OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
15648 Bombay Blvd
S. Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Saints,
We serve a very awesome God. We are truly overwhelmed with what God has been doing, and what we know He is about to do to bring in the harvest and expand His Kingdom. The past week or so has been totally amazing. But first a prayer request and announcement or two.
BRENDA'S DAD HIT BY STROKES
This past weekend, about three years after miraculously surviving open heart surgery, Brenda's dad had at least two strokes. For a short time the left half of his body would not respond. Now his left arm and leg are working, but the left side of his face is still not functioning. He also cannot speak or write, although he can understand others and nod yes or no. Brenda is planning on being in Washington on the weekend of Mothers' Day. Please pray that God touches him and gives him a little more time. He is about 85 years old. Also pray that he has a visitation from the Lord and that he is totally prepared for eternity.
RUSHING WIND, FLAMES OF FIRE CONFERENCE WITH BOBBY CONNER
Our conference starts on Thursday in just two days at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in DeKalb. (visit our website: www.ohmint.org) Brenda and I will minister on Thursday night and Friday afternoon and some on Saturday afternoon. Bill Myer will minister on Friday morning. Bobby Conner will speak on Friday night, Saturday morning and evening. Lisa Bourland of Kentucky will also share on Saturday afternoon.
Chicago HUB will also host a conference the same weekend in Naperville, with Shawn Bolz, Canon Andrew White from Iraq and JoAnne McFatter. Their conference ends on Sunday afternoon. Because both conferences will be going on at the same time, we anticipate that ours will be a bit more personal and that more prophetic ministry will be available for those who come to DeKalb.
PERSONAL ITINERARY ADJUSTMENT - A FEW NEW DATES AVAILABLE
In the last week or two we have had a substantial increase in requests for meetings here in Illinois, especially home meetings. We had planned on heading for Washington State to prepare for our daughter's wedding early in June. However, we have decided to stay an extra week to try to accomodate some of these requests. The dates available now are June 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10. If you were asking for a meeting, please write back asap and claim one of the above dates.
REVIVAL CONVERGENCE IN PASADENA
Although the major Azusa Street Revival celebration is underway this week, we were at the conference hosted by Che Ahn of Pasadena, California this past weekend. Heidi and Rolland Baker, Joseph Garlington, John and Carol Arnott and many others representing revivals around the world spoke and ministered a fresh revival anointing to us all. The theme was, Where History Meets Destiny. It was an awesome time of refreshing which we really needed.
Many special divine encounters also happened. These were too numerous to write about, but they provided some quality moments with some of our favorite people and people that God has chosen to shake the earth. On the last day, I was asked by Che Ahn to stay and attend a round table of international leaders, including some of the speakers and others. I felt like I was in way over my head, but felt God gave me a few things to contribute before it was over. A Revival Alliance of networks was established in accordance with a word given by Bob Jones and confirmed by a dream given to Che Ahn. God is doing awesome things.
KEEP PRAYING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF OUR CHICAGO SENDING CENTER.
The need for rightly prepared missionaries is totally incredible. We want to expedite the training and equipping of totally sold-out lovers of Jesus to bring His harvest to Him. Things are developing in Peru, Illinois. Pray for more miracles and for provision for that ministry to purchase the land that could host our ministry as well as several others. God is up to something HUGE!!!!
We love you all and thanks for your love and support. Pray for our planned trip to Mozambique at the end of June. We need to know God's perfect will for all of us who want to go.
Be blessed in Jesus' arms!!!
Ben and Brenda, Tim and Nathan
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
Newsletter April 16, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
15648 Bombay Blvd
South Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Happy Resurrection Day to you all!
We rejoice with all of you who believe that Jesus is alive and well and on the throne in Heaven. Our family watched The Passion of the Christ today and we recently watched The Chronicles of Narnia as well. It's good to know that when we go through a death and dying experience for the Lord, there is a resurrection coming. As we used to hear, "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming." Many of us are experiencing unusual attacks to get our eyes off what God is doing, but we will not be defeated by these diversions. God is doing awesome things in spite of these attacks.
We have been blessed with some tremendous meetings since our last newletter. God is moving on His people to prepare them for all the amazing things that He is about to do. Almost everyone is hungry for the reality of God's presence. God has put the hunger in us and those who respond to that hunger are getting fed like never before. It's harvest time and priorities are changing. It will never be "church as usual" again. We are gearing up for the climax of the ages.
EAGLE ROCK CHRISTIAN CENTER, PERU, ILLINOIS
We ministered Tuesday and Wednesday in Peru, although we almost didn't get to speak on Wednesday night, because God was moving on the people. The worship transitioned into body ministry and the fire of God was on many people as His glory was manifesting in many ways. In both of the meetings, a strong prophetic anointing fell on the speaking and the altar ministry and we left exhausted but excited about what God had done.
We also continued to discuss the vision of establishing a major Kingdom Coalition ministry training center, very possibly in the Peru area, which is at a crossroads of two main freeways in North Central Illinois. Things could happen quickly. Please pray for wisdom and the many miracles that will be needed. Several have happened already, but many more will be required to make this vision a reality.
EAST CHICAGO - WHEATON AREA
On Friday night we ministered in the home of Dr. Anna Stepanek, English professor at Wheaton College. She had invited friends and several of her students. Most of them had never been exposed to prophetic ministry before. It was a very precious time to share the love of Jesus with them. After the meeting, several intercessors ministered to Brenda and I and we were encouraged and strengthened by their ministry.
DAUGHTERS OF ZION
Yesterday afternoon and evening we ministered in Zion, Illinois, in the historic home of John Alexander Dowie. Two adjoining rooms in the old mansion were packed with about 70 people. Both Brenda and I spoke with a fresh anointing that surprised us as much as anyone else. Everyone wanted ministry, which we had to adjust for the crowd. We were there for about 6 hours and came home again exhausted but in awe of what God had done.
REVIVAL CONVERGENCE IN PASADENA
On Wednesday, April 19, we leave for Pasadena, California, where Che Ahn will be hosting a revival convergence with people from all over the world representing the many revivals of the last century or so. We are trusting God for more divine encounters like the last ones we had in Pasadena. Please pray for us as we travel again.
TWO CONFERENCES THE FINAL WEEKEND OF APRIL.
The CHICAGO HUB is hosting another awesome conference in Naperville, IL, on Friday, April 28-Sunday, April 30. Canon White, Shawn Bolz and JoAnn McFatter will be there. It should be an awesome time.
Meanwhile, we (not knowing the HUB's schedule early enough) have Bobby Conner coming to DeKalb, IL, for a conference called RUSHING WIND - FLAMES OF FIRE, running Thursday - Saturday. Bobby is an incredible guy and so easy and fun to listen to. His prophetic gift is very sharp and he feels strongly that God is preparing for something big in the Chicago region.
He will also be speaking Sunday morning at the DeKalb Vineyard Christian Fellowship, where we will have our conference. Please visit our website itinerary at www.ohmint.org for more info. Brenda and I and Bill Myers will be speaking when Bobby is not.
We are sorry for the fact that both conferences are the same weekend, as we would like to be at the HUB as well. We trust that many of you will get out to one conference or the other for the awesome meetings we are sure to have.
HEAL YOUR BODY, LORD CONFERENCE - MAY 24 - 27
Please keep these dates open if possible. We will have James Goll, Georgian Banoff, Che Ahn and Bobby Conner. It will be totally awesome. We will be at the Christian Fellowship Church in Crystal Lake, IL.
May God's resurrection life lift you above your circumstances into His presence.
We love you and value your prayers,
Ben and Brenda, Tim and Nathan
15648 Bombay Blvd
South Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Happy Resurrection Day to you all!
We rejoice with all of you who believe that Jesus is alive and well and on the throne in Heaven. Our family watched The Passion of the Christ today and we recently watched The Chronicles of Narnia as well. It's good to know that when we go through a death and dying experience for the Lord, there is a resurrection coming. As we used to hear, "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming." Many of us are experiencing unusual attacks to get our eyes off what God is doing, but we will not be defeated by these diversions. God is doing awesome things in spite of these attacks.
We have been blessed with some tremendous meetings since our last newletter. God is moving on His people to prepare them for all the amazing things that He is about to do. Almost everyone is hungry for the reality of God's presence. God has put the hunger in us and those who respond to that hunger are getting fed like never before. It's harvest time and priorities are changing. It will never be "church as usual" again. We are gearing up for the climax of the ages.
EAGLE ROCK CHRISTIAN CENTER, PERU, ILLINOIS
We ministered Tuesday and Wednesday in Peru, although we almost didn't get to speak on Wednesday night, because God was moving on the people. The worship transitioned into body ministry and the fire of God was on many people as His glory was manifesting in many ways. In both of the meetings, a strong prophetic anointing fell on the speaking and the altar ministry and we left exhausted but excited about what God had done.
We also continued to discuss the vision of establishing a major Kingdom Coalition ministry training center, very possibly in the Peru area, which is at a crossroads of two main freeways in North Central Illinois. Things could happen quickly. Please pray for wisdom and the many miracles that will be needed. Several have happened already, but many more will be required to make this vision a reality.
EAST CHICAGO - WHEATON AREA
On Friday night we ministered in the home of Dr. Anna Stepanek, English professor at Wheaton College. She had invited friends and several of her students. Most of them had never been exposed to prophetic ministry before. It was a very precious time to share the love of Jesus with them. After the meeting, several intercessors ministered to Brenda and I and we were encouraged and strengthened by their ministry.
DAUGHTERS OF ZION
Yesterday afternoon and evening we ministered in Zion, Illinois, in the historic home of John Alexander Dowie. Two adjoining rooms in the old mansion were packed with about 70 people. Both Brenda and I spoke with a fresh anointing that surprised us as much as anyone else. Everyone wanted ministry, which we had to adjust for the crowd. We were there for about 6 hours and came home again exhausted but in awe of what God had done.
REVIVAL CONVERGENCE IN PASADENA
On Wednesday, April 19, we leave for Pasadena, California, where Che Ahn will be hosting a revival convergence with people from all over the world representing the many revivals of the last century or so. We are trusting God for more divine encounters like the last ones we had in Pasadena. Please pray for us as we travel again.
TWO CONFERENCES THE FINAL WEEKEND OF APRIL.
The CHICAGO HUB is hosting another awesome conference in Naperville, IL, on Friday, April 28-Sunday, April 30. Canon White, Shawn Bolz and JoAnn McFatter will be there. It should be an awesome time.
Meanwhile, we (not knowing the HUB's schedule early enough) have Bobby Conner coming to DeKalb, IL, for a conference called RUSHING WIND - FLAMES OF FIRE, running Thursday - Saturday. Bobby is an incredible guy and so easy and fun to listen to. His prophetic gift is very sharp and he feels strongly that God is preparing for something big in the Chicago region.
He will also be speaking Sunday morning at the DeKalb Vineyard Christian Fellowship, where we will have our conference. Please visit our website itinerary at www.ohmint.org for more info. Brenda and I and Bill Myers will be speaking when Bobby is not.
