Awaken Ministries

“Rev’s Ramblings,”
Sunday, November 3, 2024

I’m Getting ready to go to bed, reflecting on this Lord’s Day.
~~~
I was honored to be invited back to fill in at McKowns Mountain Baptist Church, for my friend and Brother in Christ, Pastor Kenny Wood.
~~~
It is ALWAYS a Treat to be With those Folks. As soon as you walk into the church, you’re met with genuine love and always made to feel welcome!

Thank you guys for always being sincere and loving towards us when we’re with you guys!
When you guys say, “We’re basically one of you guys at this point." It's truly, a great encouragement to me!

My Goal wherever I Preach is “To Inspire and to Encourage.”
I hope to INSPIRE everyone in attendance to strive for Godliness, either by Salvation, or by Deeper Discipleship.
This is (prayerfully) done with the Preaching of the Gospel, making much of Jesus, and Growing our own Faith and Understanding of His Word.
I Aim to ENCOURAGE the hearers to Stick with it, Trust Christ completely, with total abandon. Placing our faith in Him for everything. I want to Encourage others even though my personal testimony of not only my Salvation experience, but the many years of practical living, and countless times that Christ has literally, and several times, physically made a way for me, and later my family, when we were at our lowest.
Despite having Muscular Dystrophy, Christ New Me in ages past, and Still, He Chose ME to become his Own. THEN, a few years later, He called me into Vocational Ministry, as a Pastor/Shepherd/Preacher/Speaker. I have been a Follower of Christ for 28 years, and a minister for 23 years; and I have not a single regret for either one. I have never had a single second thought about seeking salvation in Christ Jesus.
To this day, I have been married for nearly 25 years, and we have two adult children (& two unofficial Children-in-laws), and STILL, It’s My Relationship With Jesus, and My Salvation that are the absolute best thing in my life, 💯.

This morning we walked through Romans 13:1-7, and the summary of the message is twofold:

1. God is Sovereign.
(NOTHING Sneaks Up on Him, or Catches Him by Surprise).

2. Sincere Believers Bear the Weight and Responsibility of Living Out Our Faith, EVEN WHEN/IF Things Don’t Go Our Way, or How We Hoped They Would.
(Tensions are high because of the upcoming election in just two days. There are people on both sides of the aisle, hoping, likely praying for “their candidate” to win. If I’m being transparent, I do as well.
But, if we are sincerely, and authentically Forgiven, and in a proper, Healthy Relationship with Jesus Christ, we should understand that We are Unqualified to make our recommendations to Him, for How, What, or Who we believe should be elected to Any Office.
Our Responsibility is to:
- Vote our Conscience
- Trust Christ for the Outcome (Daniel Chapter 2), &
- Respond (Not React) to the Results in Ways and Manners that Honor Christ, and Reflects the Depths of our Salvation and How Christ Truly Has Changed Our Lives.

If our pick wins, we will certainly celebrate, but with dignity and respect for the opponent (not Enemy. There are many differences between the two).

And, If our pick should lose, we will not Melt Down, Storm the Streets, or React With Anger, or Violence towards Anyone who would be celebrating because their choice wins.

The Bible teaches Believers, “The World will know us (Christians) because of our Authentic Love.”

We MUST Love Others. It’s non-negotiable. Christ Loved Those Who Were literally Executing Him. (Remember “Forgive them Father, they don’t understand what they’re doing.” Spoken by Jesus, as He was being nailed to the cross).

Scripture teaches us that EVERY SINGLE PERSON (Ever) was/is/will be Created in the Image and Likeness of The Most High and Holy God.

That single Biblical Axiom Alone Solidifies the Teaching, and the Principle that Every Person, in the history of the world, regardless of how good or bad they are, or were, or can be- Every. Single. Person.
Is Worthy of Dignity and Respect.
Simply because of them being Image-Bearers of Christ.

