By Journalist Dr. Ms. Jones
NEWBURGH – Three powerful days of worship, teaching, fellowship, and leadership development filled One Accord Christian Church as Gifted Ministries Fellowship International presented POUR 4: The People—Holy Gathering on September 17-19th. Hosted by Bishop Robert J. Bolton, Jr., Presiding Bishop and Chief Apostle of Gifted Ministries Fellowship International, the gathering centered around four pillars: Presence, Purpose, Power, and Partnership.
“The word ‘four’ is a play on words… It’s for the people. It’s for me. It’s for you. It’s for our deliverance. It’s for our breakthrough. It’s for our healing,” said Bishop Bolton as he explained that POUR began during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to support pastors carrying extraordinary burdens. “Pastors were burying people during the pandemic [and] were losing churches, and we wanted to bring them together after the pandemic to pour into them.”
Over the years, the gathering expanded to include pastors and leaders and evolved into different areas of ministry. This year, organizers also eliminated the registration fee.
“We didn’t want finances to be a barrier to people getting or coming to our conference,” Bishop Bolton said.
The Holy Gathering opened Thursday with Bishop Dr. Aretha Wilson and continued Friday with workshops including Media and Communications, SWOT Strategic Planning, From Burnout to Overflow, and Church Growth. Apostle Stanley Gorrell served as Friday evening’s homilist, while Chief Celebrant Overseer Robert Nelson served as emcee. Saturday placed a special emphasis on youth while continuing to provide workshops addressing issues affecting both ministry and everyday life.
During “Walking Through the Valley—Grief,” Pastor Lisa Good explored the emotional and physical manifestations of grief, including anger, changes in appetite, and prolonged sleep disturbances. She explained that grief can affect the body in ways people may not immediately connect to their loss, particularly around birthdays, anniversaries, and other significant dates.
“Your body will always talk for you,” said Pastor Good, who also discussed the difficulty many experience sleeping after a loss and reminded participants of the biblical promise of rest. “Rest is your portion.”
Saturday’s workshops also included Bishop Bolton’s “Better Together: Building Strategic Kingdom Partnerships,” as well as Pastor Johnnie Durrell’s “Connecting the Continuum: Bridging Legacy and the Next Generation.” Durrell used the illustration of a child trusting that he will be caught and protected to encourage believers to develop childlike trust in God. He also challenged traditional ideas about age and ministry.
“It don’t matter what age I am, it don’t matter how old I am, it don’t matter how young I am… God can use me just at this right age right now,” Pastor Durrell said.
Just minutes later, those words appeared to come to life. Saturday was Youth Day, and young people were not simply spectators. Youth prayed, led praise and worship, praise danced, and participated throughout the closing service. Before the afternoon’s featured preacher took the pulpit, Elder Hilton Rawls, Jr. delivered a message directly to the young people in attendance.
“Every one of you young people are valuable to God and your place in the Kingdom,” Elder Rawls told them. “You are going to change this world.”
Then his 15-year-old son, Minister Hilton Rawls III, who was licensed as a minister in December, stepped into the pulpit. Bolton said selecting such a young preacher for Youth Day was intentional.
“If they can see him at his age minister, they can feel like, ‘Well, if he can do it, I can do it too,’” Bishop Bolton explained. “We wanted someone that the youth can really identify with.”
Min. Rawls III delivered a passionate sermon titled “Don’t Let Me Die,” based on Luke 7:12-15, the biblical account of Jesus encountering a widow whose only son had died and commanding the young man to arise. He used his message to confront some of the pressures facing his generation, citing statistics and speaking about violence, bullying, trauma, depression, insecurity, and mental-health struggles. He warned that even when young people are not dying physically, some are “perishing in our hearts and our minds.” But his message was not solely about what young people must do for themselves. He challenged the church and community to recognize when others are struggling and help keep them from giving up.
“Some of us need a listening ear. Some of us need some support… We need your compassion because we got a destiny, we got a destination, we got a mission, we got a calling,” Min. Rawls III preached and also challenged those gathered to take responsibility for one another. “You’re not gonna die on my watch.”
There was also a visible reminder that the young preacher is still a typical teenager. Rawls preached with a splint on his finger after spraining it playing basketball and visiting the emergency room the night before. During an interview following the service, Rawls laughed as he admitted that while at the hospital, he jokingly tried to convince his father to tell his social media followers that he was sick. A 10th grader who hopes to make his school’s JV basketball team, Rawls plays point guard and shooting guard and is also musically gifted, playing organ, keys, and drums. Rawls said opportunities such as POUR allow him to show other young people what is possible.
“I just really like getting different opportunities to speak to different young people and kids my age because I want them to know, if I can do this, you can do this,” he said. “Whatever God has called you to do, you can do it also.”
That sentiment captured much of what unfolded during the final day of POUR 4. From seasoned leaders sharing wisdom to young people taking the microphone, dancing, praying, worshiping and preaching, the gathering demonstrated its four pillars in action—Presence, Purpose, Power and Partnership—while challenging participants to take what had been poured into them beyond the walls of the church and into their families, ministries, and communities.
