Fred Berry, in collaboration with Lou Engle, lead various other rallies and events surrounding AzusaNow called AzusaFest. I had correspondence with the Berry's prior to going to AzusaNow, but hadn't met them yet. During a pre-rally event the day before AzusaNow, Wilma Berry, Fred's wife, walked up to me and gave me a prophetic word. She didn't know who I was yet, then I introduced myself after she gave me a word. The Berry's are full of a prophetic, revival spirit and you can sense that just being around them.

I was able to conduct a phone interview with Fred Berry a couple of days after AzusaNow (as the day of was extremely busy for him)... and all I can say is that it was an absolute pleasure speaking to him and hearing his heart, which is all about the Body coming into Unity, which you'll read about that below. His heart is that all ethnical races and church denominations in the Body come together as "one".

I know you will be truly blessed by Fred's inspiring words as I was in just speaking with him and hearing his heart!

Julie A. Smith, Managing Editor
The Elijah List 
www.elijahlist.com

Julie Smith: AzusaNow was an amazing, life-changing experience. (Photo via Fred Berry Facebook)

Fred Berry: Yeah, it really was. I think we're at a watershed moment and that from now on we're going to begin to see some new things beginning to happen in the Western Church. 

You missed the horse (Sunday Azusa Street event the day after). The Native Americans brought a horse to Azusa Street. That was absolutely incredible. I mean, the Native Americans had an hour and they called it, "Wake up Azusa Street." They danced and they drummed and they worshipped for a whole hour, just amazing. Then we finished our service and Dutch Sheets came and Lou Engle came and we planted our unity tree. We now have a little piece of property now on Azusa Street. It's just a small planter box, but it's a beginning of what we hope will be the whole thing. 

Julie: You shared about denominational and racial boundaries in the churches and ethnic populations, and we saw them all coming together in unity for this massive event. What do you think the impact for all denominations and races coming together as one Church will be, for such a time as this, when unity was such a key factor and an important word in this Azusa event?

Fred: Right. I think now this is the brand of Azusa Street. It was unity beyond your divisions. Back in those days, you didn't have so many denominations as you have today. But back in those days, you had the Protestants, you had Methodists, Baptists and of course the Holiness movement, so those were all precursors to what we call the Classical Pentecostal group. Those are the people who were swept into the revival, even Catholics.  (Photo via Fred Berry Facebook)

You know, people were moved into this new thing called Pentecostalism and they came from various backgrounds. The Hispanics came from a Catholic background and they were the first ones we taught at the mission (Azusa Street Mission), so when they got saved and God healed them miraculously, you know, that sent a whole group of people back to Mexico that began a big movement in Mexico that spread all the way to the farm fields of California. Then it spread to Puerto Rico, Hawaii and then all the other Spanish-speaking world. Of course, now we know it went south to Mexico and Nicaragua and Belize and, you know, it just kept going. South America is burning with fire.

Years later, two Baptists that built the spirit in Chicago went to Brazil and now there's, 50 to 60 million Pentecostal Believers in Brazil. So, this was a brand that I believe is now again taking people, not from just those traditional backgrounds, but even from Pentecostal backgrounds which have been segmented, and now saying, "Okay, we're going to have a new move of God and this one is going to encompass everybody again; the old classical Protestant churches, the old classical Pentecostal churches."

We went backwards, essentially, when we, Pentecostalism, started out as an African-American church, got Christ, and moved into Assembly of God, and then it just splintered, splintered and splintered. Now those same groups are being challenged, they're being provoked by the Holy Spirit, to come together again for a new wave of the Spirit of God, which is even beyond Pentecost. It's apostolic. It's prophetic. It's five-fold ministry leaders ready to equip the saints. You know, Bill Hamon calls it "the army of the Lord" and I believe that's what God's doing now; He's raising an army, and He's the head of it. Not the denominations. Not, any particular group. The Spirit of God is leading this army. (Photo via Fred Berry Facebook)

Julie: Yes, and that was the word Bill Hamon gave when I just finished his interview, "The army of the Lord is being raised up."

Fred: Absolutely. I believe that's the restoration move of God and that's God's original plan for His people, that they would be a people, like on the day when He called them to the foot of Mount Sinai, He wanted to speak to everybody.