We are sorry for the fact that both conferences are the same weekend, as we would like to be at the HUB as well. We trust that many of you will get out to one conference or the other for the awesome meetings we are sure to have.
HEAL YOUR BODY, LORD CONFERENCE - MAY 24 - 27
Please keep these dates open if possible. We will have James Goll, Georgian Banoff, Che Ahn and Bobby Conner. It will be totally awesome. We will be at the Christian Fellowship Church in Crystal Lake, IL.
May God's resurrection life lift you above your circumstances into His presence.
We love you and value your prayers,
Ben and Brenda, Tim and Nathan
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Newsletter April 5th, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
www.ohmint.org
15648 Bombay Blvd.
South Beloit, IL 61080
Dear Friends,
The last week has been a bit of a blur. We finished our first four days in Kentucky on Wednesday, ministering to a Baptist youth group of 60 - 70 kids and a few adults. Apparently, it was life-changing for many of them, including the leaders. For almost all of them it was their first experience with House of Prayer worship and with personal prophetic ministry.
Brenda went after a few wandering teens during the worship time, including at least a couple of gothic kids. They loved what she shared and stayed for more. All of our eight kids were involved with the prophetic ministry and took it to a new level.
From Kentucky, we hurried down to Nashville for a huge prophetic conference hosted by C. Peter Wagner. Speakers included, Chuck Pierce, Cindy Jacobs, James Goll, Paul Keith Davis, Karen Wheaton, Dutch Sheets and several others. Several powerful words were released during the conference, including a fresh visitation experienced by Bob Jones, which was related to us by Paul Keith Davis.
God is up to something big in the USA, as well as the rest of the world. We will see a lot of changes in the next few years. Revival fires will break out in numerous places and ultimately, the stadiums will be too small for the revival gatherings that will take place. I believe we are about to see the greatest Kingdom harvest ever in the world.
We also had several wonderful divine encounters during the conference with some very special people. We believe many good things will result from these special appointments by God.
We left the conference on Saturday before noon to get to Paris, Kentucky, near Lexington, in time for their evening youth rally. Our kids led worship and continued to play softly while Brenda and I spoke. What an anointing we experienced that night. We both spoke with an unusual authority and I received special revelation that night, speaking of David prophesying over Solomon. As David spoke to Solomon he prayed, "May the Lord give you wisdom and understanding." When God appeared to Solomon and asked him what he wanted, Solomon replied, "I need wisdom and understanding to watch over Your people."
What we prophesy and pray over people is what they will ask for when they encounter God in their own way. We see again the power of the words we prophesy and the importance in learning to listen to God. Like David, we want the House of God, made with living stones (us) to be "exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries." (I Chron. 22:5) That will require unity - caring more about the Kingdom than being right, loving Jesus more than our own ministry, etc.
COMING UP = FINAL MISSIONS PREP 101 COURSE THIS WEEKEND
We need everyone serious about our July or August Mozambique trips to attend if at all possible. If not possible, please contact us and let us know your plans so we can communicate vital information to you.
Dr. Bob Paeglow from Albany, NY, will be with us for both practical and spiritual advice. He has much experience in Africa and has a powerful speaking ministry as well.
Anyone can attend and we'd love to have you there at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship on 4th street in DeKalb, starting Friday at 7 pm and finishing about 4:30 pm on Saturday. Find more details in our website: www.ohmint.org.
Don't forget the two conferences coming up in late April and late May. See our website for that as well.
Finally, our daughter, Andrea, and her fiance, Harvey, are getting married in Spokane, WA, on June 24. We will be making a westward swing during the month of June and then hurrying back to leave for Africa. Please pray for us as many different pieces must fall into place for us to go.
We love you all and wish we had more time for each of you. We are very busy and are thankful for God's grace and your prayers and support. We couldn't do it without your many expression of love.
Blessings in Jesus,
Ben and Brenda, Tim and Nathan
www.ohmint.org
15648 Bombay Blvd.
South Beloit, IL 61080
Dear Friends,
The last week has been a bit of a blur. We finished our first four days in Kentucky on Wednesday, ministering to a Baptist youth group of 60 - 70 kids and a few adults. Apparently, it was life-changing for many of them, including the leaders. For almost all of them it was their first experience with House of Prayer worship and with personal prophetic ministry.
Brenda went after a few wandering teens during the worship time, including at least a couple of gothic kids. They loved what she shared and stayed for more. All of our eight kids were involved with the prophetic ministry and took it to a new level.
From Kentucky, we hurried down to Nashville for a huge prophetic conference hosted by C. Peter Wagner. Speakers included, Chuck Pierce, Cindy Jacobs, James Goll, Paul Keith Davis, Karen Wheaton, Dutch Sheets and several others. Several powerful words were released during the conference, including a fresh visitation experienced by Bob Jones, which was related to us by Paul Keith Davis.
God is up to something big in the USA, as well as the rest of the world. We will see a lot of changes in the next few years. Revival fires will break out in numerous places and ultimately, the stadiums will be too small for the revival gatherings that will take place. I believe we are about to see the greatest Kingdom harvest ever in the world.
We also had several wonderful divine encounters during the conference with some very special people. We believe many good things will result from these special appointments by God.
We left the conference on Saturday before noon to get to Paris, Kentucky, near Lexington, in time for their evening youth rally. Our kids led worship and continued to play softly while Brenda and I spoke. What an anointing we experienced that night. We both spoke with an unusual authority and I received special revelation that night, speaking of David prophesying over Solomon. As David spoke to Solomon he prayed, "May the Lord give you wisdom and understanding." When God appeared to Solomon and asked him what he wanted, Solomon replied, "I need wisdom and understanding to watch over Your people."
What we prophesy and pray over people is what they will ask for when they encounter God in their own way. We see again the power of the words we prophesy and the importance in learning to listen to God. Like David, we want the House of God, made with living stones (us) to be "exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries." (I Chron. 22:5) That will require unity - caring more about the Kingdom than being right, loving Jesus more than our own ministry, etc.
COMING UP = FINAL MISSIONS PREP 101 COURSE THIS WEEKEND
We need everyone serious about our July or August Mozambique trips to attend if at all possible. If not possible, please contact us and let us know your plans so we can communicate vital information to you.
Dr. Bob Paeglow from Albany, NY, will be with us for both practical and spiritual advice. He has much experience in Africa and has a powerful speaking ministry as well.
Anyone can attend and we'd love to have you there at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship on 4th street in DeKalb, starting Friday at 7 pm and finishing about 4:30 pm on Saturday. Find more details in our website: www.ohmint.org.
Don't forget the two conferences coming up in late April and late May. See our website for that as well.
Finally, our daughter, Andrea, and her fiance, Harvey, are getting married in Spokane, WA, on June 24. We will be making a westward swing during the month of June and then hurrying back to leave for Africa. Please pray for us as many different pieces must fall into place for us to go.
We love you all and wish we had more time for each of you. We are very busy and are thankful for God's grace and your prayers and support. We couldn't do it without your many expression of love.
Blessings in Jesus,
Ben and Brenda, Tim and Nathan
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Newsletter March 28th, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
www.ohmint.org
15648 Bombay Blvd
South Beloit, IL 61080
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Henderson, Tennessee! Since our last letter we have been in a flurry of meetings and travel. I believe much has been accomplished for the Kingdom as so many people have been exercising their gifts and taking them to new levels. We have seen some excellent teamwork as a number of friends have joined us and helped us in so many ways in the past few days.
ELGIN LADIES RETREAT
Brenda was very busy this past weekend, starting on Friday night speaking for the ladies of Manifold Mercies Christian Center in Elgin, Illinois. She loves to speak to this inter-racial group. They always steal her heart and she enjoys ministering to them immensely. She spoke again to them on Saturday afternoon to conclude their retreat. Of course they all went home with a personal word on cassette. Thanks to Val and Carol for their most valuable assistance and support on that retreat.
PROPHETIC MINISTRY AND THE HARVEST CONFERENCE
Brenda also spoke on Saturday morning, assisting me in teaching the "Prophetic Ministry and the Harvest" conference at the Myers in Genoa. This was the second time we have done this conference there and again it was packed out with about 50 people in attendance. The conference ended about 9:30 pm, after some activation time, and included about six hours of teaching after Brenda finished her morning time. The response to the teaching was gratifying and we believe that those who attended will never be the same. We were excited to have our new book ready for the conference. The title of our new book is Prophetic Ministry – Strategic Key to the Harvest.
MINISTRY IN KENTUCKY
After an exhausting weekend, we left early Sunday morning with the motor home and a three car caravan for Kentucky. We are here with five adults (Gene and Mary Ferguson, Val Coltman, Brenda and Ben) and eight teens who have joined us to share the love of Jesus in several different cities and ministries in Kentucky. Brenda ministered on Sunday night until she was totally exhausted, but saw many things while she ministered, inculding a couple of major deliverances through the prophetic words and prayer.
Last night we finished our second and final service in Owensboro. These meetings were held in a roller skating rink that is owned by this Worship Center ministry. They still rent it out for roller skating parties and put up chairs for services. It is a huge facility.
It was our first visit to Owensboro, but we knew several of the people already and we saw God move in very special ways. Dozens of children and young people were touched with special words and prayers over them. Kentucky has the sweetest children we've ever met. I must have given at least thirty quick words and prayers the first night to the pre-teen children in the crowd.
The kids names were really amazing to me, because I had just preached on Elijah, Elisha and Jehu from II Kings 9 as my main text. Would you believe there was an Elijah, and an Elisha in the group. Then I prayed for a toddler whose name was Jehu, a very uncommon name. But his mother’s name was Elisha (pronounced El-ee-sha). The message was about sending out the children and youth with a flask of oil (anointing) to call out many whom God has chosen to be His Kings and warriors to root out the enemy in our land.
I love the revelation that God is giving to His people in these days. It is truly amazing how the prophecy of Daniel is being fulfilled that people will run to and fro (missions trips, etc.) and that knowledge would increase – not just scientific knowledge but knowledge of God and His ways. It is almost impossible to take in or keep up with the incredible wealth of revelation that God is releasing in the prophetic movement today. The books I have written are just a tiny fraction of the big picture.
Many are traveling to and fro to Heaven and back, and also to other parts of the world on special assignments from God. It’s like Jacob’s ladder is available and not just the angels are ascending and descending, but many yielded vessels, including very young children have been enjoying special times in Heaven, some on a regular basis. We personally know (or know of) several of these, both adults and children.
The second night in Owensboro was their youth night, but many adults showed up as well and everyone wanted a word. We had three ministry teams, using the adults and teens, and everyone was edified. We also had testimonies of miraculous fulfillment of prophetic words from previous visits to Kentucky, including a miraculous pregnancy.
CALLING ALL INTERCESSORS
The down side is that the enemy is not happy with what he sees coming and he has been working hard to keep people discouraged, sick and exhausted. We have seen and felt attacks from many sides in the past week or so and we feel the need for even greater prayer support. Lisa Bourland, our friend and host here in Kentucky, has been flat on her back with back muscle spasms and has not been able to get out of bed without help. Please pray for her as she is starting to see some improvement and wants to be part of what is happening here. We are so grateful for all those who are already praying. Without you we would not see the results we are seeing.