So, when we condemn, when we ridicule, when we shame, or dismiss other PEOPLE for believing differently, for not having the same values as us, for having different views (because possibly their lives are experiences have impacted and shaped their ideals in a manner which seems opposed to ours), our when we get together with our likeminded friends and verbally flog others simply because they don’t agree with us or our worldviews. And BTW, there’s a vast difference between “Verbally Flogging” an individual in their Absence, than having the Courage and the Tenacity to say those same things to them directly, face to face; more so if such things were possible to be said, face to face… but without the posse of backup, which emboldens the “Christian Mean Girls, or Guys.”

Just because other “church folk” are willing to join in on the “Hatin” and the “Criticism” of others, doesn’t make it acceptable. {Remember the Parable about the splinter in our neighbor’s eye, but ignoring the log in our own?}

Maybe if we can get honest about our own struggles and shortcomings, we can focus on doing better ourselves, and less on criticizing and gossiping about the sins and shortcomings of others-

Regardless of
• their politics,
• race,
• neighborhood/living conditions,
• socioeconomic status, education levels, or
• their personal history.

> Everyone has intrinsic value, and has the potential to become a Genuine Believer and Follower of Christ.

Why push others Down, when we’re instructed to Lift them up?

If anyone has been struggling, or thinking about “How does God fit into all of the challenges of life? My life in particular? How can He help? What are His expectations of his true followers? Of me?
Or
Maybe you’ve sought forgiveness for your sins, and salvation in Christ before. But currently , your life looks absolutely is nothing like most of the serious Christians at the church, and in your life. You feel like you’re so far gone, you probably could never find your way back to who you would LOVE to be. Both For Jesus, and For Yourself.
Great news! If you e made it this far (literally to be reading this post) there’s still Hope, and Promise, and Opportunity.

Regardless if you “thought you were saved, but Sin and dysfunction come so easily and naturally. My guess is that Satan has had you Duped. He specializes in Lies, and Knock off Joy. (His brand of Joy is short term, leaving you empty and alone within a short time. The True JOY of the Lord, is everlasting and eternal. It’s rooted in the Christ of the Cross. He willingly laid His very, literal life down, to provide Us a chance to believe, seek forgiveness, and to be gifted with the promise of a meaningful today, a purpose in life, and the guarantee of Eternity with Him, in Heaven, where SIN is out to death, once and for all. We will be able to Thank Him, and worship Him in person forever! We will be reunited with our Christian Loved Ones and Ancestors who have gone on before us, and we will be able to meet and to know the saints and the heroes of the Bible, throughout the centuries and the decades. It just requires a minimal amount of sincere and genuine faith, real faith. Christ wants sincere, wholly invested, and sold out Followers - NOT ^Fans.

^Fans might get flaky and bail out when things get tough, or don’t go their way. Following Christ requires courage, commitment, and selfless devotion.

So, seriously, if you have questions, or observations. If you have been curious about becoming a Christian, or if you Want to “get saved” but don’t know “how , or what to do or say?” Please, message me, and I PROMISE I will get back in touch. IF you don’t hear back from me within 24 hours, shoot me, (Everett “Rev Ev” Peterson), a DM in my personal page’s messages and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Blessings!
~ Rev. Ev
Awaken Ministries
Gaffney, SC

On October 31 {Reformation Day} The name of this page will change.
Starting November 1, this page will become a central Hub for anyone looking to schedule me to preach, speak, or share the Gospel.
I'm open to general Pulpit Supply, for a single service, or longer. I’m open to the possibility of interim pastoral services should the Lord lead.

I have a A.A. In Christian Ministries from Fruitland Bible College, and a B.S. in Religion from Liberty University.
I have Been in Ministry Leadership (volunteer and vocational/on staff) since 2001; 23 years serving students, their families, communities, and 10 years as the senior pastor of a church plant we started in 2008.
Attendee size isn’t my primary concern, proper promotion, community saturation, and preparation by the host church(es), group(s)-organization(s), in spreading the word and awareness leading up to the event, should create buzz and draw a crowd; hopefully many who might not otherwise consider visiting any church or religious organization.
I'm open to camps, retreats, rallies, weekend gatherings, getaways, concerts, and *more.
* If you have an idea, reach out and we’ll see what we can do to help you achieve your goals!

