Faith Under Fire: Pastor Phil Hutchings on Bold Christianity in Canada
About this episode
Pastor Phil Hutchings of Higher Life Church in Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Canada joins Philip Cameron for a gripping conversation about what it truly costs to stand for bold Christianity in the face of government opposition. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Phil refused to close his church doors — and paid for it with a stint in solitary confinement, shackled in ankle chains for seven days. "It wasn't about bravado," he explains. "I just realized if there's one time for the church to be open, it would be during this craziness." Rather than silencing his congregation, the arrest became a catalyst. A Satanist who stumbled upon their outdoor worship service — thinking it was a freedom rally — got saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, and is now preaching the gospel. Phil unpacks the spiritual lesson behind the story of the twelve spies in Numbers 13–14, showing how ten spies spoke in agreement with the problem rather than the Promise, and how God gave them exactly what they declared. His book, *A Mouthful of Miracles*, equips believers to stop speaking defeat and start speaking victory. Phil also shares his vision to plant seven new churches — one for every day he spent in jail — as a declaration that persecution only propels the Kingdom forward. Get his book and learn more at higherlifechurch.ca.
Part of our Faith collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“Every time the devil pushes on you, he just pushes you to greater. I find God has a way of balancing the books really well, and that's what we're seeing.”
“When they were running away from Goliath, they were rattling off all the statistics about him. But when David was running at Goliath, he was rattling off all the statistics of his God. Your words definitely push you into your future. They're a bridge to your future.”
“Brother Ted said, you should start a church for every day they put you in jail. And I thought, you know what, my spirit grabbed that — just to stick it to the devil. We're going to put seven churches on this earth, just as a statement to the enemy that you can't come against God and win.”
What's Discussed
Pastor Phil Hutchings of Higher Life Church in Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Canada recounts being arrested and placed in solitary confinement for seven days — in ankle chains — after refusing to close his church during COVID-19 mandates. Rather than shrinking the congregation, the persecution grew it. A self-identified Satanist wandered into an outdoor worship service and was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit; he now preaches the gospel. Phil draws on Numbers 13–14 and the story of the twelve spies to teach that words frame reality — his book, A Mouthful of Miracles, provides practical declarations to shift believers from victim to victor. He also announces a goal to plant seven new churches, one for each day he spent in jail.
- Arrested for Keeping Church Open
- Seven Days in Solitary Confinement
- Persecution Grows the Church
- Satanist Saved at Outdoor Service
- Breaking Weak Christianity Series
- Power of Words and A Mouthful of Miracles
- Twelve Spies and Speaking Faith
- Planting Seven Churches as a Statement
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:I am delighted to have you with us. This is going to be a warm-up part before we go to the main show. We got a great guest today all the way from Canada, and he's got an amazing story. He's anointed of the Holy Ghost, most importantly. But he was put in prison because he refused to close down his church — my kind of guy — during Covid. And he stood and was put in irons, literally, for the gospel's sake, and he'll be telling you how you can go through the battle and still win the war.
Philip:Because let me tell you, every time you go do something for God, there's always a battle, there's always a fight. But I got news for you: God gives the victory. And that one statement — God gives the victory — takes all other doubts and fears out of the equation, because God is able to lift you up out of the storm you're in today. I don't care what it is, God's bigger than your storm. He knows you, he suffered, redeemed you, and called you by your name. I'm on first-name basis with the Lord. He knows my name. My name is written in the palm of his hands, and so is yours.
Philip:So instead of being fearful and doubting and full of trepidation, it's time to stand up and say, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And when you do that, great things are going to happen. Share this broadcast — if you would, hit the share button and let your friends know that Daily Faith exists and we're on the air. And then as we appear on your screen, if you tap that every time we come on the air, we'll send a notification to you to let you know we're here. We're also on YouTube — very simple, youtube.com/dailyfaith.
Philip:Now with that location, all the shows we've ever done are right there, and there isn't a storm you're going through that we haven't already talked about and shared and ministered. And I, every two or three times a week, I'll do a reel — a thought that I put in your mind to give you courage to keep going. The whole point of Daily Faith is to affirm your faith, to walk with the Lord Jesus every day. Because I'll tell you what, there is no one else to go to in the world we're living in. There is nowhere else to go.
Philip:And one more address: dailyfaith.tv is like our home base right there. There's a giving page if you want to be a part of our mission work. You can also go through old programs. There's a shop there, and there's a whole bunch of — as my sons tell me, I'm too old-fashioned — but the merch. You can get merch there, and you can go there, click on shop, they're telling me, and by doing so you'll be able to get some really cool stuff that represents the mission work that we do, because some incredible stuff is going on right now at this very moment.