Thanks to all who pray and support us in other ways. Your love and encouragement mean so much to us. You all have a share in the rewards.
Tonight we minister at The Father's House in Henderson and tomorrow night we minister to a large Baptist youth group. There could be about eighty teens. Please pray especially hard for that meeting for breakthroughs. Much of what we do will be new to them.
Loving you in Jesus,
Ben and Brenda and family and team.
www.ohmint.org
15648 Bombay Blvd
South Beloit, IL 61080
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Henderson, Tennessee! Since our last letter we have been in a flurry of meetings and travel. I believe much has been accomplished for the Kingdom as so many people have been exercising their gifts and taking them to new levels. We have seen some excellent teamwork as a number of friends have joined us and helped us in so many ways in the past few days.
ELGIN LADIES RETREAT
Brenda was very busy this past weekend, starting on Friday night speaking for the ladies of Manifold Mercies Christian Center in Elgin, Illinois. She loves to speak to this inter-racial group. They always steal her heart and she enjoys ministering to them immensely. She spoke again to them on Saturday afternoon to conclude their retreat. Of course they all went home with a personal word on cassette. Thanks to Val and Carol for their most valuable assistance and support on that retreat.
PROPHETIC MINISTRY AND THE HARVEST CONFERENCE
Brenda also spoke on Saturday morning, assisting me in teaching the "Prophetic Ministry and the Harvest" conference at the Myers in Genoa. This was the second time we have done this conference there and again it was packed out with about 50 people in attendance. The conference ended about 9:30 pm, after some activation time, and included about six hours of teaching after Brenda finished her morning time. The response to the teaching was gratifying and we believe that those who attended will never be the same. We were excited to have our new book ready for the conference. The title of our new book is Prophetic Ministry – Strategic Key to the Harvest.
MINISTRY IN KENTUCKY
After an exhausting weekend, we left early Sunday morning with the motor home and a three car caravan for Kentucky. We are here with five adults (Gene and Mary Ferguson, Val Coltman, Brenda and Ben) and eight teens who have joined us to share the love of Jesus in several different cities and ministries in Kentucky. Brenda ministered on Sunday night until she was totally exhausted, but saw many things while she ministered, inculding a couple of major deliverances through the prophetic words and prayer.
Last night we finished our second and final service in Owensboro. These meetings were held in a roller skating rink that is owned by this Worship Center ministry. They still rent it out for roller skating parties and put up chairs for services. It is a huge facility.
It was our first visit to Owensboro, but we knew several of the people already and we saw God move in very special ways. Dozens of children and young people were touched with special words and prayers over them. Kentucky has the sweetest children we've ever met. I must have given at least thirty quick words and prayers the first night to the pre-teen children in the crowd.
The kids names were really amazing to me, because I had just preached on Elijah, Elisha and Jehu from II Kings 9 as my main text. Would you believe there was an Elijah, and an Elisha in the group. Then I prayed for a toddler whose name was Jehu, a very uncommon name. But his mother’s name was Elisha (pronounced El-ee-sha). The message was about sending out the children and youth with a flask of oil (anointing) to call out many whom God has chosen to be His Kings and warriors to root out the enemy in our land.
I love the revelation that God is giving to His people in these days. It is truly amazing how the prophecy of Daniel is being fulfilled that people will run to and fro (missions trips, etc.) and that knowledge would increase – not just scientific knowledge but knowledge of God and His ways. It is almost impossible to take in or keep up with the incredible wealth of revelation that God is releasing in the prophetic movement today. The books I have written are just a tiny fraction of the big picture.
Many are traveling to and fro to Heaven and back, and also to other parts of the world on special assignments from God. It’s like Jacob’s ladder is available and not just the angels are ascending and descending, but many yielded vessels, including very young children have been enjoying special times in Heaven, some on a regular basis. We personally know (or know of) several of these, both adults and children.
The second night in Owensboro was their youth night, but many adults showed up as well and everyone wanted a word. We had three ministry teams, using the adults and teens, and everyone was edified. We also had testimonies of miraculous fulfillment of prophetic words from previous visits to Kentucky, including a miraculous pregnancy.
CALLING ALL INTERCESSORS
The down side is that the enemy is not happy with what he sees coming and he has been working hard to keep people discouraged, sick and exhausted. We have seen and felt attacks from many sides in the past week or so and we feel the need for even greater prayer support. Lisa Bourland, our friend and host here in Kentucky, has been flat on her back with back muscle spasms and has not been able to get out of bed without help. Please pray for her as she is starting to see some improvement and wants to be part of what is happening here. We are so grateful for all those who are already praying. Without you we would not see the results we are seeing.
Thanks to all who pray and support us in other ways. Your love and encouragement mean so much to us. You all have a share in the rewards.
Tonight we minister at The Father's House in Henderson and tomorrow night we minister to a large Baptist youth group. There could be about eighty teens. Please pray especially hard for that meeting for breakthroughs. Much of what we do will be new to them.
Loving you in Jesus,
Ben and Brenda and family and team.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Newsletter March 14th, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
www.ohmint.org
15648 Bombay Blvd.
South Beloit, IL 61080
Dear Friends,
We had a very precious time together on Friday night and Saturday with the folk who attended our Missions Prep 101 March weekend. We are excited about our summer visits to Mozambique. We will be leading a team in early July (actually June 29 - July 14) and Bill Myers will be leading a team in mid to late August. Several of us shared and we were blessed to have Lisa Bourland from Kentucky, who has had incredible experiences on the mission field, including with Heidi in Mozambique and the Ukraine.
PLEASE LET US KNOW YOUR PLANS!
If you still hope to go to Mozambique with us but were unable to be with us this past weekend, please let us know so we can make appropriate plans. We are trying to negotiate the best air fares possible and need a more accurate estimate of the number going.
ILLINOIS PRIMARIES
For those of us living in Illinois, we have the opportunity to make a difference by voting in the primaries. I don't have a lot of information at this point, but would love to hear from you if you know of worthy candidates for the various positions. If we don't get good candidates to win the primaries, we won't have any good choices in November.
Those who live elsewhere should be learning what they can about the elections in their own states. We need to keep momentum going in the right direction in shifting the spiritual climate of our governments and judiciary.
Please pray for us and our Spring and Summer scheduling. So far we have conferences in late April and May and a wedding in late June, followed by a trip to Mozambique in early July. We may go to Florida and New York in August with some Illinois House of Prayer worshippers to bless some folks there.
Thanks for your. We look forward to hearing from many of you in the days ahead.
God bless you!
Ben and Brenda
www.ohmint.org
15648 Bombay Blvd.
South Beloit, IL 61080
Dear Friends,
We had a very precious time together on Friday night and Saturday with the folk who attended our Missions Prep 101 March weekend. We are excited about our summer visits to Mozambique. We will be leading a team in early July (actually June 29 - July 14) and Bill Myers will be leading a team in mid to late August. Several of us shared and we were blessed to have Lisa Bourland from Kentucky, who has had incredible experiences on the mission field, including with Heidi in Mozambique and the Ukraine.
PLEASE LET US KNOW YOUR PLANS!
If you still hope to go to Mozambique with us but were unable to be with us this past weekend, please let us know so we can make appropriate plans. We are trying to negotiate the best air fares possible and need a more accurate estimate of the number going.
ILLINOIS PRIMARIES
For those of us living in Illinois, we have the opportunity to make a difference by voting in the primaries. I don't have a lot of information at this point, but would love to hear from you if you know of worthy candidates for the various positions. If we don't get good candidates to win the primaries, we won't have any good choices in November.
Those who live elsewhere should be learning what they can about the elections in their own states. We need to keep momentum going in the right direction in shifting the spiritual climate of our governments and judiciary.
Please pray for us and our Spring and Summer scheduling. So far we have conferences in late April and May and a wedding in late June, followed by a trip to Mozambique in early July. We may go to Florida and New York in August with some Illinois House of Prayer worshippers to bless some folks there.
Thanks for your. We look forward to hearing from many of you in the days ahead.
God bless you!
Ben and Brenda
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Newsletter March 8th, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
15648 Bombay Blvd
South Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Saints,
We are finally back home in Illinois. We have seen God do many things, including some wonderful miracles, like a deaf girl being healed. We have seen teens activated in their gifts like never before, pastors and leaders encouraged and broken before the Lord, and we were blessed with some awesome teaching and ministry. We also had the blessings of spending time with Heidi and others that we highly respect for their journey of sacrifice and intimacy with Jesus.
Now we face getting ready for all the coming schools and conferences this Spring, starting this weekend in DeKalb, with the Missions Prep 101 course. Please plan on coming if you are interested in going to Africa with us in the near future.
I just updated our calendar somewhat, so you can check it out on our website: www.ohmint.org. Click on itinerary.
Please continue to pray for us for health and strength and everything else we need to carry on the vision that God has given us for these days.
On a personal note:
1. Timothy turned 18 on Saturday and is fast becoming an adult in body and mind and heart. We feel so blessed to watch him become a passionate lover and worshipper of Jesus. Nathan is also growing quickly in every way as well. He will be 16 this summer.
2. It's time to announce that our daughter Andrea is getting married this summer on June 24th to Harvey Smith, the son of Pastor Robert and Ellen Smith, whom we have known for almost 40 years. Like Brenda did, she is finding her husband in Canada. They do plan on living in the USA. We are quite excited for them and have a little extra on our plate for this Spring in getting ready for this big event.
We love you all,
Ben and Brenda and boys.
15648 Bombay Blvd
South Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Saints,
We are finally back home in Illinois. We have seen God do many things, including some wonderful miracles, like a deaf girl being healed. We have seen teens activated in their gifts like never before, pastors and leaders encouraged and broken before the Lord, and we were blessed with some awesome teaching and ministry. We also had the blessings of spending time with Heidi and others that we highly respect for their journey of sacrifice and intimacy with Jesus.
Now we face getting ready for all the coming schools and conferences this Spring, starting this weekend in DeKalb, with the Missions Prep 101 course. Please plan on coming if you are interested in going to Africa with us in the near future.
I just updated our calendar somewhat, so you can check it out on our website: www.ohmint.org. Click on itinerary.
Please continue to pray for us for health and strength and everything else we need to carry on the vision that God has given us for these days.
On a personal note:
1. Timothy turned 18 on Saturday and is fast becoming an adult in body and mind and heart. We feel so blessed to watch him become a passionate lover and worshipper of Jesus. Nathan is also growing quickly in every way as well. He will be 16 this summer.
2. It's time to announce that our daughter Andrea is getting married this summer on June 24th to Harvey Smith, the son of Pastor Robert and Ellen Smith, whom we have known for almost 40 years. Like Brenda did, she is finding her husband in Canada. They do plan on living in the USA. We are quite excited for them and have a little extra on our plate for this Spring in getting ready for this big event.
We love you all,
Ben and Brenda and boys.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Newsletter March 1st, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
Ben and Brenda Peters
15648 Bombay Blvd.
South Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Saints,
Our hearts are full of thanks to God for His blessings on our lives and yours. Thanks to the many of you who communicate with us, pray for us and bless us in so many ways.