But everybody wasn't ready. They ran. They said, "Moses you go talk to God for us." That began the splintering, where there would be representatives and God wants to speak to everybody. So, there will be a leading, there still needs to be leadership. There'll be leadership, apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, evangelists, five-fold, but it's not so that they can be the only ones to hear from God. Everybody needs to hear from God, and their places of ministry are beyond just your traditional, classical, five-fold ministry. A mom can be a leader in the PTA and she can shake her school for Jesus Christ. The young people can shake their school and go to the lunch room, preach the Gospel, and the whole school will be turned around because the Spirit of God invades the schools, because a young person prayed over their food and believed God for a miracle. That's the revolution.

Julie: In this 110-year anniversary, you were involved with many different events and rallies connected to the AzusaNow event. Was there any event that you were involved in that felt a complete shifting toward revival and towards unity... something that really impacted you?

Fred: I think of April 2nd when Cindy Jacobs, Will Ford and Lou Engle came back to Azusa Street and there was a whole other level of expectation. And the year before, in those subsequent meetings, we were still dealing with the issues and repenting of them. But after April 2nd it was settled. We could feel it was settled in the spirit. And so it was no longer about repentance, although many people still need to repent, that's a charge that we release to the Church, but it was about moving forward, letting it go. Releasing it. Because there's something in front of us that's bigger than the things and the problems we've had in the past. We need to remember the past. We should learn the lessons from the past.  (Photo via Fred Berry Facebook)

But after that, April 2nd, when Cindy Jacobs prophesied that the denominational walls were coming down and Will Ford talked about what had happened in the past and released it, we began to really sense that we were moving forward out of this to a new day. That the things of the past, they are exactly that: things of the past, the good and the bad. So it wasn't that we were just relishing on the old history, we're looking for a new history. So, from that day forward, leading up to TheCall, the AzusaNow celebration in the coliseum, there was an expectancy of something new.

And so, I believe that moment prepared us to say, "Okay, we need to start looking forward. We've done enough in the past. We can forget it. We can let it go. But now let's reach for something bigger than ourselves." So when we got to the coliseum, we were already in the new thing. We weren't trying to get it to happen. We were already in it. AzusaNow is the beginning. It wasn't the end; it's the beginning of something that's going to keep going. It's like a wave... and it's going across the earth.

Julie: Yes, and a lot of people are talking about the impact that that day meant and they're still processing it all. I mean the healings, the miracles, people getting out of wheelchairs... The wind. You know, I saw a rainbow over the US flag. I caught that on my camera.

Fred: Right. You caught that! I saw that picture! That was awesome! That was like a renewing of a covenant of God over the nation.

Julie: Yes, it was such a powerful day, and there were so many signs. I love hearing all the reports that are coming out about that day.

Fred: Yes, it was incredible. But you know, it was a watershed. I think we're going to really begin to chronicle all the things... and somebody talked about seeing a golden angel. You know, these are all the beginnings of something new that's going happen in America, but it's not just America. The whole world was looking at us, because we have led Christianity around the world, sending the most missionaries, you know, the last couple of revivals have been here.

God has made America the head, not the tail. All of this is a prophetic fulfillment of what He said... if you would make Him Lord of your life.

God can recover America and other nations. I got spiritual kids in Germany, and they email me. I know people in the Netherlands and people in Ghana and other parts of the world that saw the broadcast, and so they're inspired. Brazilians are inspired. Brazil right now, even though they've experienced revival, they're experiencing the Zika virus and the Olympics don't look like they're going very well economically, and there's corruption, so people are looking for hope. I believe they saw hope in what happened on April 9th and hope is very contagious. 

Julie: Yes, and many people I've talked to were wanting something personal for themselves. They wanted a personal revival. And even myself, I was full of expectation for something new and something fresh from the Lord. Being from Thailand, that's my home country, I have such a heart for Thailand and southeast Asia. You know, the women and children there are greatly dishonored and it's the capital of the sex-trade industry. God has just given me such a heart for there. So during Azusa I said, "Lord, give me something for Thailand. You know my heart is there..." I just feel like Thailand got something there. Our prayers were powerful, and as we came together in unity and prayer, I believe Promised Lands were given.

So for you, and I've been asking everybody this, is there something you personally wanted to receive for yourself and family, your ministry or your region, a Promised Land, that you were anticipating? I know you're all about Azusa, so that's most likely what you were anticipating.

