Last Words: A Tribute to Pat Summerall

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Mike Fechner

Pat Summerall is arguably the greatest sportscaster who ever sat behind a microphone. Not so much for his gift of gab, which is all too common on television. Pat became a sports fan favorite because he knew when not to talk. His effortless, understated style in the broadcast booth reflected the kind of man he was at home and among friends. He spoke only when something needed to be said, and he didn’t like talking about himself unless it promised to help others.

Pat made it easy to forget that God used his voice to speak to millions in his four-decade, hall of fame career. The public knew him as the voice of the NFL; Laura and I found him to be a genuine man of faith whose life exemplified God’s amazing grace. He did nothing to hide his former sins or the radical change God made in every area of his life. That’s probably why he was such a great influence at H.I.S. BridgeBuilders. His testimony mirrored those of our dear brothers and sisters served by our ministry. While he stood on the velvet landscape of Augusta after drinking all night, some of our men stood on the street corner in the ’hood after dealing drugs all night. Both tried to fill their emptiness with what Solomon called “vanity of vanities” (Ecc. 1:2). The people of Bonton connected with Pat because they saw in him a kindred spirit, a man saved by grace, living by faith, and letting the light of Christ shine through his deeds.

When Pat and Cheri approached us about serving H.I.S. BridgeBuilders, I was stunned. I couldn’t imagine what could have led this amazing, larger than life couple to join our call to restore urban communities globally. The only possible answer: the Lord! Pat and Cheri understood that we all stand equally desperate before the cross of Christ, and made it their mission to share this message with anyone and everyone who would listen!

When I first announced to the South Dallas community of Bonton that Pat Summerall had come to share his testimony, people in the audience looked at me like I was joking. “Sure, Pastor Mike, Pat Summerall is in the hood!” You should have seen their faces when Pat stood behind the podium and the tears streaming down their faces when he encouraged them to surrender their lives to Jesus.

Soon afterward, Pat and Cheri joined our board of directors and became kindred spirits to Laura and me. Pat’s liver failure and transplant game him a unique ability to identify with me during my struggle against cancer. I often say it is like a fraternity of suffering, a brotherhood that understands the gift of life through Gods grace. During that difficult time, God united us in this fellowship of suffering, giving us a shared gift that allowed us to identify with a suffering world in desperate need of Jesus.

Pat’s last public appearance was at the Omni Dallas Hotel on March 19^th, where more than seven hundred people gathered to honor two Christian champions: the late Dr. E.K. Bailey and NFL quarterback Tim Tebow. Each received an award we named, The Pat Summerall “Heart of a Champion” Award. This event showcased the lives of people in our ministry who were once addicted and hopeless, but by God’s grace and the heroic faith of people like Pat Summerall, now becoming champions for the Lord Jesus Christ. I had the honor of sitting beside Pat during this wonderful evening and witnessed his genuine amazement that people would give him a standing ovation.

God willing, this annual event will continue to honor faithful men and women who use their abilities and influence to help those who are hopeless and need the love of Christ. What a tremendous gift that Pat’s last public appearance was to help the least and the lost! We pray as a ministry that we will be good stewards of what this champion of the faith entrusted to us as his last declaration of God’s grace.

In the meantime, we grieve the loss of this great friend, and we stand beside our dear sister, Cheri. While Pat serves and worships Christ face-to-face, she continues to work alongside us at H.I.S. BridgeBuilders. Pat is gone, but she is not alone. As her family in the ’hood would say, “We got her back.”

My Birthday Wish

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Mike Fechner

Yesterday was my birthday. For most of my life, this has been a day where I think about myself! More recently, however, the Lord has shown me my need to serve others.

This same day last year I received news that cancer had reappeared in a lymph node in my media sternum. I can remember that moment as if it were yesterday. I sat weeping in the parking lot of my daughter’s regional swim meet with my oldest son, Michael, by my side. I despaired over the fact that this disease had returned. Later, as I sat poolside, the heavy humid air in the natatorium felt oppressive, not unlike the fear and darkness that closed around my spirit.

That year, I didn’t want any birthday gifts. All I wanted for my birthday was to live!

In every city around the world, people battling disease, famine, and war want little more than the precious gift of life—God’s first and greatest gift to us. Now, one year later—on this birthday—I praise God for another year of life. I also find myself grateful that He allowed cancer to become a part of my spiritual growth. The ordeal of cancer has expanded my heart to see the needs of others, which allows me think more of others than myself! The eyes of my wicked heart are slowly being opened to just how selfish I am.

In 2012, this unwanted battle for my life took me to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for six weeks. As I stood at the battlefront of my personal war against cancer, I saw for the first time my new mission field. Throughout my ordeal, the Lord had been revealing just how much He loves me. In Houston, however, I was surrounded by people who felt lost and alone because they didn’t know Jesus. Nearly two decades earlier, God placed on my heart a calling to serve orphans, widows, and the poor. In Houston, He added the sick. My heart breaks especially for those battling cancer and I feel overwhelming compassion for their families. What is more, my gratitude overflows for the medical staff serving them.

Throughout our six week stay in the cancer ward—a war zone many people choose to ignore—we began the ministry of Chemo Church. The need for this ministry became evident when I began visiting fellow patients and praying with them. My nurses, who became my ministry partners, commented, “We have never had anyone, even a minister, get up while doing chemo and minister to other patients and staff.” This shocked and saddened me! The Light shines brightest in the darkness. How could so many Christians come into a place of such hopelessness, seek their own healing, and leave these precious souls in darkness?