IAM CONVENING.
Last week we enjoy the presence of the Lord in a very special way. Our IAM (International Apostolic Ministries) annual Convening in Dover, Florida, was a very special time. It was led as always by Wayne C. Anderson. We just soaked a lot in the presence of the Lord and listened to other speakers most of the time. I did one workshop with Jeff Doles, a friend and fellow author, who does my book setups for me. We shared with those who would like to publish a book. There are a lot of folks who have books inside of them and God gave this folk ears to hear what we had to share.
CLOSING DAY WITH HEIDI BAKER
Heidi had agreed to give us a day just before the TACF Conference Cruise, which started on Sunday. What a daythe Lord gave us when she spoke to us all. The morning was a more private affair tof the IAM members and a few guests. It was a powerful time with Heidi sharing some of her stories from the past as well as the present. Many people responded to the invitation and spent a good part of their lunch time on their faces at the front, receiving ministry from Heidi.
The evening service was in a large church facility. Although not highly advertised, there was a large crowd, about triple the morning service. About thirty kids from the Orlando House of Hope came with Sara Trullinger, the founder and director and other leaders. These were kids who had been in deep trouble and came to the House of Hope as a last resort. Heidi's message was so amazing for them. She had several words of knowledge that could have applied to many of the kids. We were there past midnight and would have been there longer if we had been allowed to, but we had to vacate for the cleaning crew. It was one of the most awesome services we have been to.
CONFERENCE CRUISE
We were blessed by a good friend who gave us a substantial designated gift so we could go on the conference cruise with the Bakers and many other anointed speakers. We have now heard from Bill Johnson as well as Heidi and others.
Yesterday, we went into Cozumel and were met by Rick and CJ Cornwall. They showed us around the island and then took us to a church facility where about twenty people showed up for a time of ministry. Rick and Timothy led some worship and we felt the Lord come into our midst. Then we bagan to prophesy to each one, knowing we had only a short time to get back on the ship. The pastors, missionaries and leaders, along with several children were visibly moved and broken before the Lord. It was a short but very sweet time with our Mexican brothers and sisters in Christ.
IMPORTANT COMING EVENTS
Missions Prep 101. Remember, if you want to go with us (July 1-10, plus travel days), or with Pastor Bill Myers, to Mozambique, you need to attend our two weekends this spring - March 10, 11, and April 7, 8.
March 17, 18 Brenda will be speaking at the Genoa, IL, Foursquare Ladies Retreat.
Wednesday, March 22, we minister in Freeport, IL.
March 24, 25, Brenda will be speaking Friday night and Saturday afternoon at another ladies retreat in Elgin, IL.
March 25, We will both be ministering at the Myers Training Center in Genoa, doing another conference called Prophetic Ministry and the Harvest. Brenda will be with us the morning and evening. It will be a very busy weekend for her. Thanks for your prayers for her and for me.
Please continue to pray for Brenda's health. She is doing somewhat better and was encouraged after talking to Dr. Bob, our friend from Albany, New York. We have a better idea of how to take care of her health condition with proper nutrition, etc.
NEW BOOK
I trust you don't get bored with book announcements. For me, each book is like birthing a new baby. This book, Prophetic Ministry - Key to the Harvest - has gone to the printers and should be available within about 10 days.
We love you all and look forward to seeing you again soon,
Ben and Brenda
Ben and Brenda Peters
15648 Bombay Blvd.
South Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Saints,
Our hearts are full of thanks to God for His blessings on our lives and yours. Thanks to the many of you who communicate with us, pray for us and bless us in so many ways.
IAM CONVENING.
Last week we enjoy the presence of the Lord in a very special way. Our IAM (International Apostolic Ministries) annual Convening in Dover, Florida, was a very special time. It was led as always by Wayne C. Anderson. We just soaked a lot in the presence of the Lord and listened to other speakers most of the time. I did one workshop with Jeff Doles, a friend and fellow author, who does my book setups for me. We shared with those who would like to publish a book. There are a lot of folks who have books inside of them and God gave this folk ears to hear what we had to share.
CLOSING DAY WITH HEIDI BAKER
Heidi had agreed to give us a day just before the TACF Conference Cruise, which started on Sunday. What a daythe Lord gave us when she spoke to us all. The morning was a more private affair tof the IAM members and a few guests. It was a powerful time with Heidi sharing some of her stories from the past as well as the present. Many people responded to the invitation and spent a good part of their lunch time on their faces at the front, receiving ministry from Heidi.
The evening service was in a large church facility. Although not highly advertised, there was a large crowd, about triple the morning service. About thirty kids from the Orlando House of Hope came with Sara Trullinger, the founder and director and other leaders. These were kids who had been in deep trouble and came to the House of Hope as a last resort. Heidi's message was so amazing for them. She had several words of knowledge that could have applied to many of the kids. We were there past midnight and would have been there longer if we had been allowed to, but we had to vacate for the cleaning crew. It was one of the most awesome services we have been to.
CONFERENCE CRUISE
We were blessed by a good friend who gave us a substantial designated gift so we could go on the conference cruise with the Bakers and many other anointed speakers. We have now heard from Bill Johnson as well as Heidi and others.
Yesterday, we went into Cozumel and were met by Rick and CJ Cornwall. They showed us around the island and then took us to a church facility where about twenty people showed up for a time of ministry. Rick and Timothy led some worship and we felt the Lord come into our midst. Then we bagan to prophesy to each one, knowing we had only a short time to get back on the ship. The pastors, missionaries and leaders, along with several children were visibly moved and broken before the Lord. It was a short but very sweet time with our Mexican brothers and sisters in Christ.
IMPORTANT COMING EVENTS
Missions Prep 101. Remember, if you want to go with us (July 1-10, plus travel days), or with Pastor Bill Myers, to Mozambique, you need to attend our two weekends this spring - March 10, 11, and April 7, 8.
March 17, 18 Brenda will be speaking at the Genoa, IL, Foursquare Ladies Retreat.
Wednesday, March 22, we minister in Freeport, IL.
March 24, 25, Brenda will be speaking Friday night and Saturday afternoon at another ladies retreat in Elgin, IL.
March 25, We will both be ministering at the Myers Training Center in Genoa, doing another conference called Prophetic Ministry and the Harvest. Brenda will be with us the morning and evening. It will be a very busy weekend for her. Thanks for your prayers for her and for me.
Please continue to pray for Brenda's health. She is doing somewhat better and was encouraged after talking to Dr. Bob, our friend from Albany, New York. We have a better idea of how to take care of her health condition with proper nutrition, etc.
NEW BOOK
I trust you don't get bored with book announcements. For me, each book is like birthing a new baby. This book, Prophetic Ministry - Key to the Harvest - has gone to the printers and should be available within about 10 days.
We love you all and look forward to seeing you again soon,
Ben and Brenda
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Newsletter February 21st, 2006
Hi again Friends,
Here are some important announcements and prayer requests.
HEIDI BAKER SPEAKS NEAR TAMPA BAY THIS FRIDAY NIGHT
I failed to mention yesterday that we are beginning our IAM Convening tonight here in Dover, Florida, a little east of Tampa Bay. On Friday, Heidi Baker will be speaking in Brandon, Florida at 7:30 PM at Bay Life Church at 1017 Kingsway Rd in Brandon. Anyone near Tampa Bay or even Orlando would be blessed if they showed up.
BRENDA ASKED PRAYER FOR OUR DAUGHTER BARBIE AND GRANDSON, JOSHUA
Joshua is somewhat autistic and can have problems with his behavior that hurts others. That devastates Barbie at times. They are also taking care of and possibly hoping to adopt a three year old girl. They have four boys and wanted a girl. The girl is sweet, but not a saint. Some of the boys have a problem adjusting to her in the house, including Joshua. Please pray that they hear from God on this issue, and that God does a miracle for Joshua and so many other autistic children, a lot of them much worse than Joshua.
SPECIAL EVENTS ON THE CALENDAR INCLUDING CONFERENCES
1. Missions Prep 101
We have two weekends scheduled for those who want the training to go overseas with us to Mozambique and/or other places. Both will be in DeKalb, IL, at the Vineyard Church. Those who desire can be housed in the area on Friday nights with volunteer hosts. The dates are:
March 10,11 - Friday night at 7 pm and Saturday morning and afternoon.
April 7, 8 - Same as above.
No preregistration required. Classes are free. Offerings will be taken.
2. April Conference with Bobby Conner and others
April 27-29 This conference will also be at the DeKalb Vineyard. Everyone is invited. Again there is no charge for the conference.
3. Heal Your Body, Lord Conference with James Goll, Che Ahn and Bobby Conner. May 24-27. This will be back at the Christian Fellowship in Crystal Lake, IL.
We love you all and pray God's glory will be seen upon you,
Ben and Brenda
P.S. I pick up Brenda tonight at midnight. Yeah God!!!!!!!
Here are some important announcements and prayer requests.
HEIDI BAKER SPEAKS NEAR TAMPA BAY THIS FRIDAY NIGHT
I failed to mention yesterday that we are beginning our IAM Convening tonight here in Dover, Florida, a little east of Tampa Bay. On Friday, Heidi Baker will be speaking in Brandon, Florida at 7:30 PM at Bay Life Church at 1017 Kingsway Rd in Brandon. Anyone near Tampa Bay or even Orlando would be blessed if they showed up.
BRENDA ASKED PRAYER FOR OUR DAUGHTER BARBIE AND GRANDSON, JOSHUA
Joshua is somewhat autistic and can have problems with his behavior that hurts others. That devastates Barbie at times. They are also taking care of and possibly hoping to adopt a three year old girl. They have four boys and wanted a girl. The girl is sweet, but not a saint. Some of the boys have a problem adjusting to her in the house, including Joshua. Please pray that they hear from God on this issue, and that God does a miracle for Joshua and so many other autistic children, a lot of them much worse than Joshua.
SPECIAL EVENTS ON THE CALENDAR INCLUDING CONFERENCES
1. Missions Prep 101
We have two weekends scheduled for those who want the training to go overseas with us to Mozambique and/or other places. Both will be in DeKalb, IL, at the Vineyard Church. Those who desire can be housed in the area on Friday nights with volunteer hosts. The dates are:
March 10,11 - Friday night at 7 pm and Saturday morning and afternoon.
April 7, 8 - Same as above.
No preregistration required. Classes are free. Offerings will be taken.
2. April Conference with Bobby Conner and others
April 27-29 This conference will also be at the DeKalb Vineyard. Everyone is invited. Again there is no charge for the conference.
3. Heal Your Body, Lord Conference with James Goll, Che Ahn and Bobby Conner. May 24-27. This will be back at the Christian Fellowship in Crystal Lake, IL.
We love you all and pray God's glory will be seen upon you,
Ben and Brenda
P.S. I pick up Brenda tonight at midnight. Yeah God!!!!!!!
Newsletter February 20th, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
15648 Bombay Blvd.
S. Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Friends,
I'm writing from warm and sunny Florida. Sorry for all of you who are suffering in the frigid northern regions. Brenda is still in Washington State, but joins us guys here tomorrow night about midnight. She has had a wonderful time with her parents, sisters, kids and grandkids for a week. She still needs prayer for a couple of physical conditions. Please just pray, as she doesn't like to talk about them, not even to me unless I ask.
