RiverLife – Chapel Hill UPDATE June 1, 2014
Dear RiverLife Family and Friends,
Sarah Ruth, the kids and I are overwhelmed by your encouragement through prayer and support of the vision the Lord has given us! For that, we want to say, “THANK YOU!!!” The Lord has opened doors and provided for us so far and we believe He will continue to do so.
Spiritual Warfare in Chapel Hill
I’ve been asked, “How are you going to deal with the dark spiritual strongholds in Chapel Hill?” My response: “overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). As Jesus was starting his ministry, he stood up in his hometown synagogue and proclaimed his “mission statement” from the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because he has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)
This became Jesus’ guideline for spiritual warfare. He went out in extravagant Love. Out of Love came healing, deliverance, salvation and resurrection. Then, he gathered 12 men that he taught to do what he’d been doing – only what he saw the Father doing. Later, he gathered 70 more folks whom he instructed to go and do the same. Upon returning and having seen the outrageous power of Heaven released, their report was: “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And Jesus responded to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven!” (Luke 10:17-18) Now, that’s spiritual warfare! I grew up in Chapel Hill. It is true, the strongholds of intellectualism, liberalism and postmodernism have ruled that community; however, the Father’s LOVE is the most powerful force in the universe! Our approach in Chapel Hill is “to overcome evil with good” through extravagant demonstrations of Love. Will you join us in prayer and action?
A Revival Generation
Recently, we have been able to connect with several key leaders in Chapel Hill and the surrounding region. On May 19th, we were called to a last minute meeting at Judy & Jerry Ball’s house of Ignite Carolina Campus leaders from around NC. Our friends from Chapel Hill, Michael Pham (on crutches) and Chris Spargo (on left) were there. In addition, there was a student leader from Duke, NC State, and several from ECU. We were able to hear these students’ stories and share in their passion for Revival in NC! If I had time to share with you their visions, you would be greatly encouraged about this generation and the incredible future in store for them.
This past week, Byron and I had lunch with the founding pastors of Catch the Fire Raleigh, Duncan and Kate Smith. This church was planted in 2008 as a result of the revival in Toronto that began in 1994. Again, it was an exciting afternoon of sharing stories about what God has done and is doing. We found out that the weekend prior to our Chapel Hill church starting, Duncan and Kate are leading a conference in Durham with Randy Clark and Heidi Baker. The Lord used Randy to begin the revival in Toronto. Something in my spirit says, “O Lord, do it again!” In addition, Sarah and I and our Chapel Hill team just started reading Heidi Baker’s new book, “Birthing the Miraculous”. We’re so excited about receiving an impartation from these generals of revival the weekend before launching RiverLife Chapel Hill!
Eureka! We found it . . .
The Lord brought to us the perfect house for our family in Chapel Hill! A Christian family is going to Japan for a year to film a documentary and needed someone to rent their house in the country while they were gone. He called me and asked if we were interested. On Memorial Day we went and met the family and looked at the house. It’s perfect! It’s the perfect size, in the Chapel Hill school district, and only 3 miles outside of town. Yet, it is in a beautiful country setting (ideal for our family’s transition from farm life to Chapel HIll). We are planning on moving in the week of July 15th. Thanks for praying!
Now . . . we are still waiting for the buyer for our country home in Mount Ulla. We believe the Lord is saving it for someone and at the right time. The Adventure continues . . .
“How Can I Pray . . . ?”
1. Pray for the completion of our team. Several other singles and families are considering making a move and joining us in Chapel Hill. Pray that these folks would receive clear direction and open doors for the next phase of their lives.
2. Pray that Doug & Ann Murdock would land jobs in Chapel Hill. They have both had promising interviews, but are waiting to hear back.
3. Pray for the completion of our monthly financial partnership team. Currently, we, the Bollinger family, are approximately 95% to our goal of being fully-funded. THANK YOU so much for being a part of meeting this essential need! For more info on joining our team, visit:www.riverlifefellowship.
4. Pray for our house to sell ASAP. (As mentioned above.)
5. Pray for financial provision for our church budget. We’ll have “big ticket” needs like sound system, website, office equipment, etc. that we’ll need to purchase in establishing the church.
6. Pray for our children to make a smooth transition. Leaving our beloved house, farm, family & friends will not be easy.
7. Pray for REVIVAL in Chapel Hill and all of NC this year!
Much Love to You All! We want to pray for you, as well.
You all are making this dream a reality! Truthfully, we could not do this without your love, encouragement, and financial support. Thank you!!
We, also, want to pray for you! Please email your prayer needs & answered prayers to [email protected]
COMING SOON: www.
Much Love,
Matthew, Sarah, and the Bollinger “Crew”