Tri-State Christian Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 849
Morganton, GA 30560-0849
Church Phone: 706-374-4819
School Phone: 706-374-4806
In so many ways, the story began when we heard and obeyed the Lord’s instruction to come here to the North Georgia mountains thirteen years ago to pioneer a new work. The story continues through thirteen difficult years of spiritual plowing with very little fruit to show for it. At this time, there is no good reason to review the years of foundation laying or the blood, sweat and tears that went into it. However, “the rest of the story” as they say, began on August 22, 1999 as we celebrated our 12th Anniversary.
As Dr. Don Crum was ministering to us, he spoke forth a prophecy regarding our church and this area. The prophecy said that, “the Holy Spirit was wanting to redig some old wells of the Spirit in our area that over time had been filled in by the enemy.” When he spoke this forth, we were not and are still not aware of all the wells that this prophecy might refer to. However, since we had already done quite a bit of spiritual mapping of our area during those twelve years, we were very aware of one spiritual well that had been filled in by the enemy. Approximately 18 miles due north of our church as a crow flies, is the site of what is called the Schearer Schoolhouse. The Schearer Schoolhouse is the site of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that occurred during a series of revival meetings held in 1896 which birthed the Church of God movement which today comprises around nine separate Pentecostal denominations. Even more significant to us is the fact that this Pentecostal outpouring occurred ten (10) years before Asuza Street in California and four (4) years before the outpouring at Charles Parham’s Bible School in Topeka, Kansas. Before Pentecost fell anywhere else in the United States, it fell here. However, here it was persecuted out of the area by 1904. Most of the 130 to 150 who received that outpouring over 100 years ago ended up leaving the area because of the intense persecution they experienced. That is why the headquarters for the two primary Church of God denominations today is about 60 miles to the west in Cleveland, Tennessee. Without going into too much detail, after the schoolhouse was closed to them, they built a log church facility just across the road. Soon after that a large crowd that included a local judge and two law enforcement officers dismantled the church log by log, so as not to be accused of burning down a church, and then burned the pile of logs. Many of those who received that outpouring received many threats, were shot at and had their homes and farms burned. The interesting thing is that they were not being persecuted for the Pentecostal nature of the revival, but because of the emphasis upon sanctification they were experiencing. Records of the time from Baptist churches and associations in the area refer to that group as “Sancties.” Though the people who received that move of the Spirit left the area and then prospered and eventually impacted the nations themselves; that movement sprung forth from a well of the Spirit that was originally opened up here in this area. A well of the Spirit that was filled in by the enemy through persecution and it never impacted this area in any significant way. So we knew that if nothing else, this had to be one of the wells of the spirit that was being referred to in Dr. Crum’s prophecy.
Next, when Pastor Glen Hobgood came to minister here in late October, we shared with him both the prophecy by Dr.Crum and what we knew about the revival in 1896. Well, he got very excited and wanted to be taken to the Schearer Schoolhouse site. After visiting the site he told us and the congregation that he believed that our proximity to the site was significant and that he agreed that the desire of the Holy Spirit is to re-open the well that was originally opened in 1896.
Well, our problem was that in reality we had no idea of how to re-open a well of the spirit. We were pretty sure it required intercessory prayer, but beyond this we were ignorant. After talking to Bro. Jim Hodges in late December, he suggested that we consider a 40 day fast at the beginning of the new year. After praying about this with our intercessory prayer team, we decided that this was the will of the Lord. So, on Sunday the 9th of January we called our church to a 40 day fast beginning on Monday the 10th and ending on Friday the 18th of February. To our amazement, 28 adults signed up to fast for the forty days and to spend the extra time praying for the well of the Spirit that was opened at the Schearer Schoolhouse in 1896 to be re-opened in our generation. We did not dictate the type of fast, but most fasted one or two meals a day and some did a Daniel fast for the entire 40 days. After the first week of fasting, there was a very noticeable breakthrough in our worship services. Praise and worship was anointed with the presence of God like never before in our church. At the end of the 40 days, we ended the fast by inviting the church out to the Schearer Schoolhouse site after our worship service on Sunday, the 20th of February to celebrate communion on the site of the 1896 outpouring. During the entire time of the fast, many in the church were experiencing great prayer burdens and confirmation that indeed God was desiring to re-open the well of the Spirit from 1896. Most significant of all, on Saturday the 26th of February, DeDe and I met Hope and Debra Taylor Pastors of Church Of The King, La Grange for lunch in Atlanta. Over lunch we shared all the above that God had been saying and doing. Hope very excitedly told us about a book he had read recently and wept through from cover to cover, that expressed many of the same thoughts and ideas that we were sharing. He told us that we had to read this book, DIGGING THE WELLS OF REVIVAL, by Lou Engle. Within a week we had a copy of the book in hand and as we began to read it, it confirmed everything the Lord had been saying and doing in our midst since last August. Incredible, it was like the book was written just for us, but because we were seeing it for the first time “after the fact,” it was great confirmation.