I will also be sharing thoughts, observations, Scripture and passages along the way, to keep you guys engaged and informed.
I’ll try to share how and what Christ is doing and done at the opportunities that I’m givien along the way.

^Honestly, every outline, sermon, and/or PowerPoint presentation/Graphic posted on this page is from sermons and small group meetings that I studied and shared myself.
So, I’m NOT plagiarizing, and if I post(ed) anything that is NOT originally my sermons or thoughts, I’ll give credit to the original author.

See you guys soon!!
(Now I have to figure out how to import an interactive calendar onto this page, lol!)

Have a great weekend everyone! Blessings!
~ Rev. Ev

PSA, & Lengthy post Warning (I think it’s worth the read, lol!):

Since there is some confusion concerning this page,
the Church Plant,
And our family’s/My “Vocational” situation (If/Where I’m, or We’re actually serving and leading at…)
-> I wanted to “officially” post an update- just for clarification.

As a church plant (meaning that, after much prayer, and training(s), our family literally began an “organized church” from scratch. >>>We began in 2010, in our home.

Of course, anything and everything that was ever accomplished, the lives that were (positively) impacted, the souls that were saved, the baptisms, were families that were healed, restored, and redeemed; it was all and ONLY through and BY the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, of the Lord. He did it- not “We” did it. (Just to clarify)

We made multiple, ongoing efforts to be invested and involved in our communities. We had ongoing partnerships and conversations with sister churches, local municipalities, and public servant groups and organizations.

We were welcoming of ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE, and we were deliberate in our approaches and efforts to reach what Scripture calls “The least of these” (Matthew Chapter 25; the literal term “least of these” is verse 40- go check it out!). Our Goal was twofold: Share the (true) Gospel, and Glorify the TRUE) Lord (through prayer, sound doctrine and proper Exegesis of Scripture- allowing it to both guide and govern us in all things).

Our PRIMARY source of leadership training, and monthly financial funding and support (for operational costs and community investment) was from the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Church Planting Division, and some additional resources. Our family is/was officially Registered as “Home Missionaries” with the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the SEND network. They provided additional resources, trainings, occasional (surprise) gifts and books relevant to Mission work, and occasionally some funding was given to our family, since we were basically volunteers for the first 4 years of the church plant.

We planted (started) the church in our Living Room, on Saturday nights in 2010, following my graduation from Fruitland Baptist Bible College. We would “relocate” to the Basement of another local church around 6/8 months later, and after around 2.5 years, some of the leadership of the church (name not important) “nudged/encouraged/suggested” that we should be relocating ASAP.

So we began scouring the county for a place big enough to accommodate our congregation and affordable enough that we could cover the operating expenses on our very small collections. {at this point, we weren’t accredited through the SCBC or the NAMB. We we’re yet receiving ANY funding or support, outside of our in house collections, and the (overwhelming) generosity of several people and families within the community.

So Jeanne and I began our Church Planter Training (“Bootcamp”) in 20013/14 and within the year we began receiving monthly support (enough to cover Rent and utilities- oh, and me a prepaid cellphone! Woohoo!)

Anyway. The support is only setup to last for three (3) years. Each year, the amount is reduced by half. So for instance, if we started out at $15 dollars per month, the second year we’d get $7.5 dollars per month, and the final year, we’d receive $3.75 per month. > The (reasonable/expected) goal and expectation is that after three years, the typical church fellowship would be self sufficient, and their own “in house collections” would be enough to cover the expenses of “being open” (for lack of a better expression).

* it should be noted: The SCBC are great, and they are a resource that proved to be so valuable and useful to us, as we encountered issues and questions along the way- they were always very helpful and timely in both their responses and their trainings offered to us along the journey. We love the SCBC!! This post is no poor reflection of them or their part in our story.

With us though, 80% or more of our members were/are at risk and disadvantaged. Many living well below poverty, some single parent homes, and at one point we were picking up and dropping off 10-20 people each Sunday morning from the local homeless shelter.
Some of our attendees were actively trying to kick some type of chemical dependency, while others were trying desperately to just keep food on the table and the power on.

