About Awaken Tampa Bay
It is time for the citizens of Tampa Bay to Awaken!
The Lord has called New Beginnings Fellowship to create a ministry on fire for Jesus Christ which is established to release the Kingdom of God throughout the Tampa Bay area. Our “Awaken Tampa Bay” ministry objective is to see Tampa and the surrounding communities radically and forever changed through a revival of Great Awakening proportions.
Revival in Tampa Bay
We believe this revival has been ordained by God and is in the preparatory stages in our communities. While the economic, political and social times are becoming ever more difficult in this country, we are called to be the salt and light of the world through which Jesus Christ is magnified and made known (Matthew 5:13-14). We believe it will be through our actions that this occurs in and around Tampa Bay. The actions we dedicate ourselves to include prayer, intercession, fasting, worship, operating in the prophetic, healing the sick, deliverance, local missions, public testimonies, street ministry, prayer walking and every other method our members are lead by God to act upon.
Christ in Us
We see that God is stirring the hearts and spirits of people all across this country who are tired of being bound by the religious spirit. These hungry individuals are in search of the truth that God has made available through the inspired and inerrant Word of the Bible. It is not through rules, regulations and doctrine that we are given hope, nor by which God will enable His power and glory to be released and experienced on the earth. Instead it is through Jesus Christ, and the revelation, knowledge and truth from His Word and His Spirit. We therefore realize peace with God through the freedom that Christ gave us by His Spirit (Romans 5:1). Our hope rests with Christ who is in us (Colossians 1:27), and through whom we are justified and made righteous (Romans 5:19).
The Great Commission
Our ministry takes very seriously the Great Commission Christ has given us. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). It is therefore our mandate to spread the gospel to those we come in contact with on a regular basis.
In addition to spreading the gospel, we likewise accept to the additional command Christ gave us to “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). Our ministry dedicates much effort to this calling, believing from personal and regular experience that we are given these abilities through Christ Jesus. The reality of these supernatural abilities made available through Christ are a continual focus of our teachings, believing this will be one of the main ways the revival will break forth. Christ himself stated that these abilities are available to us who believe, and that we will see these signs as we go out and spread the news of Jesus Christ. “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well” (Mark 16:17-18).
Gifts of the Spirit
If you have not done so recently, please read the Book of Acts. In it you will find the miracles, signs and wonders that followed those who believed and acted according to the way Christ taught. We believe through our faith in the Word as well as through our own experiences that God continues to work through miracles, signs and wonders today. The Spirit of God in us provides each of us gifts by which we can operate in this way. While each of us has been given our own gift(s), we also believe that we have the ability to grow in the use of the gifts, as well as seek other gifts to expand our ability to effectively spread the good news of Jesus Christ and the power to change the world. So through the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, interpretation and more, we will operate in the supernatural abilities Christ provides us. (see 1 Corinthians 12 for an explanation of the Gifts of the Spirit.) We are clear in our understanding that we can learn to use these gifts more effectively through education and practice, and we seek environments and situations to do so regularly.
On Fire for Christ
Awaken Tampa Bay has a vision of creating an inspired group of people on fire for Christ, prepared for the battles we face against the enemy. Satan and his kingdom are here to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) and are never at rest creating havoc in this world. We know our battle is not with flesh and blood, but instead is with the powers of darkness and spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). For this reason, it is imperative that we are not only aware of the tactics of the enemy, but also how we can war against him and his kingdom. Our ministry offers tremendous education on how the enemy operates and how to defeat him, because we know that greater is He who is in us than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
