Shelby County readies for reviveOhio

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SIDNEY — reviveOhio will be bringing its stories of faith to Shelby County beginning Sunday, Oct. 8, and continuing through Saturday, Oct. 14. The movement has already spread through much of the state as well as area counties. Although it has been discussed in many churches and at two “Come and See” events, many people are not certain what to expect.

The movement began in Texas in 2006 with Kyle Lance Martin, who saw a need for a personal revival in his family. That grew into a mission to bring revival to the Church of Dallas, Texas. Time to Revive officially became an organization in 2010. Soon, other communities heard about the movement and wanted to bring revive to their own communities. From there, it spread to other states.

Now reviveOhio is coming to Shelby County. Although some may think so, it is not your typical revival. There will be no huge tent nor will there be a visiting preacher standing in front of a congregation each night. reviveOhio is an entirely different kind of revival.

“It’s a non-denominational event to bring all the churches in Shelby County together to work together for one purpose. That purpose is to love people by offering prayer for whatever their needs might be and to share parts of the Bible that help us understand how to have a relationship with God,” said Alan Leach, lead pastor of Connection Point Church of God.

Those who choose to participate will have the opportunity to meet at Connection Point each morning at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast, prayer and a time of training. The training will mainly consist of learning to use the materials given to aid them in speaking to others throughout the day.

These materials include a multicolored wristband and a Bible. The Bible is a book that has sections that correspond with the colors on the wristband. Each color represents a different topic and key verse that the person would need to know to be able to understand the relationship between God and people.

These key areas include sin, death, love, faith and life. This book is meant to simplify things when the volunteer is sharing with someone and when the person is reviewing it later at home.

“Anyone you meet that wants someone to walk alongside them as they learn more about Jesus, we will find someone to mentor them. We want to bring all the churches together with the one purpose of working together, loving people and presenting the Gospel to them,” said Kim Leach, children’s pastor at Connection Point.

This mentor would meet with them once a week.

At the end of the morning training the volunteers will go out in teams of four. One of the members of the team will be someone who has participated before. These people are from other counties or other states and have decided to give their time help people from Shelby County who may not feel comfortable with sharing prayer and the Bible with others.

There are some areas that will be scheduled for groups to go other times they will go where they feel led through prayer.

“You break up in teams of people from different churches to go out into the community to pray for people for whatever their needs are, and if they want to learn how to change their lives through Jesus, you can present them with a Bible. Everyone will get the bracelet, and anyone who wants one can have a Bible,” said Kim Leach.

In the afternoon the groups will meet at a lunchtime church for lunch and sharing the events of the day. This church will change each day. At 1:30 p.m., the teams will go back out.

At 5:30 p.m., a dinner will be served to the volunteers at Connection Point, and there will be more sharing about the day.

A service will cap the day off at 6:30 p.m. The evening service will consist of all the churches coming together.

The evening services are open to the community and is held at Connection Point. Childcare will be available for infants through the fifth grade Monday to Saturday. During the kick ]-off service Sunday night, there will only be care provided for the nursery.

Anyone who would like to participate can jump in at any point during the day. The churches also need people willing to set up for the meals and serve.

“The idea is not for this week to happen and to be done. The purpose is for the churches, on a monthly or quarterly basis to come together and to continue doing this outreach of loving people and sharing how to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ” said Alan Leach.

Organizers are also looking for businesses, big or small, who are willing to let a team come in and pray for their employees. Government offices, schools, or any other organizations are welcome to contact them as well. Interested businesses should contact Alisa Beisner at 937-417-4938.

For other information visit the Facebook page for reviveOhio::Shelby County.

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By Paula Frew

For the Sidney Daily News

The writer is a regular contributor to the Sidney Daily News.

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