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At Home in the Wilderness and the Prayer Closet We are blessed to live in an area where unique ministries abound. We had a special opportunity to meet with some men of God who are focused on bringing the Kingdom in greater measure to our area. One is an outdoors enthusiast with a heart for ministry whom God has blessed with the ability to combine these two passions. The other is a prayer warrior who is gathering an army for prayer, specifically for God to visit this area in mighty ways. They are both uniquely interwoven in the moves that God is making at this time. One has been leading prayer that has helped bring about some great gatherings of the Body recently. And the other is taking those outpourings and spreading them to people who go to other parts of the nation serving other ministries. SALT: Can you tell us what your names are and the ministries that you do? Dale: Sure. I am Pastor Dale Terry. I am a minister of a church in Little Sioux, Iowa. It’s www.woodlandchurchministries.com . We are an open ministry to the public and the campground that we actually commune with. We just love Jesus, His open house, and His work. Ron: My name is Ron Gaspard. I’m a deacon at Hope Community Church; that’s www.hccomaha.com . I’m just a prayer warrior; I love to pray. SALT: Everyone wants to know about your ministries. Where did you first come to the Lord and how did He lead you to where you are in ministry? Dale: I came to the Lord when I was about twelve years old. I have been in and around ministry for a majority of my adult life, but I have had the opportunity for the last half dozen years or so to come to know the Lord in a way that allowed me not only to enjoy the outdoors through camping, which is one of my first loves besides the Lord. So when God opened up this situation, it was such a blessing. I wanted to stay faithful to the Lord and serve the Lord in the Church, and yet I loved camping. One day God called me out to Little Sioux, Iowa to see a camp ground that was actually an area where you could purchase into your own properties. That day my wife and I were praying if this is what God wanted. And I remember when we pulled up to the gates there was this big archway with ‘Welcome to Woodland Campground.’ What was amazing was that the minute we passed that sign, just a few feet further, I looked to the left and there stood Woodland Church. And I knew the moment I looked to the left and looked at Woodland Church that God had called me home. From that point forward, we joined the church, and it wasn’t but a year later that I was called to actually be part of the ministry there. And it’s been such a blessing. God is so good. I just love working in the outdoors, and we just outpour the Church.
SALT: I have heard this said before so I don’t know if it is copyrighted by anyone, but I love the saying, "It’s the people, not the steeple.” Dale: Absolutely! And we say that all the time. Our church is an open church, so we have one wall. And that is only to house the equipment. Other than that, people pull up in golf carts, and cars, and wheelchairs, you name it. They roll in, and they feel the presence of God. SALT: They literally roll in. I love that. It’s so cool because there is something about nature and how God can connect with you through nature. Jesus himself, when he was talking to the multitude, where was it? It was in nature, on a mountain. That’s why I love the fact that you have a little bit of a shelter for inclement weather, I assume, but the rest of it is just completely open. I just love that. Dale: Amen. SALT: So my good friend Ron, I love the ministry you represent. Your lead pastor is a good friend of mine. Let’s talk about your ministry. Go ahead. Ron: I came to the Lord in ’96, and I was part of Bellevue Christian Center. I was involved in ministry there as an usher. Then Pastor Petey came up to the front one day and said he was going to plant the church in South Omaha. I lived in South Omaha. So I looked at my wife and said, “We’re doing that.” Here we are 10 years later, the church is planted. We have our own building. I am now a deacon at the church, my wife and I lead the prayer team at the church, and I host a men’s prayer ministry that’s been going on for about 8 years where we meet every other Saturday at 6 o’clock in the morning. I just implemented quarterly PUSH prayer days at Hope Community Church where we are praying specifically for revival and the gifts of the Spirit to be made manifest. I’m looking forward to what God is going to do in this city. SALT: Amen. And now a little caveat, today’s date is actually 12/13/12. This is significant because you’re speaking about revival. You’re speaking about how you have implemented these PUSH prayers. I am assuming that’s an acronym for something. Ron: It stands for “Pray Until Something Happens.” SALT: I love it. So you guys have actually prayed until something happened. And I truly believe that your PUSH effort has resulted in the revival that’s going on behind us here at the Hub. Outside
this door, there is an ignited revival going on. Over 150 people have come every day, and more would come, but there is only so much room in this place. So behind us there is a revival which is, I feel, the fruit of the toils of this prayer closet you guys have been in. This was only scheduled to be three days here at the HUB, and we are on our tenth day at this point. It’s just amazing. And each night, more and more miracles are happening and amazing messages. Ron, tell me a little bit more about this prayer session. Where do you guys meet? How can people get involved? How can they connect with you guys?” Ron: “For the PUSH prayer dates, we meet every quarter. We haven’t set the dates for 2013, but I will shortly. If they wanted to get in touch with that, they can go to the www.hccomaha.com website. You’ll find my name on there and the number for the men’s prayer. I would love to have more people come and be a part of it. It is not about a church, it is