Philip:In fact, before the program started, I had to pass my phone away because we're getting a call from Moldova — mission work bases over there. So we got some exciting things coming up. I can't wait to see what God's going to do there. Listen, we're going to have a great program today. Phil Hutchins is with us. He's got something that the Lord wants to talk through him into your life. So don't you go anywhere. I'm glad you're here. Welcome to Daily Faith.
Philip:Hey, welcome to Daily Faith, my friends. I am so glad you can drop in and be with us today. We have got a great program and I think that God's going to bless you in what you hear and see and feel. You see, it's not just what you hear. There's sometimes an impartation by the power of the Holy Ghost through these cameras. And my guest today, Phil Hutchins, is literally ministering and will be talking to you today from a different country. He's in Canada, and he lives right on the border, just on the other side of the border in Canada, in a town called — Pam says now I'm a Scotsman and I know I've murdered that name, so I'm sure he's going to correct me when he comes on — but we're going to have a great show and don't you go anywhere.
Philip:We've got a great work in missions in Moldova. It's the poorest country in Europe. It's beside Ukraine. In fact, we have also had a home in Ukraine for nine years — long before the war broke out. We had a rescue place right in Odessa, Ukraine, where young girls come instead of being put on the street when they leave the orphanage and be trafficked. One girl in the hands of the trafficker will earn thousands of dollars a year for the trafficker.
Philip:And we've got an amazing place called Vatra Village. It is a village of homes on the largest lake in Moldova, and our kids come out of the orphanages. And instead of being on the street, we take them into this village — you're seeing it with the red roofs there — and we put them back in school and tell them: if you are born, God has a plan. You are not a mistake. All through their orphanage existence they've been told they're garbage, they're nothing, no one wants them. And we tell them: if you're born, God has a plan. And the most amazing things take place in these kids' lives.
Philip:They are transformed by the power of God and they turn from orphans to missionaries. And they are outreaching all across Moldova. We work with different churches that we encourage and support. We do youth camps. We care for every house that we have in our village of homes. Every house has a family that they support. Every widow gets food and coal and wood and blankets, or whatever else they need. They dig their gardens in the spring so they can plant flowers or vegetables. I keep saying flowers — flowers is a luxury that we can live without in Moldova — vegetables.
Philip:And one of the girls, Victoria, just wants to share her testimony. They do all this by themselves. We don't have a production team over there. Our young folk do this, our kids do this and send it to us. Listen to Victoria's testimony of what God's done for her by the power of the Lord and the work of the Orphans' Hands. Watch this.
Victoria:My name is Victoria and I am 16 years old. We are three siblings, each with a different father. From a young age, we were raised for a while by our grandmother, but I barely knew my mother. She lost her parental rights because she couldn't take care of us. As for my father, I don't even know who he is. I have no memories of him, no idea what he looks like or if he ever thought about me.
Victoria:My childhood was far from happy. When we were little, we were often left alone at home, just the three of us. Our grandmother didn't really take care of us either. Hunger became a normal part of our lives, and out of desperation we started begging in the village just to have a piece of bread. Sometimes kind neighbors would give us food, but most of the time we had to fend for ourselves, trying to survive in a world that felt cold and uncaring.
Victoria:When I was around six years old, I was taken to an orphanage. A month later, my siblings joined me. After a few years, our aunt took us in. For the first time I dared to hope. Maybe we would finally have a family, someone to love us. But we quickly realized she hadn't taken us in to care for us. She just needed free labor for the summer. When the season ended, she sent us away to another orphanage.
Victoria:For the next four years we were shuffled between three different orphanages, never staying long enough to feel at home. But then at the last orphanage, something unexpected happened. A family took us in. We stayed with them for five years, and I let myself believe that maybe we had finally found our place in the world. But fate wasn't done testing us. The couple that took us in became sick and could no longer care for us, and once again we had to leave.
Victoria:Social Services found us another family, and that's where I have been living until now. Despite everything, I refused to let my circumstances define me. I wanted more. I wanted an education, a future. And that's how I discovered the Orphans' Hands. And for the first time I feel like I have a real chance to build the life I've always dreamed of. I now have a safe place to stay, a chance to study, and the opportunity to chase my dream of becoming a psychologist.
Victoria:There are so many people who carry deep childhood scars, and my greatest wish is to help them find light in the darkness, just as I am learning to do. Thank you for this opportunity.
