2819 Church - Skip navigation Search or ask a question Create Avatar image Identified With Us | Matthew 3:3-17 | Philip Anthony Mitchell

Episode Date: August 17, 2026

In a sobering STANDALONE message, IDENTIFIED WITH US, Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell returns with a bold call to action, calling the Church back to prayer, radical repentance, and preparation for the coming of Christ.Matthew 3:3-17, Jesus got baptized to identify with us, a sinner. In our baptism, we identify with Christ, the One who is holy. In these end times, may we grow mighty in spirit and bear fruit that remains as this generation prepares for His coming.

B.C. If you are a guest, we welcome you to 2819, where we are serious about the spread of the gospel and the multiplying of disciples. And to all of our digital family across America and around the world, we welcome you to this space wherever you're watching from you, our family and cities all across this nation, on continents all around the world. And if you're not a follower of Christ and you're in the room, we are glad that you're here. If you're in the overflow, we're glad that you're here. some way somehow you're not a follower of Christ and you are in this chat you're watching live right now wherever you are we are glad that you are watching and our prayers that you would be brought into this family before it's too late time is running out on humanity today I was supposed to start a series through the letter of Ephesians which is where our church is going next we will be in the letter of Ephesians for a number of months in a new series that's called In Christ where your identity will be properly shaped as we walk through that series together and we will be unified as a church

and you will come out on the other side knowing who you are that you are more than what people call you you are more than the labels you're placing yourself you are son and daughter and there is much to be said about you in Christ but I want to obey the Holy Spirit And so that series, I'm going to put that off until the first Sunday in September.

This morning when I got up at 3 a.m. I prayed until about 6 a.m. About three hours of prayer. And in that time, I felt like God spoke to me to do something different today. So what I have is not like prepared, but it will be whatever it's going to be. And today, we're going to pray together as a church. And if that's boring to you, then you are full of your flesh. And you have not read the scriptures for Jesus said,

My house will be a house of prayer. And there is a lot of preaching and not enough praying. A lot of conferences, not enough praying. A lot of Christian activity and not enough praying. Today, I'm calling our entire church to prayer. and specifically I want to call us to prayer, maybe around three things. I'm going to tell you what they are. Father in the name of Jesus, Holy Spirit, have your way.

That is all. In the mighty and the majestic and the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. And amen. Thank you all. We're going to pray, but before we pray, I want to read something to you. And on the heels of that, I want us to pray about three things specifically.

I'm going to try to end this in enough time where we don't have to feel rush to beat each other into the parking lot. Probably the greatest encounter that any human being will ever have in their life is that moment when they pass from death to life. When they know something has transpired in their heart in which God, God is no longer just a name in a book, but he becomes real and tangible. Their eyes have been open. They realize all this time they have been living separated from God. They realize in a moment they have come alive now in the spirit. They start to feel conviction for sin.

They start having desires that have been changed. They start longing for things that are righteous. They want to go to church. They want to read the scriptures. They want to pray. We would give a theological word for that called salvation. When a person has been rescued from being on a path that's leading to damnation and destruction, in which by the power of the Holy Spirit, he wrestles them down to the ground with conviction.

They surrender their life to Christ. They are now born again or they are regenerated. They are made new. Their dead spirit comes alive on the inside. and they are now sealed as a child of God as a son and daughter of God. And there is a Christian practice that is a public demonstration to people of that supernatural act that happens in the lives of men and women and even children all around the world. And we will witness those public demonstrations next.

Sunday, and what I want to do is bring you back to the origins of the most important public demonstration we've seen of baptism and then call you to pray for three things. You know biblical history how God sent a prophet named Malachi. The last of the prophets in the Old Testament that was written preaching to people who are far away from God and through him, God said to a people, if I am a father, then where is the honor do me? He rebuked priests for greed and rebuked them for withholding tides.

