God’s Big Move in a Small Town

We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. That’s the story in Blairsville, Ga., where believers are reporting miraculous healings.

“We were on a 21-day fast seeking a move of God—and God moved,” says Asa Dockery, senior pastor of World Harvest Church North in Blairsville. “We are seeing a sovereign move of His Spirit after almost 11 years of consistent prayer and fasting.”

The miracles began after Diane Shaffer, 64, gave a testimony of how God saved her life. Shaffer had returned to her home from a California trip in 2008 only to discover malfunctioning lights. She went to the breaker box, flipped the switch and a deafening explosion sent her flying. When she awoke, Shaffer was on her patio writhing in pain. Her house was burning to the ground and she couldn’t get up. She crawled on her elbows out the door to escape the flames.

“When the ambulance finally arrived, the paramedic told me I should be dead,” Shaffer says. “My right femur was crushed and my kneecap was broken in four places. But I was alive. God miraculously took care of $65,000 in medical bills. I paid only $323.”

Still, after undergoing surgery to insert a cadaver bone and metal rod—and eight months of physical therapy—Shaffer limped along with a cane. Her legs were two different lengths. She struggled to walk through the church doors or to stand during praise and worship.

“After Diane shared her testimony, her husband helped her back to her seat—but the creative miracle was already in the works,” Dockery says. “Diane called me later that afternoon to tell me she could run!”

When Shaffer asked the Lord about the miracle, she says a still, small voice told her she was standing where Dockery stood—and the anointing healed her. Shaffer immediately recalled the healings in Peter’s shadow recorded in Acts.

When she returned to church the following week to give her new testimony, the church exploded in praise.

“Everybody knew I was crippled and everyone saw God healed me,” Shaffer says. “I want a T-shirt that says, ‘I was crippled. Now I walk. Ask me how.’”

At the other end of the pew, Connie Brewer was nearly crippled—and nearly dead. In February the church secretary had back surgery. Soon after, she couldn’t walk, talk, eat or barely even drink. A neurosurgeon diagnosed Brewer with Myasthenia Gravis, an autoimmune disorder with no cure.

“The disease was shutting down my muscles and my lungs. The doctor gave me about three years to live,” says Brewer, a single mother of three children. “When we were driving home from the doctor—about an eight-hour drive—I told my sister-in-law I wanted to go to the church.”

When Brewer entered the church she lay across four chairs. She says God told her to get Lydia, her sister-in-law, to pray for her arm. A now-mute Brewer crawled on her hands and knees to where Lydia was sitting and started rubbing her arm as a signal. As Lydia started praying in tongues, Brewer told God she just wanted to be able to lift her hands to worship Jesus.

“Suddenly the Holy Spirit picked me up—and I walked in front of the stage with my feet dragging on the floor crying out to God,” Brewer says. “I told God I would not leave the church until I was healed. During the service, Pastor came to me and said God wanted me to thank Him for my healing. As I started thanking God, my voice became clear and then I started to walk. God healed me!”