Philip:And that's Victoria. No hope. Bounced around from family to family who didn't really want her. Wandering, in the back of her mind, who her dad was. And she came to us one year ago, and she is growing and blossoming every day. And that's what we do. We have got homes in Moldova and Ukraine. We take these kids in, we put them back in school, we educate them — and that's their attraction to come to us. But when they come to us, they find out that our attraction is Jesus. And we are seeing the most miraculous things happen in these kids' lives.
Philip:That young girl, if caught by a trafficker against her will — this isn't partly girls that get caught up in a bar one night. These are innocent kids that are promised a fake job because of desperation. Victoria, without a home, is desperate. And someone coming up and saying, hey, I've got an uncle in Italy, they'll give you a job, or I'm looking for a babysitter — and before you know it, that girl is gone forever. Used 30 to 50 times a day. And they come to us instead and find the gospel of hope.
Philip:Every one of the house parents — each of the homes in Vatra Village has a house parent — every one of those house parents were once orphans themselves. We rescued them 15, 16, 17, 18 years ago, and now they're married with their own children, and they know exactly how these kids feel when they come into their homes. We need your help. We are growing. Every home that we have needs 300 people giving a dollar a day.
Philip:And we are opening two new homes for little kids between the age of four and sixteen. And this is — you're looking in the video right now — that square outside of the town. We got two houses and a barn on about 20 acres of land, and we're going to be able to house 50 little kids in that place. And there's a great big barn there as well. We're going to convert that barn into a youth camp right there. And we need a miracle of finance to pay for this. Right now we have a $150,000 payment coming in July, but we're also looking for people that will sponsor — become Faith Parents for these homes — and I believe God is speaking to you right now.
Philip:If you'd like to help us, a dollar a day won't change your life, but a dollar a day will certainly change these kids' lives for eternity. To watch the kids that are now the house parents — they came in just like Victoria, so uncertain, so unsure, so afraid — and to watch the confidence that God has put in them to care for others, it's just amazing. If you're a businessman or a businesswoman, maybe God's blessed you for this purpose, and I would love to talk to you. I'd love to explain further if you're interested.
Philip:Our address is really simple: just the Orphans' Hands, PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. You can also go to dailyfaith.tv — there's a giving page there, you can go right now and give on there, and we would really appreciate it. Also there's an 800 number: 833-Daily-Faith. And there are real live persons waiting to talk to you right now. If you will call them and say, listen, I want to be a part of the new place called Promised Land, and I would like to sponsor — help sponsor — one of the homes at Promised Land by giving a dollar a day. You can also get in contact with us there and we'll be glad to talk to you if you want to help us build this place and finish these homes to allow us to get more kids in for the kingdom of God. I'd really appreciate it, so please do.
Philip:If you will let the Lord talk to your heart today — I'm delighted to have a new friend. It's amazing, you meet folks sometimes that you feel you've known all your life, and Phil Hutchins is one of those guys. And he is a pastor of a great church called Higher Life in the town called — Phil, help me here. Will you please jump on this thing and save my bacon?
Phil Hutchins:I kind of want to watch the ship go down. Keep going.
Philip:No, no, no, no. You had it. It was Quispamsis. Quispamsis. Quispamsis. You could just say St. John — we're just outside St. John.
Phil Hutchins:No, no, I know. No, I'm going to go to Quispamsis. I want to do the whole thing here.
Philip:I am delighted to have you on Daily Faith, my friend. I love your Canadian hat and your lumberjack jacket. You are the quintessential Canadian.
Phil Hutchins:Hey, I got my moose mug. I'm ready to roll.
Philip:Oh my goodness. Tell us your church and what God's doing through you and your brother in Canada.
Phil Hutchins:Yeah, it's an honor to be on here. And like you said, it feels like we've known each other for a long time. I appreciate your ministry, appreciate the broadcast, and everybody watching — we love you. Thanks for watching the crazy Canadian this morning, or I should say this afternoon. But I'm right in Quispamsis, so that's in New Brunswick, a province right above Maine for all the Americans watching. And our church is called Higher Life Church, and we've been plugging away for Jesus and believing him for amazing things this year.
Arrested for Keeping Church Open
Philip:And so, brother Phil was just talking about jail. You went to jail. I went to jail. Listen, you've got to hear this story. This poor soul was put in jail by the Canadian government for doing — what was your terrible crime? Confess right now.
Phil Hutchins:Yeah, we kept our church open during Covid. Guilty as charged.
Philip:We kept our church open during Covid, and you were really in jail. You were in a real jail, weren't you.
Phil Hutchins:Oh yeah, yeah. I was in solitary confinement. They put me — so they were sending a statement out, you know, they were trying to tell folks, listen, follow the Covid mandates. They were using me as an example, for sure. But I was in solitary confinement for seven days. Now, they were trying to put me in for 90 days, so I didn't know how long it was going to be. It just happened to be seven days. This wicked judge was trying to keep me in longer, but it didn't work out. Thank the Lord, I was able to get out after seven days.