I should not have been surprised; the answer can be found in an undeniable spiritual principle. We replicate what dominates our hearts. If our hearts are consumed with a desire to live and to be blessed, that will be replicated in our words and deeds. It is a self-centeredness that is all too common in the church today, but Jesus has called us to something much greater. He gives us life so that we might sacrifice it daily for the sake of service to Him (Rom. 12:1–2).

Trust me when I say that this is a message of conviction for me as well.

Hospitals—especially cancer wards—are often places of hopelessness and despair, but they can also become places where the lost find life in Jesus Christ. To answer the call of Christ, we are officially launching the ministry of Chemo Church to bring help, hope, and healing to those battling cancer, to their families, and to the medical staff serving these patients.

While we have much to do, we have a strong start. Mary Anderwald, my assistant for many years, has accepted the challenge to take charge of the Chemo Church prayer ministry. Christian counselors will be available to help families and patients walk through these distressing times. And we are taking Bags of Hope into chemo wards across the country. These festive bags are filled with devotionals, gift cards, and a blanket. It’s a simple gesture that offers encouragement and conveys the message that they are loved by Jesus Christ.

I am convinced that the reason I am breathing today—having endured brain surgery, proton treatment, chemotherapy, cyber knife radiation, and gamma knife radiation—is for one purpose . . . to tell others about Jesus, who is mighty to save and to heal! My birthday wish this year is not merely to live, but to mobilize an army of hope, help, and healing. To minister to those struggling for life in chemo wards across the country. The harvest is ready for you, all you need to do is say “yes” to God’s call for your life.

If you would like to know how you can bring the ministry of Chemo Church to a hospital near you, click the link below and complete the contact form. We will respond by sending you helpful information.

Click here to request information on Chemo Church

(Chemo Church is a new ministry of H.I.S. BridgeBuilders.)

Unexpected Miracle

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Mike Fechner

On the night of the Savior’s birth, the shepherds watched their flocks like countless nights before, marking off hours on a menial job to provide for their families. They were common, uneducated men living off the land, protecting their sheep from thieves and wild animals. The shepherds were the working poor, trying to eke out a meager living on the fringes of society. Yet It was to these poor shepherds the angels came that dark night. The heavenly messengers pierced the darkness in bright light to announce the birth of the Savior for all humankind, not to kings or diplomats, not to the rich or powerful, but to men society considered the least important of all. There were no angels dispatched to the palaces of the world—although wise men sought Him. They were not dispatched to the religious leaders of the time, or the great intellects or business leaders of the day, but to poor, marginalized shepherds.

The Father’s choice continues to amaze me—and humble me. God’s unexpected miracle of His Son’s birth established a clear pattern that would define Jesus’ ministry. Throughout His earthly walk among us, and then down through the ages, He has used the least of humankind to accomplish great works for the Kingdom. From the moment of His birth, He has worked among the least of society to confound the wisdom of the world and bring greater Glory to His name. This unexpected miracle still happens today as God uses the poor, who are rich in faith, to convict the world of its misplaced priorities. God works among people considered “the least” by earthly standards to highlight to primary importance of faith over wealth, power, prestige, privilege, or anything else.

Take a lingering look at these pictures of our church in Galati, Romania, captured as they met for worship this Christmas. This congregation began as a result of the faithful obedience of Bogdon, who was radically saved through the ministry of a missionary. Before responding to the good news of Jesus Christ, he was chief among the thieves in the valley of Gypsies near Galati. He ran a lucrative business peddling drugs and prostitutes. Bogdon typified why Romanians consider Gypsies irredeemable—a waste of government and ministry money. According to Bogdon, ninety percent of men sell drugs and urge ninety percent of their women to sell themselves.

Most respected Romanians avoid this place of great poverty and danger, yet it is here that H.I.S. BridgeBuilders helped Bogdon plant Grace Valley Church. They continually see souls saved, radically and dramatically. Couples unite in marriage and leave the streets. Sewing classes help the women earn an honest wage and disciples join them in prayer about how to take back their community.

While progress has been amazing, there is still so much to accomplish. The task can feel overwhelming. Even so, when we consider all that God has done through each unexpected miracle, His grace is all the more amazing. I am humbled by their desire to worship as they gather in a new little building provided by our International Board. A small heater barely keeps the room from freezing, the members live on less than two dollars a day, families struggle to find enough firewood to survive 9-degree days and perpetual snow on the ground—yet nothing keeps them from joining together to worship their King.

Click here to see a video of their Christmas celebration.

They have to wear heavy coats and hats in the church building to keep warm, yet they worship. They have no beautiful Christmas trees in their metal shacks, still, they worship. They have no toys for their children to unwrap, but they worship. They have no guarantee of income, and they worship. They don’t have enough firewood in the valley to keep them from freezing; even so, they worship. Their devotion in spite of humble circumstances humbles me beyond words.

I long to see our brothers and sisters in Galati thrive, and for their neighborhood to be restored in every way, but I am continually grateful for the unexpected miracles I see every day among them. They remind me of why God brought the glad tidings of the Savior’s birth to poor shepherds. The Father knew they would be faithful to worship the King of Kings and that they would respond in faith to His Son’s birth!

