by Pastor Andy Merritt

Let me share with you why I believe the Heartbeat Conference is so important for you to attend. In Ezekiel 22 God confronts the nation of Israel with the sins that eventually brought God’s judgment, the most prominent being the shedding of innocent blood mentioned eight times. At the end of the chapter God says, I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.

It takes great courage and involves great risk of life to stand in the gap; to rush to where the breach is in the wall, where the enemies of God are pouring in like a flood, to fight back the forces of evil, and repair the wall of righteousness. Sadly, in Ezekiel’s day, God found no one to stand in the gap. However, today you have chosen to stand in the gap in your local pregnancy center ministry. You are doing battle with the forces of evil to end the shedding of innocent blood, to rescue precious babies, and see their mothers and others redeemed by God’s grace.

Thank you for standing in gap! Thank you for being a contemporary hero of faith!

My point is this.

Standing in the gap is costly because it is there were the battle is most fierce, and in pregnancy center ministry we have seen the battle intensify and persecution escalate. It is inevitable wounds will be suffered, and often the greatest battle is not with the enemy, but with our own pain, weariness, & discouragement. Every soldier needs some R&R and that is why the Heartbeat Conference is so important for you to attend.

The Conference is a safe place to receive encouragement, equipping, and spiritual renewal in order to return to stand in the gap with even greater effectiveness. The theme for the Conference is “World Changers” and the key to changing the world is for God to change me. There is no greater priority than our personal relationship with God, because power to stand in the gap is dependent upon purity of heart and life in Christ.

I invite you to attend the sessions I will be leading which will focus on spiritual renewal for the battle. Everything shared will be in the context of and applied directly to pregnancy center ministry. The first is a Tuesday Pre-Conference In Depth Day, entitled, “How to Fight Through Adversity and Discouragement.” The second is a Wednesday 10:00am workshop, entitled, “Serving the God of the Impossible” (How To Deal With Hard Cases). My love and prayers are with you.

Hope to see you in Anaheim!