Dear friends,

We have just had the first international Coworkers Conference, with some of the people who are working with us in different continents. It has been a fruitful time and we are happy to see God open up the nations for us in a really unique way, reaching out to just a few key people and yet reaching thousands through those few.

Our calling to disciple the nations has been confirmed by our Mentors and it was just so awesome to see that our Coworkers were bringing reports of the fruit that has been brought forth so far.

I don’t want to make many words and just want to let Mark and Suzanne Tanner share a little bit of what they have experienced during these few days that we have had together. Suzanne has been the first disciple Daniela ever made. Then Suzanne got married to Mark a bit more then three years ago and they started working with us shortly after that.

To see the two of them grow close and rise up in Ministry is a real joy for us. This is what Follow Him is all about. Seeing people join in and be released to walk in their calling and Follow the Lord.
They are preaching in prisons, discipling people and inviting them into their home and also use their talents in music, writing devotions and publishing books. But the greatest of all is that they are pursuing God with great passion and love!

Before I stop here and let them share in their own words what they have experienced during these few days here, I want to thank you all for your precious support! Thank you for all prayers and finances that make it possible to do the work we do! Please also keep us in your prayers in November, when we will be ministering in Kenya from 20th - 26th November. It is a difficult situation in Kenya and we trust that God will break through with the leaders and people we are meeting.

In His Love,

Claude and Daniela Widmer

Mark’s testimony of the Follow Him International co-worker Conference, October 26 – 31, 2011

I just wanted to take a moment to personally thank you and to share with you about the powerful time that I experienced with Follow Him International at the recent co-worker conference in Wald, Switzerland, and how this gathering of the co-workers has impacted my life and ministry, and has given us a new direction.

As a ministry who functions under the oversight of Follow Him, when the invitation came to us in America last February to attend the conference, we were just so honored and knew in our hearts that we needed to be there. And so as the conference began on October 26, we also began a 4 day journey that would impact us and our ministry in ways that we could have never imagined. We came to the conference with an expectation to receive something big, and the Lord rewarded us over and above our imaginings.

Since its beginnings, New Heart Ministries has always had a very strong music component. As a worship leader, wherever we travel to minister, music always plays an important role in ministry. I released my first worship CD 6 years ago, and have had a strong desire to release another for the past years. But that dream just seemed to continue to drift further and further away. At the point of coming to the co-worker conference, I felt that my dream was dead and buried. I had really lost hope and left it behind.

One of the first assignments that we had at the conference was to take some time and recall the prophecies that had been spoken over our lives, and to think also about the desires that God had set in our hearts. Then we were asked to share those things with the team. Almost immediately the Lord impressed upon me the music ministry and how His desire was to get what is inside of me out of me so that He can use it to build His Kingdom. It was at this point that the prophecies and dreams began to be stirred inside of me again. After further discussions with Claude and with Tom Brock, the dream is coming forth and I will be in the studio in Jacksonville Florida in early 2012 to record and release this resurrected music project entitled, “In His Courts.” As this was opening up to me, it was like Jesus Himself was standing at the tomb of this dead dream and was saying, “Roll away the stone, and come forth in My Great Name. Speak to your dream in My Name. Tell that dream to come forth and to be perfected in the Earth and it will obey you.” And in that moment, my dream was resurrected.

We also received at the conference more direction in how we will be involved in the future work of Follow Him – traveling to the various live schools and conferences in Europe, Southeast Asia and the Himalaya’s – or wherever we are needed, to share the gift of music and serve in any other capacity as needed.

While I am so grateful for these resurrected dreams, there is something else for which I have an even deeper gratitude. I am so thankful to the Lord for divinely placing leaders in our lives who are selfless, and whose desire is to see their co-workers rise up into the respective callings that God has placed on their lives. For me personally, I felt that this conference was not so much about how we could benefit Follow Him International, but how Follow Him could help us to be more fully released into our callings so that we could be more effective as a team for advancing the Kingdom of God throughout the world. I can testify that this is the heart and the strength of Follow Him International, and I believe that as we go out in this strength, it will be the Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.

Suzanne’s testimony of the Follow Him International co-worker Conference, October 26 – 31, 2011

The Lord had given the co-workers of Follow Him right at the beginning of 2011 a word from Judges 6: 12–14;

12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

What spoke to me was this little strength the Lord was speaking about and throughout the year I had been thinking about it.

At the conference the Lord re-emphasized this word and Tom Brock spoke about Gideon and the small flock that would save Israel out of the hand of Midian. Although Follow Him is perhaps small, it doesn’t really matter, because strength is never defined by numbers, but by commitment to the Lord and to each other. I was reminded and encouraged at the same time about Luke 12:32; “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Before my very own eyes I was going to witness that this thing God was doing was not manmade, but by His divine purpose.

During the initial prayer time at the conference I saw a hose being put around us. I felt that the Holy Spirit was connecting us divinely, giving us unity and favor, things not yet seen or heard.

I am very grateful that through this conference we have now become an integral part of Follow Him International and thus sense a greater involvement and responsibility. Indeed, we are part of something wonderful and in all of our hearts burn the same flame, to follow Him and to equip the Body of Christ.

I also sense that Follow Him International is a real connector and desires to be part of the fine family of God with people they work with all around the world. Ultimately it’s all about relationships, isn’t it? I believe the real strength and vulnerability of this ministry is their heart, their love for Jesus and His bride, seeking friendship and making people part of something really exciting.

I say strength, because pursuing relationships is a deep thing that births trust, love, honesty and transparency that cannot be shaken and destroyed (see Acts 5: 38 “So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!”).

I mention vulnerability because investing into relationships can be risky as we are all human. But despite the risk, Follow Him International continually choses to invest selflessly into the hearts of men and women and thereby is building a solid foundation the Jesus way.