2020 brought much uncertainty and difficulty for thousands of people across south Marengo County. The MARCOPOLO ministry was no exception to that. A ministry that thrived on face to face relationships, hugging, praying, and worshiping together under one roof had to mold to the demands of COVID-19 protocols and concerns. This year, instead of worshiping at Sweet Water Baptist Church in a closed environment, the decision was made to worship under a tent - a REALLY BIG ONE! To the knowledge of those involved in the ministry, there had never been a tent revival in Sweet Water before. So what happened? We separated our work week and our worship week.

In late July, we had 4 days of yard work and prayer walking. We fed work crews in the CLC before going out in the late evening and mowing yards, cutting up trees, cleaning, and praying with families. You can see some of this in the gallery below.

In mid-October, we had a tent revival. This provided for adequate social-distancing and open air spacing for congregants to gather and worship safely. John Bush, the founder of Across festivals, worked with us to bring his ministry’s tent (crazy enough, it was being stored in Butler!) to Sweet Water Recreational Park and install it on Sweet Water High School’s baseball field.

The tent revival was named “Fire on the Field”, based on Hebrews 12:28-29 which states,

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

Each night, a different speaker brought the Word of God to those under and around the tent. Special music was played by different groups and churches as well. The speakers were Rev. Gerald Stallworth (Pastor, Selma Community Bible Church), Rev. Terry Long (Associational Missions Strategist for Choctaw County Baptist Association), Rev. Jeremiah Castille (Jeremiah Castille Foundation), Rev. John Bush (Founder, Across Festivals), and Rev. Oscar Blanco (Pastor, Shady Union Missionary Baptist Church). The average attendance for the 5-night event was 175 people, with 6 receiving salvation, and 8 rededicating their lives to Christ!

God announced His presence with Fire on the Field long before the revival started. He provided funding for the tent and all the amenities needed to host a revival. One week before the event was set to begin, hurricane Delta was forecasted to make landfall just west of Mobile and bring winds in excess of 50 mph to the Sweet Water area. Obviously, a large tent will not survive that type of weather. What had been in the planning for months seemed to now be in jeopardy during what is usually one of the best weather weeks for south Alabama all year. The tent team and MARCOPOLO churches began praying diligently that God would provide a way to still have the revival. We began to pray that God would move the hurricane away from our area so that the revival could still happen. Fast-forward to the next Friday morning - set up day for the tent. The projected track for the hurricane was now 300 miles further west than initially expected. Wade Rollinson, who keeps the revival tent at his local Butler business, made the call at 6:30 am to move forward and install the tent, despite some 30 mph gusts still in the forecast. The team spent nearly 8 hours installing the tent and chairs…and never had rain or wind gusts over 10 mph! As a matter of fact, the sun began to shine over the field at times, while rain was pouring just a few miles down the road. GOD IS FAITHFUL! When we do what He asks and we have faith that He will provide, He always comes through!