Former Heritage USA/PTL Barn
(Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker)
in Fort Mill, SC
Love For His People Editor's Note: On Feb. 17, 2014, Peter Wyns and Jesse Enns, pastors of Antioch International Church, took their board members of the church and Peter's international ministry, Christians For Messiah Ministries, through some of the main building still standing of the former facilities of Heritage USA & PTL (Jim & Tammy Bakker) in Fort Mill, SC. My wife Laurie and I have been members of Peter's ministry since its beginning in 2004.
Last week (Feb. 21) it was then publicly announced that they are purchasing the property including The Barn conference center, The Studio TV center, class rooms (formerly Heritage School and later Crown Christian Academy where my kids graduated from - Josh and Ben), and the surrounding 16 acres.
As PTL Lifetime Partners from 1985 through the down fall in 1987, with our three membership, we had seen the "former glory" of these grounds, and are extremely excited to witness and share in the Lord's ongoing restoration of the property. For His purposes and will in the nations, we are thus committed to be involved further.
Blessings follow!
Steve & Laurie Martin
Founders
Love For His People, Inc.
The following photos are ones I took on Feb. 17, 2014, as we walked through the buildings. It had already undergone a $4 million renovation in the past few years.
Before then, the main roof had fallen in, water pipes had burst and destroyed much of the lower level, and the conference center walls, carpet and stage had major damage, which needed to be replaced or repaired.
With fond memories I recall administrating several Mahesh Chavda Ministries/All Nations Church conferences we held there, from 1994 - 1997. MCM held the last conference there, in Nov. 1997, for almost 10 years later.
Along with participating in the worship, prophetic and warfare conferences hosted by Rick Joyner and his team of MorningStar Ministries in the late '90s, we also appreciated the 1985-1987 Jim Bakker Friday night Camp Meeting Praise times there.
THE BARN at Heritage (formerly PTL/Heritage USA)
Jesse Enns and Peter Wyns
Former Studio where PTL Show was broadcast.
The Studio - seats over 1000 people
Flags of the nations!
Israel and America
From the stage looking to main entrance doors.
Looking to the stage from the main entrance doors.
The main foyer entrance
Hanging lights in the foyer
Foyer floor carpet
Two floors of classroms
Moses' Tabernacle painting in one of the callsrooms
Steve Martin - CMM board member
The Studio entrance and side
Parking lot
Road past the Studio entrance to The Barn entrance
As a board member of Christians For Messiah Ministries, I wholeheartedly gave my approval to purchase this facility.
Personally, my family's ties to the land goes backseveral decades, to 1985. In that year we bought our first Lifetime membership, when we lived in East Lansing, MI. Being former PTL Partners, our family is excited to see the Lord honor the widow's mite and bring restoration to this land and buildings. We anticipate many conferences, from many churches and ministries, will come and once again use the place for His glory and declarations.
In 2004 the Lord had me bring a "piece of the rock" home, as a promise to His fulfillment. He also had me drive the property in
In my 1st book, THE PROMISE (2013, Martin Lighthouse Publishing) I included a chapter called "Heritage,
USA", which I actually wrote in 2003. Below is that chapter.
Also read further on of the "midnight drive" the Lord had me gone on, also in 2003.
“Someday I am going to work here Dad,” I said to my father
in what I hoped was a prophetic word as we stood in front of the World Outreach
Center main office of PTL, Heritage USA.
Jim Bakker’s, the minister who I had been watching every morning at 5:30
am on my taped video, was said to have his office on the top floor of this
three level, strange looking “pyramid” as it was commonly called. “Take my picture in front of the flag pole
with the building in the background. I
want to make sure I have this in my photo album.”
“Well, if you do get the job, then I will come and take care
of these grounds with you”, he replied, with a gleam in his eye that I rarely
saw. Retirement was about nine years
away as I heard from Mom that he was planning on doing that when he reached
63. By then he would have put in thirty
seven years on the job at Viking Pump, which was an unheard of commitment at
one place in my mind, even then back in the mid ‘80’s. But my dad was raised to be committed to his
work and his good Catholic family, and having never missed a day in his work
life at the Cedar Falls iron foundry, he was going to do it. It was just the way it was.
My resume, which I would send within two months, would
probably come here. Later, when the response came graciously saying, “We have
filed your resume for future reference,” it was most likely just another in the
vast amount of those they must be getting.
