Kewanee, Illinois Report

PEOPLE, PLACES, and PORTALS!

We encountered all three in Kewanee!

In our December newsletter, I reported how we defeated the ruling spirits controlling “the hill” above our church and closed the portal associated with this past mental institution. This is our church, and you can see the current prison in the background.

New Life Fellowship, East Moline, IL

The prison is quite a large complex dating back to 1865.

East Moline Correctional Facility, formerly Hospital for the Insane

During that confrontation, God sent us a messenger and not only announced that the portal was closed, but also informed us of five additional portals in the area that we are to address. Reading from my journal, the messenger said,

• There are five other locations in this region with portals that you are to address. They will not be as difficult as “the hill.”

• They are: Blackhawk Mound, an area north of LeClair, an island on the Mississippi River, the Masonic Lodge in Davenport, and one in the country.

We are still seeking guidance in identifying these other portals. Only the Masonic Lodge is clearly identified in the messenger's directions. 

On November 8th of last year, we were invited by Pastor Stephen McGough to conduct a Cleansing Seminar Retreat at his church in Kewanee, Illinois. God’s plan for this weekend was more dynamic than we had anticipated!

Pastor Stephen McGough, Encounter Church

As we were cleansing the church property, a portal appeared that had been there many years before the church was established. The Holy Spirit told us that its impact on this little country city was to bring untimely deaths, suicides, and freak accidents. We traveled to Kewanee to conduct a ministry retreat, but had no idea that this “out in the country” city was on God’s list of portal locations. Not until the end of the retreat did we understand the significance of our steps of obedience.

It was a blessing to be there as the portal closed, the sun was going down, and the church lights came on, revealing three beautiful crosses. We went to a local hotel to rest and get ready for a full day of warfare, walking local saints through the Cleansing Seminar Retreat.

Encounter Church, Kewanee, IL

Bright and early Saturday morning, we began the retreat. We weren’t even one minute into worship when the power in the entire city went out! In unity, everyone agreed that we would stay in “alignment” and not let Satan steal what God had for us. A brother in the congregation happened to be a worship leader from another church. He found a guitar, and his voice pierced the atmosphere as he led us in acoustic worship. With no lights, sound system, or song lyrics, we worshipped in Spirit and in truth. The local fire department provided a generator to help keep our upcoming lunch warm.

We made it through the morning sessions. The presence of the Holy Spirit was sweet, and people were getting free. But by noon, my wife had had enough! As we were about to dismiss for lunch, Denise came up on the platform and declared, “Enough is enough.” She led the congregation in confronting Satan’s kingdom and demanded that the power be restored and nothing hinder our afternoon of ministry.

As everyone left the sanctuary five minutes later, they ventured across a small courtyard into a large fellowship hall that was VERY dark and chilly. Walking through a buffet line in the dark had its own challenges. At the moment, you could almost feel the darkness was beginning to wear people out, then BOOM! The lights came on, and the building was filled with praise. Later, we found out that the majority of the city didn’t have power, just the area the church occupied. Everyone had a good lunch, but you could sense the anticipation of a special moment. There was great expectation as we returned to the sanctuary and began our afternoon ministry sessions.

Let me say that my words will never be good enough to describe the events of the next four hours. The presence of the Lord was there in GREAT POWER. As the first wave of saints came forward to be anointed with oil, it was obvious we were about to experience a powerful move of God. As I was standing on the platform, a person to my right burst into tears as God began to move in their life. Seconds later, right in front of me, a strong demon FULLY MANIFESTS. This rebellious being came up and began filling the sanctuary with its cuss words and declaring, “This woman is mine, you can’t have her!” At the same moment, another person goes down to the ground and is slain in the Spirit. And tears came to my eyes as I watched the congregation enter into the battles and go from Glory to Glory!

For the next three hours, you could “hear and see miracles” as described in Acts chapter 8. The pastor later declared that neither his church nor the City of Kewanee had ever experienced such a move of God. Hundreds of demons, nephilim, and unclean spirits were cast out, and even those on our Quad Cities Ministry Team could be seen going through deliverance.

1st Row L>R: Stephanie, Renay, Linda, Denise, Kim, Mary. 2nd Row: Justin, Roger, Timothy, Mike, Charles. 3rd Row: Lory, Amanda.

As I am writing this, my heart turns to YOU. Without your partnership, we cannot advance the Kingdom and fulfill God’s call upon our ministry. There are MANY in the Body of Christ who do not even acknowledge the need for deliverance and warfare. We are a unique ministry supported by called and unique saints. Thank you!

It took us a few days to rest and completely understand what happened in Kewanee. We now know that the closing of this portal “out in the country” was God’s plan all along. This little church, called Encounter Church, truly had an encounter with the living God.

Just last week, we were informed by Pastor Stephen that, ever since the retreat, "things are different." He was filled with joy to announce that, for the first time in the history of this country church, over 200 people attended their Easter service.

Go ahead and say it... "PRAISE GOD!”