Where the Spirit is Lord
- Nichole Q. Perreault
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
“It’s like the air is different!”
That’s what I said to Renee when I first started serving with the post-abortion healing ministry, Deeper Still.
“That’s because it is!!!” she replied.
We were talking about the spiritual atmosphere, not the physical air. But if the Holy Spirit is the breath of God, then it makes sense that we feel Him in the air we breathe.
Renee understood that, because she had something I didn’t: experience being in Holy Spirit-filled places outside of New England. To some of my fellow native New Englanders, that’s going to sound crazy.
Isn’t the Holy Spirit the same everywhere we go?
Are you saying we’re missing something here in New England?
How can that be?
Well.....
Yes, the Holy Spirit is essentially the same everywhere we go.
Yes. Far more often than not, we are missing the overwhelming, expansive, wild, life-giving, freedom-bringing reign of the Holy Spirit.
Because in order for the Holy Spirit to reign, we must surrender to Him as Lord.
#3 is the kicker for us New Englanders because self-sufficiency and intellectualism run in our veins, as does the pride that accompanies them. We know. We can. And when we can’t, we learn. We collect information. We train. We do. And we do it well.
Our can-do attitudes, our desire for knowledge and excellence, our perseverance – they are good things. But unless we are fully submitted to the Lord, even good things can separate us from Him. We’ll come back to this!
When I returned from my first Deeper Still retreat, I couldn’t wait to tell Renee about it. Deeper Still and Anchor & Key have so much in common, particularly in their mission to set the captives free, but also in their methods. She and Jimmy have been huge supporters ever since.
The only place I’ve experienced anything similar to Deeper Still is in the community formed through the whole-life ministry of Jimmy and Renee Story.
So this spring, when I was invited to attend the Deeper Still Leader’s Conference in Tennessee, Anchor & Key offered to cover half the cost of my trip!!! In Renee’s words, “I see this as an extension of what we do.”
All the words in the world couldn’t capture what I experienced at the conference. But Renee asked me to write you a report, so I will do my best:
The theme of this year’s conference was Enlarging Our Territory, based on Isaiah 54:2:
"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”
Important components of the conference were networking, encouragement, rest and refreshment, training, equipping, and, of course, prayer and worship.
For me, the most powerful part of the conference was the day we spent with the leaders of Life International, an organization that is “making known the Father’s heart for life” all over the world. They currently partner with leaders in 168 countries (FYI That's almost ALL the countries), equipping, empowering, and releasing global Christian leaders to proclaim the infinite value of God’s image in all people.
Pro-life ministry, particularly post-abortion healing ministry, is a uniquely challenging, often lonely calling, especially in abortion strongholds like New England. LIFE International's message felt like, well, a lifeline.
The organization’s founder Kurt Dillinger - a radically humble, gentle giant of a man - told the story of how God called him to create LIFE International out of nothing and how for months he tried to brush it off as just another one of his own “hair-brained ideas.” God pursued Kurt relentlessly, even sending a complete stranger to confront him on the airport tarmac in a foreign country saying, “God told me you’re supposed to start an international prolife ministry.” Kurt finally said yes, and since then God has been raising up people all over the world to proclaim the value of every human life, to create life-saving ministries, and even to help women and men heal from abortion.
Hearing all that felt like a giant flashing neon sign from God saying, I SEE, I CARE, and I AM MOVING.
That evening, we gathered around a world map in worship and intercession for all those impacted by abortion and any other evils that are, as Kurt said, a direct attack on the image of God. We were also invited to pray about partnering with Life International to bring Deeper Still to the nations! We already have a chapter in China and will soon have one in Taiwan, but Karen Ellison, Deeper Still Founder and President, and her team believe God is calling Deeper Still to ENLARGE OUR TERRITORY even further.
Worshiping God and praying His heart for the nations
This makes so much sense when we remember that abortion is a global issue. The USA accounts for just 2% of abortions worldwide. There are an estimated 112 million abortions (documented and undocumented) in the world every year. (It’s important to note that the United States exports our abortion industry by funding and facilitating the practice of abortion throughout the world.)
Every abortion involves at least three people – the baby, the mother, and the father. That means that every year on this earth, 336 million people - 112 million babies, 112 million women, and 112 million men - are directly impacted by the trauma of abortion, which includes physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds, and for at least one third of them, death. In addition, there are grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, as well as those administering or assisting in the abortions.
