Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.”

1 Samuel 13:19

Over the past ten years of serving in the trenches of ministry in the United States of America, I have witnessed an increasing groan building inside of many believers to see the Church fully awakened in our day, that the lost would be saved and the saved would be revived, so that together we would be an authentic light to the world, preparing the way for the soon return of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

In my days of service, I have become painfully aware of my own inadequacy and need for revival. I’m not okay with an irrelevant Church that has no impact on the world around us. I’m not okay with an immature Church that has neither the training, weapons or tools to fight the battles ahead of us. Therefore, I am praying that the Lord would raise up blacksmiths for His people today.

The Philistines knew that if they could remove the blacksmiths from Israel, then the Israelites would have to come buy or sharpen their weapons from them, forcing them to fight their way and on their terms. Similarly, the enemy has continued with this strategy in our day. He doesn’t always target the ones who are known by the most people, but he most definitely targets those who are known in Hell, who are actually a threat to his agenda. He will do whatever it takes to silence the intercessors and keep the revivalists out of the fire in an attempt to hinder their effectiveness. This has put the Church in a position where instead of humbly seeking God, we have sought to rely on the world’s weaponry and methods of warfare in order to remain relevant on the battlefield for souls.

It turns out, the Lord has had this same revivalist groan inside of Him all along, and He won’t relent until He builds His prevailing Church (Matt. 16:18). I believe He has been laboring to do this throughout the generations by setting blacksmiths in place who will enter into this labor with Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Blacksmiths look for the fire of His Word and give themselves to pound in prayer in hot, low-light conditions (in His presence, secret place), in order to produce the tools and weaponry needed to effectively equip His people. A blacksmith is one, like the prophet Jeremiah, who would stand in the counsel of the Lord and hear His words, and faithfully speak them to the people that they might turn from their evil ways to the Lord (Jer. 23:22).

“For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, And has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it?“

Jeremiah 23:18

“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”

Jeremiah 23:29

From the context of our local church and ministry, we are choosing to raise our hands to this call alongside others who are doing the same around the world, to be His house of prayer for all nations. We are dedicated to serving the Church from the place of worship and intercession as we work to equip laborers to stand in the counsel of the Lord, to hear His Word and to go out into the harvest fields of our generation and make Him known—to see hearts turn to Jesus in every sphere of society from our own communities unto the ends of the earth.

We are working to accomplish this through our prayer room, creative resources, training schools, missions projects and partnerships with other like-hearted ministries. I humbly invite you to contend with me in our generation, that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers, and that you yourself would go forth as a laborer from wherever you are at today to reach the field you are called to serve.

If this ministry can be helpful to you, please consider following this website to stay informed about upcoming content, trainings and projects, or partnering with us however you feel led, so that we can continue to provide resources and training for little to no cost. We truly appreciate your support.

Staying in the Fire,

Nick Russo