In March, the Philadelphian church hosted a two-week revival titled “March Madness.” During the 10 meetings, 290 first-time visitors came to the church, located in Long Beach. Carlton P. Byrd, Breath of Life Ministries speaker/director, shared messages about the millennium, the Second Coming, the state of the dead, the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath, health/diet, baptism, and more.
“I was there for opening night and was tremendously blessed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,” said Royal Harrison, Greater Los Angeles Region (GLAR) director. “I want to thank [Philadelphian church] Pastor David Zaid and his leadership team for their hard work, determination, and love for God’s people.”
Partnering with the Breath of Life team, the Philadelphian church members worked together to welcome their guests. “Knowing that God can do extraordinary things amongst ordinary people, Philadelphian’s members operated in teams,” said Zaid. Each night of the revival, teams assisted with transportation, parking, greeting, ushering, hospitality, prayer, and children’s ministry.
Annette Mathis is one of the 41 people who were baptized. “It was awesome,” she said. “The sermon that Dr. Carlton Byrd taught us was one of the reasons I was drawn to be rebaptized. He taught us what we could eat and what we couldn’t eat in the book of Leviticus. He taught us about the Sabbath, and so I decided to be rebaptized.”
This revival was not an isolated event. It’s part of a larger evangelism and retention plan birthed through the church’s recent transformation. “A new mind, new heart, and new vision were introduced to the church to become surrendered through worship, connected through fellowship, matured through discipleship, empowered as servants through ministry, and witnesses through evangelism,” said Zaid. A love that hopes, heals, and helps became the mantra that described the transformation process.
The congregation decided to tackle renovation projects as a physical indicator of the spiritual transformation within. “The members, understanding nothing is impossible with God, increased their giving and completed several renovation projects of more than $100,000 without taking out a loan,” Zaid said.
To begin the evangelistic process, the preaching team offered several transformational sermon series and trainings to equip members with effective relationship-building techniques. The church assembled members interested in Bible work and divided them into door-to-door outreach teams, Bible instructing teams, and church sponsors dedicated to supporting and retaining new members for their first six months.
The March Madness revival was just one aspect of the Philadelphian church’s transformation. “Our prayerful objective is to continue to baptize and retain as many souls as possible until our Lord Jesus Christ returns,” said Zaid.
