What is the Key to Spiritual Maturity?

Andrew speaking during the Saturday morning session at the 2011 Atlanta GTS. (Click to enlarge)Andrew and Jamie spent the first weekend in May ministering at a Gospel Truth Seminar held in Atlanta, Georgia where Andrew shared a message called, The Key to Spiritual Maturity. During the opening meeting Thursday night, Andrew asked the crowd to think about what it means to be spiritually mature. After touching on common responses to his question, he explained that the key to spiritual maturity is being absolutely committed to, and controlled by, the Word of God. "The Word of God is like the key that unlocks everything else," Andrew said. He stressed the fact that interaction and personal knowledge of the Word of God is essential to spiritual growth.

Each meeting opened with a time of praise and worship led by Charlie and Jill LeBlanc. (Click to enlarge)Friday night Andrew continued to emphasize the importance of spending time in the Bible. "The key to spiritual maturity is the Word of God. The Word of God was given to bring us to a place of maturity, and the vast majority of Christians are struggling in their life because of their lack of knowledge. The Scripture says that my people perish for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6), and that is exactly the reason why people are perishing in their bodies, finances, relationships, emotions, in any area of life." Andrew went on to say, "The Lord will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon him (Isaiah 26:3). That is not descriptive of the average Christian."

People had the opportunity to pick up many of Andrew's teaching materials before and after each session.
(Click to enlarge)Throughout the weekend lives were transformed. Roughly two hundred people came forward for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, sixteen people were born again, and the prayer ministry that followed each session was full of the manifestation of God's power.

After one meeting, a woman came to the front to receive salvation. As she rolled forward in her wheelchair, Andrew asked her a question to which she replied, "I can't hear you." Andrew responded with a smile and said, "No problem. We'll get that taken care of." Andrew then called a prayer minister over to address the woman's hearing problem. After a few minutes, Andrew paused and looked at the woman again and asked, Andrew lays his hand on a woman's shoulder during Friday morning's altar call. (Click to enlarge)"Can you hear me now?" The woman replied, "Yep!"

One minister prayed with a six-year-old girl who had limped forward, suffering from pain in her feet as a result of juvenile arthritis. The minister played a hand slapping game with the child and explained that in the same way they were slapping hands, the little girl should slap away the pain. Providing another example, the minister asked the child what she would do if she saw a bug scurrying across the floor, and the little girl replied, "I'd stomp on it." The minister told her to do the same thing if her pain tried to return. After receiving these instructions, the child left—pain free and with a smile on her face. The following morning the little girl's grandmother returned to speak with the prayer minister. Andrew's seminars offer many fellowship and ministry opportunities.
(Click to enlarge)Amazed by the change in her granddaughter, she said that the child had stomped around the night before saying, "Get off me pain," and it did!

As Andrew spoke forth the truth of God's Word, and explained it with straightforward simplicity, many were able to receive the revelation that His Word is The Key to Spiritual Maturity. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).

Watch the video below as Andrew introduces the topic for the Gospel Truth Seminar held in Atlanta, Georgia: The Key to Spiritual Maturity.

Click here to view the entire five-part teaching series.

2010 Gospel Truth Seminar, Atlanta

Andrew prays as people receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit at the 2010 Atlanta GTS.
(Click to enlarge)Andrew and Jamie spent the third weekend of April 2010 ministering at the Gospel Truth Seminar (GTS) in Atlanta, Georgia. Andrew continued his new multi-part series called, How to Find, Follow and Fulfill God's Will for Your Life. Normally, Andrew's messages vary per venue, based upon the Lords leading, but earlier this year he felt led to teach this series progressively across three consecutive conferences. He shared the first five teachings, of the fifteen-part series, in February at the GTS in Orlando, Florida. Those five messages covered How to Find God's Will for Your Life. In Atlanta, Andrew's teaching focus was on How to Follow God's Will for Your Life.

Andrew reads a portion of Scripture Saturday night in Atlanta (Click to enlarge)Many lives were changed over the course of the weekend as Andrew shared God's Word. Close to two-hundred people came forward for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and several received Christ as their Savior. One woman, while praying to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, received her prayer language, and then turned to the prayer minister and said that the pain she had been struggling with in both of her legs was totally gone—she had been instantly healed.

Following each meeting the most prevalent issue brought before Andrew's team of prayer ministers was physical pain. Many received healing and deliverance from varying types of arthritis pain, stroke-related paralysis, Parkinson's disease and the crippling effects of spinal issues, including spondylosis.

Andrew lays hands on a man responding to the altar call Saturday evening. (Click to enlarge)The manifestation of God's healing power was not limited to the prayer ministry time after each session in Atlanta. A woman who attended the seminar reported being spontaneously healed of foot pain and numbness during a praise and worship service prior to Andrew's teaching.

Ministry was also not limited to the hotel conference hall either; ministers also prayed for people in other areas of the hotel, and in local restaurants and stores. One hotel employee received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, while another employee was lead to the Lord. While visiting a local shop, a prayer minister noticed a man who was bent over and crippled. The prayer minister approached the man and said, "God has healed you. Can I pray for you?" and the crippled man instantly straightened up and began dancing. Praise God!