Sandy Schepper, a friend
from our church in East Lansing, had moved down here two years ago. She had
gotten a hair cutting job on Main Street in the Grand Hotel and had some
contacts. Sandy told me to address my
resume to the attention of Vern McClellan, the World Missions director at PTL.
At least I had some kind of contact. The fact that it would probably be filed away
didn’t bring much hope, (being an administrator myself, I knew what was done
with the “extra resumes”) but I knew that something had been stirring in my
spirit, that a move was coming, and I was getting myself ready. Laurie and I had already discussed preparing
for the time when we would be leaving East Lansing after six years ending next
August, in 1986. Moving would become a
continuing journey in our family life to someday get to Africa. Perhaps that journey would take us via
Charlotte, NC.
Dad, Mom, my youngest sister Lynn, my youngest brother Rob,
Laurie, our sons Joshua and Benjamin, and our one year old daughter Hannah had
met at the resort this hot August week. It
was blistering hot, and so humid! My
camera film wouldn’t quite melt in the heat, but when I received several of the
many pictures back that I took, they had “sun spots” on them. The photo processing company gave me a
helpful note with the photos, upon their return a few weeks later: “Spots due
to heat.” Too late now.
After having grown up in the Midwest, speaking the “perfect
English” as we liked to call it (though others told us in these parts that we were the ones with the accent) the
states of Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and now Michigan, had some hot
summers. But no doubt about it, this was
hot. I guess I’d better get used to
it. Kenya and Zaire are located right
near the equator.
We had set up our tents in Heritage’s campground, the best
grounds that I had ever experienced.
Having grown up with camping as our vacation two weeks each year – Dad’s
vacation time – we had been to Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the
Dakotas. Camping was the only affordable
“hotel” for a family with eight kids. We
loved it, especially when it came time to make s’mores over the late night
blazing campfire. But this place surpassed them all. The campground bathrooms even had
bathtubs! That was unheard of in
campgrounds!
Using our first Lifetime memberships that both my parents
and we had contributed for, we were entitled to four days and three nights of
stay on this beautiful Christian resort in the campground areas. For the common Joe, this was the place where
we could bring our families on our annual vacation, and enjoy the work of the
Lord. This was great! Later, I added another membership to my long
term package, which would give us either six nights or eight nights each year,
depending upon if we stayed in the enclosed lodgings or camp the full time. By
this time the Heritage Inn, the Grand Hotel, and the Bunkhouses were available,
with the Tower to be completed in 1987.
We had our summer times set for life, and I could pass it onto my kids
when they got older. Dad and Mom were
planning on passing theirs on to ones in my immediate family also. With seven others though, I would no doubt
just use my own.
Each day at the resort we spent going to the Studio,
watching the live PTL Club show being broadcast across the world on satellite
each weekday at 10:00 am. Hosted by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, it was an hour
of actual broadcast time, but with the time before and after the show adding
extra moments of special times with the cast, it usually was an extra half hour
in our seats. Due to the tremendous
demand for the seats, we had to get reserved seat tickets 2 hours in advance
each day, and then wait in line for an hour, hoping to get a seat close to the
front.
Laurie and I especially liked the music with Paul Floyd and
the PTL Singers. Brenda Davis, the lead
lady vocalist, could really belt out “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” We’d tear up,
knowing that the Lord indeed had His eye on us and our growing family. Unknown
to me at the time, I would later end up having the TV producer of the show,
Bernie Lemke, play keyboard on our worship team at Cornerstone Church in
Pineville, NC, 16 years later. He also
was the first keyboardist for our band, Steve
Martin & The Raiders, which we formed in August of 2001. (More on that story later). His boss at the time, David Kelson, is the
father of Brian, another worship leader at Cornerstone. Brian also is our studio radio technician, on
staff with me at Derek Prince Ministries.
Brian would have been only about 9 at this time. Small world, isn’t it?
The rest of the days were filled with swimming in one of the
three or four pools, one Olympic size, riding the miniature train around the
large lake in the center of the park, shopping on Main Street for all kinds of
stuff (someday I will have a store here!), eating at McMoose’s Restaurant, the
Grand Hotel cafeteria, or several other eateries, and seeing the awesome
Passion Play in the amphitheatre at night.
Riding the shuttles from place to place or visiting the petting zoo at
The Farm near Caroline Lake was great fun for the kids and the adults. At night
we attended the Camp Meeting songfest in The Barn, also broadcast live to the
nations.
