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Pastor Sees Revival Break Out as Fires Devastate LA
By Movieguide® Contributor
As fires tragically ravaged Los Angeles-area communities earlier this month, many people stepped up to help those in need, including The Dream Center.
“It turned into the most unbelievable experience as thousands of people were coming through that line,” The Dream Center CEO and pastor Matthew Barnett told CBN of how his organization provided food for victims. “I mean literally just thousands.”
He added, “On one day we had 1,200 volunteers show up on our blacktop, and we were able to mobilize every single one of them.”
Barnett reflected on the importance of helping, even if you don’t have a perfect plan in place: “It’s just one of those things where you step out and you go, and you use what you have. You learn along the way and then the need begins to draw you towards the plan.”
As a pastor, Barnett also did his best to meet the emotional needs of those affected.
“Everybody wants prayer,” he said. “It really is kind of a revival in action where people just want to know that God is there, but I’m really seeing it in a very unusual way through a lot of the volunteers rubbing shoulders all day long and asking questions…like, ‘Why do you do what you guys do?’”
READ MORE: ‘WE TRUST IN GOD’: CHRIS PRATT REFLECTS ON WILDFIRE DEVASTATION
He continued, “It really is a gathering place, it’s a revival place, it’s a place where people are being told about Christ, it’s a place of people being prayed for,” Barnett said. “It really reminds me of an Acts 29 type of church in action.”
He believes this moment will spread the Gospel.
“Serving is the greatest way to engage people that do not know the Lord because everybody can rally around that,” he said. “Everybody can get behind the fact that the Gospel inspires you to do great things and to love people in practical ways, and it’s an unbelievable open door to be able to share why you do it and what inspires you to make that change.”
One answer to prayer is the rain that came to the region recently. The New York Times said that a “slow-moving rainstorm system” brought reprieve to a dry Southern California over the weekend. However, the rain also increases the risk of mudslides in areas affected by the fires.
READ MORE: NCIS: LA ACTOR LOSES HOME TO PALISADES FIRE: ‘GRATEFUL WE ARE TOGETHER’
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