BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

HOW TO USE THEIR FAITH. JOIN US IN TEACHING BELIEVERS 1 4 : B V O V Partner with KCM. "I later found out that my dad's dad had been an abusive alcoholic. Dad had been beaten without mercy and called names. Like me, my dad had been on the streets trying to live when he got in a fi ght and went to prison at 17. "Then the Lord showed me an open vision. I saw my dad beating my mother again. Only this time the Lord said, Your dad isn't a big, mean man. He's a broken little boy looking for somebody to love him." Brandon had been leading a fi ve-day revival at a prison in Indiana when God spoke to him: It's time for you to go see your dad. Brandon obeyed. Looking directly into his dad's eyes, Brandon told him: "I want you to know something. I'm your son, and I love you." Brandon's dad choked up, his eyes welling with tears. "I'm not a devil," he said. "I know you're not. I love you and I forgive you. I care for you. And you can be a son of God, just like me." In that moment, Brandon led his father in the sinner's prayer and invited him into God's family. Although his dad died before Brandon saw him again, Brandon knew that he entered heaven and cried, "Abba! Father!" A New Life! In 2011, Brandon met a young woman who'd come to Wings of Life from the streets of Dallas. Cary Dawn had been a nurse before she injured her shoulder playing volleyball. Her doctor prescribed painkillers— something that led to an addiction problem with opiates, and later heroin. "As a result, she lost custody of her son," Brandon said. "Like me, she cried out to God and gave her life to Him. He brought her to Wings of Life, where she kicked her addictions and eventually joined our team and started evangelizing—among other things ministering to kids in high crime areas." Brandon and Cary became good friends, and in 2014 they were married. A couple of years later, in 2016, Cary regained custody of her son. That same year, Brandon was asked to become the executive pastor of Powerhouse Church, a 2,000-member church in Katy, Texas. They had pastored the church for about fi ve years when the board of Wings of Life o• ered Brandon the position of executive director. He accepted the position and returned to Mobile, but remains connected to Powerhouse Church to this day. "We believe that we're facing an epidemic of fatherlessness today," says Brandon. "In response, we have a group called the Genesis Team that has international ministries all over the world, including Namibia, Peru, Guatemala, Sri Lanka and Kenya, with one focus: eradicating fatherlessness by training men to be fathers in their families, churches, and communities. We go to these countries and meet with government o™ cials and pastoral leaders to work on solutions. I spent years looking for my identity in all the wrong places. I went from being an orphan to an advocate and minister to fatherless youth. Today, I'm motivated to spread this message around the world." Today, Brandon and Cary Dawn still live in Mobile, where Brandon continues to lead Wings of Life and Cary serves as the ministry's program director. The two continue to travel the country together speaking and teaching. In addition to leading Wings of Life, Brandon travels the world reconnecting sons with fathers, o• ering the gift of adoption to usher them into the family of God. "I credit Kenneth Copeland and the Word of Faith for helping me understand that the things that happened to me in my childhood don't defi ne who I am today. Through them, I learned that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. I learned the power of God's Word. I learned the power of faith in my confessions. Without KCM and their support of Wings of Life, I don't know where I'd be today." KCM.ORG/PARTNERNOW

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