Clermont Pentecostal Lighthouse

So unfortunately due to widespread political protest in Guatemala, me and my squads departure has been delayed until this Wednesday at the crack of dawn. However in the midst of this mild bummer, there was an opportunity for our squad to fit in one or two more wild Georgia adventures before we hopped on a plane and skipped town.

Last Sunday we decided to pick out some local churches to go and attend for the morning. We hadn’t been off campus for church since we’ve been here so the squad split up so that we could get a few different flavors of Gainesville congregations before we left. Me and my team, wanting a new experience, identified this Pentecostal church about 10 minutes away from base and since no one had been to a pentecostal church before we thought it might be fun to check it out. So we packed a 15 passenger van and headed down the road to this quaint little building with a bed of zinnias decorating the entrance, just below the big black lettering “Clermont Pentecostal Lighthouse” We walked in about 5 minutes early and the only people that were there to greet us were pastor Phillip Wehunt and his wife. We all introduced ourselves and found a seat among the hymn book lined aisles. About 10 or so more people trickled in after us, but it was clear that we had found ourselves in one of the smallest running churches in the area. Pastor Phillip was a short older man with a brown suit and a vibrant personality, he had Dawson come up to the front and introduce our organization and why we were there. He then asked Jackson and Noah, who had previously mentioned their musical experience, to lead worship for the church that morning. Though they were caught off guard, they made the short walk to the stage and Jackson grabbed the guitar to play some modern songs that more likely than not none of the people had heard before. Nevertheless there was something special in that room, and you could feel new life seeping into that church in ways it hadn’t done in a long time. Perhaps he was just relieved that for once he wouldn’t have to both play worship and give the word, but Phillip after having them play a decent bundle of songs, began to speak with misty eyes and a passionate vigor about whatever was put on his heart. If he had prepared a sermon beforehand it was obvious he was no longer following his notes, and the spirit was just overflowing out of him in bursts of praise and adoration. We had doubled the size of the church and provided a new age demographic not previously present. Besides the 3-4 children, most people there were middle aged or older. He spoke for a little bit, then after a few orders of business from one of the church goers, Jackson and Noah were called back up front to sing a Hymn Phillip had requested. They had to look up the chords and the lyrics, and since everyone knew the words except us, a few members kindly flocked to our section with their binders of song lyrics so we would not feel lost. It was really special to see the fresh joy that was produced on the faces of these people who had most likely been attending the church for 25+ years and never thought about leaving. Then Phillip did something unexpected but beautiful, he decided to take up an offering for us and our ministry. So for the second time that morning, the plate was passed between the rows, and amazingly from those 10 or so people in attendance, we received a few hundred dollars from this tiny little church that had only been our home for about an hour. After the service concluded we asked to pray over the people there and then we literally just hung out with them for a little under an hour, establishing new friendships and making plans to return in 9 months. They hadn’t had a piano player there in a long time, so Jackson and Noah hopped on the keys and sang “Hallelujah” with Phillip to conclude the morning. One thing he said that I think is good for the readers of my blog and timely since Im writing this on the way to the airport is this “The same God thats going to be with them overseas is the one thats going to be with us here in this room”