In the serene woods, just off to the left of the
amphitheatre, was the prayer and communion room known as the Upper Room. Built to represent a replica of a Jerusalem
building, it was set quietly at the end of the stone path, inlaid with
Scripture. This peaceful get away
offered the hungry soul some further contact with the living God of
Israel. Life size bronze statues of
Jesus before Pilate and his men occupied the parking lot servicing the Upper Room.
At the main entrance of the family park, flags of the
nations lined the black topped road as one also passed by the front of the
re-located boyhood home of Billy Graham.
He had grown up in central Charlotte, about fifteen miles north. Jim Bakker had it moved here to preserve it
before it was about to be torn down to make room for the SouthPark Mall. Tourists could come in the house now and see
how Billy and his family lived, dating back to the 1920’s.
We had no fear of anyone at any time harming our children
throughout the entire resort, and the cleanliness of this 2000 plus acreage was
outstanding. This place was third only
to the Disney parks in annual attendance in recent years. That said a lot to us
when it came to concerns for our children, their safety and fun times.
We spent our full five days and four nights here, taking in
all that we could. Next summer we would
stay in the Grand and enjoy this beautiful place even more, paid for by the
contributions of the faithful, including ourselves.
After saying our good byes to Dad and Mom, we headed north
back up I-77, through the Appalachian mountains of Virginia and West Virginia,
and then across northern Ohio on home to East Lansing. My heart was having a hard time doing this as
the grace was really beginning to run out at my job. Not that I didn’t like my job – Ellis and
Noelle Clark were the best employers I had worked with thus far, and seeing the
company grow from thirteen employees in 1980, to fifty in the six years I had
served was a blessing to me and those on staff.
As I was able to hire, and recommend to other departments
that I was not directly responsible for, eleven members of New Covenant
Christian Church came on board during my tenure. As the Lord had opened the door to me years
ago, He had also kept the door open for others to follow through. For this I was most grateful.
Even so, my heart cried out to go to the nations. I wanted to be a missionary. I wanted to take the gospel of Jesus Christ
to those who had not heard of Him, His healing power, His salvation, and His
Father’s love. I just wanted to go, but
I had to wait at least two more years.
It was a struggle as many days I sat in my chair wondering when. But the
Lord supplied the grace, and the encouragement of those He had joined us with
in fellowship.
At least I would still be able to watch the PTL Club every
weekday and plan on next summer’s vacation time.
Also in Sept, 2013, I included a chapter in my 2nd book, Ahava Love Letters (Xulon Press, 2013) on a midnight drive the Lord had me go on in Oct., 2003. Read on.
Chapter 49
“Heritage USA
& The Prophetic Drive”
“Then
I arose in the night...and went out by night…” (Nehemiah 2:12-13)
“Let
us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised
is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23)
On Oct. 21, 2003, I
felt the Lord had me leave my home (a weekday night) in southern Pineville, NC,
and head into town. He has had me go on
these trips before, where I have the sense to get in my vehicle and “go”, and
then trust the Holy Spirit to guide me.
Sometimes it is early morning. Sometimes late at night. Normally I go to bed at 9 pm, so for me to be
up at 11:00 p.m. was not the norm.
After I had headed up
Lancaster Hwy. (old Hwy. 521), I made the turn onto Hwy. 51, and headed
west. By this time I had the sense that
I was being directed to go to the former Heritage USA (PTL) property, which I
had done so many times before. It is literally three miles from our house, as
the crow flies. (Or the eagle, if you like real good prophetic symbols!)
As I approached the
entrance onto the former land, now known as Regent Park, I wasn’t paying as
close attention as I should have, and actually passed the main entrance. When I became aware of missing it, I
continued onto the All Nations Church property, which was about two miles or so
further east. I drove to its entrance.
As I sat in my truck, praying in tongues, I felt the Lord say the building they
were wanting to construct over the past three years (since 2001) hadn’t progressed because they were trying to put it in
the wrong location on that former Heritage USA Fort Hope land.
I made a call to the
ANC office and left a message on the current administrator’s phone, sharing my
belief. (He later confirmed that a month
earlier the decision had been made by them that the building was to go in the
area I had specified in my call.)