PRAYER REQUEST FOR ROBERT BARTOW
About 18 months ago Robert Bartow's wife, Charlotte, received a new liver in our Chicagoland conference with Shawn Bolz. She was told she had only a short time to live without a liver transplant, but God did it miraculously. Shawn saw it come down from Heaven and go into her body. Last week she was taken to the hospital for a totally different problem related to her lungs. They thought she had pnuemonia. Something rare and unusual happened and she died suddenly. It's one of those mysteries, but God gave her some wonderful months with health and strength before He took her home.
Robert is the prophetic photographer who lets us use his pictures for our book covers. He and Charlotte were a wonderful and inspiring couple. They both were on a worship team in Couer d'Alene, Idaho. Charlotte played the harp. She has a better one now in Heaven, I'm sure. Anyway, it is such a shock to him and his children. Please pray for them. We love them dearly. The funeral will be this Thursday.
HOUSE OF HOPE IN ORLANDO
We got to Florida early and God worked it out that we could spend the weekend in Orlando at the House of Hope, run by Sara Trullinger. Sara is an awesome lady. She has had great favor since starting this HOH twenty-five years ago. She has received many civic awards and honors. She has been on national TV and honored by presidents, governors, senators, athletes, singers, etc. The House of Hope is a place for troubled teens that have nowhere else to go. Now there are many of them in the land. Some of the kids have attitudes as you could imagine and sometimes they run away, etc., but they listened fairly well.
Tim and I ministered the first night. He led worship three meetings in a row, including this morning. He is getting very strong and leads with great passion. Tim also shared a testimony, which was very good. I spoke and ministered to some of the youth afterword. Some of them really love the Lord and are trying to serve Him. We did our best to pump them up with an awareness of destiny and giftings from God. It went OK, but it was pretty hard with very little prayer support in the meeting. I sure missed Brenda, who usually breaks the ice for me.
On Sunday, Vance Murphy from Atlanta, and Lisa Bourland from Henderson, Kentucky flew down to minister with us. What a difference having a bigger and anointed team. Vance preached with passion after Tim led worship again. There was a great breakthrough, and we ministered to many kids as God moved among them.
This morning - Monday - we had another service. Lisa shared first, then Vance spoke and finally I wrapped things up. What a difference it was with the atmosphere changed. I felt such passion and love for the kids and poured out my heart to them with an anointing that was very unusual, but I sure liked it. There's nothing like feeling the Spirit of God move through you, while you just let it happen. Again we had many young people at the altar, especially the young men. It was really wonderful and awesome. We plan on returning this summer with our mobile House of Prayer to help them start one in their beautiful facility.
NEW BOOK ALMOST READY
We have run out of copies of our second book "The Dynamics of Biblical Prophetic Ministry." In the last few weeks I have been working hard to replace it with a new book on Prophetic Ministry. It will be titled, "Prophetic Ministry - Key to the Harvest" It should be out in just two or three weeks if all goes well. It will have another beautiful cover with an eagle overlooking a wheatfield blowing in the wind with stormy clouds overhead. It also has some fresh revelation on the power and necessity of prophetic ministry for bringing in the harvest.
I am also working on my next book, "Resurrection - A Manual for Raising the Dead."
15648 Bombay Blvd.
S. Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Friends,
I'm writing from warm and sunny Florida. Sorry for all of you who are suffering in the frigid northern regions. Brenda is still in Washington State, but joins us guys here tomorrow night about midnight. She has had a wonderful time with her parents, sisters, kids and grandkids for a week. She still needs prayer for a couple of physical conditions. Please just pray, as she doesn't like to talk about them, not even to me unless I ask.
PRAYER REQUEST FOR ROBERT BARTOW
About 18 months ago Robert Bartow's wife, Charlotte, received a new liver in our Chicagoland conference with Shawn Bolz. She was told she had only a short time to live without a liver transplant, but God did it miraculously. Shawn saw it come down from Heaven and go into her body. Last week she was taken to the hospital for a totally different problem related to her lungs. They thought she had pnuemonia. Something rare and unusual happened and she died suddenly. It's one of those mysteries, but God gave her some wonderful months with health and strength before He took her home.
Robert is the prophetic photographer who lets us use his pictures for our book covers. He and Charlotte were a wonderful and inspiring couple. They both were on a worship team in Couer d'Alene, Idaho. Charlotte played the harp. She has a better one now in Heaven, I'm sure. Anyway, it is such a shock to him and his children. Please pray for them. We love them dearly. The funeral will be this Thursday.
HOUSE OF HOPE IN ORLANDO
We got to Florida early and God worked it out that we could spend the weekend in Orlando at the House of Hope, run by Sara Trullinger. Sara is an awesome lady. She has had great favor since starting this HOH twenty-five years ago. She has received many civic awards and honors. She has been on national TV and honored by presidents, governors, senators, athletes, singers, etc. The House of Hope is a place for troubled teens that have nowhere else to go. Now there are many of them in the land. Some of the kids have attitudes as you could imagine and sometimes they run away, etc., but they listened fairly well.
Tim and I ministered the first night. He led worship three meetings in a row, including this morning. He is getting very strong and leads with great passion. Tim also shared a testimony, which was very good. I spoke and ministered to some of the youth afterword. Some of them really love the Lord and are trying to serve Him. We did our best to pump them up with an awareness of destiny and giftings from God. It went OK, but it was pretty hard with very little prayer support in the meeting. I sure missed Brenda, who usually breaks the ice for me.
On Sunday, Vance Murphy from Atlanta, and Lisa Bourland from Henderson, Kentucky flew down to minister with us. What a difference having a bigger and anointed team. Vance preached with passion after Tim led worship again. There was a great breakthrough, and we ministered to many kids as God moved among them.
This morning - Monday - we had another service. Lisa shared first, then Vance spoke and finally I wrapped things up. What a difference it was with the atmosphere changed. I felt such passion and love for the kids and poured out my heart to them with an anointing that was very unusual, but I sure liked it. There's nothing like feeling the Spirit of God move through you, while you just let it happen. Again we had many young people at the altar, especially the young men. It was really wonderful and awesome. We plan on returning this summer with our mobile House of Prayer to help them start one in their beautiful facility.
NEW BOOK ALMOST READY
We have run out of copies of our second book "The Dynamics of Biblical Prophetic Ministry." In the last few weeks I have been working hard to replace it with a new book on Prophetic Ministry. It will be titled, "Prophetic Ministry - Key to the Harvest" It should be out in just two or three weeks if all goes well. It will have another beautiful cover with an eagle overlooking a wheatfield blowing in the wind with stormy clouds overhead. It also has some fresh revelation on the power and necessity of prophetic ministry for bringing in the harvest.
I am also working on my next book, "Resurrection - A Manual for Raising the Dead."
Monday, February 13, 2006
Newsletter February 12, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
www.ohmint.org
Dear Friends,
It's late Sunday night, but we'll be on the road for a few days, so I wanted to get this report out.
We very much enjoyed meeting and making new friends in Idabel, Oklahoma. This was our first visit to the south-east corner of Oklahoma and we were treated to some fine southern hospitality.
God showed up and touched many people in the three services this weekend. Tonight Tim and Nathan led worship and we were all touched by their anointing to minister. We also had prayer for physical healing and we believe that miracles are taking place in their bodies.
Pastor Stuart told me that it was one of the best meetings their church has ever had, so I know that God did something special, as they have had many anointed men and women of God in their church. We thank Jesus for the privilege of serving Him.
Please pray for Brenda as she leaves for Seattle on Tuesday for a week, before flying down to Florida to join the boys and I. Brenda needs a touch in her body also. It's a number of things making ministry more difficult, but God says she is being healed. Thank you for praying for her. She and I appreciate it so much.
That's all for now! We love you all and thank you for your support.
Blessings in Jesus name,
Ben and Brenda, Tim and Nathan
www.ohmint.org
Dear Friends,
It's late Sunday night, but we'll be on the road for a few days, so I wanted to get this report out.
We very much enjoyed meeting and making new friends in Idabel, Oklahoma. This was our first visit to the south-east corner of Oklahoma and we were treated to some fine southern hospitality.
God showed up and touched many people in the three services this weekend. Tonight Tim and Nathan led worship and we were all touched by their anointing to minister. We also had prayer for physical healing and we believe that miracles are taking place in their bodies.
Pastor Stuart told me that it was one of the best meetings their church has ever had, so I know that God did something special, as they have had many anointed men and women of God in their church. We thank Jesus for the privilege of serving Him.
Please pray for Brenda as she leaves for Seattle on Tuesday for a week, before flying down to Florida to join the boys and I. Brenda needs a touch in her body also. It's a number of things making ministry more difficult, but God says she is being healed. Thank you for praying for her. She and I appreciate it so much.
That's all for now! We love you all and thank you for your support.
Blessings in Jesus name,
Ben and Brenda, Tim and Nathan
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Newletter February 4th, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
www.ohmint.org
15648 Bombay Blvd
S. Beloit, IL 61080
Dear Friends,
OUR PHONES DON'T WORK HERE IN PARAGOULD, ARKANSAS. If you call us we won't even know you left a message. At least one person in the group has a network that works, but I don't have his number now.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT I DO HAVE INTERNET AND EMAIL ACCESS. So if you need to get in touch with us, please email and we will read it as often as possible and get back to you as quickly as we can.
We now have dates for two Spring Conferences.
April 27-29 with Bobby Conner at Vineyard Christian Fellowship in DeKalb, IL.
May 24-27 with Che Ahn and Bobby Conner and possibly Jim Goll. Pray that he says yes.
Last night we finished in Henderson, Kentucky with a workshop for the Revolution House of Prayer in Henderson, which was just getting started. Our precious friend, Lisa Bourland, was in tears when we left, telling us what an answer to prayer our team was. She knew she was supposed to start a House of Prayer, but didn't know how to kick it off. God told her that He would take care of it. And He surely did.
Last night was incredibly exciting as at least fifteen or twenty of their own musicians, singers and prayer leaders got to practice with our experienced and anointed team. It was like they were so ready and they loved it. We were so filled with joy, just watching it. Val Coltman did some of the Harp and Bowl teaching, but our teens did most of it themselves and did a wonderful job. Their parents would have been so proud of them.
In addition, we had people from several other ministries who took part in the meetings and other invitations started to pour in.
Here's the deal: Brenda and I feel that we are called to get the young people on the move and activated in their gifts. They have all learned to minister prophetically and some are flowing powerfully. But they also are called to raise up other houses of prayer and help grow the prayer movement throughout the world.
We now have open doors already in Kentucky, New York, Florida and the Ukraine. But what we want to know is how many leaders of churches and ministries would be interested in hosting a mobile house of prayer team for three or four days of ministry and equipping. We would not ask for offerings for the kids. We would cover their living expenses. We would use our motorhome for part of the transportation. On this trip we have the motorhome and two vans and a car.