To bring this testimony to a close, all of this was preparation for what has since happened, continues to happen and especially the things we believe the Lord is preparing to do. What has happened is that the Lord has been sending gifts of gold to his people. On Saturday evening, the 11th of March, as DeDe and I sat down to a spaghetti dinner, DeDe went hysterical and began crying over and over, “my tooth, my tooth!” She ran to the bathroom and I heard her sob, “Oh my God, Oh my God!” I thought she must have broken off a tooth and swallowed it like she had done with one a couple of years before. When I asked her what had happened, she sobbed that God had just fixed her broken tooth. Well, I went to get my glasses and a flashlight so I could see what was going on. When I looked where half of her tooth had broken off a couple of years before, there was now a chunk of shiny, gold colored metal where there was nothing before. Understand, during the 13 years we have been pioneering this church, neither of us has had any dental care due to the complete lack of funds for such. DeDe had one broken tooth that had never been fixed and I have five broken ones. About ten minutes later when I looked again, where there had been a stripe of the old amalgam filling separating the gold from the white part of the tooth just minutes before, now the stripe of gray amalgam filling had turned gold and the gold was even capping over part of the white on top of the tooth. Needless to say, we were very excited and amazed at what the Lord had just done. She explained that she had tasted metal in her mouth, something like biting into a piece of aluminum foil. About an hour and a half later, as some friends whom we had called with this news were coming in the door, she exclaimed she could taste metal in her mouth again. When I looked, all the rest of her fillings had also turned gold. Well, this was just the beginning. On Monday evening, one of the ladies on the dance team tasted metal also. Upon inspection, the one and only filling in her mouth had turned gold. Since then a total of fourteen people in our church have had their fillings turn gold. About half have occurred during worship services and about half at home or at least sometime other than church services. As none have received through any laying on of hands, only the Lord can receive the glory. Eight of these are members of the intercessory prayer team and all eight were among the first ten to receive. This may say something about intercessory prayer. At this point DeDe’s experience was different from everyone else in that a broken tooth was repaired with gold colored metal. As for me, though my filings have all turned gold, I am still waiting for the Lord to fix the broken teeth in my mouth.
Finally, one of the most recent to receive is a man who has attended our church on and off for over eight years. During that time, his walk has been very inconsistent and he knows it. Virtually all the teeth in his mouth are rotten and broken and discolored and he has only one filling in his mouth. Well, in early June that filling turned gold. Since then, this man has not stopped crying. When I sat down with him, he told me that he understood why God would do that for so many others, but there was nothing in his life that deserved anything from God. When the Lord did it for him, he said that for the first time in his life he knew that God loved him. He said every time he looks at that filling in the mirror it says, “God loves me.”
Mike & DeDe England are both 1987 graduates of Christ For the Nations Institute located in Dallas, Texas. Mike also holds a B.S. in General Science from Oregon State University, a MTh. from Christian Life School of Theology, and is a veteran of 12 years as an Officer and Pilot in the US Air Force. DeDe received her BTh. from Christian International College in 1997 and a MTh. from Christian Life School of Theology in 2001. They are both currently working on their DMin. from Christian Life School of Theology. They have three children, and currently have seven grandchildren.
