Why I've Learned to Trust God Concerning That Church in Redding

My mom is an amazing woman. Everyone who knows her can testify to how accepting, kind and loving she is. I was only three-years-old when I began having dreams, visions, angelic sightings, two encounters with Jesus, and lots of demonic experiences. I told my mom everything. Admittedly, she was not familiar with the supernatural realm, but she believed me and explained how I could embrace heavenly experiences and speak the name of Jesus to stop demonic attacks.

I’m so glad God gave my mom to me. My two amazing encounters with Jesus, along with my mom’s daily life example of listening to Bible teaching on the radio (by Dr. J. Vernon McGee), praying out loud in front of me, taking me to her women’s Bible study, reading her Bible, and praying with me and for me led me to please with my mom to pray with me to receive Jesus as my Savior when I was four. I wholeheartedly and sincerely gave my life to Jesus in the autumn of 1972.

As soon as I became a Christian, I quickly learned I could NOT talk about my supernatural experiences with anyone but my mom. I was a shy and sensitive child and teasing and criticism from others was difficult to bear. I also started experiencing intense demonic attacks on my mind. At a young age I started hating myself and wishing I was dead. My mom encouraged and loved me through decades of self-hatred, suicidal struggles, depression, and anxiety, but she didn’t know exactly how to help me, aside from praying for me.

Throughout my life, I continued to have supernatural experiences—miraculous things, like money appearing to me in a whirlwind when I was in college, an instant oatmeal box producing dozens and dozens of oatmeal packets for an entire month when I was in need of food, seeing numerous demons on, in and around people, hearing God’s voice calling me to be a missionary, nearly dying and having an angelic encounter, seeing an increasing number of angels, and so much more! And it's not stopping!

I told very few people about these occurrences in my life, due to fear of criticism. Why? Because I grew up in good, traditional, evangelical, Bible-rich churches, but they taught me that the supernatural realm of Heaven was potentially dangerous and probably demonic because we are so easily deceived. I was also told by many people that Bethel Church in Redding was demonic. So, naturally, I stayed away from it.

But I needed an explanation for all that I was experiencing and, since the churches I attended had no explanation whatsoever, I started dabbling in New Age philosophy. I probably would have gotten more sucked into New Age, witchcraft, and Kabbalah, if I hadn’t heard God’s voice sternly warning me to avoid these things. I stopped my search in New Age, but I still needed answers.

Finally, in 2010, desperate for an explanation for all the supernatural occurrences in my life, I was on my knees in prayer, telling God that I hated my boring Christian life and boring church experiences. I told Him that if there was nothing more to my Christian life than what I was living, I wanted to either die or give up on Christianity. In that moment, I saw an huge, movie-like vision of all sorts of amazing things, including the inner lives and needs of specific people for whom I was praying. I heard God’s voice clearly tell me important prophetic things about each member of my immediate family. I was so stunned by all this, I trembled with fear because I knew there was absolutely no one I could talk to at my church. I prayed about this and finally felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to tell one friend, my spiritual mentor in Yreka. She told me there were two places where I could learn more about what was happening to me—New Song Church in Medford, Oregon and Bethel Church in Redding, California.

Bethel Church in Redding? NO WAY! NOT BETHEL! I had heard it was demonic. So I chose to go to New Song Church in Medford. (By the way, I also started watching Sid Roth's "It's Supernatural" show at that time, which was extremely helpful to me.) At last, at New Song Church, I was being taught FROM THE BIBLE in numerous training classes that what I’d been experiencing my whole life was related to spiritual gifts. I was taught to be unafraid and how to use those gifts for God’s glory. One thing I began noticing was that speakers and ministry teams would frequently drive up to New Song Church from Bethel’s School of Supernatural Ministry in Redding (BSSM). I was skeptical and wary of them, but heard miraculous messages of hope and freedom—and many of their stories were similar to mine, which made me feel more “normal” and less weird and unusual. I learned more of what it meant to be “prophetic,” but I was still skeptical of Bethel Church and feared that maybe anything “prophetic” was demonic witchcraft.