Abortion is a global catastrophe. And those of us impacted by it need healing that only God can provide.
As an Anchor and Key partner, you already understand the importance of healing and setting the captives free. Here are some ways that healing abortion wounded hearts specifically impacts the world:
Abortion healing will lead many to Christ, as it did for me when I encountered post-abortion counseling as a teenager.
But it’s not just about evangelism. When surveyed, Christians were just as likely to have an abortion in their past as non-Christians. Abortion healing is crucial for those in the body of Christ to be freed to follow Christ and fully live out His call on their lives.
Abortion healing is a crucial component of dismantling pro-abortion culture and fostering one that honors all image bearers of God. Not only is denial a common trauma response, the horror of facing the truth about abortion is too much for our humanity to bear. This means that people still held captive by abortion trauma are deeply invested in perpetuating the lie that abortion doesn’t harm anyone. A culture of life requires healing abortion wounded hearts.
As we closed our prayer time singing The Blessing over the nations, I wept uncontrollably. I am weeping now as I remember how it felt to pray His blessing, His heart, for the world. What an exciting time this is to see God moving to bring abortion healing to the nations!
Praying for New York and New England, with Deeper Still President, Karen Ellison.
OK so back to that part at the beginning about the Holy Spirit!
One of the things I love most about Deeper Still is what I call the “shame-free zone.” Those of us at Deeper Still have sat on spiritual death row together, and encountered in our midst the mercy seat of Christ. We have been held through our grief and reconciled to our babies. We can talk about them with one another, and there is no shame or awkwardness. There is no judgment, no condemnation, no politics. Just freedom. The kind of freedom found only in the love of Christ.
This “shame-free zone” is what I think the body of Christ is supposed to be like all the time. More than once during ministry, I have heard Deeper Still team members exclaim, “THIS is Church!”
The only place I’ve experienced anything similar is in the community formed through the whole-life ministry of Jimmy and Renee Story. I say “Jimmy and Renee” and not Anchor & Key because it’s important to remember that it is Christ working through them to create this radical way of love here in New England.
Anchor and Key isn’t the ministry; it’s the legal entity designed to help support God’s ministry of setting the captives free through the love of Jesus Christ. And Jimmy and Renee are His partners in this ministry.
When I think of God sending two people from Oklahoma and Texas to New England as missionaries, I can’t help but laugh a little. How absurd! But quite frankly, I think a little absurd is exactly what we need.
It’s something else to watch how their southern warmth breaks through the insulated hearts of the north. How in a region steeped in academia, practicality, and skepticism, their undaunted faith says What if? and Yes! and But God! over and over again. Or how, among a people whose independent spirit often leads to disconnection and isolation, they make everyone feel like family.
How they do it is as unique as they are, but at least one thing that’s true for them could be true for all of us. I know this because I've experienced it through Deeper Still: Wherever the Holy Spirit is made Lord, there is freedom.
Wherever the Holy Spirit is Lord, there is freedom.
Like the leaders of Deeper Still, Jimmy and Renee, have made the Holy Spirit Lord of their lives. That’s why the air is different when I am with the Deeper Still team. And that’s why I often feel that same sweet air when I am with Jimmy and Renee: They’ve not only had the experience of being in places that don’t quench the Holy Spirit, they have learned to let the Holy Spirit reign in and through their lives.
We New Englanders can say “Come Holy Spirit” as much as we want, but not until we are willing to let Him be Lord of our lives, not until we submit our strong wills, our educated minds, and even our best intentions to the wild, untamable, overwhelming, radically loving, all-consuming Spirit of God, will we unleash the kind of Freedom that makes the Kingdom of God so real, so present, so palpable, that it changes the very air we breathe.
Have you made the Holy Spirit Lord of your life? If not, what's stopping you?
Nichole Perreault
Communications Director Anchor & Key Ministries
If you’d like to know more about post-abortion healing, prolife ministry, or just want to chat, contact me (Nichole) at nicholeq.wordpress@gmail.com or you may also visit:
Oh and btw, the conference was at the most stunning location, overlooking Smoky Mountain National Park. As Renee said, I was suffering for Jesus LOL! But seriously, God treated me to so many precious gifts, including a five-hour thunderstorm and a moonbow. I keep telling people that it felt like a love letter from God.
Thank you for your support of Anchor & Key which made this trip, plus so much more, possible!