I then returned to
the other Heritage USA entrance, on Hwy. 160, arriving at 11:58 p.m. After I crossed the railroad tracks onto the
main part of the former Christian retreat center, I sensed that I was to drive
around the perimeter road. I knew that was permissible. Again interceding in my
prayer language, I knew I was imploring the Lord for the land to be put back in
the hands of His believers. I had
expected to make only one trip around, even as Nehemiah had done when he
approached ancient Jerusalem, and saw the walls in ruin.
At 12:00 a.m. I had
driven to the back side of the property, near what was then called The Studio.
I believe it still is. I knew this property well, even in the dark. Because I
had invested $3000 in lifetime memberships in 1985 (two for my family and one
for a family in Fort Lauderdale, who now actually live in the Charlotte area) I
had often “scouted out my land.” (I even still have a big, 20 pound granite
rock that I had “picked up” in 2004, that now sits on the floor in our new
“worship room” in our house. (Formerly this room was called my “NASCAR man
cave”. You can read further on that in the two chapters entitled “Move In To
Move Out” (Parts I and II.)
Also while on staff
at All Nations Church/Mahesh Chavda Ministries, as the administrator, we held
several conferences on this property. In fact, little did we know at the time,
we held the very last conference on the former PTL grounds before it completely
shut down – that being in November, 1997, in “The Barn”. The entire place finally closed down at the
end of that month. The property had been
in disuse since, apart from the Kingsway (Narroway) Christian outdoor plays in
the amphitheatre and their dinner theatre in The Studio.
While I sat in my ’99
Chevy S-10 “pick-em-up” truck, praying and interceding, I was instructed by the
Lord to proclaim “Return seven times what was stolen!” Maybe even as Nehemiah
himself may have spoken as he sat on his horse, looking at the walls under the
moonlit sky, seeking the Lord’s command and purpose for Jerusalem. The enemies of the Lord had destroyed that
city prior to his days. Now these grounds had also been vacant and falling
further into destruction, for over six years now (when I originally wrote this
in 2003.). Fallen apart, as if left for dead. Even as Rick Joyner had
prophesized in that small blue book he wrote,
At 12:05 a.m. I
completed the first circular lap of the road that I could drive on. I had weaved past The Barn, with its roof
caved in and the interior having been flooded many time by indoor and outdoor
waters; past the Upper Room, also left as it was on its last day, back in 1997.
Then it was used for crying out to the Lord for His revival and intervention,
but left alone in utter quietness over these many desolate years. I drove past
the stark and empty amphitheatre and through the former campground. (Sidebar: My dad, Louis Martin, in 1998-1999,
helped re-wire this outdoor, half-moon facility of the former home of the
Passion Play. My son Ben has now set up a great memorabilia display off Main
Street in the Grand Hotel of Heritage International Ministries. Go check it
out! Jim Bakker did, and loves it!)
I then made a left
turn at the stop sign posted at the edge of the campgrounds, and drove past the
only burnt evergreen tree stump, located just under the walkway overpass, on
the right side of the road.
Back in 1997, I had conducted a Martin family reunion
here on these grounds near Charlotte, over the 4th of July weekend.
An errant bottle rocket, lit and fired by this writer, didn’t quite perform the
projection that I had anticipated and hoped for, landing the fire piece instead
in the top of the evergreen tree. It quickly made a Roman candle out of that once
living creation! (I have my entire Martin family as witnesses too!) With ineffective efforts on our part to put
it out, with very little time to do otherwise, it didn’t keep the tree from
burning rapidly to within one foot of the ground. Now only the charred stump
remains, as a testimony to my unskilled method of shooting off bottle fire
rockets. (Sidebar: And as of the last time I checked, it still stands as
another memorial, to this very day!)
At that time, knowing that control of this land was
heading into a direction that many desired it wouldn’t go, including myself, I
spoke under my breath, after all of this extra 4th of July added
excitement had leveled off. “Well, if we (believers) can’t have this land, no
one will!”
I then turned my six
cylinder around and drove back to the original intersection of the starting
point (now known as Regent Blvd. and Starlight), where I stopped momentarily.
Again I proclaimed,
“Restore the land to Your people!” seven times.
I then called the Derek Prince Ministries office at 12:08 a.m. on my
cell phone and left a message on my desk phone, just to have confirmation that
I was actually doing this. (My personal
assistant would check my messages the next day.)
Then the Lord gave me
further instructions. “Drive around the perimeter six more times, for a total
of seven times.” And so I heard and obeyed.
