue on. Regardless. In hope.

“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Hebrews 6:12

Kingdom Promised!

We have been promised His Kingdom–our Lord Jesus Christ started the Revolution to His Kingdom. He said that the time would come when there would be a people who would do greater works than He did.

Anyone with spiritual sensitivity has felt it–the sense that something is ‘afoot.

Let Father’s REVOLUTION begin!

Let each generation RISE to its place!

Let the Abraham generation keep their faith burning bright! Let the Isaac generation lean in to their wisdom, and be the bridge! Let the Jacob generation hear in their spirits the sound of love and wisdom and respond!

The greatest days are not behind–the greatest days are ahead!

To that end, our family launched Let’s Wade In. A community for students and a tool for parents, grandparents and caregivers to share their faith with the next generation. We’re investing NOW so that when the “Joshua generation is gone, the children can carry on. STRONG.”

Prayer Response

Father, thank you so much for the faith and patience of the grandparents (the Abraham generation). Thank you for their labor in the Lord. Grant them youth renewal and the release of what they’ve desired and hoped for in you, according to your covenant (Psalm 103:5).

Father, thank you for the desire and resources of the parents (the Isaac generation). Grant them greater grace so they can have energy and resources available (beyond making a living) for connection and nurture as You lead.

Father thank you for the energy and zeal of the children, tweens and teens who have such an amazing purpose as You chose this time in history to send them to earth (the Jacob generation).

Connect the generations, Father. Heal. Restore. Renew. Anoint them. Grace the divine alignments between the three generations, as You lead, so that keys to harvest are released. Grace them in such a way that wisdom, resources and energy are connected to pull in the harvest. We desire that room for Your Spirit is sustained so that we can move from revival to transformation.

Father, what has been is not working.

Let YOUR revolution begin, as led by Your Holy Spirit, as enthroning our Lord Jesus Christ, as assisted by the prayers of the faithful in generations standing with You in Heaven, as aided by Your mighty angels, as effected on earth by the three generations connected and working together.

And cause this to ripple onward beyond what we can ask or think, preparing the way for the Lord, as His kingdom expands and fills the whole earth, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

About the author

Crystal Wade writes to throw out a lifeline of hope for people to receive connectivity to trust the Father and be internally aligned to relate to Him, and thus receive His relationship and the blessings that naturally flow from Him. She is managing editor of Hope Streams.net.

Crystal and her husband Stephen received a commission from the Father to connect the generations to Him and to each other so that they can: Start well. Live well, Recover well, Build well, and Finish well. As part of that commission, they release materials to assist people of all ages in connecting to The Perfect Parent. The couple carries the Father’s passion to position the next generation to be grounded in His truth and love so they can fly in the Spirit. To that end, their family launched Let’s Wade In, a media portal, which is both a community for children, tweens and teens and a tool for parents and caregivers to anchor students in truth and love so they can fly in the Spirit. They have three wonderful sons.

About the Coads

Dr. Norman Coad, and his wife Beverly, were directed by our Father to settle in Texas after their missionary work. Our Father told him that to be here when “it” [the move of God] broke out. To this end, they have been working for years. Dr. Coad has released a ground-breaking book The Divided Soul, based on years of field work as guided by the Holy Spirit in family therapy. It provides real tools to assist people who are called, as well as trained professionals, to work with the Holy Spirit to bring real healing to real (complex and embedded) issues inside the soul.