Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS THE LORD TOOK HOLD OF BUGBROOKE
It was hardly the day of Pentecost! Yet that Sunday morning
was different. The deacons had already agreed to introduce
‘free ministry’ during the communion service, but no
one had dared break the ice. Then John Thom, the charismatic
graduate, spoke out in tongues — loudly. Traditional
hearts froze. The tongue was interpreted and another brother
prophesied. For some, that was it. ‘If we’d wanted a
pentecostal church,’ said one man, ‘we would have gone to
one.’ But the Holy Spirit could not be stopped. Now was the
time to lose the ‘wood, hay or straw’ (1 Cor 3:12) of traditionalism
and build according to the New Testament. The chapel
doors must be flung open to allow the wind of the Spirit to
blow right through!
The spring of 1971 saw an influx of young people. Lunch and
tea were provided on Sundays, and Kelly and Dave led an
afternoon gathering called TTMTT. In this Teens and Twenties
Music and Testimony Time there were real breakthroughs
in sharing, testifying and experimenting with gifts and ministries.
Many more were around on Easter Monday when five
people were baptised amid loud rejoicing and tears. On Sunday
evenings the sound of tambourines carried into the night
air. Sometimes there would be singing in the Spirit, the melodies
weaving together in harmony. ‘When they sing in these
tongues, it’s so beautiful,’ one lady told her friends, ‘you think
you’re in heaven.’
Some of the older members of the chapel were now catching
up and entering into blessing. One elderly lady saw a vision
of Jesus, with a beautiful glow around his face. She found
a deep peace and entered into the worship. But not all the
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