We feel we may be helping to facilitate a Mobile House of Prayer Ministry Team that will go from place to place for several weeks at a time and then go back out after a break at home. Some kids may do this after finishing high school before going to college, etc. We will do some more ministry this summer with them, but only God knows the future. So let us know if you are interested in other parts of the country, or even in churches in the Chicago area.
Keep praying for us. We will be here for four days. We are praying for revival for this church and community. It's our first time here, so we might have some ice to break. We have ministered to the senior pastor before in another city, but never to this church.
After this we move on to Idabell, Oklahoma for next weekend.
God bless you all,
Ben and Brenda
www.ohmint.org
15648 Bombay Blvd
S. Beloit, IL 61080
Dear Friends,
OUR PHONES DON'T WORK HERE IN PARAGOULD, ARKANSAS. If you call us we won't even know you left a message. At least one person in the group has a network that works, but I don't have his number now.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT I DO HAVE INTERNET AND EMAIL ACCESS. So if you need to get in touch with us, please email and we will read it as often as possible and get back to you as quickly as we can.
We now have dates for two Spring Conferences.
April 27-29 with Bobby Conner at Vineyard Christian Fellowship in DeKalb, IL.
May 24-27 with Che Ahn and Bobby Conner and possibly Jim Goll. Pray that he says yes.
Last night we finished in Henderson, Kentucky with a workshop for the Revolution House of Prayer in Henderson, which was just getting started. Our precious friend, Lisa Bourland, was in tears when we left, telling us what an answer to prayer our team was. She knew she was supposed to start a House of Prayer, but didn't know how to kick it off. God told her that He would take care of it. And He surely did.
Last night was incredibly exciting as at least fifteen or twenty of their own musicians, singers and prayer leaders got to practice with our experienced and anointed team. It was like they were so ready and they loved it. We were so filled with joy, just watching it. Val Coltman did some of the Harp and Bowl teaching, but our teens did most of it themselves and did a wonderful job. Their parents would have been so proud of them.
In addition, we had people from several other ministries who took part in the meetings and other invitations started to pour in.
Here's the deal: Brenda and I feel that we are called to get the young people on the move and activated in their gifts. They have all learned to minister prophetically and some are flowing powerfully. But they also are called to raise up other houses of prayer and help grow the prayer movement throughout the world.
We now have open doors already in Kentucky, New York, Florida and the Ukraine. But what we want to know is how many leaders of churches and ministries would be interested in hosting a mobile house of prayer team for three or four days of ministry and equipping. We would not ask for offerings for the kids. We would cover their living expenses. We would use our motorhome for part of the transportation. On this trip we have the motorhome and two vans and a car.
We feel we may be helping to facilitate a Mobile House of Prayer Ministry Team that will go from place to place for several weeks at a time and then go back out after a break at home. Some kids may do this after finishing high school before going to college, etc. We will do some more ministry this summer with them, but only God knows the future. So let us know if you are interested in other parts of the country, or even in churches in the Chicago area.
Keep praying for us. We will be here for four days. We are praying for revival for this church and community. It's our first time here, so we might have some ice to break. We have ministered to the senior pastor before in another city, but never to this church.
After this we move on to Idabell, Oklahoma for next weekend.
God bless you all,
Ben and Brenda
Newsletter February 8th 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
www.ohmint.org
15648 Bombay Blvd
S. Beloit, IL 61080
Greetings Saints,
What a precious time we have had with many new friends in the state of Arkansas! We had our team from the House of Prayer in Elgin for the first two days, and what an impact they had.
The teens were given opportunities to minister like they never had before and between Henderson, Kentucky, and Paragould, Arkansas. The results were quite amazing and awesome. All of them learned to listen and release prophetic words and many of them were involved in praying for the sick. From the reports we just got last night, there were several wonderful healings.
One lady is sure her kidney was healed. She was given a very short time to live. Another lady was healed of diabetes and another problem. Several people shared how accurate they found the prophetic ministry of the teens. Several of the young people began to really flow in prophetic ministry for the first time ever. It was so wonderful to experience it all. Gene and Mary Ferguson and Val Coltman were also huge blessings to us and ministered beautifully with us. Val was such a blessing with the administration of the trip with all the teens.
The team or 14 people left us on Monday morning, but we carried on Monday and Tuesday night with just our family. We missed them all very much but during worship Monday night, God said to me that we were to finish strong and not let weariness or missing the team cause us to let up.
As we pressed in for God's presence and plan for the service, we both were given an unusual anointing as we ministered. My message was totally spontaneous and impacted us all, including me. Tuesday night was another powerful night. Tim led worship on the keyboard and Nathan played bass and we truly finished strong, ministering to everyone that desired ministry.
We believe the messages and anointing God gave us to share with the church will change it forever and help the pastors and leaders bring their people into their destiny in God. God has a special plan for these special folk.
SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST
Andrea, our daughter, sent us a special prayer request and asked me to share it with you all. Her friends baby needs prayer. You can read about it on the following website: http://web.mac.com/brettjri/Web
JOURNEY RESUMES TOMORROW
Tomorrow we head for Idabell, Oklahoma, where we minister on the weekend. After that we head for Florida and Brenda goes to Washington State for one week.
Much love to you all,
Ben and Brenda
Monday, January 30, 2006
News Letter January 29th, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
15648 Bombay Blvd
South Beloit, IL 61080
Dear Saints,
We continue to experience God's increasing presence and power as we go to the various places He calls us to. This past week was another high point in our lives as Jesus revealed His love to so very many hungry people.
Last Sunday we ministered at The Worship Center in Dixon, IL. What a precious time we had with Pastor Cole and his congregation! We had several team members with us that helped us minister to the good-sized crowd. While we prophesied to a lady, we sensed a need for physical healing. Her bad knee was instantly healed. She began to jump on it without pain, which she hadn't done in two years. God was touching so many people in so many ways, we left in awe of our God.
The Chicago Prayer Furnace invited us to share at their Thursday night gathering and again we were blessed to minister to a packed house. We felt such a sweet and powerful anointing again while we spoke and when we prophesied. We were joined at the front by many Prayer Furnace team members, who helped us get done before midnight. The atmosphere of that place was so pregnant with revival that we were able to release more than normal of God's anointing.
Friday night we met in Woodstock, IL, and were blessed with a sweet and intimate night of ministry. It was so good to touch bases with some very special friends again. Again the anointing was unusual and very precious. There was such a grateful and thankful spirit in the group and we went home feeling very privileged and blessed.
We are preparing for our journey with our Elgin House of Prayer team. We will minister in Henderson, Kentucky and Paragould, Arkansas. Then our family will go on to Idabell, Oklahoma, before heading for Florida for our IAM Convening near Tampa Bay.
Pray for the possibility of our late Spring conference or conferences. We still might get Bobby Conner and we should have Che Ahn plus another speaker or two. We are working hard to line everything up, so please pray that all the right doors open for what God wants to do here.
We are busy getting out the 2005 receipts for those who gave to OHM in 2005. Please let us know if your records are not the same as ours, or if you need a receipt and don't get one.
That's all for now!
God bless you all,
Ben and Brenda and family
15648 Bombay Blvd
South Beloit, IL 61080
Dear Saints,
We continue to experience God's increasing presence and power as we go to the various places He calls us to. This past week was another high point in our lives as Jesus revealed His love to so very many hungry people.
Last Sunday we ministered at The Worship Center in Dixon, IL. What a precious time we had with Pastor Cole and his congregation! We had several team members with us that helped us minister to the good-sized crowd. While we prophesied to a lady, we sensed a need for physical healing. Her bad knee was instantly healed. She began to jump on it without pain, which she hadn't done in two years. God was touching so many people in so many ways, we left in awe of our God.
The Chicago Prayer Furnace invited us to share at their Thursday night gathering and again we were blessed to minister to a packed house. We felt such a sweet and powerful anointing again while we spoke and when we prophesied. We were joined at the front by many Prayer Furnace team members, who helped us get done before midnight. The atmosphere of that place was so pregnant with revival that we were able to release more than normal of God's anointing.
Friday night we met in Woodstock, IL, and were blessed with a sweet and intimate night of ministry. It was so good to touch bases with some very special friends again. Again the anointing was unusual and very precious. There was such a grateful and thankful spirit in the group and we went home feeling very privileged and blessed.
We are preparing for our journey with our Elgin House of Prayer team. We will minister in Henderson, Kentucky and Paragould, Arkansas. Then our family will go on to Idabell, Oklahoma, before heading for Florida for our IAM Convening near Tampa Bay.
Pray for the possibility of our late Spring conference or conferences. We still might get Bobby Conner and we should have Che Ahn plus another speaker or two. We are working hard to line everything up, so please pray that all the right doors open for what God wants to do here.
We are busy getting out the 2005 receipts for those who gave to OHM in 2005. Please let us know if your records are not the same as ours, or if you need a receipt and don't get one.
That's all for now!
God bless you all,
Ben and Brenda and family
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Newletter January 22nd, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
15648 Bombay Blvd.
S. Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Friends of OHM,
We pray this letter finds you all rejoicing in the goodness of God. We can certainly say that we have seen the hand of God at work in the last number of days and weeks. Truly we are experiencing revival in its infant stages. Yes, the baby has been born and is growing quickly!
In the last few weeks, two powerful movies have been released with a powerful witness in a discreet way. A Supreme Court shift is taking place partly because of the intercession of passionate prayer warriors, including thousands of youths serving in houses of prayer. What took place and is still taking place may be the most crucial event in America in recent decades since Roe v. Wade.
Everywhere we look and travel, we see signs of revival and hunger for a move of God. Prophetic words from many sources are proclaiming tremendous changes coming. Some of these are troubles that are coming on the land to make us desperate for God and others are about the great power and authority being released to the Living Church of Jesus Christ. This will be accompanied by a huge transfer of wealth to finance the great harvest of souls before Jesus returns.
Our trip to New York was intense in many ways, yet we were able to find some time to rest and be refreshed. We spent most of our time with Dr. Bob Paeglow and Peter Whitehouse in Albany, NY, at the Capital Region Prayer and Healing Center.
We can't tell you how blessed we felt to minister to the precious people in the inner city of Albany. Dr. Bob and his crew have served that area so unselfishly and continue to give and give. We shared our Prophetic Ministry and the Harvest Seminar there and we feel there was much fruit from the teaching and personal ministry. The last session included an activation time and many people ministered prophetically for the first time or at a higher level than ever before.
I also got to go with Dr. Bob to a Youth For Christ Conference where he was a speaker. I was privileged to meet a number of leaders, including the father of Rachel Scott, the first girl killed at Columbine a few years ago. On Monday, we ministered to all the leaders at the Prayer and Healing Center. It was very special.
We ministered with a church in Oneonta, New York, on Tuesday night, which is pastored by Dan and Donna Legault. They have been through many of the same tests and trials we experienced when we pastored. People were very hungry for God and we trust that God has begun a new thing and will take them to a new dimension of ministry.
