A Phenomenon 2025 Recap
The Biggest Event We've Hosted In Seven Years
It had been about seven years since my wife Shepard and I organized our own conference-style event. Here's a quick recap of Phenomenon 2025, which we hosted in Greenville, NC, last weekend.
God had us meet in a tent. Why? I think God likes tents. I also believe it was a reminder of the restoration of the tabernacle of David. The weather was beautiful! The breeze was blowing. The sun was shining. Kids were running around outside playing. Flags were waving. Dancers were dancing.
God had us gather on the 50th anniversary weekend of the Derek Prince "phenomenon" prophecy. Why? To remind us of His desire to pour out His Spirit and revive the Church. To remind us of the context in which God spoke in 1975, "I have found favor with you here in eastern North Carolina." It was an environment of united prophetic worship where races, denominations, and generations came together to minister to the Lord. That is the context in which God will bring revival.
Incredibly, Presence Pioneers Media was able to release the new edition of The Power of His Presence by Graham Truscott (previously out of print) at Phenomenon 2025. This was the first full-length book published about David's tabernacle in 1969. This was also the book that was inspiring the church in Jacksonville, NC to embrace prophetic/Davidic worship when they invited Derek Prince in 1975. You can order the book here.
50 years. This was a "Jubilee" weekend for our region, where this promise of revival was being "loosed" again. It was a reset moment. God was drawing us back to Himself. Setting our hearts free. (Re)Setting us on the wall of prayer and intercession. And reconciling us to one another.
On Friday night, I provided some biblical underpinning for revival and prophecy. I'm grateful for prophetic promises of revival (such as the Derek Prince word), but the truth is... I don't need them. There are biblical promises, yet to be fulfilled, of a global prayer & worship movement, a supernatural outpouring of God's Spirit, and an end-times harvest that are beginning to unfold before our eyes. Revival is in the Bible. And all His promises are yes and amen in Christ!
Over the weekend, a few hundred worshipers and intercessors passed through the tent from various cities across North Carolina. New Bern. Goldsboro. Washington. Kitty Hawk. Ayden. Raleigh. Oak City. Wilmington. Farmville. Surf City. Charlotte. Henderson. Lillington. Whiteville. Fayetteville. Bayboro. And more! A few even took a pilgrimage to the tent from other states to join in with what God was doing.
Two ladies were about to embark on an East Coast ministry tour. They came across Phenomenon on Facebook, and the Holy Spirit led them to "launch" their tour from the Phenomenon gathering. They drove 20+ hours from Texas to the tent, soaked up the Lord's presence, and then launched on their journey.
A prayer warrior named Rick drove from Tampa, Florida, to be with us. When our team arrived at the tent on Friday morning to start setting up, he was already sitting in his chair under the tent, interceding.
My friend Jonathan Friz, who leads a global prayer ministry called 10 Days, came down from western Massachusetts to spend the entire weekend with us. When one of the speakers cancelled, he jumped in to teach an extra session. Jonathan really imparted to us the John 17 unity message that's so dear to his heart (check out his new book, Jesus Gets What He Prays For).
David Bradshaw, who leads the national Awaken the Dawn movement, flew in from Houston to speak Saturday night, even though he had to fly right back to Texas on Sunday to speak at Upperroom. I'm so grateful for him going out of his way to visit our little tent. David really imparted a fresh zeal for communion, both with the Lord and with one another. The Holy Spirit moved powerfully after his message, encountering people at the altar with healing and deliverance.
If you were at the event, I'd love to hear more about what God was doing in your heart during the weekend. Please leave a comment at the end of this article.
I'm so proud of our small but mighty Greenhouse events team that hosted this event. We honestly bit off more than we could chew trying to do a gathering like this. We spent months working so hard to make Phenomenon 2025 a success despite having super limited resources and limited experience hosting big events.
There were so many twists and turns. My original vision for a paid indoor Phenomenon conference turned into a free outdoor event after we were offered a free tent (and the Holy Spirit insisted the gathering be free). Pivot. Then we lost the tent. Pivot. Then we got another tent (thanks, Sanford!). We had multiple free generators lined up that fell through until finally getting one at the last minute (thanks, Scott!).
At one point, we were about $6000 short and needed to pay some bills. God provided just in time (thanks, sponsors!). One of the key speakers had some medical complications days before the event and couldn't make it. Pivot. One of the main session worship bands backed out. Pivot. One of the worship teams for the afternoon prayer room cancelled on the day of. Pivot. My wife lost her voice the week leading up to the event. etc. etc. CRAZINESS.
Yet everyone on the team had such a great attitude and did whatever it took to make things happen. They all volunteered their time to serve. Some of them took days off work. Some camped out on site to guard our gear overnight. They sacrificed majorly to host this gathering for our region, and I want to honor them. Shepard, Janiece, Chris, Katey, Alex, Nick, Patrice, Gary, Lydia.... THANK YOU!
We gathered for Jesus, the Phenomenon. He led us every step of the way, and He met us there in the tent. Phenomenon 2025 was successful, why? Because success is simply being obedient to Jesus. He'll handle the rest.
After “striking the ground” near downtown Greenville, NC, with monthly events from New Year’s Eve to Phenomenon 2025, we are going to pause our events, take a deep breath, and lean into our weekly rhythms with the Greenhouse. If you’re local, we would love for you to connect with us. Prayer is on Tuesdays at 7pm. House church is on Sundays at 4pm. If you’re not local, please say a prayer for us!