If the sheep you seek to shepherd are fat and happy, and if they have no desire to hear the Masters voice, I urge you to pray that this coming year the Lord would send you to minister among “the least of these.” As you serve the poor, I have every confidence you will see God work unexpected miracles in your life and the lives of the people you serve—for your good, and for His Glory!

Multiply the Harvest

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Mike Fechner

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. (2 Cor. 9:10–11)

So often when we think of multiplying a harvest, we focus on the joy of reaping rewards and not the labor of planting and cultivating. We focus on the produce and not the seed. But as every farmer knows, you can’t have a harvest without seed.

At H.I.S. BridgeBuilders, as we enjoy a great season of harvest, we know that the Lord has provided us seed to sow through your generosity. This Thanksgiving I’m grateful to God for each of you who have invested so generously the seed of prayer, service, funding, and believing. We know that we are sustained by the prayers of the righteous. After all, this movement of God called H.I.S. BridgeBuilders is—first, and above all—a movement of prayer. We minister in each city because someone prayed for us to come. And we continually pray that we will remain sensitive to the voice of God, and will faithfully follow Him regardless cost or circumstance.

This past weekend, we received a bountiful harvest. We witnessed a magnificent demonstration of God multiplying our obedience in an event called “I Love Bonton,” a celebration hosted by the Bonton Neighborhood Association. We might call this the “first-fruits” of seed we planted many years ago and then cultivated for more than fifteen years. As part of the celebration, we witnessed the formation of a new godly household with the wedding of Grace and Milton, two long time residents of Bonton. This beautiful ceremony was a visible reminder that the work of sowing and cultivating all these years was not in vain. The seed is yielding a marvelous harvest of souls, and the effect on Bonton is obvious.

This Thanksgiving, we thank God for prayer warriors like sweet Maeola, who in her 80′s prayed for the revival of her neighborhood and then told us she saw the answer to her prayers in the ministry of H.I.S. BridgeBuilders. We thank God for the faith of Daron, who followed Christ’s leading to sell everything, quit his job, and move into Bonton as our Cities Servant. We thank God for Clifton, who invited his uncle Milton to the community discipleship group on Wednesday nights. After spending twenty-eight years in prison (eight of those years in solitary confinement), Milton returned to find a very different Bonton. We thank God for the salvation of Grace, who wandered for many years and then responded to the gospel. We thank God for bringing together two restored people so they might find healing and strength together, and then bring restoration to their community.

We thank God for the generosity of the Huddlestons, without whom we would not have the Economic Development Center where Milton, as an employee of our Solar Screen business, received his first paycheck in twenty-eight years. We thank God for the vision of Bill Squiric, whose talent for growing businesses made the Solar Screen enterprise viable. (A new contact for 6,000 units now keeps the shop busy.)

As I mentioned earlier, all of these seeds planted and cultivated came to fruition this past weekend with the “I Love Bonton” celebration and the wedding of this Milton and Grace. Their wedding symbolizes everything we dreamed when Velma and I first formed H.I.S. BridgeBuilders. Each need of the wedding was supplied by the body of Christ. With the community looking on, an O.G. (old gangster) married his sweetheart. The couple—both in their fifties—shared how they are committed to bringing the gospel to their community and to seeing their neighborhood restored one life at a time. Their household will demonstrate a truth we have proclaimed for years: When you restore a person, he or she restores a family; and when families are restored, they ultimately restore their community.

Two weeks ago Milton joined Restoration Community Church of Dallas and shared with me that he needs a van for Sunday mornings. His ministry—his own personal calling—is to gather up the men still standing on the street corners of Bonton—thirty years later and still without hope—and to bring them to our fellowship so we can love them and share the hope of restoration in Jesus Christ.

We thank and praise God for the seeds He has entrusted with us. And we thank you for helping us multiply God’s blessing. Thank for continuing to stand with us as we continue to Multiply the Blessing for His glory!

(You can read more about Milton and Grace in this Dallas Morning News article.)

The Beginning of Restoration

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Mike Fechner

A warehouse becomes a sanctuary

When I think of the church, I think of restoration. That’s something all of us need, regardless of where we come from or how much money we have or what cultural background molded our thinking. In spite of all our differences and all the factors that make us unique individuals, we all have one thing in common. We stand equally needy before the Savior, who sees us all the same. As one writer put it, “If sin is green, then we’re green all over.” And that goes for everyone. So, why should it be so extraordinary to see diversity in the sanctuary of a church?

I suppose in this current season of division and infighting, it’s rare to see diverse people gathered for a common cause other than destroying one another. So, it’s reasonable to ask, “Can the restorative power of God bring together the poor and the wealthy of a city? Can diverse races, and cultures, and political opinions, and family backgrounds bridge their divides in this season of division?” The answer is a resounding yes! “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).

On Sunday, November 4, 2012, a band of diverse believers became a resplendent picture of God’s reconciling, uniting, restoring grace. But diversity didn’t make this gathering extraordinary. This gathering is a foreshadowing of great things to come. It is the promise that the Lord can, indeed, “restore the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25).

Earlier this year, the Lord called the ministry of H.I.S. BridgeBuilders to establish Restoration Community Church of Dallas. This week, ninety-five people gathered in a specially renovated space of the H.I.S. BridgeBuilders Economic Development Center to worship, pray, hear the Word of God preached, and to lay the foundation for a church plant in the South Dallas neighborhood of Bonton. And it was fitting that our service included the baptism of a young man led to Christ by our own Hector Garcia.

