On Eagles Wings - Ron Hutchcraft Ministries

Update from Ron Hutchcraft with Team U.S.

You've prayed.  You've gotten others to pray.  You may have given to send an On Eagles' Wings warrior.  You need to know what God has done through Team U.S...

477 Native American young people have given their hearts to Jesus Christ!

And there's more.  Starting with the story of the team's final reservation before reaching out at the largest Native youth event on the continent...

No Gospel witness.  At best, a handful who know Christ.
And a community ripped by gangs and violence.

That's the tragedy of the "Panther Point" reservation - the final stop for Team U. S. in the Summer of Hope 2008.  Clearly, the enemy does not plan to relinquish his hold on this hurting place.  He's been able to keep the Light out for a long time.  And On Eagles' Wings is all about that Light.

It was mid-afternoon on our first day and there was no place to hold our outreaches. Every door had closed. A local believer who had been radically saved out of gangs some years ago can't even minister on his own reservation. They want nothing to do with the Gospel.

Our leaders parked the team bus in the center of this urban reservation and the team went to war.  In prayer.  Meanwhile, our team leaders were pursuing every possibility they could think of to find a place in time to hold the outreach.  When would Panther Point ever have a chance like this to have the Gospel proclaimed by messengers they would actually listen to?

At 3:30, God reached a tribal councilman.  Within a few minutes, we had the outdoor courts at the tribal youth center!  This was a door only God could have opened.  The warriors went into high gear visiting every neighborhood on the rez, letting people know about the night's events. 

While the attendance was smaller than it might have been if we had not encountered the venue complications, it was hugely significant to be having a Christian outreach on this Gospel-hard reservation.  And hardness and fatigue were not about to stop this team.  Over the two nights, they fought hard to break through with the Gospel.  While twenty commitments to Christ is a smaller number than this team usually sees, these may have been some of the most significant commitments of the summer.  Hard-fought.  A wedge for the Gospel where there's been no opening.  It's the beginning of something for the believers from the nearby Rocky Ridge reservation to build on.

Tomorrow some of our warriors will head home for school or other responsibilities.  Most will travel a few hours to join most of Team Canada for the next exciting chapter of this Summer of Hope.  They will join forces to represent Christ at the largest gathering of Native young people on this continent.  You'll be hearing more about that in future reports.

But here at the end of this part of the Summer of Hope, we stand in awe of what God has done.  For example, there has been the dramatic launch of youth ministry momentum on reservations where there's not been youth ministry - but where it may be the only hope for so many young people there.  What God did on local basketball courts in three miracle nights may have changed the perception of Jesus for a generation - and set the stage for brokenhearted local believers to build a continuing ministry on the momentum.  On nearly all the reservations where we rescued, they're fired up to do that.

We stand in awe of the overwhelming moves of the Holy Spirit that seemed to literally sweep Gospel-hardened young people into Jesus' arms.  We will not soon forget those God-alone moments when a public invitation to Jesus was extended and some of the hardest hearts on a rez led the way to Him.  It happened over and over again.  Breakthroughs like these can only be explained as answers to years of praying, fulfilled in a few miracle moments.

But above all, we will remember the warriors who make up each On Eagles' Wings team.  They have been so transparent about the sin and pain that once enslaved them...so bold about the Savior who rescued them...so focused on rescuing, no matter what the conditions...and so believing God for things only God could do.

They are still praying for the final miracle needed for this Summer of Hope - in some ways, what has been the most difficult breakthrough of all. The financial miracle that will make the Summer of Hope victory complete and keep future Native ministry from being encumbered.  As someone who has faithfully prayed down one victory after another this summer, would you please pray for this last important victory?  And should God lead you, perhaps send a gift that would be part of the answer.

You have every right to celebrate with Team U. S. what God did through His warriors - and His prayer warriors like you - in just 20 amazing days...

3,700 miles traveled
16 outreaches on 6 reservations
Ministry in 8 Native churches
and...

477 Native American young people who committed themselves to Jesus Christ!

For centuries, the harvest has been so small among the first people on this continent. By God's grace, it's changing before our eyes.