And we see people who manipulate Christians for tides, not reading things in context that he was first dealing with corrupt preachers first who love money more than people. And then after Malachi, God goes silent for 400 years. After 400 years have passed. Christ is born in the first century. He is in obscurity for 30 years, three decades. He is in obscurity.

We know very little about his life. We know where he was born. We know the name of his parents. We know he grew in wisdom. and then he disappears after 12. From the age of 12 until the age of 30, we have no record of what Jesus was doing. He is in the dark.

He is in obscurity. No one even knows that he is this publicly. And then God will break that 400 years silence when he raises up the last great prophet of the Old Testament an era, a man whose life was prophesied by an angel named Gabriel, a man who's at the center of the text, I'm about to read to you before we pray. Matthew wrote about that man in Matthew chapter three, beginning in verse one. He said, in those days, John the Baptist came preaching

in the wilderness of Judea. John was the son of God. John was the son of a woman who formerly did not have children. And God promised her a son and said to her, your son will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from the womb. He will be set apart for God. He will be a Nazarene. That boy will be anointed. He will be different. And you're going to name him John. And his mother, Elizabeth, was a relative of Mary, who was the mother of Christ. John was a mighty man. John was a separated man. John was austere.

He was rugged. He was gangster. He was thugged out. John was holy. John was righteous. John was set apart. John was different. And he came preaching in the wilderness of Judea.

Not in the city, not in the comforts of villages. He goes out into Judea and to the barren wayside just outside of Jerusalem, east of Jerusalem, west of the Dead Sea. I've walked through there. There was nothing green there. And there he was raised his whole life in the wilderness. This man was in the wilderness, his entire life out there alone being intimate with God. Because sometimes it takes being away from people for us to draw nearer to Christ. Sometimes it takes us getting away from the north.

of social media and the noise of society and the noise of the world to get alone with God. When was the last time you've been alone with God? And he's out there in the wilderness and I love what they say about him in Luke's gospel. He grew mighty in spirit. I read that yesterday and I wept on the pages of my Bible. I said, Lord, I want to grow even more mighty in spirit. Like you got people who preach, not mighty in the spirit. People who sing, not mighty in the spirit.

Men and women who sit down in chairs every Sunday, not mighty in the spirit. Nah, I want to walk in rooms and demons tremble when I walk in rooms. I want to walk into situations and lay hands and people get healed when I lay hands. I want to be sitting at the table ready for a business meeting about to sign a document and the Holy Spirit says no. I'm so filled with the spirit. I hear him clearly, even at the office. I want to get ready to start something. The Lord said, don't start that now.

Wait for another season. I want to be so mighty in spirit that every step I make, every decision I make is in line with the spirit. I want to be so in step with the spirit that even my haters are confused by the fruit of my life. That we tear him down in public and God keeps blessing him in public. I want to be so in step with the spirit that I eat fruit in the face of my enemies. I want to be so in step in the spirit that the devil creeps into my house and I say not my house. I'll grab oil and a Bible and run you out of this house.

I want to be so in step in the spirit, man, you lay hands on your spouse at night and they wake up more loving in the morning. John grew in spirit. Are you growing in spirit? and John came with a message. Verse two. Repent. For the kingdom of heaven is that hand. How's that for a sermon? Not you're going to be blessed next week.

Not sow a seed and God will make you a millionaire. Not God turns a blind eye to sin, live reckless, and then come to church. No, no, no, no. John's first message was, repent. For the kingdom of heaven is a hand, which was also. Jesus's first message, repent. For the kingdom of heaven is there. America needs to hear that message.