Pastor Von Minor baptizes a new believer as Hector Garcia welcomes him to the family of God.

A couple of years ago, Hector came to H.I.S. BridgeBuilders on the advice of his probation officer. He was a two-time felon and drug dealer who came to know Christ in prison, and had been praying to know God better and to avoid his former way of life. He completed our job training, became a promising leader, and now supervises our solar screen business while mentoring five other guys from the community. He was homeless when we met him, sleeping in his car and estranged from his children. Now he has a place of his own, regular employment, a wonderful relationship with his children, and—best of all—an authentic and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

For our first church service, Hector invited three people with him, including the young man who received baptism into God’s family. As we finished preparing our worship space, Hector made a great observation. When you look behind the wall behind the pulpit, you see the old warehouse still cluttered and grimy. But, when you stand on the side of the cross you see a beautifully restored space to worship God. As he turned for the door, Hector said, “The other side of that wall used to be my life; now I’m on the side of the cross and walking with Jesus.”

As we continue to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and begin this family of faith called Restoration Community Church of Dallas, it our prayer that we will be a part of God’s remnant of churches that is experiencing a great awakening, and that we will help bring revival to the heart of Dallas and other cities for His Glory. For too long we have passively watched the decay of our cities, which then rots the core of our nation and culture. This is a significant move toward healing our land.

We are grateful for the board, volunteers, and investors of H.I.S. BridgeBuilders who prayed this church into existence. On our first Sunday, 95 people gathered for worship, 6 made decisions for Christ, one received baptism, and about thirty people joined us as core members of the church. As part of our worship, we gathered a small offering to help people devastated by hurricane Sandy.

We praise God for Prestonwood Baptist Church for teaching me and my family how to walk on this side of the cross for more than thirty years. There has been no greater advocate for this work than our Pastor Dr. Jack Graham. The people of Prestonwood will forever be our church family as we seek to bring the same gift of restoration to inner-city Dallas. We are humbled by their financial support in renovating the warehouse and then beginning this work of God called Restoration Community Church Of Dallas. We are humbled by the love and prayers of all of you and we’re thankful to be called by God to serve the people Jesus called “the lost and least.”

We join our voices with the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, who prayed, “Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored” (Lam. 5:21).

Watch a video about Restoration Community Church of Dallas.

Awakened to Share

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Mike Fechner

My physicians told me to expect a number of unpleasant aftereffects once they removed a golf ball-sized tumor from my cerebellum, but when I opened my eyes in the recovery area, I felt remarkably good! Not even a headache. Later, when the surgeon reported that the tumor had been removed whole and intact, I was even more elated. As the day progressed and this miraculous recovery became more evident, the nurse kept telling me I had high blood pressure. (I wonder, when Jesus did miracles in biblical times, did a nurse monitor peoples’ blood pressure as they danced and praised God?) Of course, I had high blood pressure! It was all I could do to keep from dancing down the hallway shouting praises my Great Physician!

That experience caused me to ask myself, “What should be our response when God delivers us from death?” Only one answer comes to mind: Go, tell everyone we encounter that Jesus Christ is our breath, and our life, and our all. When I awoke from surgery and the reality of God’s gift of miraculous healing settled in, all I could think to do was to tell everyone. I had to share.

The first nurse who helped me in ICU introduced herself as Naomi.

I said, “Naomi . . . ‘Your people shall be my people.’”

This wonderful, godly nurse smiled and said, “Ruth and Naomi! You know the Bible!”

“Where are you from, Naomi?”

She replied, “I am from Nairobi, Kenya.”

Help H.I.S. BridgeBuilders serve the lost and the least with your tax-deductible gift.

Earlier, the Lord had shared with me that this awakening would be for His people to share His heart for the lost and the least (Matt. 25:40). Here before me stood a lady from the very place I had been in January, a place that broke my heart for the “least of these” like nowhere else on earth. The death and poverty of the Huruma slums prompted us to establish H.I.S. BridgeBuilders there and, today, thanks to the faithfulness of several men and women, thirty to forty of the most notorious criminals meet each week to study the Word and to find new life in Christ. The study is led by Sabina Wanjiru Muchunu and a man named David.

David was a Muslim living in the northern edge of Kenya where militant Islam dominates. As he lay dying of cancer on a mat on a dirt floor he began to read discarded magazines, one of which happened to be a Christian publication explaining the gospel. He responded to the invitation of Christ with a genuine prayer of salvation. Later that night, he also prayed in belief that he would be healed of his cancer and then fell asleep.

The following morning he awoke to find that he had been miraculously healed. He had received tangible proof that the Almighty had heard his prayer, had healed his body of disease, and had cleansed his soul of sin. He couldn’t wait to share the good news with his Muslim brethren. So he went to Friday prayers at the mosque and shared that he had submitted to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and that he had been healed of cancer. His Muslim community responded by beating him nearly to death and chasing him from the city. His wife and children were given to his relatives and he hasn’t seen them since. Even so, he continues to be a bold witness for Christ in Nairobi.

When I share this story, it seems surreal. We, in America, do not have to worry about risking our lives to share the gospel. Our circumstances do not demand that we give up everything—including our families—to go and minister to people like our brother David.

When Naomi mentioned Nairobi, Kenya, I was again reminded of our calling as Christians. Just like the leper who returned to give thanks (Luke 17:11–16), how can we not go back and tell others the good news when every breath is a gift? How can we not go back and love others who are fighting for their lives when all of us have been touched by cancer in some way? How can we not go back and give when we know that every dollar we have is a gift from God? How can we not go back and share our stories of how God has healed us, cleansed us from sin, and redeemed us?