In August of 1987, Mike and DeDe began Tri-State Christian Center in the middle of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia right next to the corners of Tennessee and North Carolina. For the first year and a half, the church met in their home; then for 8 1/2 years a 3,000 square foot metal building was rented. In late 1997, the Lord blessed with the ability to purchase a vacant 9,000 square foot facility that formerly housed a Baptist Church that had since built new facilities a quarter mile away. This facility is all concrete block construction, seats 200 in the sanctuary, has a fellowship hall and 13 classrooms. The price of the facility, not counting the land is equivalent to buying the building at $17 per square foot; a truly incredible price. Another Baptist Church in town donated over 300 yards of carpet and padding, which provided enough carpet for all classrooms and hallways. A church in Michigan, pastored by a friend, donated over $3000.00 of new sound equipment to help get started in the new sanctuary. Then, as a new Worship Leader was preparing to come and join the team, a Deacon in one of the local Baptist Churches donated $1000.00 toward a digital piano and a Catholic man then paid the balance on the piano, $1,250.00. Finally, one of the local building supply companies donated over 40 gallons of paint and enough insulation to insulate the entire attic to R-38. All of this without soliciting anything from anyone. Truly the Lord has demonstrated a season of His favor.
These are all wonderful testimony, but a church is more than facilities. Mike & DeDe’s vision when they began was to plant a new testament Charismatic Church ministering in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, submitted under apostolic authority, equipping the saints for the work of the ministry, raising up young people with the call of God to the ministry and to establish a Christian School. Until 1998, TSCC was the only Charismatic model within a five-county area and has been committed to the Federation of Ministers and Churches, Inc, under the oversight of Jim Hodges since 1992. Two of the trademarks of this church have been intensive foundational teaching and strong prophetic ministry. Tri-State Christian School just completed its seventh year and TSCC saw its first two young men graduate from Christ For the Nations Institute in May of 1998 and another this year, a woman. Also in 1998, TSCC began hosting video courses from Christian Life School of Theology, headquartered in Columbus, GA to equip those desiring academic training at home without the necessity of moving somewhere to attend bible school.
Additionally, Mike & DeDe felt they had a mandate from the Lord to be a force for unity in the Body of Christ and not a source of division. This did not come about overnight, but today there is great evidence they have fulfilled this mandate. In addition to being involved in three community services a year, TSCC is a vital part of joint efforts by the churches in this area to minister to the emergency needs of people through an organization called the Good Samaritan Committee. This committee is staffed by representatives from more than a dozen churches in the area representing many denominations. Each year, during the Labor Day weekend, these churches gather together to put on a BBQ to raise money for the Good Samaritan Fund. This last year Mike and a Baptist Pastor were head cooks over the BBQ pits where 3000 pounds of ribs and chicken were cooked serving over 2,000 meals and raising over $6,000 for emergency needs within the community. Also, at Mike’s request more than a dozen Pastors and Youth Ministers from the area volunteer to do the weekly Chapel Sessions at Tri-State Christian School on a rotating basis. Finally, in 1996, Mike and three Baptist Pastors began praying together once a week for revival in the area. This has grown to the place where there has been up to 14 ministers from 9 different area churches meeting for an hour every Wednesday morning to pray for revival for the area, and for each other and each other’s congregations. These ministers are from Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Church of Christ, Church of God and Disciples of Christ Churches.
Last year Mike and pastors from five other area churches planned and held a one week crusade during the month of September. The theme of the crusade was II Chron 7:14 and its purpose was to call the local church to repentance to prepare for the Holy Spirit to bring an area wide historic revival that might produce transformation in our region. In the wake of what is now call 9/11, both the timing and theme were quite prophetic. The crusade was held nightly for five nites in a different church facility each nite. Five pastors preached one nite each and the only rule was that no pastor could preach in his own church. The music ministries of all the churches united to provide a blended music program for duration of the crusade. On the fourth nite, when the Church of God pastor preaching in a Baptist Church preached from the fourth section of II Chron 7:14, “turn from your wicked ways,” the Holy Spirit sovereignly moved and the service ended with eight pastors on the platform washing each others feet, hugging, crying and repenting for our lack of unity and lack of support one for another. As one Baptist brother put it, “I never in my whole life ever expected to see in church what I witnessed tonite.” I don’t know that I’m truly aware of all the implications of what took place that week, but I am sure of one thing, God is preparing us (our area) for a mighty move of His spirit. I cannot say when, but I know it is not far off.
In its 15th year, TSCC looks confidently to the future and its destiny in the Lord with its Mission Statement: “Equipping Christians in the Tri-State area to fulfill the Great Commission in the Power of the Holy Spirit.”
Organizations/Ministries TSCC is connected with:
Tri-State Christian Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 849
Morganton, GA 30560-0849
Church Phone: 706-374-4819
School Phone: 706-374-4806