Repent. For the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Let me give you the modern translation. Turn from your sins quickly for time is running out. Run to Jesus quickly for time is running out. Get right with God today. Why? Because time is running.

out. Repent, John preached to the nation of Israel, a nation barren spiritually, legalistic, and drifting from God. His first message to people in trouble was not God loves you. His first message to them was, turn from your backwards ways. Turn back to God. Turn back to the word. Turn back to prayer. America needs to hear that. Turn. Amen. Preachers. We need to. We need to. We need to. We need to to hear that turn from lying to people on Sunday to keep butts and seats turn from proff a lion turn from raping people for money turn for using the ministry for self-anggrandizement turn America needs to hear that watch turn turn from your foolishness turn from your antics turn from your vain ambitions turn from your record

behavior, turn back to God. Why, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom is alive right now in the earth. It's alive in the hearts of men. Temporarily, it coexist with evil. And just a little while, it would overtake everything. And it will crush everybody who was watched, an enemy of Christ. Every false religion, every false belief, every one man who turned a blind eye on Christ, the kingdom will crush them in the end. So everybody's gambling with what they believe. You better make sure you have believed right before you die. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

That's what we need in America. Sick and tired of we preaching about revival with no repentance. Sick and tired of us coming to church without repentance, right? We have dead church services all across America, no repentance, right? Man, this is a joke in America, man. We're full of sin. And no repentance. If we will see revival in our nation, if we will see a breakthrough in your home, man, we must first repent.

Man, a husband today needs to repent to a wife. A wife today needs to repent to a husband. I'm going deeper. A parent needs to repent to a child. And repentance is not, I'm sorry, Lord. A repentance is, I change. So John comes preaching a baptism of repentance. For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord and make his path straight. Come on, man. I feel heat. John's whole ministry was to prepare a nation for the rise of Christ who was just about to merge on the world stage. John's whole ministry was to prepare a nation for Christ. Pay attention. He tells them, since Christ is coming, turn.

Watch, since Christ is coming, don't let him come and catch you where you was. Man, this is the same message we need right now. Is this not what the nation needs right now? We have too many diva voices, too many fake voices. Too many cotton candy voices Too many soft voices Too many compromise voices No, what we need right now in America

From your seat to this platform It's bold voices who will help Prepare the way for the Lord I wish I had A thousand bold voices in the room right now This is a mission of 2819 Man, we ain't gathered here Just to have Sunday morning services

No, I'm on my name these praying and shedding tears and crying that we, 2019, will be a church local and global that is serving, giving, praying, laboring, forgiving, and watching this, working together in America and around the world to prepare the world for the coming of the sun. This is why I preach the way that I do. This is why I pray the way that I do. Why I post the way that I do. Why I live the way that I do.

Why I sacrifice the way I do. Well, I hang myself on the cross the way that I do. Well, I apologize the way that I do. Why? Because I said to God, my life belongs to you. Use it to prepare a generation for your coming. And you have no idea what God would do with your business, your ministry, your podcast, your marriage, your home, your life. I'm talking to teenagers and adults when you said, Lord, all of me on your altar.

Use me. Use everything I have to prepare people for. your coming. We are living in the final hours of the church age. And if the church is not about getting people ready for the coming of Christ, we are wasting our time. Don't nobody care about a dead song and a dead sermon. If we don't even care about the fact that the Lord is coming and we ain't doing nothing to get people ready.

And we get people ready by. preaching to them the truth about calling them to the foot of the cross about multiplying disciples not churchgoers committed followers after christ and telling people stay close to jesus because we're right at the very end what about your voice you only think about mine because i'm the pastor 2019 what about your voice he's the pastor i don't have a voice really you got social media Your fingers is a voice. How you handle yourself on your job is your voice. What you're teaching your children is your voice.

