How to Build a Legacy of Revival in a City

School Stories

Legacy School of Supernatural Ministry (LSSM) is activating believers to walk in the supernatural naturally throughout Tampa Bay, FL. The leaders of LSSM believe that believers can’t change the culture around them without first changing the culture inside of them. Therefore, they equip men and women to create and sustain revival inside of themselves and their spheres of influence by focusing on the core values that lead a thriving Christian life.

To raise up revivalists that transform realms of society, LSSM has a strong leadership component. They draw training and resources from BSSM and teachers like Lance Wallnau and John C. Maxwell; those who are bringing the kingdom to the seven mountains. As a result, their students learn to contextualize revival in a real world setting, especially their workplace.

Today, we are honored to have the Director of LSSM, John Garcia, share the wisdom and insight he has gleaned while running a school of supernatural ministry. A spiritual father and bridge builder in his region, John is helping unite and equip the Body of Christ in his city so that Jesus would be known in every sphere. As you read his school’s story, be encouraged today knowing that God can give you a blueprint and strategies to see revival in your own city!

Know Your Team

We started LSSM with a group of leaders that carried kingdom culture, but also had various philosophies, theologies, and backgrounds. Shortly after our start date, our team encountered some conflict. We discovered that our team was not cohesive. In fact, some of our core values and concepts were antagonistic to one another. We soon realized that there were things that we should have fleshed out before launching our school.

When you are starting a school, it’s important not to be impulsive. Follow the Holy Spirit and have a plan and strategy in place. Most importantly, know your team. Know the people you are laying your life down with to equip believers. This is not just another ministry of a church, a money maker, or way for church to develop leaders you can pull from. School is a major paradigm shifter as you are introducing principles and core values that a lot people don’t have or understand; they are being immersed in a new culture.

You need a unified team with the same core values and vision to run a successful school.

If we had taken the time to get to know our team, we could have prevented the “crash and burn” moments we had. We recovered from those, but after difficult heartache. We also had to reevaluate the reason why we started a school.

As you develop your team, also remember that you don’t need to have all the answers. Surround yourself with those who do. God is faithful to bring people to fill in the gaps. Our team has also learned to keep lines of communication open and to embrace our learning curve. We live and grow together; we consistently reevaluate, revisit, and restructure.

Build Bridges in Your City

Our school started with 88 students from various churches in our city. We started with a strong class size because we have been in our city developing friendships and connections for a long time.

Our city, Tampa Bay, is melting pot of people—full of multiple ethnicities and cultures. That diversity is reflected by our students who represent the citywide church. We have built bridges with multiple communities that have helped heal the church. We strengthen local church leaders by sending our students back to their churches to bless their communities. In turn, their leaders come back to us and tell us they see our students being impacted and making contributions to the local body.

As a result of building rapport in our city, we also have leaders from fivefold ministries in the area come impart to our students. We have also been able to collaborate to put on conferences or other events. This has created powerful, citywide collaboration! To develop relationships with these local leaders, I am very intentional to reach out to them and express my heart to support what they are doing.

For example, if I hear of a new church plant, I will immediately contact the pastor and welcome he/she to our city. I express my excitement that the pastor is investing into the community and invite he/she to lunch, my treat. This communicates value for the leader and that we are not in competition with one another. As a result, we get to build a bridge of connection. Sometimes the connections I make through this approach will lead to collaborative efforts. These conversations also help to demystify any stereotypes surrounding our school. They are a great opportunity to demonstrate who we truly are and our purpose to bless our city.

Tap into the Local Church

In a part-time school, you have moms, dads, doctors, lawyers, and students; all kinds of people that leave their real worlds (where they spend the majority of their time) and come to us for just three hours on a Monday night. To help them adopt a brand new culture, we have the challenge of taking those three hours and creating a power-packed environment that introduces kingdom concepts.

We have seen the great value of running a school under the culture of a local church.

God is using colleges and universities in our nation to train up men and women. However, the majority probably can’t receive the revelation and expression of the kingdom that they could in a school of supernatural ministry. These schools are so crucial for our world today because they provide environments where students are known by leaders who are speaking into their lives and championing them is something they don’t often receive when they are earning a degree.

Stretch the Limits

We were led to pursue accreditation to create a college model that uses curriculum from Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry as well as other curriculum. Today, LSSM is recognized by the state of Florida and approved through Transworld Accreditation Commission International to confer degrees in Christian Leadership or in Christian Counseling. Among others, our graduating students pursuing additional collegiate training may transfer their credits to Destiny College, Horizon Bible College and Seminary, or Tabernacle Bible College and Seminary.

I share this testimony because I believe God can do it again! If you are pursuing accreditation for your school, know that it is possible. I want to encourage you to never be afraid to stretch the limits, try new things, and take risks. Don’t step out so fast that you are not being guided by the values and principles you pursue. Keep them as your foundation and guide to unlock your school’s full potential.

John is a master life coach and businessman. He and his wife, Marilyn, are in-demand, dynamic speakers with over two decades of leadership experience. They have traveled the nations empowering leaders in the religious world as well as the marketplace. They are the founders of Legacy Church and Legacy School of Supernatural Ministry (LSSM). Marilyn is a significant influence at LSSM with over a decade of experience in academic administration. She is also a Justice Advocate for the state of Florida and the Founder of The Rachel Project that was created to love people and abolish human trafficking. John is the President of Promised Provision International and CEO of an assisted living facility.

2 responses to “How to Build a Legacy of Revival in a City”

    • Hi! Our department was created to help people exactly like yourself get some direction, resources, and tools to build whatever a school of supernatural ministry looks like in your community. Our department, and BSSM, doesn’t have any requirements for what you choose to do, but we do have the knowledge of what other people have done and what’s worked for them. Many schools are connected with a church; some schools that operate that way have been successful with taking in students from other churches in the area, but not all. Many schools we work with use BSSM teaching and the curriculum we’ve developed, but again not all! Below are some resources that will give you an idea of what we do and what we offer. We would love to help you with your dream! Feel free to shoot us an email at schoolplanting@bethel.com and we’ll get you started!

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