Voices of Revival Weekly

Full, Thankful, and Wrestling Through It

As I reflect on this past week, I am full and thankful for the blessings of God.

Being overly honest and transparent, I sometimes get frustrated with ministry. I stepped into ministry things at a very young age. As I did, there was an expectation put on me of what I would do with my life. I don’t think I have even remotely met any of those expectations. Ultimately, we live to please God. I hope when my race is done, not only have I pleased God, but I hope the early mentors I had that took a chance on some dumb kid are pleased as well.

Instead of living up to the expectations that were placed on me, I find myself on a different kind of road—one that isn’t traditional. It’s an unpaved path. I’m doing a lot, but it doesn’t always fit into the normal structures or lanes. And if I’m being honest, there are moments where it doesn’t feel very visible or recognized, and I can start to question what I’m actually contributing.

A simple example comes to mind. I love my home church deeply and will always prioritize serving it in any way I can. Like many churches, we’re preparing for Easter right now, and there have been planning meetings leading up to it. I wasn’t part of those meetings or conversations, which isn’t a complaint—just a moment that made me reflect.

Man… if you would have told 18-year-old me that at the age of 36 not only would you be just a guy on the pew, but you wouldn’t even have an ounce of input on your home church’s Easter service, I would have staked my life on you being insane.

18-year-old me would probably hate 36-year-old me.

When I look at the expectations that were put on me when I was young and compare them to who I am today, I can’t help but see anything but a failure. Our flesh clings to the negative. That voice in me that looks in the mirror and sees a failure—that’s my flesh.

But when I slow down, I begin to see something different. And as I see it, I can’t help but be thankful that my dreams at 18 never became reality. If they had, I would probably be some mindless pawn in a system that produces no actual fruit.

This unpaved road may not be treated as legit, but it is fruitful.

A Look Back at This Week

Reflecting over the week, I am blessed.

Monday, we were supposed to have a VOR episode with Neil Peterson—someone I’ve been very excited to finally have on. Sadly, the cast was canceled, but it ended up being a blessing. I was able to disconnect from the hustle and spend the evening solely with my wife. It became a great night of rest—something I do not do well.

Tuesday, we had an intercessors call over Zoom. It was a very fruitful time of prayer. Following that, I jumped on an impromptu solo episode of Voices of Revival to share what was on my heart and fill the gap from Monday.

Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to speak at my home church. It wasn’t a traditional sermon—I shared a dream along with practical takeaways and prayer prompts during a prayer-focused service. Later that night, we had a late-night VOR with Jesse Bush and Anthony Rhodus.

Thursday hit me hard.

Our youth group met, and I brought along a student who had said yes to Jesus at NKountr the previous Friday. Between picking him up and dropping him off, we had about an hour of drive time—just one-on-one conversation.

This kid has no church background. None.

He had never heard of Abraham, Moses, or Noah. He had never heard of the flood. He didn’t know what the term Messiah meant.

During the youth service, our youth pastor spoke about giving everything to God. On the drive, the kid asked me what that even meant.

He had no idea.

This kid is the definition of unreached—and he’s right here.

He asked me question after question. And a sobering reality hit me: the answers I give him are forming the foundation of his faith. That carries weight. I will be accountable for that.

Friday night was wild.

I was invited to the Hollywood Heavenly Crusaders clubhouse for their gathering. The place was packed—probably beyond fire code. There was powerful worship, testimonies, and prayer. Honestly, it’s one of the closest things I’ve seen to the book of Acts lived out. Acts 2 talks about continuing daily in the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, prayer, and breaking of bread—and that’s exactly what this community is doing.

After that, we went to Servant Ministries in Germantown for Friday night prayer. It was peaceful and grounding.

Saturday was great as well.

Most Saturdays, I try to meet with a leader or friend for one-on-one time. This morning was one of those moments—no filters, just honest conversation. I’m thankful for friends who can speak hard truth and challenge me directly.

Looking over the week, I am full and thankful.

VOR Schedule This Week

• Episode 172 (Monday): Jhoel Correa

• Episode 173 (Tuesday): David Coffey & Scott Jackson

• Episode 174 (Wednesday): Dustin Hogan & James Hodges

March Rally – This Friday

This Friday night, we have our March Rally.

I believe this will be one of the best we’ve had so far.

• Worship led by William Highley and team
• Testimony from Shelly Jimenez
• Message from Jesse Bush focused on evangelism

The heartbeat of the night—and honestly where we are heading as we move toward Riverfront—is this:

No one is too far gone.

At Riverfront Revival last year, we had a wooden cross where people wrote prayer requests. I still have that cross.

We’re bringing it back this Friday.

This time, we’re going to cover it with names.

Names of lost loved ones.
Names of people others have written off.
Names of those who seem too far gone.

And we are going to believe that God will radically save them—and that they will be planted in a local body by the fall.

As we step into this next week, let’s stay focused, stay grounded, and stay expectant.

— Bradley Higgins
Voices of Revival