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By Erik Tryggestad
April 2, 2023
Winterfest was different this year.
That’s what David Schilling thought anyway.
For nearly a decade, the youth minister for the Hardin Valley Church of Christ in Knoxville, Tenn., has led groups to the annual youth rally in nearby Gatlinburg.
It’s usually a Smoky Mountaintop experience, as thousands of kids hear “David and Goliath stories” delivered by dynamic speakers, Christian poets, even Flying Wallenda-style acrobats, Schilling said.
But this year seemed “less grandiose,” he said. The sermons were great, though some sounded like they were intended for an older audience. The worship was powerful. But there wasn’t “that larger-than-life wow factor I’ve come to expect.”
Then, during Sunday morning worship, minister Jeff Walling asked for those who had decided to follow Christ in baptism to stand up and come forward.
And they came — one by one, two by two, in groups of three or more. Soon the area in front of the stage was packed with nearly 200 souls.
As it turns out, “what was missing actually made more room for the Holy Spirit to permeate the experience,” Schilling said.
So far 11 Winterfest participants from his church have been baptized — including two adults who came as chaperones.
Abbey Roberson didn’t stand up at first.
“There was something holding me back,” said the 11-year-old from Hardin Valley. But as Walling spoke, “I looked through my teary eyes, and for a minute I think Jesus was there, reaching out to me, waiting for me to stand. So I did.”
About 200 miles south of Asbury University in Kentucky, where a marathon worship service sparked a revival that made national headlines, about 400 people committed to be baptized — 200 each in two Sunday morning services at Winterfest Gatlinburg. At least 100 more made the same commitment a few weeks earlier during Winterfest Arlington in Texas.
Dudley Chancey, Winterfest’s organizer, was perched above the Gatlinburg Convention Center in the audiovisual booth as the crowds went forward. It was “like a concert,” he said, “except they’re not, you know, doing mosh pits and passing people around.
“This is my 36th year doing Winterfest,” he added, “and I’ve never seen that.”
That is to say, he hadn’t seen that kind of response “without singing 75 verses of ‘Just As I Am,’” said Chancey, professor of youth and family ministry at Oklahoma Christian University.
U.S. Missionary Pilot & 2 Others Released from Mozambique Prison
By Julie Roys
An American missionary pilot and two South Africans imprisoned for four months in war-torn Mozambique have been released, according to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).
Ryan Koher and South Africans W.J. du Plessis and Eric Dry were arrested in November in southern Mozambique on suspicions they were supporting an Islamic insurgent group in the northern part of the country.
On late Tuesday afternoon, the men were released from prison. But according to MAF, their case is ongoing and they are required to remain in Mozambique.
“Ryan has talked with his wife, Annabel, and his two boys multiple times now and he is doing well,” MAF reported.
“The executive leadership team of MAF-US expresses its thanks for all those who have been praying for Ryan and his family. We ask for continued prayer that the final outcome will be a full release of Ryan from any charges and trial.”
Koher is a pilot for Ambassador Aviation Limited, a missions organization that partners with MAF.
In November, Koher had flown to the city of Inhambane to pick up a load of over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and other supplies. The plan was to fly the supplies to orphanages near Montepuez in Northern Mozambique. However, during a routine security screening, airport officials became suspicious and arrested Koher and the two South Africans.
David Holsten, president of MAF, told media in December that it’s not unusual for security officials to question pilots about their cargo. But in the past, pilots have been detained for only a few hours.
Holsten added that the missions group has historically had a good relationship with the government in Mozambique and is registered as a commercial airline the same as any other airline. MAF has denied any wrongdoing on Koher’s part.
After Koher’s arrest, his wife and children were evacuated to the United States, where they remain. In a video released two months ago, Annabel Koher thanked the family’s supporters around the world who have been faithfully praying and fasting for her husband’s release.
“As Ryan wrote from prison, there is a struggle between flesh and spirit in this trying time,” Annabel Koher said. “. . . Overall, we are finding comfort in God’s sovereignty and He has given us an unexplainable and trust in His will at this time. Just as we can see in David’s many psalms, our tears crying out for help are mingled with the praises of God’s glory and goodness.”
By Sylvia St. Cyr
New York Pastor and best-selling author Timothy Keller has found that knowing he is mortal has transformed his prayer life along with other aspects of his life.
In May 2020 Keller was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. Since that time he has had two years of chemotherapy and is currently participating in the immunotherapy drug trial for National Institute for Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
“My cancer is still there, pancreatic cancer can break out anytime and take you, and yet we’ve been able to keep it somewhat at bay for a pretty long time, and so we’re very grateful,” says Keller in an interview.
Throughout his cancer journey, Keller has continued to preach at his church, Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. In the video interview, Keller explains how he and his wife Kathy’s prayer life has benefited in the past few years.
“This is going to sound like an exaggeration. My wife and I would never want to go back to the kind of prayer life and spiritual life we had before the cancer, never. Every so often, Kathy and I will say we’re having a much better life now.”
Dr. Bryan E. Galloway
Pray for Revival! 
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