about God’s children coming together and praying for this city. SALT: Amen. I love it! Tell us, Dale, how to get plugged in where you meet. Let us know the unique way you guys are organized right now and where you’re at in ministry right now. Dale: Sure. The church is only open the six months of the year, April 15-October 15. Due to the fact that it is outdoors, it gets a little difficult after that time, and a lot of the people can’t withstand the cold. So we have to bring that indoors, and we also disperse. Also, you have a lot of people who actually will “snowbird:” they head south. Some of them actually have ministries they serve at RV parks down south. And what I do is serve by attending other churches and guest speaking. And in the last couple of weeks, we have opened a daycare center where we are meeting and doing a Bible study and service there in Bellevue. So it is bleeding out and it is pouring over. SALT: Praise God! So Bellevue will never be the same. So can you give some general information? Dale: Sure. We’ll be meeting in Bellevue at least until the beginning of April. And it’s at Kathy’s Kids. It’s located at 1501 Galvan Road across from the McDonalds. I’m listed on the website if you go to the staff. You can contact me through email there. The website again is www.woodlandchurchministries.com. SALT: I pray blessing upon you both. Let’s talk about what God would need to loose for the next step. And then, what would the final step be if you have seen a vision? Dale: I think to start from where we are at today, I am just overwhelmed by the opportunity the Lord
has given me to actually serve him in ministry. We have some outpouring events that we are planning to have happen in satellite areas to the people that are “snowbirding,” bringing that back to the ministry here April through October. Just really joining them all together and saying we are all one Body, no matter where we are and where we relocate as Mother Nature takes over and takes control during the winter time. No matter where I am, we are serving Him. In forward thinking and legacy thinking, God just overwhelms me with the blessings. I will tell you that no matter what my vision is that He lays on me, it is always more than that. He overwhelms me with His blessings. I just thank Him for allowing me to be His living vessel and a sacrifice for Him. But I will never be able to see His true vision; I will only be able to follow. SALT: Amen! Great wisdom there. I love it because as you mentioned, as we see something, it is only in part. And His desire is always so much more. Ron: For me, earlier this year, I had a friend of mine pass away. It was at that moment I heard God telling me to step outside of my box and do what He was telling me to do. He put on my heart a desire that I don’t want to see any of my friends or family perish. They have to hear the good news. It hurts me to think that I have friends who are not going to be in the Kingdom. It hurts me to know I have family who are not going to be in the Kingdom. I want to be passionate about what He is passionate about, and He is passionate about us as His sons and daughters. So we need to accept that and come to Him with that boldness. Dale: I think he tied it up really well there, what he said a moment ago. Because we heard as we were out there experiencing the Spirit, out there visiting with the rest of them at the Hub, we are truly one coming together. And God’s presence is so incredibly overwhelming. And people are getting healed, but not only are they getting healed, they are being saved. So it’s not just their physical body, but it’s their spiritual body. And it is the spiritual body that we are really here to give thanks for, because it’s our spiritual body that is eternal, not our physical body. So while we see these blessings of physical healing that will allow us to go about His work, it is the Spirit that we really need to be praying for. SALT: So one last question for you guys. If there was some way that God would allow you, maybe in your spirit, to go back in time to when you first came to Jesus, if you had maybe two or three minutes to tell yourself some nugget of wisdom, what would that be? Ron: For me that’s kind of easy. As a young Christian, I had problems with this. Many times in church you would have an altar call, and you would go up to the altar and you would lay something down. But when you get up, you kind of reach back behind you and you grab that thing again and bring it back with you. I could go back to when I first got saved, I would tell myself, ‘Leave it at the altar. It’s paid for.’ ” Dale: I’m going to cheat a little bit and piggy back that. That’s great Ron, because so many times I see people, they come to his throne of grace, and they lay it down before him, and they trust our God, but yet, they feel like they have to have that human control. So they have to take just that morsel back. But they need to trust Him wholely and solely, to know that we have to leave it in its entirety.
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SALT: Amen. I can’t think of anything better to say than that. So I’m going to pray a blessing over you guys and it’s time to go back to serving the Lord. Bless these two, God. Bless Dale. Bless Ron. They glorify You with every ounce of their energies that You give them and every ounce of their vessels, God. I don’t even see two men before me; I just see empty vessels through which you flow freely, God, wholely and solely. I pray this message would resonate in the people who listen to this interview. I pray it would open eyes and loose the sight of the spirit to see You in the heavenly realm and appreciate Your every single blessing. We honor and we bless You. We love You, Lord God. We pray all this in Jesus' mighty name. Amen and amen. For more information on Pastor Dale Terry and Woodland Church Ministries visit www.woodlandchurchministries.com . For more information on Ron Gaspard’s ministry through Hope Community Church visit www.hccomaha.com . Written by Justin Heckel