As I talked with Naomi and thought of David, it became clearer than ever that my response is to go back to Nairobi and to other urban communities around the world and to share with them the good news. To let them know that our God is bigger than any problem they might have.

H.I.S. BridgeBuilders is creating a ministry called ChemoChurch to serve cancer patients. Help us with your donation.

Many are headed for hell today. Many lay dying in hospital beds. Many are starving to death. How shall we respond? The message of the New Testament is clear. If we say we love Jesus yet do not love the lost and the least, then we delude ourselves. In truth, we do not love the Jesus of the Bible but a counterfeit Jesus of our own making. The Jesus of the Bible said, “If you love Me you will obey my commandments.” He also said, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. . . . As you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me” (Matt. 25:40, 45).

There is no greater authentication that we have grasped the magnitude of the grace we have been given than by the grace we give to others daily. If you think you had something to do with your salvation, your health, or your financial standing, then you will judge others and not be moved to act. If, however, you realize that you are saved, healthy, and financially blessed by the grace of God, you will be the first to say, “Here am I, Lord, send me!”

Here is a tangible way you can help right now:

Awakened to Pray

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Mike Fechner

Does God still do miracles? Is He truly the same yesterday, today, and forever? The answer is emphatically YES! We have become like the early church, whose members prayed for Peter’s deliverance from prison yet struggled to believe their prayers had been answered. While Peter stood at their door knocking, they argued with the servant announcing his arrival. They dismissed her as crazy rather than believe their prayers had been answered! (Acts12:13–16)

Over the next few weeks, I will attempt to share the many miracles the Lord has done in direct response to your believing prayers. My prayer is that we may know that God has so much more that He wants to do in this generation if we will pray by faith the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit while trusting in our Sovereign Lord for the answer! Miracles are awaiting the church in this season of awakening if we will believe our Great God and pray His Word by faith.

When I was diagnosed thirty-eight months ago with stage 4 non-smoker’s lung cancer, I believed the diagnosis and accepted as truth that I was a dead man walking. I planned my funeral, arranged my affairs, and prepared for death to take me within eight months—eighteen months at the longest—anticipating seeing God face to face. “To live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21) was ever on my heart.

As I waited for death, a group of intercessors came into my office, among them, Kay Boleman, who had been assigned to be my intercessor while I was on the staff at Prestonwood Baptist Church. These prayer warriors prayed as the Bible instructs us to do:

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:14–15, emphasis mine)

They prayed a “prayer of faith.” The Greek could be translated “a prayer of believing” or “a believing prayer.” That is, they prayed believing that I was already healed.

That was a critical ministry they performed on my behalf. People in the pit of despair simply do not have the capacity to believe. I needed Kay and the others to pray over me and for me. Their prayer of belief lifted my eyes from this death sentence to see my great God and to hear His promises. And I believed, that day, I was healed. I began to walk daily in this confidence, no matter what men would say. I do not ignore science; I simply give more credence to the Word of God. I did accept the best course of medical treatments offered, but I placed my trust in the Great Physician to heal me.

Let me be clear. “Praying in belief” is not our attempt to bring God around to our way of thinking or to get His approval for our desires. God is sovereign and He calls us to trust His character. Trusting in our Sovereign God for the answer to prayer means that if He tells me it’s time to suffer greatly and then go home to be with Him, I should rejoice knowing that this will bring Him Glory. (I will explain this further in a later post.) Jesus is King and we must surrender to His sovereignty.

The week before surgery, the pastors and elders of Prestonwood Baptist Church held a prayer service on my behalf. The elders anointed my head with oil and prayed believing God for my healing. My mother prayed in the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming that I was healed. On that day, I believed, by God’s grace and mercy, that this surgery would be the final chapter in my battle with cancer. (Click here to listen to her prayer now.)

Before surgery, Dr. James Batiste, a Neurooncologist with U.T. Southwestern Medical Center, warned that removing a tumor the size of a golf ball from my brain would likely cause balance problems, which would take anywhere from two weeks to six months to resolve. He mentioned that I should expect nausea, headache, impaired speech, sore neck, and muscle spasms during my long recovery.

When I was taken back to surgery, I remembered the last words of my oldest son Michael, who prayed, “Thank you, Lord, for entrusting this to our family.”

When I woke, the surgeons reported that the tumor was completely contained and came out in one piece! My doctor said, “We all know that Somebody else had something to do with this.” I spoke freely and clearly, experienced no nausea, no major headache, felt no more pain than a sore neck. The next day, Dr. Batiste came to see my first attempt to walk; as he watched, I walked with no assistance. He said, “Please quote me on this: This is a miracle.” (Click here to see for yourself.) Less than forty-eight hours later, note the improvement.

By that afternoon my bodily functions were all normal and I needed nothing more than Regular Strength Tylenol for minor pain. In fact, I spent much of my time in the waiting room praying for families whose loved ones lay in the ICU. I was released from the hospital three days after surgery instead of the expected four to seven days, and I have been feeling great. A week after leaving the hospital, I began working out at Gold’s Gym.

I tell you this for two reasons. First, I want to encourage you. We serve a God who continues to work supernaturally for our good and His glory. (Rom. 8:28–39) Second, to proclaim that the Lord is calling all of us to be awakened, to know Him, and to experience Him in a fresh and powerful way! There are miracles yet to be experienced if we will, again, become a people who pray by the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit, trusting in the sovereignty of our great God.

