Love God Love People from Adam Weatherly on Vimeo.
April 3rd 2004, is when it all started. I went with the Baptist Collegiate Ministries of Oklahoma State University at Okmulgee to a spring retreat at Falls Creek in southern Oklahoma. That Saturday, Dennis Jernigan was leading in worship and giving his testimony, and I heard God speak to me. God told me "Adam, you need to get off the bandwagon! Come follow me and I will make you a fisher of men." That night I gave my life to Jesus Christ, and I was baptized the next month on May 31.
In June of 2004, I went to church camp as a sponsor with Okmulgee First Baptist Church Youth Ministry for Pastor Joey Zodrow. Pastor Joey assigned me to a group of guys to lead in a small group that week. During that time God touched my heart about becoming more than just a youth sponsor and that I needed to be more involved in the church.
The very next week, I went with the Oklahoma State University at Okmulgee's Chi Alpha group to a conference at Central Bible College called "Reach the U." During one of the services a speaker spoke about how churches used their money. Then he showed a picture of a ripped up piece of cardboad that said "This way to Youth and Children's Church" (it looked like something a 2 year old would do). The speaker went on to say that the church that had that cardboard was a mega church in California, where the pastor was known for misusing church funds. Then at the end of service, I was standing and worshiping God when they started showing the slides from the speaker. When the slide of the cardboard sign came up, it felt like a ton of bricks were just thrown on me. With a heavy heart, my knees buckled forcing me to set back in my chair, and with tears running down my face God said to me "This is what I want you to do." God was referring to the cardboard sign. To be honest, I really didn't know what God meant by that. All I knew is that God had called me into his service as a pastor.
Within 7 months, God opened the door for me to become the Interim Youth Pastor at South Side Baptist Church in Okmulgee Oklahoma. After graduating from Oklahoma State University at Okmulgee in 2006, I moved back home to go to photography school at the University of Central Oklahoma, and to become the Youth Director of Guthrie's First United Methodist Church. This is where I felt like God told me to start searching for credentials.
I started searching for credentials through the United Methodist Church, and began the Ministry Inquiry Process. This is where I started studying the Methodist Book of Discipline with an assigned mentor. Within about a month, I quickly figured out that what I believe didn't match up with what the Methodist believed, so I started studying what I believed and looked for a denomination that matched up with my beliefs. I talked to about 10 or so pastors from different denominations, and none of them seemed to match up.
One day my mom and I were talking about what I believed, and she told me to go talk to Pastor Ron McCaslin of Cathedral of the Hills (this is the church I went to when I was a kid). So I made an appointment to talk with him. When I went to talk with Pastor Ron, I had a piece of paper with questions that I wanted to ask him along with the answers I wanted to hear. During that meeting Pastor Ron answered all of the questions I had with the answers that I wanted to hear. That's when I knew that the Assemblies of God was the denomination I needed to be in.
This is when I got involved with Overflow College Ministries at Cathedral of the Hills under Pastor Doug Young. I quickly got involved as a student leader where I began to make all of Pastor Doug's ministry videos and media that he needed.
God started dealing with me again. But this time it was kinda weird, God wanted me to seek after the Holy Spirit. While seeking after the Holy Spirit God showed me all of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit being used. I saw healings, miracles, signs, and wonders. Then on February 14th 2007 I was at the college service when I felt God tell me that there were people who were searching for the Holy Spirit and that He wanted to fill their hearts with it that night. I told Pastor Doug, and he told me to tell the other students who were there. 12 college students came to the front of the auditorium and were filled with the Holy Spirit that night. Then one of the college sponsors came to me and said that she felt like what I said was for me to and she asked me if I wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I said "ABSOLUTLEY!" so Pastor Doug and 4 or 5 of my friends prayed for me that night, and I was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in Tongues for the first time.
Springbreak of 2007, I went to the Collide Conference at Dry Gultch with other Assembly of God college groups from all over the state. Once again, God started dealing with me about what's next. One evening during this conference Pastor Mike Goldsmith was talking about Central Bible College, and about how it was the West Point of the Assemblies of God colleges. In my heart that is where I felt like God wanted me to go next. So I dropped out of photography school and resigned from my Youth Director position, and became a member of Cathedral of the Hills Assembly of God.
The summer of 2007, before I left for CBC, God taught me a huge lesson. I was an assistant manager at the public pool, a lifeguard, and a swim instructor that summer. While there, I completely fell from God and was the perfect picture of the Christian Hypocrite. I went to church on Sunday's and Wednesday's, but lived like hell the rest of the week. I had fallen back into the way I acted before being saved. God showed me that without him I am nothing, and that I have a lot to learn about leadership.
That fall, I started at Central Bible College where I was discipled the way I needed to be. Over the 3 years I was there, I was also serving in ministry. I worked at James River Assembly of God as a graphic designer and photographer, was a youth sponsor for Realife at James River, was part of a street witnessing team on Friday nights, got a job at the General Council of the Assemblies of God as the Design Coordinator of the Latin American and the Caribbean Resource and Development Ministry, and interned/served at Oak Grove Assembly of God. It was at CBC where I met the most beautiful girl in the world, who eventually became my wife (that's a story for another post).
One Sunday at Oak Grove, God put in my heart that I needed to prepare to speak to youth. Then one day at one of the Chapels at work God let me and my wife know that eventually we would be missionaries to the International Media Ministry in Madrid Spain.
Shortly after graduating from CBC, my wife and I got a call from Sunset Chapel in Miami Florida. They wanted us to come and be their Youth Pastors. So in March of 2010, we moved from Springfield Missouri to Miami Florida to be Youth Pastors.
