The Fort Myers Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza was at full capacity Friday night, with about 400 people gathered to hear Pastor Greg Locke and experience the power of God through a mass deliverance service. The event was hosted by American Revival Church of Cape Coral, who are under the covering of Pastor Locke and were celebrating their one-year anniversary.
Locke is known for being a controversial figure in the American church and is also the producer of the documentary released earlier this year, about deliverance ministry called Come Out in Jesus Name. Five months ago, the film played at the Regal movie theater, which is right next to the Crowne Plaza in Bell Tower Shops of Fort Myers. Deliverance broke out in the theater at the end of the showing when Pastor Locke did a mass deliverance service via livestream (see Demons manifest in movie theater).
On Friday, people came from all over the state of Florida to learn more about the power of God to deliver and to experience freedom from demonic oppression. Before conducting the mass deliverance service, Pastor Locke spoke on the topic, explaining the necessity, lack of understanding and practice surrounding deliverance (see audio clips below). At the conclusion of his message, Locke led the people through prayers of forgiveness, repentance, and renunciation in preparation to cast out demons.
Witchcraft, infirmity, trauma, depression, and anxiety were some of the evil spirits cast out, according to Nikki Hunter, a Naples resident and member in leadership at Grow Church, who attended Night of Freedom. When Locke began commanding these spirits to leave, Nikki said she saw demons manifesting in several people through screaming, crying, and vomiting. She explained that this event was “faith affirming because I know our authority in Christ and demons have to obey”.
Night of Freedom wasn’t Nikki’s first-time witnessing deliverance; in fact, she has prayed over people who’ve manifested demons. She testifies that initially they will be exhausted, but after some time realize things that used to tempt them, now disgust them, while others recognize that negative voices and thoughts, they thought were their own are gone. When asked what the biggest take-away from the night was for her, Nikki said “there’s no biblical definition or knowledge that a person needs to flow with the spirit. You don’t need an education or dependance on someone else,” and that Pastor Locke isn’t special, but exemplifies deliverance ministry well because “he walks in humility and full submission to God”.
Nikki’s husband, Brian Hunter, who also resides in Naples and is part of Grow Church’s leadership said that, “anytime I’ve been at meetings outside of a church setting, it has always been with people with are hungry to hear what the speaker has to say. This event was no different. The host church was very bold and simple in their approach and when Greg Locke began to speak, the words really flowed out of him”.
When asked what he thinks the church needs concerning deliverance, he had this to say, “the church understands there is a devil, but denies that he operates through oppression of God’s people. For example, I saw firsthand how one individual said all the right things, worshipped, praised, and shouted amen, but later that night received deliverance. Demons were manifesting and church leaders delivered her. That is something the general body of Christ is not aware of, and the church is not teaching about. People are being held captive and should be experiencing freedom. Greg Locke is sounding the deliverance bell, and many seem to be interested in what he has to say. I know I am”.
Please see Locke Media’s Support Resource Page for a more extensive list of resources on deliverance ministry.
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