As Jesus said to His followers,

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matt. 7:7–11)

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“Not a Wake; An Awakening!” . . . and Surgery Update

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Mike Fechner

When my twin brother, Mel, and I were born in Nuremburg, Germany, just a little more than 50 years ago, we weighed slightly more than three pounds each. My grandfather, a medical doctor, told my grandmother, “Get on a plane, get over there to be with your daughter; they’re not going to make it.” In 1961 Germany, the chances of a premature birth ending in death were extraordinarily high. Yet, I am here today.

When I was two years old, I contracted an acute kidney infection that the doctors worried would kill me. But I’m here today.

In 2009, I was diagnosed with stage IV non-smoker’s lung cancer and the doctors gave me 18 months to live—at most. Thirty-seven months later, I’m still here.

As my friend, Pastor Elmer Lessa, said this weekend, “We get a medical diagnosis so that we will know the size of the miracle God did when He heals you.” I can tell you from personal experience that “impossible odds” are nothing more than God’s opportunities to demonstrate His power through the most unlikely people in the most unusual circumstances. The problem is, we’ll miss out if we remain in a spiritual slumber.

This past Sunday, my church family at Prestonwood Baptist Church held a prayer service, during which elders gathered around me, anointed me with oil, and prayed over me in keeping with James 5:14. During that time, Pastor Jack Graham said, “This is not a wake, it’s an awakening.” And he’s exactly right! This season of illness and recovery is another opportunity for God to bring glory to His name and for use to draw near to Him in prayer.

My illness, like all difficult circumstances and “impossible odds”, is an awakening. Henry Nouwen explains that the word “obedient” is derived from the Latin root word, audire, which means “listening.”[1] When we awaken, and learn to listen to God, we become obedient. As we hear from God, we get His heart. And what is His heart? To restore souls to Himself. The world needs Jesus. Awakening occurs when God shakes us from our comfort and complacency to get us on our knees so that we will share His burden and His passion, and to fully realize that this world is not our home. Life is a vapor, but we have this hope of glory that is eternal. The world needs this hope that we have in Jesus Christ.

In the past couple of weeks, as I drew near to God in prayer and the news of my illness spread among my friends and those who support the ministry of H.I.S. BridgeBuilders, people all over the world began to gather in the throne room of grace to pray. We have God’s promise that when we gather in His name, and seek His face, He will be faithful to lead us. We will hear His Word. And He’s telling us there’s so much that needs to be done for the kingdom. As we follow through in obedience, His name will be glorified, and what could be greater than that?

As an example of God’s moving in this way, let me share with you two related stories of God moving in the lives of awakened men. The first is Daron Babcock, who joined our staff a few months ago as Director of Community Development. This very successful businessman was awakened by God some time ago, gave up his career, sold his home in a wealthy suburb, moved into the South Dallas neighborhood of Bonton, and now makes about 20 percent of his former income. Many of the things most people labor a lifetime to acquire, Daron gave up.

Interestingly, Daron doesn’t see it that way. At the prayer service, Daron stood up and said, “I didn’t give up anything. God called me to let go of things that were preventing me from experiencing all the goodness He had waiting for me. When I made these decisions, I felt like I was giving up a lot, but it’s been the greatest gift in the world to walk alongside Mike and the BridgeBuilders staff in this great work of God.”

To illustrate, he told the group about a young man named, Germany, whom he met in Bonton. One Saturday evening, Germany and his two brothers were hanging out at Daron’s house. When the time came to go to bed, the young men asked to stay overnight because their home didn’t have any utilities—no water, no electricity, no air conditioning. In fact, they had no food and hadn’t eaten. He explained that to give Germany and his brothers a place to stay and a meal to eat became just one of the many great privileges of his life.

The following Sunday morning, Daron and his son took the young men to church with them. During the service at Reunion Church, Pastor Richard Ellis typically invites people from the congregation to come forward and ask for prayer, or share a praise, or offer a testimony. When Germany moved toward the microphone, Daron thought for certain he would ask for prayer concerning his difficult circumstances. Instead, Germany said, “There is a man who is helping in my community and his ministry is helping my family. He has brain cancer, and I want you to pray for him.”

Let me make this clear. Germany and his brothers have no running water, no electricity, no place to escape the 110-degree Dallas heat, and no food. Yet he prayed, not for himself, but for me. When Jesus was asked which commandment is the greatest, He replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind . . . And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–40).

At 17, Germany has figured out what most people don’t discover in a lifetime. He is fully awake!

My prayer is that, as you are on your knees praying, that you would experience an awakening, and hear what God has for you. I pray that my season of physical illness and recovery becomes the catalyst for your own awakening. He’s seeking to do something in your life that’s new. In fact, it may be something in connection with the movement of God called H.I.S. BridgeBuilders, which is now in seven cities around the world. Perhaps this is your opportunity to experience what Daron, Germany, and so many others have experienced as they engage in kingdom work.

Many have asked how they can support me and my family in addition to prayer, and I will be candid; the weight of seeking monthly support for this work of God is a joy that I will not be able to carry in these coming months. I love when Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him and he said “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you,” and Jesus said to him, “Feed My Sheep.” That is my prayer—that God would rain down His provision in this season of Healing and restoration. But as my time and energy is diminished during my recovery following my brain surgery at 9:00 a.m. this Thursday at Zale Lipshy, I need your help.