At 12:12 a.m. I
completed the 2nd encircling of the land, and spoke out to “Restore
the widow’s mite!”
As I drove the 3rd
time, I continually prayed in tongues, as I had throughout the first two laps.
I completed this round at 12:17 a.m., noting that each trip was 2.2 miles in
length on my odometer. I also noted, as I wrote on the purple 3” x 6” paper
sheets I had available to scribble on, that the Lord spoke again to “Speed up”
when I took the next lap. He said He was
“Speeding up His timetable.”
The narrow roadway
reminded me of a NASCAR road course, and it was no easy task to drive the dark,
broken blacktop at 35 - 40 mph. (No
speed limit signs were posted! I felt like I could have taken on #24 Jeff
Gordon at that time!) J
At 12:23 a.m. I
finished the 4th round.
At 12:24 a.m. I
started the 5th lap, and completed it at 12:28 a.m.
At 12:29 a.m. I
started the 6th lap, and finished it at 12:33 a.m. Each time I grew bolder in my driving. (Yes,
I would have beaten Jeff Gordon in this race! But kids, don’t always do what your father does!)
At 12:34 a.m. I
started the 7th and final lap, completing the course at 12:38
a.m. I had driven my 4 x 4 at a speed of
up to 50 mph on the “straightaway”, which was rather short on the back stretch,
which crossed the parking lot, just before passing The Studio on the right.
The total mileage
traveled for the seven laps was 15.4 miles on my odometer.
At 12:40 a.m. I again
called my office and left a message for my personal assistant, recording what I
had just done. (Remember that, M.M.?)
Upon completion of
this divinely assigned task, on my way out of this 2000 acre property, I headed
towards the other entrance. That would take me by the former World Outreach
Center, or commonly known as “The Pyramid”, back in the day. All Nations Church/Mahesh Chavda Ministries
had seriously considered leasing this building in 1998, for a church, conference
and office facility. I had spoken of this possible commitment to the five
Malaysian owners’ administrator of Regent. But to no avail.
(Sidebar: And for the record, I saw Jim Bakker’s famous, so-called
“golden bathroom faucets”, on the very top floor of the building. From my
observation, they were simply better hardware, which could have been found in
Lowes, or anywhere else. Why the big issue made at that time in 1987? Just more
lies printed and spoken in the media, as usual.)
At 12:42 a.m. I
pulled up in front of the pyramid. I then felt led to run my Chevy truck around
the flag pole that was located in front of what was then a Laura Ashley
administration office, doing this encirclement seven times. (Remember, I originally wrote this act back
in 2003. Being it is now Dec. 2010 that I am sharing this publicly, that makes
it just over seven years ago.) I
finished at 12:43 a.m., quite dizzy, having driven my good ‘ole girl as fast as
I could for those very tight laps.
I arrived back home
at1:04 a.m., knowing that 5:00 a.m. came early. The alarm clocks of Laurie and
I had, as usual, been set for that scheduled normal “wake-up” time.
And now back to the
future, here in 2010, as history has again shown, the Lord had preserved this
land for His purposes. What the enemy had indeed stolen was returned to His
people! And I give special heartfelt thanks to Rick Joyner, the past and
current Morningstar Fellowship staff, and to so many others who have given of
themselves, with long persevering efforts in the natural and spiritual realms,
to bring restoration “to these walls.” (Sidebar: Even just last week the Upper Room
was sold, and plans move forward for its restoration too, for prayer and
worship times for many.)
May the same
restoration be brought forth in Jerusalem, and in the rightful owners of that
entire
Promised Land of Israel - the Jewish people.
Added note: On January 7, 2011 Laurie and I
began to lead the new Beit Tikvah (“House of Hope” in Hebrew) Friday night meetings at Antioch International
Church (Pastors Peter Wyns and Jesse Enns), located within a stone’s throw of
the King’s Castle. That facility is another former Heritage USA building that
will be restored. Still standing after 25 years, restoration will come. This
special anointed land, with the new Heritage International Ministries and
several others on it, is further fulfillment of many prophetic words spoken
over these past 24 years. Having been undergirded by the prayers of countless
aged saints (and some not as fine wined yet), His promises continue to be
fulfilled. The Lord is faithful!
Love For His People blogspot - post #2373 on March 3, 2014
Steve Martin
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