On December 1st, Mercy Multiplied hosted its very first Worship Experience thanks to the help of Christ Church West Monroe and special guest, 2011 Mercy graduate Malorie Akin! It was a night of praise and gratitude as we celebrated all that the Lord is doing through our Mercy Center for Wellness and Counseling, in West Monroe, LA. It was also a time to celebrate the impact Mercy’s “Keys to Freedom” study is having across the community.
Mercy’s Center for Wellness and Counseling Program Director, Sharon Manuel, kicked off the event with a powerful prayer thanking God for the lives that have been transformed and for all He is doing through this Outpatient Program. To date, over 155 people have been helped through this program in just two short years! Malorie and the Christ Church worship team then took the stage and lead over 500 attendees in an anointed time of worship!
Throughout the evening, testimonies from people whose lives have been transformed by Jesus were shared. Through video testimony, Steven LaCourse, shared about the emotional breakthroughs he had as a result of going through Mercy’s “Keys to Freedom“ study after his wife did. To watch Steven’s powerful testimony, click here.
After Steven’s testimony, Community Board member Holly Gray shared her own testimony about her experience participating in our Center for Wellness and Counseling program. She shared,
“I’ve been in counseling on and off since I was 13, and I had very serious issues that I wanted to blame on someone else. I have very deep wounds, and I desperately needed healing. I did the “Keys to Freedom” study two years ago, and it did something in me. Last year I applied to Mercy’s Outpatient Counseling Program and I got in a couple of months later. The timeliness was absolutely God’s doing – I really needed it. God knew what I needed in each session; He knew what He had for me. He had for me something I had been searching my whole life for – freedom. Freedom from the chains that had bound me up for so many years. A couple of months ago I completed Mercy’s Outpatient Program. Thanks to God Almighty and the tools that Mercy gave me, I have the keys to overcome, the power to triumph, and the freedom to live the abundant life He created me to live.”
We are so grateful for the vulnerability of those who shared their testimonies, and we praise God for the incredible transformation He has done in their lives. Caronda Williams, Mercy’s Community Relations Manager in Monroe shared, “One of the most powerful moments of the night was when Community Board Member Holly Gray asked everyone who has completed the “Keys to Freedom” study to stand up, and 85% of the floor seats alone stood to their feet!
To close the night, Malorie shared with the audience that her last song of the evening was a song she wrote while she was a resident at Mercy. She said,
“Mercy is a very special ministry to my heart because I graduated from the Monroe home 11 years ago. This has been a beautiful journey to be here and be a part of this night. I’m a life that’s been changed by so many things the Lord has brought me through. While I was at Mercy, I prayed a specific prayer that the Lord would give me the ability to write music because I was tired of singing everyone else’s songs.”
We are so blessed by the Monroe community who gave over $91,000, including sponsorships received prior to the event. For those who were not able to attend our Worship Experience event in person or via live stream, we are happy to share with you the recorded live stream. We hope you will be blessed as you watch the Worship Experience. Click here to watch it!
To learn more about Malorie Akin and to check out some of her work, click here!
Thank you to all of our sponsors and everyone who attended the event and celebrated with us! We are so excited to watch the Lord continue to move throughout the Monroe and West Monroe communities as He continues to multiply Mercy.