Seven Days in Solitary Confinement
Philip:Solitary confinement — that's crazy.
Phil Hutchins:Oh yeah, they broke laws. They broke laws to do what they did, to push their finger on me.
Philip:I hope you're suing them.
Phil Hutchins:Well, you know what, here's what I find — every time, and I know you know this, brother Phil — but every time the devil pushes on you, he just pushes you to greater. I find God has a way of balancing the books really well, and that's what we're seeing.
Philip:We've got your mug shot. Can you put up that mug shot? Let you see. There's the proof — that's him in the clink. As we can see. There's the proof. Look at that.
Phil Hutchins:Oh my goodness. One thing that was good about that mug shot is I learned I was six feet one and a half inches. I noticed, you know.
Philip:It's bigger than I am. There you go.
Phil Hutchins:That's so surreal, even just talking about it. I don't know if my mind has caught up to the fact that that happened. It was like a movie. So they put me in — so there were times that they had me in ankle chains, and in solitary confinement it's like a cement box with a little bathroom area. And they gave me one shower out of that seven days. And thank God for that. But the thing was, we just — I wasn't trying — it wasn't about bravado, you know, or like, fight the man. I just realized if there's one time for the church to be open, it would be during this craziness.
Phil Hutchins:What an opportunity for the church. And I just refused to — if they could keep Home Depot Garden Center open, we should be able to have the church open. And so the thing about it was, we were very vocal about it. We were like, we are not playing this game. We said we're going to keep the church open, and we did. And they tried to send a statement out with how they treated us. But God flipped the script on the enemy.
Phil Hutchins:And I love — I love that scripture, and I know you know it, and probably many of the viewers know it — what the enemy meant for harm, God used it for good. And there's one thing I've learned out of this, brother Phil: he is a good God. I never knew that would be the hardest part of my job as a pastor — convincing folks of how good he is. But he's a good God, he's a good God, faithful God, amazing, never fails us.
Philip:Does he? What do you know? What have you learned? You don't go through that experience without learning something. What did God speak to you during that time?
Persecution Grows the Church
Phil Hutchins:So when you go through that, it puts a greater — the frustration towards religion is amplified. You don't put up with stuff. It kind of puts like an I'm-all-in to another level. You get cranked a little bit. And so I just preached a series at our church called Breaking Weak Christianity, dealing with compromise. I found — I don't know how it was in America, but in Canada, many pulpits were compromised during Covid. And so same here, we've been trying to preach fire back into the believer. And this definitely put fire in us.
Phil Hutchins:And it put fire in the church. I didn't know what it would do to the church, but it increased it. You don't know how you're going to respond to persecution until you're persecuted. And our media put us through the mud, and we made it. I think we probably had a handful of families leave — it wasn't many. But if anything, it increased. There was actually — so this is funny, you'll find this funny. So when I got out of jail, we did church outdoors because the restrictions were a lot looser.
Satanist Saved at Outdoor Service
Phil Hutchins:So brother Phil, we did church outdoors for almost two years. That's crazy, in the Canadian winter weather. People came out and worshiped outside. You know, folks are real when they're worshiping in Canadian weather, you know, folks are real. But we did — when we did church outdoors, people came with Canadian flags. It looked like a freedom rally. So there was a Satanist that came. He thought it was a freedom rally, so he came all excited. He gets saved in the service.
Phil Hutchins:He gets filled with the Holy Ghost. He becomes one of our security guys. He is now in the ministry, preaching the gospel. He was just preaching last Sunday. So look what God did. What the enemy meant for harm, God flipped the script on the devil, turned it around for good. And it's just encouraging.
Philip:And that's what you've learned out of this thing. And if you're watching us today and you're going through a terrible time, and you're thinking, oh my God, the Lord's forgotten me and I don't know how I'm going to make it through — let me tell you something. Persecution, when it arose in Jerusalem, it was the persecution of the church in Jerusalem that scattered them to the uttermost parts of the earth. If there hadn't been persecution, if they were being cuddled and cozied in Jerusalem, they would have stayed there. But the hard times is what drove them to go out and share the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.
Philip:And if you're going through a hard time just now, listen to me: God has a purpose in it. And that is to grow you and mature you and to give you a gut check — do I really believe this or not? And when you talk to yourself, I mean exalt the Lord Jesus by talking to yourself inside, you are going to change the tone and the atmosphere around you. And the books you've written about the power of the tongue — explain that to us, Phil.
