Born into relative poverty, Etter didn’t have an upbringing within the church but became a Christian through a local Disciples of Christ organisation which met near her home. She had wanted to become an evangelist but being female, was prohibited from doing so whilst a part of the Disciples of Christ. At a local Quakers meeting, she experienced what Pentecostals refer to as the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ which gave her both the determination and annointing to carry out the evangelical ministry she set up.

Her books, such as Marvels and Miracles God Wrought in the Ministry, are considered by many Pentecostal and Charismatic christians to be essential reading and some have even placed those books at a near importance to the bible itself.

Her ministry was one that was characterised by signs and wonders and she is considered by many to be one of the most important players within the birth of the modern-day Pentecostal movement. In 1885 she began praying for the sick, something which was considered revolutionary for its time, but something she believed would be a key part of her ministry. Signs and wonders followed with many claiming to be healed and many more experiencing convulsions and other phenomenon such as being slain in the spirit.

Etter’s reputation and ministry grew and soon she was being invited to preach by ministers throughout the country. She purchased an 8,000 person tent but soon this wasn’t enough to hold the large crowds she was drawing and the meetings became a matter of first come, first served.

Although her meetings would reach 8,000 people at a time, through her books she would reach hundreds of thousands of other people, spreading the Christian message in a way that was characteristic of that in the Acts of the Apostles.

Before her death she founded what is now refered to as the Lakeview Church of Indianapolis, Indiana and continued to preach within various Pentecostal circles. Although the church’s membership dipped slightly after her death, the church still continues and her ministry and work is still remembered, with many fans of her writing coming to visit the church that she originally founded.

Although Etter is no longer with us her ministry is considered to be one of the most powerful demonstrations of Pentecostal Christianity and many hold her as their source of inspiration in getting themselves started in the ministry.

Jane Meighan is a faith and spirituality writer with a strong interest in Christian history, particularly that from the American Pentecostal movement. She has written extensively about revivalists such as Maria Woodworth Etter, William Seymour and Kathryn Kuhlman.

If you’re in the Indianapolis area, Stones Crossing Church in Greenwood will be hosting a FREE screening of “Nefarious: Merchant Of Souls”, this Sunday, April 22nd from 4-6 pm.

You do not want to miss this award winning documentary and the chance to talk with those that are a part of the project.

PLEASE, post this on your Facebook pages and tell everyone in your scope of influence that you think might be interested.

Teachers, high school students, college students, doctors, pastors, priests, principals, nurses, etc. You get the idea:)

If you have any questions, please feel free to call Jennifer at 446-4845.

• Do you follow everyone back?
• Does it look bad if you follow someone that posts inappropriate stuff?
• Or follow someone that has an inappropriate profile photo?
• Does it turn people off if you don’t follow back?
• Should the account be for information purposes only or should it try to get involved in people’s lives?

My first thought was that church Twitter accounts don’t follow anyone. People follow people. It’s not much of a step to quickly make the jump and understand that the “church” is the people in the first place. If there was ever a Twitter account that should have a human quality to it, it should be the church.

Do you follow everyone back? I’m not sure. I’m not a church account and I don’t follow everyone back. I follow the accounts back that I’m interested in hearing what they have to say. I un-follow and re-follow people as they appear more and or less interesting through their updates. I believe the same could be true of a church account.

If the church is made up of people, the question of “Does it look bad if someone you follow posts inappropriate stuff”? Do you feel bad as an individual if someone you follow posts inappropriate stuff? Are you ashamed to follow them? Should you be? Why or why not? Do you un-follow them? All the same questions regarding profile photos.

I keep thinking that Jesus hung out with the sinners and scorned the Pharisees. If Jesus were on Twitter, who do you think he’d follow? And more importantly, who would actually follow him?

VeggieTales^®: Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men, from Big Idea Entertainment is availableTODAY on DVD! This new DVD helps teach young people about handling hurt and overcoming challenges.  As a special bonus, it features a new short story Lenny and the Lost Birthday, all about understanding the importance of a Leap Year. The DVD also includes a new silly song and the digital short, “Larry’s Leapin’ Leap Year”!

Catch the trailer video below. Of course you should go out and buy a copy today, but you should also be sure to enter our contest to win. Details after the video.

Okay, all you’ve got to do to enter is leave a comment on this post, retweet this tweet, “Like” the Mission Notes page on Facebook, or add us to your circles on Google+. For each item you do, you’re name will be collected and picked at random as the winner.

A friend of mine shared the link to this video with me today that was originally on the ChurchLeaders.com website.

Thank you!

The concert was part of the The Rock & Worship Roadshow.

The name of the organization is MATS and their mission is to provide affordable and reliable transportation to ministries and their staff. They’ve been fulfilling this mission since 1977. They have been great to work with and I really can’t explain what they do any better than what their website says.

Since 1977, MATS has assisted thousands of ministries and their staff in finding transportation, including but not limited to:

• Mission organizations and their staff
• Churches and their staff
• Para-church ministries and their staff
• Humanitarian organizations and their staff
• Schools, Counselors, and Teachers
• Colleges & Universities and their staff
• Missionaries

Our Service

The staff at MATS has over 100 years of combined experience in the automobile business and a unique desire to serve those in Christian ministry and education. We are aware of how limited ministry resources can be and we want to help you be a better steward of those resources when purchasing a vehicle for your organization or family. Whether you are located in the United States or Internationally, MATS has the ability to provide the right vehicle for your needs at a significant cost savings from the retail market.

If you’re in ministry and looking for a vehicle, or know a ministry that needs some help with transportation needs, give these folks a call and see what they can do for you. Visit their website at www.mats.org

What are your thoughts?

What other actors, celebrities, influential people and athletes do you feel do a great job of their faith in public and staying true to their values and belief system?