This demographic generally doesn’t have the resources needed to help keep the church “afloat”
… yes, I’m keenly aware that if they/we’ll trust the Lord sincerely, and be faithful to Him in all things, including our finances- He can/will do more with our 90% than we can EVER do with the 100% - but when your context is SURVIVAL, or Not Losing your Children to DSS, or Keeping the Heat on in 27 degree weather, etc. Exercises in faith are exceedingly more difficult for those who have been programmed to simply “survive” instead of being free to “Live”

We were making progress, but it does take time to “reprogram and relearn” and as such, we weren’t able to meet the 3 year window. By the time our window of support closed, we had tried to get ahead of the pending financial problems that were coming, and again *relocated to a different, smaller venue (on the *verbal promise of a member and local business owner that their company would cover the yearly rent and the church would be responsible for the utilities, and IF I would ever begin receiving any financial compensation in the future. So, we used the little money in the bank account to pay the rent and utility deposits, and to retrofit and modify the “new space” for use as a church building. The sanctuary was about 1/2 the size, and the location wasn’t too far from the original location- but it wasn’t as visible either.}

We planned, prayed, and promoted our “Open House Event” at the new spot- and it was a terrible disappointment. We actually LOST people. Our attendance that day was less than 20 people- we had been running 35-60 at the previous place, with visitors almost every service.

The business owner came twice, and ghosted us. Never donated a promised penny, and never really got back involved in the fellowship. We had literary cashed out every dollar we had to repurpose this building, and moved, based upon their word- and they totally hung us out to dry.

We held it together for about 4 months there- but it was torture. I knew, everyone knew that we were in a tailspin. Then, we were met with a reoccurring mold problem. Apparently the building had been flooding for years, and I’m guessing the mold was in between the walls- we bought remediation treatments and sprays- but it kept returning.

I brought it to the landlord’s attention, his remedy: he went in one room with a hammer, knocked the drywall out and swept most of it up, and told us not to use that room. Period.

Nothing else was done.

Jeanne and I talked about it and it was NEVER an issue of “is it wrong to___?”
We KNEW, and it wasn’t a debate- we were NOT putting anyone at risk by breathing that junk.

So, between the monthly support expiring, relocating to save money, based on the promises of a church member, and a mold issue-> one of the (most) difficult decisions I’ve EVER had to make was made; after almost 9 years, we had to pull the plug on the church. I was devastated, I was heartbroken, honestly- I was mad for a while; the monies and resources we used to retrofit the last (moldy) building- would have kept us afloat for several months at our original location.

I love the Lord with everything I have, I adore my family with all sincerity- and I LOVE people. I was in love with our church family, and I felt like we had orphaned a group of people who already felt like they were in the world all alone to begin with.

It took me several years to process, and heal. This was unlike anything that Bible College, or my Undergrad Studies had prepared me for- or even talked about.

Several of our “church families” are still out there, floating, struggling to find a new place that will sincerely “welcome them” not simply “tolerate their presence”.

So- that brings me back to why this page is still up and running (& why we do still occasionally post on here).

Maybe someone needs to be able to “look back and remember” that God IS Good, and hopefully they’ll be encouraged.

Maybe there’s someone who knew about the church- and is searching, struggling for answers, for truth- there’s several of our/my former sermon outlines posted on this page-
Maybe something I’ve said, posted, or preached along the way helps another pastor or preacher(?)

Maybe, someone is debating contacting me about pulpit supply, interim pastor service, a job opportunity, or possibly a special event preacher/speaker (I have done a few “specialty” type ministry venues)- if you need someone for a week, weekend, retreat, rally, conference, or something of the sort- you can look through my sermon outlines here- and see that I’m theologically sound, and I am passionate about salvation, about discipleship, and I love building relationships with people.

I am not currently serving anywhere (consistently) and I do have my Resume in circulation, should any opportunity arise. 😉

That’s why this page is still “live”
It might just help someone- maybe it’s helped you (?). I pray you are blessed by something you stumble across on here.

And, as always- if I can ever be of any help to you (whomever you are!) please, feel free to reach out to me- I’ll respond- I always do! (I don’t want to miss an opportunity!!)

Blessings!
~ Rev Ev