If you have been standing with us financially each month, would you prayerfully consider increasing your monthly gift? If you haven’t yet joined us with your financial support, now is the time.

The process is simple. The link below will take you straight to the H.I.S. BridgeBuilders donation page, where you can use a credit or debit card to commit to a regular monthly donation.

Or you may click on the Response Form below, print it, fill in the requested information, and send via mail with your donation to:

H.I.S. BridgeBuilders

2075 W. Commerce St.

Dallas, TX 75208

Thank you for continuing to stand with us and the movement of God called H.I.S. BridgeBuilders! And may your own personal awakening become your opportunity to reap immeasurable spiritual blessings from God as He moves in your life in a fresh, new way.

[1] Henry Nouwen, Making All Things New: An Invitation to the Spiritual Life (New York: Harper One, 1981), 67.

Chemo Church, Life Lessons 3 . . . and a Medical Update

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Mike Fechner

We have all agreed that Jesus is a free gift from God to all who believe, but that the Bible also clearly teaches us that there is a cost to follow Jesus. We have discussed the joy of taking up our “cross” and following Jesus, and the responsibility we each have to own our God-given part of the work prepared for us before we were born.

This third lesson is on the sovereignty of God. This brings great comfort to my soul, for it is here that we can trust in a loving Abba Father to do what is best for us and what will bring Him the greatest glory.

I know we have all tried life on our own terms, and the results have been disastrous. I remember when the Lord told us to sell our alarm business and surrender to the ministry. It didn’t make sense in our minds but it was clearly the work of God. He has been ordering our steps ever since as we seek to know Him more and listen to His voice.

We never thought our obedience to His plan would lead us to serve at Prestonwood with such a great staff and people. We never dreamed that out of this wonderful relationship with Him, He would give us such a wonderful family. We are overwhelmed with joy that our amazing God could take a mixed-up and messed-up businessman and eventually lead him to a relationship with a welfare mom . . . and that it would change both lives forever.

We cannot believe that our great God has allowed us the joy of establishing H.I.S. BridgeBuilders, a ministry that now thrives in seven cities locally and globally. It is clearly a movement of God, and we are humbled to be a part of His plan for His Glory.

We are grateful that the Lord orders the steps of the righteous. We also rest in the knowledge that this righteousness is not based on our ability, but credited to us based on the finished work of Christ on the cross. Our deeds are no better than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), for we live in continual need of a Savior whose name is Jesus. We do not deserve this life of abundance or the tremendous peace that comes from resting in the arms of our loving Father as we face various trials.

Nowhere in my plan did stage IV lung cancer exist. Even so, it has been part of my life for these past 37 months. But I never would have cared for the sick the way that I do now, and I never would have begun Chemo Church had God not shown me the tremendous need of these dear people whom He loves so greatly. He has opened my heart to the people of Houston’s Third Ward neighborhood, and is working in such magnificent ways to lead people to support H.I.S. BridgeBuilders, as well as the formation of Restoration Community Church.

This all clearly points us to the fact that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). I want to live the rest of my life and ministry under the sovereign rule of Christ and no other. Our journey of faith, which now includes cancer, has taught us to move only at the leading of the Lord regardless of what men may say.

We seek godly counsel and sound advice; we search the Word of God and remain steadfast in prayer. Ultimately, however, it is this same God who has led us to do these crazy ridiculous things in life who has also brought such blessing and joy to our lives. We will not stop seeking and trusting our God now in this season, as He is “good all the time.”

The reports from MD Anderson are that there is a 3.7 centimeter tumor on my cerebellum and a small mass on my upper left front lobe. Doctors are recommending surgery on the rear mass and follow up with Gamma Knife Radiosurgery on the front mass. We are still seeking the Lord’s leading, but we have scheduled this procedure for the 13th of August, if this is the way the Lord leads.

We are trusting in the reign of Christ now and forever. Our prayer is that, as Christians, we will all know that the rule of Christ is the best plan for all of us. No matter how ridiculous His request may seem—He is Love, He is Good, He is Right; He knows what is best . . . His kingdom First (Matthew 6:33!) We are believing our great God for His healing . . . for His glory . . . and for our good!

Thank you for your prayers. And thank you for continuing to walk with us and the movement of God called H.I.S. BridgeBuilders!

Chemo Church, Life Lessons 2

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Mike Fechner

In the last blog, we shared that receiving Christ is a free gift from God, but there is a cost to follow Jesus. Not only must we be prepared to take our cross and follow Jesus, but we must own our Kingdom assignment from the Lord.

When the Lord is instructing Joshua and Caleb to possess the land that has been promised to the future generation, He tells them that every place that their feet hit shall be theirs. God tells them to take as their own cisterns they didn’t dig and homes they didn’t build, and that He will give them cities in marvelous and miraculous ways. They had to possess the faith to own their Kingdom assignment regardless of the circumstance and the fact that there were still giants in the land. There was a fight to be fought and they were His servants.

We must all realize that there will always be giants in the way when it comes to owning what the Lord has promised to do through us for His glory.

I wanted to share with you the following message written by Dan Trippie, Senior Pastor of Restoration Church in Buffalo, N.Y., which partners with H.I.S. BridgeBuilders Ministry.

