By Brenda Walker Williams
February 20th of 1970 at 2 p.m. I received a call from a lady who attended South Meridian Church of God. She told me they had such an exciting service that she was still at the church. A group of students had come from Ashbury College to talk about a revival that had broken out on Campus. The response was overwhelming and Pastor Tarr had decided to continue services as long as the Holy Spirit led. The lady had called Park Place Church to get the phone number of some girls who could possibly help in the nursery. They told her about Roxanne Ogle, Polly Thompson & me. They were willing to pay us each $1 per hour as nursery workers. This was my first paying job (I was 13).
The first night I worked with the 3 & 4 year olds and we had around 30 children in that room. They asked me to come back the following night and I worked in the toddler room with Roxanne. The third night I worked in the infant room. They had a sound system that monitored the service and for some strange reason all the babies were quiet and sleepy that night, so I listened to the service.
February 20th of 1970 at 2 p.m. I received a call from a lady who attended South Meridian Church of God. She told me they had such an exciting service that she was still at the church. A group of students had come from Ashbury College to talk about a revival that had broken out on Campus. The response was overwhelming and Pastor Tarr had decided to continue services as long as the Holy Spirit led. The lady had called Park Place Church to get the phone number of some girls who could possibly help in the nursery. They told her about Roxanne Ogle, Polly Thompson & me. They were willing to pay us each $1 per hour as nursery workers. This was my first paying job (I was 13).
The first night I worked with the 3 & 4 year olds and we had around 30 children in that room. They asked me to come back the following night and I worked in the toddler room with Roxanne. The third night I worked in the infant room. They had a sound system that monitored the service and for some strange reason all the babies were quiet and sleepy that night, so I listened to the service.
The service consisted of testimony after testimony of how God was changing the life of each one who spoke. People spoke about the new and real feeling of God’s Love they were experiencing in their lives. The first night, as I entered the church I had felt something different in the air. Everyone you saw was excited about Jesus and talking about Him in a way I had never heard before. That night I felt compelled to make my way into the service and ask Him to take control of my life. For the full 50 days the Revival I was there (although the first three nights I was in the nursery).
As I remember the theme song we sang each night was "To God Be the Glory", and there was a sign there that read "God's power shows up best in weak people".
The people I remember from those Revival services are Ray Renner (he testified several times), Johnny Cawthon (he later was the leader of the Youth For Christ meetings I attended at North Side Jr. High) and Royce Miller (who went on the witness team to VA with me).
Two times I went out on witness teams. Once I went for a weekend in Ohio and on another occasion for a week (over spring break) I went with a team that went to my grandparents church in Blacksburg, VA, my Uncle Jim’s church in Roanoke, VA, a church in Bristol, VA and another church somewhere in North Carolina.
The way the witness teams’ services that I participated in usually went were: The local pastor would open with a few songs. Each person on the team would then give their personal testimony. Following the testimonies there would be an altar call. Because the Holy Spirit was so strong and in evidence it would not be uncommon for every person in the service to respond to God’s call.
Later in June of 1970 at the Church of God Convention the Fishermen had some type of a gathering I think in the basement of the Student Union Building (Bud Sempsrott, Ray Renner or Lawrence Chewning can correct me if I’m wrong about the location) and Tom Pickens caught the fire. The Fishermen went traveling over the summer. I think in September of 1970, when they returned to Anderson and began meetings at Solomon’s Porch.
As I remember the theme song we sang each night was "To God Be the Glory", and there was a sign there that read "God's power shows up best in weak people".
The people I remember from those Revival services are Ray Renner (he testified several times), Johnny Cawthon (he later was the leader of the Youth For Christ meetings I attended at North Side Jr. High) and Royce Miller (who went on the witness team to VA with me).
Two times I went out on witness teams. Once I went for a weekend in Ohio and on another occasion for a week (over spring break) I went with a team that went to my grandparents church in Blacksburg, VA, my Uncle Jim’s church in Roanoke, VA, a church in Bristol, VA and another church somewhere in North Carolina.
The way the witness teams’ services that I participated in usually went were: The local pastor would open with a few songs. Each person on the team would then give their personal testimony. Following the testimonies there would be an altar call. Because the Holy Spirit was so strong and in evidence it would not be uncommon for every person in the service to respond to God’s call.
Later in June of 1970 at the Church of God Convention the Fishermen had some type of a gathering I think in the basement of the Student Union Building (Bud Sempsrott, Ray Renner or Lawrence Chewning can correct me if I’m wrong about the location) and Tom Pickens caught the fire. The Fishermen went traveling over the summer. I think in September of 1970, when they returned to Anderson and began meetings at Solomon’s Porch.
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