So, still skeptical, I finally prayed and asked God to show me if prophecy and the prophetic were real and if Bethel Church in Redding was demonic or of God. A few days later, I drove down to Redding with two of my young children and my car broke down in the Target parking lot. A tow truck came and I was waiting there with my two kids when a small group of twenty-somethings walked up to us. One young lady handed me a paper on which she had sketched a crayon drawing of a car hooked up to a tow truck and a person standing next to the truck. There was also a drawing of a broken heart being sewn up and made whole again. (That has certainly happened to my heart. Praise God!) The lady said God had told her to go to the Target parking lot to encourage a woman with small children whose car was about to be towed. I asked the young lady if she was from Bethel Church and she said yes, that she was a student at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. I immediately broke down and cried, knowing God had answered my prayers in an incredibly tangible and real way. Since that specific answer to prayer, I have never been afraid of nor had a negative experience related to Bethel Church (except to meet a few slightly imbalanced, immature "charismatic" Christians from there, but I easily forgave them because I realize we’re all growing and learning--and sometimes prophetic people are weird, not gonna lie).

THIS IS IMPORTANT: What I've learned through my "unusual" life experiences is that if churches don't teach and train Christians what the BIBLE ACTUALLY SAYS about encounters with angels and demons and experiences with the supernatural, more and more Christians will continue to be sucked into New Age and witchcraft because we NEED BIBLICAL answers and explanations. We also need help navigating and stewarding these strange experiences and gifts. I've discovered that fellow Christians from traditional, evangelical, cessationist, dispensational churches have children who are prophetic or who have "supernatural" gifts, but they're being told that their experiences or gifts are demonic! Yikes! MANY of these adult children have ABANDONED their Christian faith for New Age and witchcraft because they were not taught the WHOLE TRUTH of the Word of God.

Please, PLEASE be open to reading and understanding the ENTIRE BIBLE. Do NOT ignore parts that you don't understand or that are uncomfortable for you. Embrace and learn the WHOLE BIBLE and go where you can learn and get more in-depth training so you can raise your children and grandchildren in a safe, protected environment. I plead with you to raise your children to recognize AND USE all their spiritual gifts. Raise your children to respect and protect their brothers and sisters or friends who have some of the more "unusual" spiritual gifts and you'll discover that these gifts are not so unusual. Many Christians have them! You might have them! Teach your children the WHOLE TRUTH of the Bible and you will find that fewer and fewer kids will abandon their faith when they leave home and go out into the world. If our mainstream churches were teaching about the supernatural gifts and experiences of the Bible and how they manifest in our lives today, I wouldn't have had to go seeking for answers in more "charismatic" churches like New Song and Bethel.

If you have only listened to or watched all the negative stuff about Bethel Church in Redding, I don't condemn you. Even if people criticize and hate me for my testimony and personal beliefs and experiences, I can only forgive them because I was there just 13 years ago. I'm sorry for the critical spirit that I had. I forgive easily and readily because life is too short and unforgiveness opens the door to demonic attachments (something else I've personally experienced--and I've explained some of my deliverance experiences in another blog). And I apologize to any of you reading this to whom I might have spoken against in judgment. Please forgive me. I thought I was being "safe" by avoiding so-called false doctrines and teachers but I had listened only to critics and neglected to fully search the Scriptures for myself.

Jesus tells us to "beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:15. And read 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 and other similar passages.) I was wary--no, afraid--of all things charismatic and supernatural when I should have trusted in the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to give me discernment concerning the critics I listened to. I should have read all the supernatural things that happened in the Bible and understood that God is all about the supernatural. He IS supernatural! You can imagine how confused I was to be wary and critical of miracles, signs and wonders at the same time that I was experiencing them in my own life! Goodness gracious! Satan sure does like to confuse, steal, kill, and destroy.

So please ASK GOD what He thinks of Bethel and spend some time listening for HIS answer, instead of only watching and listening to critics. Yes, Bethel members and BSSM students have made stupid mistakes and done stupid things (and if you search, you'll find apologies and explanations from Bethel about these incidents), but ask God to show you if you can trust Bethel or not. And VISIT Bethel Church for yourself sometime if you can, using the discernment and wisdom God will freely and willingly give you if you ask. If you have not had supernatural experiences like mine, Bethel's "flavor" may not be to your liking and that's okay; you don't have to keep going there. You don't even have to agree with it. But if you have experienced angelic or demonic phenomena and you need help stewarding all that or raising kids who experience it, I recommend that you visit either Bethel Church in Redding or New Song Church in Medford, or some other similar church that teaches on the prophetic gifts. Go there to learn how to operate in them and steward them wisely and not get into New Age philosophies. Go where you can learn to use those gifts and experiences for God's glory and honor. And, of course, I pray that soon all Bible-based Christian churches will teach the whole truth of God's Word for all Believers and not neglect those who experience the supernatural realm and need help, wisdom, understanding and instruction from godly leaders.