Genesee and Moselle

How far does a neighborhood extend? At first thought this might seem like a simple question, one to be measured in blocks and street numbers. Yet, the subjectiveness of such a query tells us more than we might care to know. Does my responsibility end with the homes adjacent to mine or do I have culpability for that which extends beyond? I set out to answer this question on a stroll down Genesee and Moselle.

Bertha and I began our walk the morning after the Eastside saw its twelfth shooting. Security cameras once again told the familiar story of a black teen shot in the back. For seventeen years the streets whispered hopelessness, now paralysis confirms the ugly message for yet another young man.

Greg was the first neighbor to approach us as we walked out the community center doors. Quickly he darted up to me. “Are you a person of influence?” he adamantly asked. “Am I?” I thought. Our church is small and we have little resources so how do I answer such a question? Yet before words were formed in my mouth, my polo shirt and khakis created reality for Greg. “You a reporter? Or an investigator?” he demanded to know. “Neither,” I replied, “I am just a pastor.” “Good, you are a person of influence!” he retorted.

Anger and frustration swiftly boiled to the surface as he recounted the night’s event once again. “He was shot in the back!” Greg’s long commitment to community watch and neighborhood activism seemed to be futile against the backdrop of yet another Eastside shooting. For thirty years I have watched an exodus from my community. Now, I’m just tired. Greg’s eyes told the story. Our conversation was only but a few minutes, yet during this interplay I learned what it is like to watch the things you love ravaged before your very eyes. With emptiness on his face Greg described what life used to be like on this beautiful street canopied with elegant elm trees. Bertha’s glance signaled it was time to continue the stroll.

We set our journey north as my tutor educated me on the needs of the neighborhood. “Over here we could have a garden, there a playground, maybe that house could be used for women needing a fresh start…” With eyes ablaze, Bertha described what could be and should be amidst dilapidated and abandoned buildings. Her ability to see what she wanted, and not what actually was, inspired my question. “Bertha, what will it take to change this neighborhood?” Her smile turned flush as her eyes darted across the street, “Let’s go talk to those guys.” Before I knew it, she had set our feet across the street toward a rundown house where there sat three men all with cellphones pasted to the ears.

“Good morning boys!” Bertha declared, as we approached the lopsided porch. I could feel the blood in my veins speed up and my feet tense for what might be a rapid retreat. To my surprise however, all three men with a reverential fear ended their cellphone conversations. Almost simultaneously they laid down their phones, like soldiers surrendering in battle. They afforded to Bertha the type of maternal respect offered by a young child to his mother.

“Gentlemen,” Bertha said, “my friend and I would like your input. What does this neighborhood need?” All eyes suddenly fixed on me as if to say, “What do you care?” The answers they gave were more to do with testing than substance. “Sumthang for the kids,” “knock down them old houses” and “build something nice.” Although the answers seemed smug, it was with careful dictation that Bertha recorded every idea as if each were a ground-breaking thought.

The conversation was again short as these men obviously had more pressing business. But the continued glances they offered my way seemed to coincide with the question possessed earlier. Greg wanted to know if I could help, these young hustlers questioned whether I would dare. Thus begins the classic collision of faith and works. I set out to find how far my neighborhood extended left only to find boundaries are not measured by geography but awareness. I have walked, now I know. I have heard, now I must decide. I have seen, now how must I act?

Questions concerning neighbors have always haunted the religious. Jesus illustrated this when he told the story of a man stripped, beaten, and left for dead. As I walked the Eastside neighborhood last week, an ancient parable came to life. Homes stripped of families, activists beaten down by defeat, and young men who will either be dead or imprisoned, hold a strange resemblance to the story of a man walking to Jericho. The question of where my neighborhood extends is no longer at hand, the question now shifts to the complexity of how do I use my two denarii? (Luke 10:25–37).

It was interesting how the hospital where we were receiving treatment had signs up that prohibited filming. I did not see the signs and when a security guard asked my videographer whether he had permission to film, he said, “Yes, from Pastor Mike with Chemo Church.” The guard seemed satisfied for this Chemo Ward was now our church that the Lord had graciously placed us in this season to extend His compassion.

We were careful not to break any rules placed over us but that did not hinder us from accomplishing what God had put on our hearts to do. What if all Christians owned their assignment from the Lord for their office building, community, school or city? The Lord has placed these Chemo Wards in my heart as my own. When I visit the Chemo Ward in Houston, the nurses provide me a room and say, “Pastor Mike is here,” and they direct me to certain patients they know who need prayer.

In the same manner, when I am called to inner city communities, I begin to see them as my own. Even though I do not live there, the residents are my family because of our shared faith in the Lord. I know that the Lord has called me to restore urban communities globally for His glory.

It is His glory that He longs to make known through our obedience. Only the Lord can bring hope and complete restoration. We are simply His messengers and servants. To me, the key is owning the ministry that God has given you, wherever He has placed you in this season of life.

Our country is not going to be changed until each Christian does his or her God-given part. In Nehemiah, the wall that had been in disrepair for decades was miraculously built when Nehemiah owned it as his God-given assignment, and the people of the nation of Israel each built their part of the wall by their own homes. Throughout the Scriptures, God speaks of the plans He has for us and that our faith is dead unless it works. It is God who works in you, to will and to work for His good pleasure.

“… for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

— Philippians 2:13

When God reveals His vision, you are the provision. Quit waiting for someone else to own what the Lord has given you. God’s glory is at stake and the world is dying and decaying because we are not willing to pay the price to follow Jesus.