Today, we want to share another powerful school story with you. Brad Everett is a staff member at School Planting & Development whose life was radically impacted by two unique supernatural schools. The transformation in Brad’s life was made possible by school leaders who embraced their unique identities in Christ. As a result, students like Brad received breakthrough as God’s anointing flowed through the leaders of each community. His presence truly rested upon their schools.
Indeed, there is nothing more important than knowing who God is and who you are in Him. As you read Brad’s testimony, it is our prayer that He will show you how to lead your school in confidence and create a school culture that reflects your unique identity. We believe that many students’ lives will be greatly impacted as they begin to taste and see that the Lord is good through the culture you create.
Brad’s Journey
Growing up in a Christian home in the suburbs of Chicago, I thought I knew everything there was to know about Christianity. I went to church with my family twice a week, said my prayers before bed, and played piano in the worship band. I thought I was about as “Christian” as you could get.
The course of my life dramatically changed in 2009. I was a sophomore in college and was preparing for a summer internship in Washington State. Through a connection of my dad’s, I found housing with a family in Tacoma, WA. This family welcomed me into their home and invited me to be a part of their church community.
The believers at this church practiced the gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing, and more. I had never seen anything like it before! While part of me was scared, I felt a desire to experience that which I was seeing: a community of people who knew the love and power of God. As I stepped into what God had for me, I began to discover my true identity in Christ, encountered great healing in my soul, and gained vision for my destiny.
Launching into a Supernatural School
After my junior year of college, I was hungry to receive more teaching from fathers and mothers who were further along the journey than me. So in 2010, I returned to Tacoma and became a student in our church’s ministry school called Catalyst. The school ran for three months: two months of lecture in Tacoma and one month of international outreach.
During the lecture phase, I learned so much about the kingdom. My mind was being renewed with deep revelations of truth and I could feel myself changing and growing at a fast pace. I also jumped headfirst into a process of sanctification as I faced old wounds, broke agreement with lies, and took risks in developing relationships.
The final month of the school was an outreach to Cambodia. Throughout the course of this trip, I saw the raw power of God manifest all around me. Our team travelled to small villages in the rural parts of Cambodia, preaching the Gospel, feeding the hungry, and healing the sick everywhere we went. We saw deaf ears begin to hear, blind eyes receive sight, and even an entire hospital cleared out because of the healing touch of Jesus! We also saw many people open their hearts to Jesus to receive salvation.
This trip to Cambodia was the first time in my life that I so tangibly experienced the supernatural power of God and I have never been the same since.
A New Season, a New School
After two years of living in Tacoma, I sensed the Lord had something more for me. I felt Him encourage me to apply to a school in North Carolina called the 18 Inch Journey. Set on 52 acres of land in a small town in North Carolina, the school focuses on cultivating community, creativity, and worship in students’ lives. They only accept 32 students who all live, eat, and work together on the land for two months.
That summer, I slept in a bunk bed, swam in the lake, walked through the woods, painted in the art barn, and sang in the farmhouse. It was a time of learning a new expression of the kingdom and discovering new parts of myself that had, up to that point, been dormant.
One life-changing truth I learned that summer is that Father God loves me more than I could ever imagine. I started the 18 Inch Journey feeling aware of areas of my heart that had not been fully healed. I was convinced that God needed to fix me. But I remember Him telling me, “Brad, you are my son. I didn’t bring you here so I could fix you. I brought you here so I could love you.”
Through encounters like this, my heart began to change. I was starting to see that the Lord doesn’t merely tolerate us as servants. He is a good Father who loves us because we are His children.
My experiences at both Catalyst and the 18 Inch Journey were seasons of liberty that I will never forget. I am thankful to the school leaders who created safe environments that God used to shape my life and the lives of many others.
Reblogged this on Bradley.