Fred: Right. We've been anticipating God giving us property. We've already had some business people come to us saying, "It's possible now." So we're in negotiation with some property owners in the Little Tokyo area (of Los Angeles), not Azusa Street yet, but next door and around that property. So we're anticipating a physical space that's not rented. We're renting space now, and we want to be property owners. The tree planting (event at Azusa Street the next day after AzusaNow) was a small manifestation of that, but we really want an office that'll be ours with a full-time staff, and so those are the things that we've been asking God for and now we can see it. We're in negotiations and business people have come together and said, "We can fund it." Those are the things that we thought were just far off our radar, but now we really can anticipate physical property that will allow us to physically begin to look at our Promised Land. Our restored land. We're excited about that. It's an amazing journey. (Photo via Fred Berry Facebook)

We're trying to figure it all out and we're very thankful for Lou Engle. This whole journey has been about reconciliation, but out of reconciliation comes restitution and that's what we're seeing now is a restitution coming where God's going to say, "I'm going to fix it and I'm going to give you what you deserve." We're excited about it.

You've prayed and God has heard your prayer. You don't have to shout at Him anymore. You can just whisper. For us it's personal. We want to be able to possess the land.

Julie: And it's your Promised Land. It really is... I just feel like that whole area is your Promised Land.

Fred: Yes, it is. And we want the heart of the community as well. We saw that. We've been working there on Azusa Street for 10 years, 20 years on this project, we started with the Bonnie Brae House and we did several other smaller stadiums. We did the sports arena. We did the forum. We've done other events with our local churches here in L.A., so this was the culmination of that. It really was a dream come true, and it pushes us into the next dimension where we can minister to the community. (Photo of Bonnie Brae House via Fred Berry)

Although the Japanese are strongly Buddhist, they really got it (community). They came and they said, "Thank you" to us. That was a reward to have the Buddhists come and ask, "Can we come out and get some of the food, too?" I said, "Yes, this is for you." So, we fed the homeless and we fed the Buddhists. You know, when you see a little Buddhist grandma coming out there to get food, that was a miracle. They're opposed to the Gospel, but everybody has a need. That's a blessing.

Julie: Is there anything else that you want to share with the Elijah List and Breaking Christian News readers globally and those who weren't able to come, something they could receive, something you want them to know?

Fred: Well, we're continuing our work on Azusa Street. We're still believing God for property of our own. I'm writing a book and it's called "Diamonds in the Rough." I'm chronicling the story now, and that book will be out this summer. It tells the story of my journey from being a gold and diamond smuggler in Sierra Leone in 1992 to where I am now. In 1992 they had the L.A. riots here, and that's when I had my moment, when God spoke to me and I was called into the work, delivered and set down to receive instruction, and that's how I wound up at the Bonnie Brae House. It's a wonderful story of how God put me on assignment and I met my wife, Wilma and we became the Flint-stones, and then that allowed us to do what we're doing today.

We're all diamonds in the rough. We may look like a lump of coal in the beginning, but in the end there's a diamond in there and God will send His fire to purify our heart and out of it will come something very precious.

Fred and Wilma Berry
Azusa Street Mission and Historical Society
Website: www.azusastreetmission.org

Fred Berry was reared in a military family; and has traveled extensively in United States, Africa, Brazil and Europe and has lived in the Orient. Fred served as Centennial Prayer officer on the Azusa Centennial Board which convened the 100th anniversary gathering back to the Historic Azusa Street Mission in 2006. Fred recently retired as Director of a Cyber-seniors computer training program, which he developed 10 years ago & was held at Break Away Technologies—a computer training and research institute in Los Angeles.

He has been saved and filled with the Holy Ghost since 1983 and answered God's call to ministry in 1992. Fred Berry is an Ordained Elder with the Church of God in Christ under Bishop Charles Blake and founded a Para-church organization called Joshua Ministries, Inc. In 2004, Fred & Wilma were ordained as an apostle/prophet team with Christian International, a ministry founded by Apostle Bill Hamon.

In 2006, Fred and Wilma Berry re-opened the Azusa Street Mission location and were commissioned by Apostle Bill Hamon and the Christian International Board of regents to Pastor the new Azusa Street Mission. Since that time of commissioning they have taught the Apostolic Prophetic training sessions on Azusa Street and have graduated over 3000 pastors and leaders into the present truth of God's word concerning the gifts of the Spirit and the prophetic realm. Apostle Berry has a Holy Spirit inspired love of Biblical and natural history and seeks to teach others about our historic legacy through an annual event called the Azusa Street Festival.

Fred and Wilma Berry are affectionately known, as "God's Living Flint-Stones."

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