How you deal with your spouse is your voice. What about your voice? The devil is a liar. Now John, verse 4. Your peep, peep is fit. Like, we're about to do a biblical fit check. Yo, peep John's fit. Now, John wore a garment of camels here.

and a leather belt around his waist. Pause. My man has no guards, no royal robes. The man got a camel, skinned it, put it on, and put a belt on. Fit check. He's dressed like the prophet Elijah, another prophet who was a preacher of righteousness. And I love when I read John Fitzcheck, because the fact that he were dressed like this in a culture when everybody was about their clothes tells me that John was his authentic self.

that John was not afraid to be watched this word different that John was not afraid to be watched these two words set apart that John was this word free why you wear black because I'm free why you only wear uniform because I'm free I ain't trying to impress gives us permission to be the authentic person God has called you to be the point I'm trying to make is God will never bless the phony youth. I'm not going to bless the person you're pretending to be. When I first came to Atlanta, because this is a church going city, I thought I had to look a certain way and talk a certain way and act a certain way for people to come to my church. And for four years, that did not work until one day I was saying to myself, I'm an urban dude from Queens.

I'm from the hood. I like Nike's and I don't want to be stuffy when I preach. I'm just going to dress the way that fits my natural makeup. I wear black and ones. And I wear uniforms. And God has breathed on the ministry. He is entrusted to me when I accepted who I was inside his kingdom. Why be jealous or pretend to be something you're not? When the genius of Jesus is variety.

He does not need another PAM. He needs you to be who he's called you to be. John's fit tells me he is free to be his authentic. According to the will of God. He's dressed like Elijah. His food is locust and while honey. So he's a consecrated man with a consecrated diet. And then watch the impact of authenticity according to God's will.

Verse 5. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and the region about the Jordan were going out to him. So God blessed who he was inside of God's will. He did not have to be something he was not to be fruitful. All of the cities all around the nation of Israel went out into the wilderness to hear John preach. In essence, his stand for righteousness called people out of comfort zones into the wilderness. His stance for righteousness and holiness called people out of the comfort zones to meet with God in the wilderness. Verse six, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan,

confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees come into his baptism, these are the religious rulers of the day who were also very fake and the enemies of Jesus. He said to them, You brood of vipers! So we can never check a hater. No, you got to know when to speak and are meant to remain silent.

violent. You snakes who warned you to flee from the wrath to come. Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Bear fruit. Fruit that remains. Bear fruit. Fruit that remains. Shout out to our elders and pastors. Bear fruit, fruit that remains. That is, he's seen fake people coming to inspect what he was doing in ministry. Because not people, not everybody who gets close to you is for you. And where there is authentic anointen, it will always attract enemies. So sometimes when people are hating on you, that doesn't mean you've done something wrong. Sometimes opposition is a sign that you're moving in the right direction. Don't be confused.

Just pay attention to who the devil attacks. And why is everybody talking about this person? The devil never attacks what he owns. He attacks threats. He would try to mitigate threats. He would try to diminish the character. and the witness of threats. The problem with America is you have no discernment.

So you call evil good and good evil. And you call real prophets, fake prophets, and let fake prophets run rampant. You spend all your time making videos about real prophets hurting the cause of God. You don't like what the real prophet said? Pray for them. And do not presume yourselves that we have Abraham as our father. I tell you, God is able to raise up stones for his children of Abraham.

So he's saying, don't think just because you're are Jew, you're going to get into the kingdom. And people do this all the time. See, people do this all the time. Right now as I'm talking to you, there are people listening to me right now. We do this all the time. You have people all around the country who think they have a relationship with God because of their parents or because they go to church every once in a while. They was thinking they was in the kingdom because of their ethnicity. No, you don't have a walk with God just because you've been around church a few times. There is no relationship with God apart from Christ who said, I am the way, the truth and their life. This is like,

People running around, it's crazy to me. People running around on social media with syncretism. You're mixing God and all this other crazy mess. And you're saying, God, which God are we talking about? Be careful. All we're talking about God. God said, which God are we talking about? Be careful.

Everybody who says God is not of God. We just throw his name on everything and everybody. There is only one God. And every other God is an idol. And our God has a name. Yahweh, Yeshua Hamasheya is God. There is no other gods. What are we talking about?

Yahshua. Verse 10. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that therefore does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. No fruit. No kingdom. John says, I baptize you with water for repentance. he, this is him preparing the way, who is coming after me is mightier than I.

Whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. So he said, I only baptize you with water for repentance. Pay attention. The person coming behind me who is Christ, his baptism is far more powerful. He baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire. So Jesus has two baptisms. His first baptism is with the Holy Spirit.

That happens to every person who gets saved. They get filled with the Spirit like me. In a bathroom over a toilet seat while I wanted to unalive myself. I am saved in that bathroom. Jesus baptizes me with the Holy Spirit in that bathroom over the toilet seat. A former thug comes out a brand new man. The other baptism with fire, some people can say this is to make you more energetic and alive. sounds good for preaching.

More so in context, the baptism of fire is judgment. This is Jesus, watch, saying no, in the end, to every person who dies, who disrespected him, and says, you can't come into the kingdom. Lord, I believe the wrong thing. Too late. Lord, I did not know. Too late. Lord, I wasn't paying attention in church.

Too late. Depart from me, I never knew you. The only other option is down. That's the baptism of fire. So in essence, Jesus will baptize everybody. Every human being will get baptized by Christ, either with the spirit unto salvation or with fire unto damnation. No one escapes Christ. Evidence that the fire baptism is judgment is verse 12.

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, which is heaven, and the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. In those days, they had a fork, and they would go down to a threshing floor for weeks. That is bread. The threshing floor will have wheat on the floor. They will take the floor, the fork, poke it in the wheat, throw the wheat up in the air. The wind will blow and separate the chaff from the wheat. They would take the wheat and put it in a basket, and the chaff, which is the unusable part, will fall to the floor to be thrown away. So what John is saying, when Jesus comes, he's going to rise, and over time, he will separate the reel from the fake. Believers from unbelievers, he will gather those who loved him into his glory and those who rejected him into everlasting fire. Nobody's going to escape that. Everybody's going to end up one or two places. And then these last verses.

And now after 30 years of obscurity, verse 13, Jesus comes to the world stage. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you. And do you come to be baptized by me? That is, John felt unworthy to baptize Christ. Just like many of us sometimes feel unworthy to serve Christ. Our past, our mistakes, our failures, our insecurities, our lack of education. Listen, God can use anyone who is willing and able.

But Jesus answered him, let it be so for now. for thus it is fitting to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water and behold, the heavens were open over him. And he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on his shoulder, which was prophetic. For the scripture said,

Whoever you see this dove land on, we know that person is the son of God and behold a voice from heaven said this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased I want you everybody look at me I want you to see in the text Jesus goes down to the give me that picture of the Jordan River this is the Jordan River murky dirty filthy where I had an opportunity to baptize 12 disciples including my wife Jesus comes down to this filthy, dirty body of water to be baptized by John in the same river. Now, John's baptism is a baptism for repentance, but Jesus has never sinned. So why is Jesus going down to John to be baptized if John's baptism was only for sinners?

Why is a sinless man going to be baptized for a baptism for sinners? He has never committed sins. He lived a perfect life. Why is the son of God who was perfect going down to this filthy river to be baptized by a man which is a baptism for sinners? Why did Jesus do that? Did he do that to repent? Had nothing to repent of. Did he do that?

Because he was a sinner? Never committed sins. Why is Jesus going down to be? baptized in a sinner's baptism. Jesus goes down to this filthy river to be baptized in a sinner's baptism so that in his humanity he can be fully identified with you a sinner. You missed that. His baptism, he identifies with you a sinner. And then the opposite happens in your baptism. Defyed with twice, who is holy. His baptism, he

shows the death and resurrection identifying with you as a sinner. So he's baptized to identify himself with you. I feel heat. Next Sunday, 3,000 people will be baptized to identify themselves with trace. His baptism was to be identified with you. Your baptism is to be identified with him and his death burial and resurrection. And for those who have already been baptized, my question is, are you continuing to be identified

with him? And the way that you talk, the way that you live, the way that you serve, the way that you sacrifice. And notice, all three persons of the Godhead of prison, the sun is in the water, the Father is speaking from heaven and the Spirit is descending like a dove He said we don't believe in a triune God You have not read about God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit not God our mother

