He rocked back and forth on the stage all day, declaring to us that God was going to raise up an end time army in the earth that would precede the return of Jesus Christ. I remember like it was yesterday, standing there as a twelve-year-old boy in Kansas City, Missouri, stunned that this rocking man named Lou Engle was on a forty day fast and still had so much energy and excitement about God. The atmosphere was contagious and the presence of God was glorious. Next up was his friend Mike Bickle, who shared from the book of Song of Solomon as myself and thousands of other young people were touched with a deep intimacy and love for God. I’ll never forget when Misty Edwards got up and sang for the altar call and we all just wept like babies. Looking back on it now, I realize I was being marked for eternity and this was only the beginning. Let me explain…
I was actually so impacted as a young person on my first visit, that I went back year after year after year to these conferences called, “One Thing” hosted by the International House of Prayer. By the time I got to college ten years later, I was taking teams from Florida on this wild twenty hour drive just to watch my college friends experience the same tangible encounter that I had as a twelve year old boy. Why couldn’t I get enough of these corporate gatherings? For me, it wasn’t the speaker lineup or the incredible worship bands. It was simply a longing I had in my heart to be with other saints and leaders who shared a common urgency and burden for the return of Jesus Christ and the preparation of the Bride for that glorious day.
Do I treasure secret place encounters with God? Absolutely! They have served as the foundation and source of satisfaction in my Christian walk since I can remember. However, to emphasize the secret place to the degree where we no longer value corporate gatherings is not a biblical paradigm we should embrace. In fact, the early church was not only birthed out of a corporate prayer gathering (the Upper Room) but was sustained by corporate prayer gatherings again and again (Acts 4:31). And of course, Jesus also said that when we pray- we should do it in secret and close the door. (Matthew 6:6). In other words, I believe the Bible both blesses and encourages private and corporate encounters with God.
In October of 2018, I received what I would describe as a heartbreaking email from Mike Bickle. He stated that God was asking him to lay down the “One thing Conferences” that I had personally been attending every year since 2005. As I read his letter, I actually felt the witness of the Holy Spirit that this was in fact what God was asking of Mike and IHOPKC. I instantly said to the Lord, “Where then will there be conferences and corporate gatherings with the focus being the preparation of the Bride of Christ for the return of Jesus?”
Fast forward to February of 2021 when God asked me to shut down “Jeremiah Johnson Ministries.” I and our staff had spent more than a decade pursuing a call to help equip the body of Christ through providing various prophetic commentary on current and political events. God had given us an incredible platform that literally reached millions of Christians every month around the world. But by the word of the Lord directly to me, that season had come to an end and total obedience to Him was the only way forward.
Starting in March, I shut down the ministry and got totally offline. We lost hundreds of ministry partners and incredible amounts of financial support. Numerous speaking engagements were canceled and as one well known pastor told me, “Jeremiah, if you are coming to speak on current and political events- you are welcome here. But if you are coming to speak on the return of the Lord- we simply are not interested.”
As the fallout continued, I knew I needed to fast and pray to ask God what was next. Should I step back from ministry altogether and seek employment in the business world or was God preparing me for a different kind of work? On the third night of my fast in March of 2021, I received a prophetic dream at night. In the dream, I was meeting with Mike Bickle. I told him of my experiences at the “One Thing Conferences” over the years and wept underneath a tangible burden. I specifically remember saying to him, “Mike, where are all the conferences and corporate gatherings focused on the return of the Lord that operate underneath an anointing for the end times?” He stared at me intently and then turned around to his bookshelf. He pulled down what looked like a scroll and handed It to me. I looked down and saw an inscription on it. It said, “Friends of the Bridegroom”. We made eye contact and he said, “You host the conferences and corporate gatherings”. Then I woke up.
I admit that upon waking up from this prophetic dream in March 2021 that I laughed out loud. I immediately thought that people would think I was arrogant and crazy if I told them what had happened. My laughter soon turned into a tangible fear of the Lord as I felt God’s presence manifest in my room. Tears started streaming down my face as I slowly gave God my “yes”. In fact, He made it very clear that I was to publicly tell people what happened to me. I was to prophesy to as many that will listen that God is about to change the landscape of the conference and corporate gatherings in America and then nations of the earth. No longer will speakers and worship bands center their messages and song lists on appealing to audiences regarding the latest trends and events. God is going to invade this generation with a revelation of His Son Jesus and the need to prepare for His Second Coming!
It is out of this mandate that God has given me to host conferences underneath an anointing for the end times that I would like to personally invite you to our very first national gathering in Greenville, SC on June 10-12th. Would you pray and consider joining us for what I believe is the beginning of a new movement of Christians who share a common urgency and desire for the return of Jesus Christ and the preparation of the Bride for that glorious day? Maybe you can’t join us in person, but The Holy Spirit is nudging you to allocate some of your finances to help with the cost of the conference where we are believing God to mark many lives for eternity. You can donate here now.
My good friends Corey Russell and Allen Hood who were on the leadership team of IHOPKC for years have agreed to join us as well as Brian Guerin from “Bridal Glory International” in Atlanta and Torrey Harper who oversees the New York City House of Prayer. Matt Gilman who has also been ministering within the house of prayer for years will be leading us in worship. I truly believe God is going to manifest Himself in our midst for a historic time together. May He speak to all of us from the north, the south, the east, and the west. You can click here to register for the conference now.
Marked for Eternity,
