I love “accidental” meetings engineered by the Holy Spirit!
A most memorable accident of this genre involved a young business owner who showed up at our ministry door one day seeking a telephone to call a tow truck. His pickup “just happened” to die in front of the building.
He recognized me as a fellow member at the Loveland, Colorado, Rez Church and soon sat down to ask questions about our then-new ministry, Shine On Mexico, while waiting for a tow. During the chat, he noted he was envious of my full-time focus on ministry.
“I have a ministry, too,” he said, “but I have an awful time trying to balance my time between the ministry and my business. If I schedule meetings, or try to set aside time to focus on something … emergencies come up with one or the other, and I have to leave or suddenly end the meeting. It’s really hard to try and focus on both.”
I sat quietly listening, and then that “inner voice” kicked in.
“You don’t have one ministry, you have two ministries,” I blurted. Stunned, he just stared at me, not believing he had heard right. “That’s your problem,” I continued. “Many people think having a ministry means preaching, or leading a class or heading up a choir. A business or a trade are valid ministries every bit as powerful as thumping a bible.
Too Many Pastors?
“Think of what an empty life it would be if everyone were a pastor! Who would bake the bread, or put a roof on our houses, or would write a text book for an English class or clean out our sewers?
“What you need to do is recognize you are serving the Lord and meeting the needs of society through your business. Isn’t that the definition of a ministry? You have two foundational objectives, melded into one ministry. It is a singularity. God wants you to be the best businessman in Colorado. Run the business honorably, glorifying our Lord, and treat your employees like a church family. Let them see what love is all about through your actions.
“The key,” I concluded, “is to drop the classical Chamber of Commerce view of business as a matter of making as much money as possible, while maximizing profits. No! God put you in business to serve society. All business basically exists to serve society’s needs. To exploit people is not in God’s plan. You are serving a vital need to God’s family. And, if you are profitable, it allows you to further feed into God’s economy by supporting non-profit ministries. This is God’s work at its finest.”
I said more, but, most importantly, he took the advice. Not only was he a much happier man thereafter, he also became one of our largest and most reliable contributors.
All Are Ministers
All Christian business owners are also ministers, male or female. Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship has been singing these truths for nearly 70 years.
Northern Colorado has been blessed with a very creative spinoff of the Full Gospel ministry, allowing businessmen to mix evangelism and wide community outreach into their active lives as tradesmen. And, for well over a decade, we have been blessed to also be active with a related men’s intercessory prayer group called Spiritual Warfare Attack Team.
SWAT originated with Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship in Santa Ana, California. Brad Tuttle, president of the Saddleback chapter, moved to Colorado 24 years ago and successfully launched a branch of SWAT in the Loveland-Fort Collins area.
Originally, the ministry was limited to trekking Monday nights to struggling businesses … praying with and over them at their business sites. We had many miracles. For example: One business had already begun laying people off and was planning to close their doors the following Monday morning. Upon learning this, Tuttle called an emergency SWAT session on a Saturday night. It was a good meeting, and the Holy Spirit took full command.
Monday morning, the staff started closing down the business, but were engulfed by so many customers they were soon forced to quit packing up and “get back to” business. The owner later informed us they had more business in that first month after SWAT than they had the entire previous year. Prosperity returned and remained at God’s pleasure.
As SWAT matured, Tuttle expanded the prayer “invasions” to include troubled families. Several hundred families have since benefited from the team’s prayers and revelations. Because SWAT members are primarily older businessmen, tradesmen and craftsmen, they possess significant experience and wisdom well qualifying then to offer valid advice and consultation to those seeking these treasures as well.
At the Point of the Revival Spear
More recently, SWAT and nearly 30 churches have focused numerous assembly-wide prayer calls on fervent pleas for revival in Northern Colorado. These sessions have at times drawn 50 or more people, women, men and even children to united prayer, as opposed to the usual team comprising a dozen or so men. Amid much loud sounding of shofars and anointed worship, people from many churches and denominations are gathering in a singular plea for revival.
Currently, this coalition of churches and the SWAT Team are partnering in sponsoring the second Northern Colorado Sean Feucht Let Us Worship outreach, this one in the city of Windsor, Colorado, on May 19.
The Northern Colorado revival movement also gathered steam in the far northern city of Wellington with a North Gate Tent Revival during the week of April 24 through May 1 that saw many miracles, conversions and baptisms.
The Northern Colorado ekklesia movement (in the Greek sense of ‘the called out’ body of Christ) is gaining intense and increasing traction with many present participating in prayer and deep travail. Men no longer dominate, as both women and youth eagerly pick up the anthems and cries for revival now.
We have quit asking for revival in the future tense. The Holy Spirit is present, and the revival is now. Whereas we had been looking for historical patterns of revival, we now realize there are no standards, no walls, no “stand-out” leaders, no platforms. We were profoundly delighted to read Colette Touch’s article on the “Simultaneous Global Revival” in the April 2021 edition of Charisma magazine. Here she was, miles ahead of the rest of us, declaring a spontaneous Spirit-driven worldwide revival already underway in many global hot spots.
In keeping with that sentiment, keep an eye on Northern Colorado. The tidal wave of God’s purpose is upon us! And, it is our cry that all communities in America would have their own SWAT teams and coming together of the body of Christ. Whatever your skill, trade, occupation, endeavors or labors, you can also serve simultaneously as a blessed minister of God in this special, end-times prophetic era. {eoa}
Ron Dee Mallett of Milliken, Colorado, studied business, journalism, economics and mass communications at Denver, Colorado and Stanford Universities as a Ford Fellow. An Air Force veteran, news reporter and retired multinational corporate executive, he later served as director of jail, prison, nursing home and Mexico outreaches, as well as intercession ministries for over 21 years.
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