Wednesday night was in a larger church in Herkimer, NY. We were warmly welcomed by pastor Joe Janzen and his wife and church. We felt the Holy Spirit come to do what we couldn't do. The whole week in New York State was amazing as God gave strength and anointing to minister to so many people every day. On this final night there in Herkimer, Brenda experienced a powerful prophetic anointing and ministered to about one hundred people in one night. Words were shorter but rapid fire and intense. It was truly amazing.
While we were with Dr. Bob, he agreed to come to help us with our Missions Prep 101 that we will have on March 10 and 11. He has been to Africa many times and has led medical teams there. He can teach us what we should know about taking care of our health while in Africa.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tomorrow morning we minister in Dixon, IL, at The Worship Center at 403 N. Ottawa. Service starts at 11 am.
We will be ministering on Thursday night at the Prayer Furnace in Chicago at 7 pm and at a home meeting in Woodstock on Friday night.
On Monday, Jan. 30, we will head for Henderson, Kentucky, with several teen-age members of the Elgin House of Prayer. We will be in the Henderson area for three nights and then move on to Paragould, Arkansas for four days starting Saturday night.
Brenda will fly to Seattle to be with her family, including her parents, siblings, kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews. We will head towards Florida for our IAM convening in Dover. Brenda will fly to Florida to join us after the convening begins.
Please pray for us in all of our travels, etc.
Thank you all for your love and prayers. To those who have helped us financially along the journey, your sacrifice is so appreciated and has always been very timely.
We feel God prompting us to believe for the facility needed for the Sending Center for equipping harvesters and warriors. Please join with us in praying for the miraculous provision that will be needed. The vision is far bigger than anything we could make happen, but we are so full of confidence in our God and His power to provide for His Kingdom plans.
Love to you all in Jesus,
Ben and Brenda and family
15648 Bombay Blvd.
S. Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Friends of OHM,
We pray this letter finds you all rejoicing in the goodness of God. We can certainly say that we have seen the hand of God at work in the last number of days and weeks. Truly we are experiencing revival in its infant stages. Yes, the baby has been born and is growing quickly!
In the last few weeks, two powerful movies have been released with a powerful witness in a discreet way. A Supreme Court shift is taking place partly because of the intercession of passionate prayer warriors, including thousands of youths serving in houses of prayer. What took place and is still taking place may be the most crucial event in America in recent decades since Roe v. Wade.
Everywhere we look and travel, we see signs of revival and hunger for a move of God. Prophetic words from many sources are proclaiming tremendous changes coming. Some of these are troubles that are coming on the land to make us desperate for God and others are about the great power and authority being released to the Living Church of Jesus Christ. This will be accompanied by a huge transfer of wealth to finance the great harvest of souls before Jesus returns.
Our trip to New York was intense in many ways, yet we were able to find some time to rest and be refreshed. We spent most of our time with Dr. Bob Paeglow and Peter Whitehouse in Albany, NY, at the Capital Region Prayer and Healing Center.
We can't tell you how blessed we felt to minister to the precious people in the inner city of Albany. Dr. Bob and his crew have served that area so unselfishly and continue to give and give. We shared our Prophetic Ministry and the Harvest Seminar there and we feel there was much fruit from the teaching and personal ministry. The last session included an activation time and many people ministered prophetically for the first time or at a higher level than ever before.
I also got to go with Dr. Bob to a Youth For Christ Conference where he was a speaker. I was privileged to meet a number of leaders, including the father of Rachel Scott, the first girl killed at Columbine a few years ago. On Monday, we ministered to all the leaders at the Prayer and Healing Center. It was very special.
We ministered with a church in Oneonta, New York, on Tuesday night, which is pastored by Dan and Donna Legault. They have been through many of the same tests and trials we experienced when we pastored. People were very hungry for God and we trust that God has begun a new thing and will take them to a new dimension of ministry.
Wednesday night was in a larger church in Herkimer, NY. We were warmly welcomed by pastor Joe Janzen and his wife and church. We felt the Holy Spirit come to do what we couldn't do. The whole week in New York State was amazing as God gave strength and anointing to minister to so many people every day. On this final night there in Herkimer, Brenda experienced a powerful prophetic anointing and ministered to about one hundred people in one night. Words were shorter but rapid fire and intense. It was truly amazing.
While we were with Dr. Bob, he agreed to come to help us with our Missions Prep 101 that we will have on March 10 and 11. He has been to Africa many times and has led medical teams there. He can teach us what we should know about taking care of our health while in Africa.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tomorrow morning we minister in Dixon, IL, at The Worship Center at 403 N. Ottawa. Service starts at 11 am.
We will be ministering on Thursday night at the Prayer Furnace in Chicago at 7 pm and at a home meeting in Woodstock on Friday night.
On Monday, Jan. 30, we will head for Henderson, Kentucky, with several teen-age members of the Elgin House of Prayer. We will be in the Henderson area for three nights and then move on to Paragould, Arkansas for four days starting Saturday night.
Brenda will fly to Seattle to be with her family, including her parents, siblings, kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews. We will head towards Florida for our IAM convening in Dover. Brenda will fly to Florida to join us after the convening begins.
Please pray for us in all of our travels, etc.
Thank you all for your love and prayers. To those who have helped us financially along the journey, your sacrifice is so appreciated and has always been very timely.
We feel God prompting us to believe for the facility needed for the Sending Center for equipping harvesters and warriors. Please join with us in praying for the miraculous provision that will be needed. The vision is far bigger than anything we could make happen, but we are so full of confidence in our God and His power to provide for His Kingdom plans.
Love to you all in Jesus,
Ben and Brenda and family
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Newsletter January 9th, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
15648 BOMBAY BLVD.
SOUTH BELOIT, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Saints everywhere,
We trust you are receiving the Newness of God in this New Year! The year 2006 got off with a bang for us. First we were blessed to be worshipping with 10,000 mostly young and passionate believers in Jesus when the New Year began. This past weekend, we enjoyed one of the most intense times of ministry we have experienced in the USA.
Pastor Matt Lee, our translator at Pal Bok Presbyterian Church in Vernon Hills, IL, worked as hard as he has ever worked as he translated first five services with Che Ahn speaking, and then he translated four services with us speaking, followed by hours of personal ministry, much of it to Korean speaking folk. It was a real endurance test for him as well as us, but we saw God touch person after person.
The anointing was so strong in that place. Our precious Korean friends have spent countless hours there in prayer. It is holy ground to us and we counted it such an honor to minister to our Korean and American friends, as well as people from many other nationalities, such as Spanish, Indian, Japanese, etc.
The response of the people was almost overwhelming as they showed their love to us in so many ways. It's pretty hard to out-class them in hospitality. It was also such a joy to have a strong contingent of young people totally passionate for Jesus participating in the awesome worship and responding to the teaching and preaching ministry.
Today we are exhausted but praising God for what He has done. Talking with Che Ahn, he feels called to return to Chicago and will try to come back in late May to do a conference with us. He may be able to bring one or two other strong apostolic leaders with him. We had almost given up on doing another major conference until fall, but it looks like it may still happen.
Please pray as we minister on Tuesday night in Algonquin, IL, to many who have never received prophetic ministry before. Then on Thursday we will head for Albany, NY, for another prophetic conference. We will minister on Tuesday night in Oneonta, NY, and Wednesday night in Herkimer, NY.
The following Sunday, January 22, we will be at the Worship Center in Dixon, IL, and the next Thursday we will be at the Prayer Furnace in Chicago. Friday, January 27 we will be at a home group in Woodstock.
We will follow that up with a trip to Kentucky and Arkansas, taking a few young worshippers from the Elgin House of Prayer, giving them a taste of ministry on the road. Please pray for all of us as we put the motor home back to work again.
We will end the month of February in Florida at a conference near Tampa Bay and another conference on a cruise ship with Rolland and Heidi Baker, Bill Johnson, John and Carol Arnott and many other anointed leaders. We will be doing ministry on land bringing the love of Jesus to many island natives in Montego Bay. It's not too late to join us. If you want details, please email us.
We still have a few unscheduled possibilities for mid-February. Thanks for praying for us on our journeys.
Two special events are happening in the Chicago area this weekend while we are in New York State.
One event I missed earlier is AN EVENING OF WORSHIP AND UNITY in McHenry at the McHenry Township Senior Center - 3519 N Richmond Rd in McHenry, IL. Led by Jay Hanson (815) 289 2784, this will be a night of fulfilling the heart of Jesus to bring unity to His body. Check out the website: www.eveningofworship@saintly.com.
The other is a reminder of the SEW Ministry special event in Chicago with Phil Livingston. Check out his website at www.sewministries.com. They will be uniting people from many different churches to pray for one particular church each month. There will be prophetic prayer and ministry to speak life into New Life Community Church in Lakeview, IL.
We also have forgotten to announce that our new book, WITH ME, is now available as an e-book on www.amazon.com. The paper editions have been received with more enthusiasm and testimonies than any of our other books. We are excited about the ministry potential of WITH ME and we want to thank each one who has given us feedback on it.
We love you and pray for your destiny to be fulfilled. The strongest word I have for 2006 is that it is a year when God will shine a light on our pathway and reveal more of His destiny plans for our lives.
God bless you all!!!
Ben and Brenda and family
15648 BOMBAY BLVD.
SOUTH BELOIT, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
Dear Saints everywhere,
We trust you are receiving the Newness of God in this New Year! The year 2006 got off with a bang for us. First we were blessed to be worshipping with 10,000 mostly young and passionate believers in Jesus when the New Year began. This past weekend, we enjoyed one of the most intense times of ministry we have experienced in the USA.
Pastor Matt Lee, our translator at Pal Bok Presbyterian Church in Vernon Hills, IL, worked as hard as he has ever worked as he translated first five services with Che Ahn speaking, and then he translated four services with us speaking, followed by hours of personal ministry, much of it to Korean speaking folk. It was a real endurance test for him as well as us, but we saw God touch person after person.
The anointing was so strong in that place. Our precious Korean friends have spent countless hours there in prayer. It is holy ground to us and we counted it such an honor to minister to our Korean and American friends, as well as people from many other nationalities, such as Spanish, Indian, Japanese, etc.
The response of the people was almost overwhelming as they showed their love to us in so many ways. It's pretty hard to out-class them in hospitality. It was also such a joy to have a strong contingent of young people totally passionate for Jesus participating in the awesome worship and responding to the teaching and preaching ministry.
Today we are exhausted but praising God for what He has done. Talking with Che Ahn, he feels called to return to Chicago and will try to come back in late May to do a conference with us. He may be able to bring one or two other strong apostolic leaders with him. We had almost given up on doing another major conference until fall, but it looks like it may still happen.
Please pray as we minister on Tuesday night in Algonquin, IL, to many who have never received prophetic ministry before. Then on Thursday we will head for Albany, NY, for another prophetic conference. We will minister on Tuesday night in Oneonta, NY, and Wednesday night in Herkimer, NY.
The following Sunday, January 22, we will be at the Worship Center in Dixon, IL, and the next Thursday we will be at the Prayer Furnace in Chicago. Friday, January 27 we will be at a home group in Woodstock.
We will follow that up with a trip to Kentucky and Arkansas, taking a few young worshippers from the Elgin House of Prayer, giving them a taste of ministry on the road. Please pray for all of us as we put the motor home back to work again.