And he said this is my beloved son And who I am well pleased watch this Jesus was affirmed before he did anything But you're trapped in performance based religion. You feel like I have to read more for God to love me and I have to pray more for God to God and I got to fast more for God. You're trying to do all these things to earn affirmation from God. You was affirmed through the cross. Jesus was affirmed before he did anything. You are affirmed.

And next Sunday, oh yeah. You are, thank you, Holy Spirit. You are affirmed. loved, fully known, fully accepted. You can't earn love from him. Can't earn salvation. Can't earn. You are a son before anything else.

You are a daughter before anything else. Loved and affirmed. And now I'm going to call us to about two minutes of prayer. And I'm going to tell you what we're praying for. Three things. We're about to pray for the 3,000 people that are registered to be baptized next Sunday. Right?

We're going to pray for them that God pours out his glory next Sunday for all 3,000 of them. And for you who are not registered, next Sunday is not just Sunday off. Next Sunday we gather together as a church to celebrate 3,000 public decisions for Jesus. That we're going to stand and support our family and shout for them and love on them and be there for them. 3,000 of them. And you were looking at me right now, you said, darn it, pastor. I didn't get a chance to register.

That's all I pull up by faith. Fly in by faith. Drive in by faith. Hop off the train by faith. And trust God to make room for you in the Jordan. So we're going to pray. We're going to take two minutes and we're going to pray for baptism. Let me tell you the second thing we're praying for.

Listen to me carefully. We live in the last day. days. There's trouble in this room, trouble in our homes, trouble in our marriages. There are needs we have. We want to see signs, wonders, and miracles. We got unsaved loved ones. The nation is in trouble. Our law system is in trouble. Man, our nation is in trouble. Spinning down the commode to the basement. We got lawmakers saying the craziest things and an invasion happening right now in America. that's going to try to take over the country and persecute Christians. I'm telling you, we're living in the final hours of the church age.

And if we will see revival, we're not going to see revival because we keep having services. We're going to see revival because we pray. If my people, give me this camera, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, turn from their wickedness, I might hear and heal. So the second thing we're going to pray for is this. I'm calling every digital disciple of 2019 in America and around the world and everybody local in Atlanta. I'm calling us to a moment of national prayer when on October 10th we take over AT&T Stadium for access. You heard what I said?

This area. Watch. On September, why y'all waiting so long? Because we want to give you only four. Get your heart ready. Your hotel, hungry. So right now, if you're able, I want you to slip off the chair onto your knees. We're going to take two minutes.

And if you can't get on your knees because you're elderly or you're in pain, don't do it. You can sit on your chair. I'm asking us to pray for, I don't like the number two. Three minutes. Three minutes. We're praying for baptism. We're praying for access. And the third thing, pray for any need that you have or if you have to repent of prayer.

Those who are registered. I pray, Lord, that that day the nation will shake. I pray that that day the people will be healed and delivered. I pray that they will go down one way. I'm going to say to be back. We're going to preach this word. Two days of the church age. Do this, but I just go obey the spirit.

I know we're like four minutes over. I don't, okay? Give me the camera. John called Pharisees, a brutal of vipers. It reminds me there are times when you need to speak up and times when you need to remain silent. I will speak up now. And the pastor of 2819 church who was bringing access to the nation for free and did it last year for free. It cost us almost $2 million to do that.

Nobody paid to get in. I didn't even take up an offering. I also have a podcast I've never talked about on this platform because my podcast is separated from 2819. It is my own ministry outside of the church with my partner, Tim Timberlake. Now, we are going on a tour to take the gospel to cities. And because that's not funded by 2819, and it's not funded by Celebration Church, Tim and I got to do that with our own. It's why there is tickets.

