Isaiah 65:24... “Before they call to me for help, I will answer them. While they are still praying, I will hear them.”

Are you ready for a miracle… or two… or four?

The annual Oregon Prayer Conference (OPC), held March 20-22 this year, was shaping up to be extraordinary. For fourteen months, attendees eagerly anticipated the arrival this year’s keynote speaker, Pavel Goia. Interest was so strong that registration filled early, and planners found themselves carefully piecing together details to make room for as many attendees as possible. Excitement ran high, plans were in place, and everything seemed ready.

Then, just a few days before the conference was to begin, the coordinating team received a call that changed everything.

That Sunday, Oregon Conference Prayer Ministries coordinator, Tawny Sportsman, had planned to spend the day printing, packing, and preparing conference packets. Instead, she received an invitation — actually, a bit of persistent encouragement — to attend some meetings being held at the Roseburg Adventist Church. Though hesitant at first, she eventually agreed, reassured that it would be a great opportunity to make new connections.

During those meetings, something remarkable happened. Pastor Jim Boram and Tawny looked at each other at the exact same moment and said — in unison, “We need to get that guy to do the Prayer Conference next year!”

“That guy” was Dan Serns, church planting, revitalization, and lay training director for the North Pacific Union Conference (NPUC).

At lunch, Tawny introduced herself and asked Dan if he would consider being the keynote speaker for the 2027 Prayer Conference — if he wasn’t already booked. They exchanged phone numbers, and she planned to call him early the following week to check his schedule. During the meetings, Dan had shared that he and a group of youth would be heading to Seattle the very next weekend to minister on the streets. – What a powerful and inspiring mission.

Then came Tuesday, March 10.

Tawny’s phone rang, and it was this year’s prayer conference keynote speaker, Pavel. The moment she heard his voice, she knew something was wrong. He shared the heartbreaking news that his mother, who lived in Romania, had slipped into a coma and was not expected to survive. How might the prayer conference move forward without him, he wondered.

Tawny assured him, “Go be with your family. God’s got this.” And oh, did He ever.

After she hung up, she went for a walk to pray and ask God what to do. With only a few days before setup was to begin, she was struck by the absence of panic. Instead, there was peace. As she prayed, one clear impression came: call Dan Serns!

She hesitated for just a moment — remembering that he was scheduled to be in Seattle with the youth group — but called anyway and left a message explaining the situation and asking if there was any chance he could step in.

Almost immediately, the phone rang. It was Dan. He said yes.

The youth outreach had been unexpectedly postponed several days, and while he already had a flight booked, it suddenly became clear that God had a different plan. When Tawny asked how many sessions he would like to take, he asked how many were available. Four or five, came the answer. His response: “I’ll take them all.”

In less than an hour and a half, this year’s prayer conference had lost a world renowned speaker — and gained a world-renowned speaker that God handpicked for such a time as this!

And the rest is history.

Dan proved to be God’s “minute man.” Attendees arrived early for every session. People sat on the edge of their seats, hungry for the fresh wind and fresh fire God was pouring out through his messages. A holy passion was ignited, one that will continue to ripple through every church represented.

They witnessed miracle after miracle, culminating in four baptisms — moments when they watched the very population of heaven grow. Despite the sudden speaker change, registration remained strong. They shared a deeply moving anointing service, and the prayer request boxes overflowed. The OPC prayer team continues to faithfully lift those requests before the Lord until the next conference.

So... are you ready for a miracle?

They were. And they stand in awe of how powerfully and intricately God works. Even in Pavel’s absence, God did immeasurably more than they could ask or imagine.

In fact, God answered their prayers before they even knew to ask.

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