The Bakersfield Secret

The Bakersfield Secret by

Bryan Craig

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25

Maybe some of you Influencers brothers have not yet heard about it, but there is a mighty move of God going on in Bakersfield, Ca! We drove to a cattle ranch about 25 minutes North of Bakersfield to see with our own eyes. We felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, but as we maneuvered our rental car through the winding dirt road and over the ridge, there emerged an amazing sight. Hundreds of cars and RV’s surrounded a gathering area where we saw circus tents, huge lights on generators, a rock climbing wall and LOTS of men. Over 600 men attended The Bridge Bible Church’s M24 Event. M24 is a group of men seeking to be Men of God through an event that takes place over a 24-hour period. I have been to Promise Keepers and seen thousands of men gather, but this is the first time I had seen so many Journey brothers gather in one place. I was truly amazed! About 4 years ago, one man, Les Pearsey, decided to take on the problem that his church, like most churches I know, faced: what do we do to help our men? Les didn’t really have the answers, but through prayer, he decided to start by finding a few “hungry” men. And he felt like these men should be the “splinter Christians”, the ones who had splinters from sitting in the pews too long. He didn’t want to seek out the “usual suspects”, they guys who were already in leadership or serving somewhere. Interesting, isn’t it? They found 40 men who would be willing to go away to a retreat to consider how to start becoming “Men of God”. Les Pearsey invited his long-time friend and mentor, Pete McKenzie, to help these men find their way. Over a 24 hour period, God truly showed up in the life of these men, and they vowed to start new lives as “Men of God.” Three months later, these men each invited 3 more hungry men and over 120 men became committed. This spilled over into a monthly gathering of men where they could gather the men at a dinner and invite their friends. They would “proclaim the good news” of all that God was doing in the lives of the men. It wasn’t long before these committed men were being delivered from all sorts of bondage from addictions, materialism, pornography, adultery, depression, etc. Fast forward to this weekend where saw 600 men gather. The ones who had already been set free and were growing in Christ were serving and inviting their friends. It is amazing to see how so many men, who, just a few years ago, were living for themselves, are now on fire for God. They are committed to meeting every Friday at 6:00 a.m. to go through The Journey. They have found a place of service within their group. They are giving freely of their resources to fund all of these events. For this event, Les divided all of the responsibilities up and put a price on each item (i.e. buying 600 T-Shirts, buying 600 Hats, Dinner for 600 Friday night, Breakfast for 600 Saturday morning, etc.- you can imagine all that goes into an event for 600 people.) He then asked each Journey Group to take ownership of one of the items and “take care of it.” The men stepped up, and we saw the result. Rocky gave an inspiring message Friday night, and Pete gave his “Man of God” message on Saturday, followed by the commissioning of hundreds of men as “Men of God.” However, one of the most impactful points of the weekend was on Saturday morning, as we all gathered on a hill by a large cross. They have a tradition where they “refresh” each other. Men took turns taking the microphone and speaking affirming words to someone who had touched their life in the crowd. As a symbol of the refreshment, they throw an orange to the man. It was awe-inspiring to see these men loving and affirming one another, telling another man how he had helped him on his journey. This went on for 2 hours and it could have gone on all day. I was merely taking all of this in as an observer. However, I felt lead by the Lord to take a few oranges and refresh the men with whom I had traveled. I could feel the enemy’s resistance to doing this, but I pressed through and realized how this simple act could remove the scales from my own heart and allowed the Holy Spirit to break through. I can attest to the scripture above- as I refreshed others, I was truly refreshed. I’m going to post a picture of an orange on my desk to remind me to daily refresh others. So, as an Influencers leader and as a men’s ministry leader at my own church and in my own city, I naturally pondered how we could replicate the fire in Bakersfield back home. I tried to get my mind around the “Bakersfield Secret.” It’s not just Les Pearsey, although he is a talented, passionate leader of men. We all know you must have a “champion.” However, as I thought more about this, I believe the secret to this move of God is this: Faith, Hope and Love. Faith: These men have tremendous faith in God’s ability to do the unimaginable. They don’t let fear or finances or inconvience keep them from moving forward. They pray continually, believing God hears their prayers. They dream big, and they think outside of the box. Hope: They are giving these men hope. They constantly bear witness to how God can repair and restore lives. They affirm these men as “Men of God”, while they are yet sinners. They make men feel like they count, giving them responsibilities right away. They don’t just go after the men who seem to have it all together- remember, in the beginning, they intentionally went for those who were sitting in the shadows. Hope is powerful! Love: These men let God’s love flow through them. I’ve been at 2 events by these guys now, and at each event, they showed the men love from the moment they arrived. They are not judgmental or self-righteous- they see each man as God sees him. Love is very contagious and attractive. We all want to be loved. I was SO blessed to be a part of this retreat and witness this great move of God. I pray God will raise up more men like Les Pearsey who want to help men. I pray thousands upon thousands of men will find faith, hope and love in Jesus Christ. I pray they will be able to go through The Journey so they can learn how to walk intimately with Him the rest of their lives. I pray they will be a source of refreshment to other men in their sphere of influence. But we must not forget this: Just like our Lord Jesus’ ministry when He was on earth, it all started with just a few hungry men. Download file