Check back soon for a report on the 2010 Chicago GTS where Andrew shared the final part of his new series, How to Fulfill God's Will for Your Life.

Watch the clip below as Andrew introduces the topic of his teaching for the 2010 Gospel Truth Seminar in Atlanta, Georgia: How to Follow God's Will for Your Life.

Click here to view the entire five-part teaching series.

Following the Lord's Lead

Tom and Cindy Boyd, Directors of Charis Bible College in Atlanta, Georgia. (Click to enlarge)Do you remember the first time you heard Andrew's unmistakable voice? Whether it was on television or radio or at a live event, for most, a definite memory marker is made when encountering Andrew's teaching for the first time. Tom and Cindy Boyd, Directors of Charis Bible College-Atlanta recall their introduction clearly.

In 1996 in the midst of life as a husband, a father and a business man very involved in his North Carolina community, Tom found he was hungry for more of the Word of God, and he began listening to Christian radio. "One day, riding down the road, I heard this guy on the radio talking with a peculiar accent, and he was teaching verse-by-verse through Romans," Tom remembers. Floored by what he heard, and with tears in his eyes, Tom pulled over to the side of the road. Faith had risen in his heart as he heard Andrew's message. Though Tom was already a believer, it was one of the first times he can recall hearing the Gospel so clearly.

Tom teaching during a chapel session at CBC-Atlanta. (Click to enlarge)Tom's interest in Andrew's teaching of the word soared, and he was excited to share his revelation with his wife Cindy and others. While Cindy was supportive of her husband's desire to pursue more of what he was learning, she was also focused on raising their children. Nevertheless, as the two continued to glean from Andrew together, they felt lead to attend the February 2002 Charis Bible College (CBC) Expand Your Vision Weekend in Colorado Springs. As the Boyd's prepared to travel to Colorado, they agreed beforehand that they would journal separately whatever the Lord shared with them throughout the weekend and then compare notes back at home. After arriving in Colorado Springs and prior to journaling a single word from the Lord, they looked at each other and said, "We are home." Tom and Cindy never wrote a word in their personal journals that weekend regarding whether or not to attend CBC. The Lord had spoken to their hearts at precisely the same moment and it was a given that they would be relocating to Colorado. They returned to North Carolina, put their house on the market, accepted the first offer, closed the deal in April and moved to Colorado that summer.

CBC-Atlanta's Russia Missions Team visits St. Petersburg. (Click to enlarge)Prior to that weekend neither of the Boyds had really considered leaving their hometown, but God had stirred new desires. Cindy recalls having some concerns about raising their children and being miserable in an unfamiliar place without the security of extended family and friends, but God gave her a supernatural peace about being in Colorado. The Lord was faithful to meet their every need and Cindy said it was worth the journey.

Tom graduated from CBC in 2004 and finished his apprenticeship in 2005; Cindy graduated the same year. During Cindy's second year mission trip, she had begun to feel like the Lord was leading them to Atlanta. When she returned from her trip, Cindy shared her thoughts with Tom. Although he was not initially receptive to the idea, Tom knew in his heart that she was on target. After further conversation with Cindy and close friends, they began looking at an Atlas for a place to live in Georgia. While Tom was considering the thought of heading back east, Linus LeFever, then the Director of CBC, called Tom into his office and said that the ministry wanted to start four new schools including one in Atlanta. Tom knew that he and Cindy had received a word from the Lord, and they began planning for the launch of CBC Atlanta.

Mark McCord ministering to CBC-Atlanta's full-time class 2010. (Click to enlarge)Over his initial reluctance and excited to be involved in the opportunity in Atlanta, the family relocated. It was Tom's revelation and understanding of God's unconditional love that allowed him to move to Georgia with a sense of peace. Prior to attending CBC, Tom was easily swayed by circumstance and emotion, but after three years immersed in the word in Colorado, he was able to see the path the Lord had laid before him and his family. God moved in their hearts and the Boyds now happily call Atlanta home.

Tom loves directing CBC-Atlanta. He considers the work a true joy knowing that the students are being fed the life-giving word that has the capacity to change their lives forever. "My heart is excited to see how many lives we get to change and influence with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is what charges my battery, to see lives changed, as people see for themselves that God really is good, and only good, to them individually."

A happy day: Cindy and Tom at the 2009 CBC-Atlanta graduation ceremony.
(Click to enlarge)Seventy-one students currently attend CBC-Atlanta, which is more than double the enrollment of the previous year. Also worthy of note is that as the Boyds wrap up their fifth year in Georgia, the school is already the same size as the Colorado school was the year they attended the Expand Your Vision Weekend.

Andrew's ministry is growing exponentially around the country and around the world. CBC extension schools like the one directed by the Boyds play a vital role in that expansion. As faithful CBC graduates continue to step out and share the Gospel truths they have learned with faithful men and women who will do the same, the heart of the ministry is perpetuated.

To learn more about the Boyd's and their work in Atlanta visit the Charis Bible College-Atlanta website.