“He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3 (NASB)

One day, as a teenager in high school, a girl named Teena came to my door. She was selling records and told me about the ministry she was with - the Agape Force. I liked her. She was black. I loved to sing and I really wanted to be black. I bought a record from her called Pot Pourri. I played it all the time. I remember Ane Weber’s song, “The New Ninety and Nine” about a little sheep that’s gone astray. Boy, that was really me.

I remember all of those songs and how something would draw me and kind of pull on my heart. I didn’t know what it was at the time. I would sing along and something in me wanted to cry. But since I didn’t know the Lord, how could I know what it was? Now I know it was the Holy Spirit drawing me to Himself. It was a deep desire in me to worship.

Music has such an ability to reach us on a level deeper than our mind can understand. That record that I got from Teena began drawing me to the Lord before I had any idea who He was or what it meant to love and serve Him.

Unfortunately, I went a long way in the wrong direction before the Lord was able to get through to me. Drugs and bad relationships, an abortion, and poor self esteem eventually led me into prostitution. But God was merciful. He rescued me from a living death.

The next time I heard about Agape Force, I was fresh off the streets and a brand new Christian. At a ministry house belonging to Midwest Challenge, associated with Safe House - a haven for prostitutes, I learned, for the first time, what it meant to be part of the family of God.

One of the books we used during my training in Midwest Challenge was a training manual called Youth Aflame written by Winkie Pratney. Then, amazingly, he came to our little house for a chapel one day, simply because we were using his book. There we were, a bunch of drug addicts and messed up people in a run down old house. We were all fresh off the streets trying to get our lives right with God. He came down from the Bible school, Bethany Fellowship, to minister to us. I don’t remember what he talked about that day, but just the fact that he came effected me deeply. It was so special and tender. Through Winkie, and Midwest Challenge, I learned about the Agape Force, as well as Youth With A Mission, Last Days Ministries, Operation Mobilization, and Bethany Fellowship. We learned that these were the ministries that were on the cutting edge of what God was doing. But, even from those earliest days, God seemed to put a desire in my heart to work with the Agape Force.

Years later, when I was traveling with Silverwind, we would do huge events with Winkie all over the country. I would look at him sometimes and weep because it was such an honor to have been on both sides of his ministry. It was so awesome that God would allow me to minister with him.

As God continued to heal my life, my desire to be used in ministry grew. I traveled with the man who had started Midwest Challenge. I sang and played my guitar and gave my testimony. Then I sang with the group Mantle, and became engaged to one of the counselors in the program there.

Somehow, though, I couldn’t shake the idea I was supposed to do something with the Agape Force. Even as my wedding day drew near, and many of the plans had already been made, (I’d even bought my dress), my longing to attend the Agape Force’s Discipleship Training Institute became overwhelming.

I broke off the engagement and called the school. I found out the next DTI started in 5 days. I had no money...but in just a few days God provided all I needed for a bus ticket and the tuition for the school. So I jumped on a bus and headed for Lindale, Texas.

I knew It was a radical thing to do; breaking off my engagement, leaving the group, going cross country. But when I walked into the cafeteria to register for school, I knew I was where I was supposed to be.

That was the beginning of a wonderful honeymoon for me and my Jesus, and a great season of ministry with the Agape Force that lasted almost eight years.

Patty Forney