We have to pay for venues and security and productions and staff from our own party. Last year on our tour, our first location was Dallas. Texas. We worship for an hour. Tim and I laid hands on everybody. And at the end of the night, there was a woman in the back who was pregnant. And I went up to her. Why are you crying? She said, I'm pregnant. And the doctor told me my baby is going to be born, deformed. And I got down on my knees. And myself and our prayer team laid hands on her womb and prayed for her baby. This is the stuff you're concerned about a ticket Instead of getting in the room And before I left for sabbatical I get a letter on my desk Of a miracle, there I am

praying for her How do I respond to all of your hate And your ignorance? I pray for you And tattooed to my heart Blessed are those Who are persecuted For righteousness sake

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad glad for great is your reward in heaven we was money men we would charge you more than that go and get to these cities where we're going to get the money from that's not funded by my church we got to come out our own pocket to make it to these rooms you brood of vipers now lastly jesus said to peter who became the pastor of the first church peter do you love me feed my lambs Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep, tend to my sheep. So Jesus told Peter, take care of the little ones. There's a lot of teenagers in our church. And they have no shepherd until today. There is a young man who Alina and I have known since he was a little boy.

And like John, we've watched him grow mighty in the spirit to a man, a husband, and a disciple of Christ. He was in another city and God led him to Atlanta, not knowing why. And by God's divine providence, he led him here back to Lena Knight. God brought him home. He loves his wife. He loves Jesus. He loves the scripture. He is consecrated.

He is serious. He is holy. He is anointed. He is sold out for Christ. A chip off the house. I introduce to you our new youth pastor, Bryson Mullins. And today, we're our ministry for our teens. Every other Sunday during our 1030 gathering in their own space that was built out for them.

If you have teenagers or seen them hanging out around the church, bring them. You see them hanging out in the streets. Bring them. We turn YNs into YDs here. That's Bryson's language. We turn YNs into young disciples. stretch your hand towards Bryson. I'm sorry.

Just let Lena talk. So I just want to say that, you know, as of regards to Bryson, I've been really this past week just thinking about how he's entering into his pasturant and how he's going to be shepherding these teenagers. And my heart has just been so overwhelmed. I was going to reach out to you, Bryson, but I didn't get a chance. And I'm so excited to see what God is going to do. do through him and through our youth. Amen. Amen. Our kids need this. My children need this. I believe Bryson was brought to us for such a time as this and that there's something inside him that he needs to impart into the youth. And I am just super excited to see what's going to happen.

and I'm also just happy that we could offer this to all of the youth here. We love you guys. And yep. So if you're watching this gathering in Atlanta, bring your team to this next gathering. You've got 40 minutes to get here. Stretch your hand towards our new youth pastor. We need no thesis. Father, we thank you for your divine providence that led this young man of God back home to Atlanta.

And for ordering his footsteps to 2819. we thank you Lord for his parents that instilled in him the faith from a very young age how he has followed you faithfully from a very young age how he has loved the scriptures and kept himself holy and pure for you how he has entered into the covenant of marriage has loved his wife and has set apart himself

for the work of the ministry how he has loved your word and has fasted and prayed and has concentrated himself for this office. Father, right now, before all the people, God, we anoint him for this assignment that you have called him to.

We stretch our hands to him as a church family, God, Lord. We consecrate him into the office of the youth pastor. Before the people this day, God, we pray you would anoint him for this great assignment. We pray that he will be a great shepherd

for our teens and our preteens and he will multiply disciples, God, in these last days, God, through community and biblical, teaching and whatever you have put on his heart to do God. Bring around him, God, everyone that he needs, the personnel, and may he feel the support of this church, his family, and parents. We thank you for him right now, and we bless him to be fruitful.

And the mighty and the majestic and the matchless name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Can you take the roof off this place for what God is doing?