Holy Spirit’s Powerful Presence at Women’s Retreat Leads Hotel Staff to Respond to Altar Calls
“I was questioning myself and, yes, questioning God,” Sparks admits. “I wondered how I could have missed God’s guidance so badly and I was really beating myself up . . ., but then God completely blew me away.”
THE BEGINNING
Sparks explains that a couple of years ago, she felt the Holy Spirit guiding her to provide a women’s retreat in Tennessee, her home state, with a focus on empowering women to respond to God’s calling and direction in their lives and do the work of an evangelist through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Last year, that first retreat — a step of faith financially — was an incredible success.
“I thought maybe 60 women would show up, but we had 150 register from multiple states and we even had to turn people away,” Sparks says. “This year, I felt God say to double it — and so we chose Montgomery Bell State Park Lodge near Dickson, Tennessee, and what I believe was the only lodge large enough that was also centrally located and near enough to the airport for easy access.”
However, instead of seeing the numbers double to 300, they dropped by nearly one-third. Although Sparks struggled to understand, God had things well in hand.
THE MINISTRY
Despite the lower-than-expected attendance, Sparks forged on, with the retreat, held Oct. 2-4, getting off to a strong start due in part to the Fresh Fire Worship Team.
The eight-person worship team and band, led by Jenni Alexander — a long-time friend of Sparks — is made of made up of a mix of men and women who all donated their time and skills to the retreat.
“We are a team who are each called to be a part of worship and to bring other people into the presence of God through worship,” Alexander explains. “When you say yes to God, and then get to see other people blessed and experiencing the touch of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in their lives, nothing is more satisfying — that is our payment.”
With Sparks as a speaker and Alexander’s team leading times of worship, the two women began noticing something unusual during the services — people walking by the ballroom doors and pausing, then turning, and listening.
“We discovered that these weren’t guests, but employees of the lodge,” Sparks says. “Those serving us, catering meals and snacks — they were being drawn in by the Holy Spirit through the music and the messages being shared.”
THE HOLY SPIRIT MOVES
Even as the 108 registered attendees were being “wrecked” (overwhelmed) — as both Sparks and Alexander put it — by God and the presence of the Holy Spirit, the employees listening found themselves with tears streaming down their faces and unsure of what was happening to them.
“Julie Seals, one of our guest speakers, told me how she had gone to the restroom when someone hit the door behind her, and entered the room weeping — it was one of the servers. She told Julie, ‘I’m overwhelmed by the music — I don’t know what to do with myself.’ Julie explained a little about what she was feeling and invited her to join the service. Not only did she come into the room, but she brought her daughter and both of them gave their lives to Christ that night!”
As word spread among workers, more and more were drawn in — first listening at the door, then entering the room, and then many making their way to the altar for prayer at the conclusion of each service.
“Altogether, 13 workers gave their lives to Christ and at least four were baptized in the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues,” Sparks says. “Later, I sat down on the floor and just cried, asking God to forgive me for my doubt and questioning. I was looking at the number and He was looking at the people . . . I realized that He brought the retreat to this place for the employees of this place — He made a way for them to come to Him!”
TESTIMONIES
Sparks has a little difficulty in remembering all the many different encounters she had with people sharing their stories of what God had done in their lives through the retreat. However, the employees’ stories stand out to her.
One unique experience was when a male server approached her while she was setting up the boutique area just outside of the restaurant. He was curious about what was taking place.
“He told me that just three weeks ago, he was addicted to drugs, but when Charlie Kirk was killed, something happened to him,” Sparks recalls. “He said that when he heard that, he fell on his face in his living room and cried out to God to save him — he hasn’t touched drugs since and he is following Jesus.”
“I told him, ‘You’re here because you need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Do you want to be baptized in the Holy Spirit?’ and he said yes,” Sparks says. “So, I prayed with him, and he was baptized in the Holy Spirit right there!”
Sparks also had several women employees approach her at the boutique with questions about the service, including a waitress who identified with the butterfly with a broken wing on the cover of Sparks’ book.
“I asked if I could pray for her and she said I could,” Sparks recalls. “Then the Holy Spirit began to reveal things to me about her past that I could not have known and she began to weep . . . I invited her to come to service. She showed up with her sister the next night and both responded to the altar call!”
Alexander recalls how every day a woman with a crutch came forward for prayer. First for her leg, then for her foot, and finally on the third day, that her nervous system would be healed.
“As God touched her body each day, her faith grew,” Alexander says. “By the time she left on Saturday, she was not using the crutch and walked out confident in her healing — it was just such a blessing to see!”
Then on Saturday morning, Alexander says the Holy Spirit rearranged the entire service.
“At first, we weren’t going to do a worship service and just go straight to a Q&A panel to give the panelists extra time to respond to questions,” Alexander says, “but then we decided to do a few songs . . . that’s when the Holy Spirit moved.”
Instead of a Q&A panel, a worship service broke out — women crying out to God, on the floor, weeping, seeking more of Him.
“The presence of the Lord was so powerful and thick,” Sparks says. “I happened to look back and saw three employees walking in, following one who accepted Christ the first night. They came up to me. I asked if the three wanted to give their lives to Jesus — they all nodded. I could hear two of them following me in the prayer of salvation, but not the third . . .”
When Sparks placed her hand on the head of the third woman, demons began manifesting — the woman stiffened, grabbed Sparks hand, and called out “stop, stop, stop!”
“I had a feeling she was into witchcraft as she had many tattoos associated with the occult,” Sparks says. “After she called out, I said, ‘No, you come out in the name of Jesus!’”
As Sparks continued to pray, all the other women surrounded the pair and joined in prayer as the woman literally hissed and growled.
“We were praying and praying, commanding the demon to come out in the name of Jesus when all of a sudden, the demon left, the woman’s face looked completely different,” Sparks says. “Then she jumped up and yelled, ‘It’s me, it’s me, it’s me!’”
The woman then gave her life to Christ and was baptized in the Holy Spirit moments later! Sparks confirmed that the woman had indeed been involved in witchcraft, with Sparks telling her to get anything to do with witchcraft out of her house and life.
COMING NEXT YEAR
Sparks says that they are already planning on returning to the lodge next year as the manager was eager to have them return, even promising to clean the lodge fountain so that the group could hold a proper baptismal service in it if they wanted to next year — having previously granted permission for an impromptu baptism during the retreat.
“Several individuals in management told me that they felt something really powerful while our retreat was here,” Sparks says. “And the employees really wanted us to come back as well.”
Already 32 women from five different states have registered, with Sparks limiting the size of the retreat to 125 so that lodge employees will feel even more welcomed to join in.
“This retreat is different than others as it’s not just a pep talk for women, but designed to empower women to do evangelism,” Sparks says. “I want to see women empowered to do all the things God said we can do through Him — signs, wonders, miracles — as they lead people to Christ!”
“Everyone that I have talked to from the retreat, just keeps saying the same phrase, ‘I’m still wrecked,’” Alexander states. “The Holy Spirit showed up so powerfully in so many ways. Women left renewed, refreshed, and overflowing with joy — you know it’s Jesus, you know it’s the Holy Spirit overflowing and just pouring out and it’s awesome!”