We will end the month of February in Florida at a conference near Tampa Bay and another conference on a cruise ship with Rolland and Heidi Baker, Bill Johnson, John and Carol Arnott and many other anointed leaders. We will be doing ministry on land bringing the love of Jesus to many island natives in Montego Bay. It's not too late to join us. If you want details, please email us.
We still have a few unscheduled possibilities for mid-February. Thanks for praying for us on our journeys.
Two special events are happening in the Chicago area this weekend while we are in New York State.
One event I missed earlier is AN EVENING OF WORSHIP AND UNITY in McHenry at the McHenry Township Senior Center - 3519 N Richmond Rd in McHenry, IL. Led by Jay Hanson (815) 289 2784, this will be a night of fulfilling the heart of Jesus to bring unity to His body. Check out the website: www.eveningofworship@saintly.com.
The other is a reminder of the SEW Ministry special event in Chicago with Phil Livingston. Check out his website at www.sewministries.com. They will be uniting people from many different churches to pray for one particular church each month. There will be prophetic prayer and ministry to speak life into New Life Community Church in Lakeview, IL.
We also have forgotten to announce that our new book, WITH ME, is now available as an e-book on www.amazon.com. The paper editions have been received with more enthusiasm and testimonies than any of our other books. We are excited about the ministry potential of WITH ME and we want to thank each one who has given us feedback on it.
We love you and pray for your destiny to be fulfilled. The strongest word I have for 2006 is that it is a year when God will shine a light on our pathway and reveal more of His destiny plans for our lives.
God bless you all!!!
Ben and Brenda and family
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Newsletter January 2, 2006
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
15648 Bombay Blvd.
S. Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
FINISHED VERSION
Greetings Saints,
We want to thank everyone for your love and support in 2005 and prophesy a year of moving forward into the purposes and plans of God for your life in His Kingdom. May you all be enriched in every way and may every storm bring you unexpected blessings. May your faith grow like never before through intimacy and a revelation of God's incredible love for you and of His awesome power.
We just got back from a most awesome conference in Kansas City called ONETHING. We brought in the New Year, fasting on New Year's Eve with 10,000 mostly young adults and teens.
What God is doing with this generation is awe inspiring. We are filled with anticipation of what God is about to release in the next months and years through this passionate generation, who are being taught to pray and worship and seek God's face for hours every day. God is hearing their prayers and working to turn the tide in America for good and not for evil.
Our Rise and Shine Conference in Vernon Hills is just a few days away. Che Ahn will begin and speak Thursday night, Friday and Saturday morning. Brenda and I will take the Saturday afternoon, evening, Sunday morning and evening services.
Check the website itinerary for more about our schedule.
We love you and believe God will put His light on your pathway this year like never before. You will see more clearly where He is taking you if you walk closely with Him.
ARISE SHINE FOR YOUR LIGHT IS COME!!! WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL IN 2006.
BE BLESSED,
BEN AND BRENDA
15648 Bombay Blvd.
S. Beloit, IL 61080
www.ohmint.org
FINISHED VERSION
Greetings Saints,
We want to thank everyone for your love and support in 2005 and prophesy a year of moving forward into the purposes and plans of God for your life in His Kingdom. May you all be enriched in every way and may every storm bring you unexpected blessings. May your faith grow like never before through intimacy and a revelation of God's incredible love for you and of His awesome power.
We just got back from a most awesome conference in Kansas City called ONETHING. We brought in the New Year, fasting on New Year's Eve with 10,000 mostly young adults and teens.
What God is doing with this generation is awe inspiring. We are filled with anticipation of what God is about to release in the next months and years through this passionate generation, who are being taught to pray and worship and seek God's face for hours every day. God is hearing their prayers and working to turn the tide in America for good and not for evil.
Our Rise and Shine Conference in Vernon Hills is just a few days away. Che Ahn will begin and speak Thursday night, Friday and Saturday morning. Brenda and I will take the Saturday afternoon, evening, Sunday morning and evening services.
Check the website itinerary for more about our schedule.
We love you and believe God will put His light on your pathway this year like never before. You will see more clearly where He is taking you if you walk closely with Him.
ARISE SHINE FOR YOUR LIGHT IS COME!!! WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL IN 2006.
BE BLESSED,
BEN AND BRENDA
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
News Letter December 20th
OPEN HEART MINISTRIES
www.ohmint.org
Greetings Saints and a Very Blessed CHRISTmas!!!
JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! And He is up to so much more than we can imagine. As the angels and prophets and intercessors anticipated His first coming, so they are anticipating His second coming. We believe Heaven and Earth are interacting more than ever before and we look forward to what He is birthing in our day.
MEETINGS WITH MURRAY SMITH
We have had a very busy week since we wrote our last newsletter. Murray Smith has returned to Canada, but while he was with us we were blessed to see God use him at an even higher level than previously.
We had meetings in Genoa and Freeport, IL. The Peru, IL, meeting was cancelled because of winter storms. In Freeport we met in a coffee shop and ministered to many people we had never met. We did a lot of team prophetic ministry with Murray and Brenda alternating, while I and a few others did the backup words. People were very blessed and through it more new doors have opened to us.
SKOKIE AGLOW
On Saturday, Brenda and I ministered to the Skokie, IL, Aglow meeting. It was another awesome time. There was a very strong anointing there and some very special friendships were renewed. Everyone got ministered to by either Brenda or myself as well as by others on the team.
GRADUATION SERVICE IN KANSAS CITY
Sunday morning at about 4 am, we left for Kansas City to attend a graduation service for Rebekah Garcia, a friend from Farmington, NM. She completed the six-month internship at the International House of Prayer and was powerfully transformed there. We got to hear from some of IHOP's leaders. Mike Bickle would have been there, but he was sick, so we didn't see him. We also spent a couple of hours in the Prayer Room, and enjoyed the rich presence of God there.
LUNCH WITH WYLL STAFF
Tomorrow we meet for lunch with a group from a Christian Radio Station, WYLL, and we will be ministering to them during that time. Pray for a freedom in the Holy Spirit to minister to some who have not been involved with prophetic ministry before.
ONETHING EVENT IN K.C.
After Christmas, we will be going to the Onething Conference at Kansas City from December 28 - January 1. It should be a wonderful event and we hope to see many people we know there.
CONFERENCE AT PAL BOK WITH CHE AHN - January 5-8.
Brenda and I have been invited to speak at Pal Bok Presbyterian Church along with Che Ahn at a conference they are hosting in their facility in Vernon Hills. We consider it a great honor and would love to see many of our Illinois friends there. Che Ahn will be doing most of the speaking until Saturday morning and we will be doing everything from Saturday afternoon on, as he returns to California on Saturday afternoon. That will include Saturday afternoon and evening and Sunday morning and evening.
JANUARY TOUR IN NEW YORK STATE
We are booked in Albany, NY, from January 13 - 16, with Dr. Bob Paeglow and his associate Peter Whitehouse. We will be doing a prophetic conference and ministering to the staff of the clinic, house of prayer and healing rooms.
On Tuesday we will minister to a church in Oneonta, NY, and on Wednesday to a church in Herkimer, NY.
BACK IN ILLINOIS
On Sunday, January 22 we will minister for the first time in Dixon, IL, for the Sunday morning service at THE WORSHIP CENTER at 11 AM.
On Friday, January 27, we will be in a home meeting in Woodstock, IL.
THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE REMEMBERED US WITH PRAYER AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT THIS DECEMBER AND THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. WE CAN CONTINUE ONLY BECAUSE YOU ARE LISTENING TO GOD AND HOLDING UP OUR HANDS IN THIS MINISTRY. WE LOVE YOU ALL IN JESUS!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
BEN AND BRENDA AND FAMILY
www.ohmint.org
Greetings Saints and a Very Blessed CHRISTmas!!!
JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! And He is up to so much more than we can imagine. As the angels and prophets and intercessors anticipated His first coming, so they are anticipating His second coming. We believe Heaven and Earth are interacting more than ever before and we look forward to what He is birthing in our day.
MEETINGS WITH MURRAY SMITH
We have had a very busy week since we wrote our last newsletter. Murray Smith has returned to Canada, but while he was with us we were blessed to see God use him at an even higher level than previously.
We had meetings in Genoa and Freeport, IL. The Peru, IL, meeting was cancelled because of winter storms. In Freeport we met in a coffee shop and ministered to many people we had never met. We did a lot of team prophetic ministry with Murray and Brenda alternating, while I and a few others did the backup words. People were very blessed and through it more new doors have opened to us.
SKOKIE AGLOW
On Saturday, Brenda and I ministered to the Skokie, IL, Aglow meeting. It was another awesome time. There was a very strong anointing there and some very special friendships were renewed. Everyone got ministered to by either Brenda or myself as well as by others on the team.
GRADUATION SERVICE IN KANSAS CITY
Sunday morning at about 4 am, we left for Kansas City to attend a graduation service for Rebekah Garcia, a friend from Farmington, NM. She completed the six-month internship at the International House of Prayer and was powerfully transformed there. We got to hear from some of IHOP's leaders. Mike Bickle would have been there, but he was sick, so we didn't see him. We also spent a couple of hours in the Prayer Room, and enjoyed the rich presence of God there.
LUNCH WITH WYLL STAFF
Tomorrow we meet for lunch with a group from a Christian Radio Station, WYLL, and we will be ministering to them during that time. Pray for a freedom in the Holy Spirit to minister to some who have not been involved with prophetic ministry before.
ONETHING EVENT IN K.C.
After Christmas, we will be going to the Onething Conference at Kansas City from December 28 - January 1. It should be a wonderful event and we hope to see many people we know there.
CONFERENCE AT PAL BOK WITH CHE AHN - January 5-8.
Brenda and I have been invited to speak at Pal Bok Presbyterian Church along with Che Ahn at a conference they are hosting in their facility in Vernon Hills. We consider it a great honor and would love to see many of our Illinois friends there. Che Ahn will be doing most of the speaking until Saturday morning and we will be doing everything from Saturday afternoon on, as he returns to California on Saturday afternoon. That will include Saturday afternoon and evening and Sunday morning and evening.
JANUARY TOUR IN NEW YORK STATE
We are booked in Albany, NY, from January 13 - 16, with Dr. Bob Paeglow and his associate Peter Whitehouse. We will be doing a prophetic conference and ministering to the staff of the clinic, house of prayer and healing rooms.
On Tuesday we will minister to a church in Oneonta, NY, and on Wednesday to a church in Herkimer, NY.
BACK IN ILLINOIS
On Sunday, January 22 we will minister for the first time in Dixon, IL, for the Sunday morning service at THE WORSHIP CENTER at 11 AM.
On Friday, January 27, we will be in a home meeting in Woodstock, IL.
THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE REMEMBERED US WITH PRAYER AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT THIS DECEMBER AND THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. WE CAN CONTINUE ONLY BECAUSE YOU ARE LISTENING TO GOD AND HOLDING UP OUR HANDS IN THIS MINISTRY. WE LOVE YOU ALL IN JESUS!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
BEN AND BRENDA AND FAMILY
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