Breaking Weak Christianity Series
Phil Hutchins:Yeah, that's one of the things that really drove us forward. We stopped talking like a victim and we started talking like a victor, because life and death are in the power of your mouth. And I know some people have a hard time with that teaching because they think, well, it's that name-it-and-claim-it stuff, that blabber-and-grab-it. But anytime Jesus wanted something done, he did it with a conversation. There's power in words. And so we put a book together just to bring folks a tool in their hands to challenge how they're talking, because sometimes if I want to change somebody's life, I just change how they talk.
Phil Hutchins:And I find — look at David coming at Goliath versus how Israel handled Goliath. Israel was running from what they should have been running to. Why? When they were running away from Goliath, they were rattling off all the statistics about him. But when David was running at Goliath, he was rattling off all the statistics of his God. Hallelujah. And so your words definitely push you into your future. They're a bridge to your future.
Phil Hutchins:And we're a sum total of what we've been talking about ourselves yesterday. Our words are literally framing our world. And so we try to put that book together, and in the back of it there are declarations. But I find too many people — so you know, that challenge of Covid hit, they arrested us, they put us in jail. And I tried to show folks from our story: it's not unscriptural to be challenged, but it's unscriptural to be defeated.
Phil Hutchins:And so we came out of this with a different mentality. We started changing how we talked. We started speaking the word of God and everything shifted for the better. What the enemy meant to bury us, God used to propel us. And coming out of this, I was telling you before coming on — a wonderful man of God, brother Ted Shuttlesworth — love him. He was such a — I mean, he was in our corner, guiding us through this craziness, because there's not a class in Bible college that taught you how to deal with this kind of thing. There's not a book out on this, but there should be.
Power of Words and A Mouthful of Miracles
Phil Hutchins:But brother Ted said, you should start a church for every day they put you in jail. And I thought, you know what, my spirit grabbed that — just to stick it to the devil. We're going to put seven churches on this earth, just as a statement to the enemy that you can't come against God and win.
Planting Seven Churches as a Statement
Philip:That's amazing. I want to put up the book that you just talked about. A lot of preachers have good theories, but this is a book that's been written through experience and standing up against the powers of government and saying that the power of Christ is more important than the power of the government. It's called A Mouthful of Miracles, and you can get it really simple — just higherlifechurch.ca. For Canada, higherlifechurch.ca. And I want you to get this book.
Philip:In fact, if I were you, I'd buy this book and give it to your pastor and explain to your pastor that you watch Phil on TV. And here's a young man that went to prison rather than bow to the power of secularism. And my own opinion, Phil, is I think that this was a social experiment — that they used Covid as an excuse to see how much they could control the populace. And they did very well. They were successful. But I don't think the church will fall for it again.
Phil Hutchins:I totally agree. They would be unsuccessful.
Philip:And you've also got something coming up — and I'm going to get you back on the program if you'll come — about faith. I'd love to talk more about that. We're coming, we're coming to the other end. So I'm not going to open two cans of worms at the same time. Tell them what's in this book and how it can encourage them to stand up against their Goliath in their circumstance.
Phil Hutchins:So one of the primary stories from the scripture that sticks out to me as it relates to the power of words was the twelve spies — the whole situation before they were going to go and grab hold of what God said they could have. They came back and ten of the twelve spies spoke literally against what God said they could have. And the only two spies that spoke in favor of what God said you could have were Joshua and Caleb.
Twelve Spies and Speaking Faith
Phil Hutchins:But you know what's funny? The other ten spies — no one knows the names of the other ten, because when you're in fear, you're forgettable. But when you're in faith, you're unforgettable. And what I love about this whole story — and this is what we put in the book — is they spoke in agreement with the problem rather than the problem solver. They allowed their mouths to get in agreement with the problem rather than the promise.
Phil Hutchins:And then, you know what I think is probably some of the craziest scripture I've seen in the Bible? In that story, when God said, I'm going to give them exactly what they said. And they dropped dead because they were saying, we should just die here or go back to Egypt. And God gave them exactly what they spoke. This is the premise of the book. They were at the Promised Land. The marker was milk and honey. They saw the milk and honey and they said, however, we are like grasshoppers in our sight. And God put them on a death march for 40 years and said, not one of you over 21 will ever come back here again. I'm going to bury you in the trackless deserts as you walk around and around in circles for 40 years.
Phil Hutchins:Now I don't know about you folks, but think about the math on that. For one day they spoke something bad — that was one year of hardship. I challenge you today: God has a Promised Land for you. And the devil wants you to be giant-conscious instead of milk-and-honey-conscious. And I'm here to tell you, in the name of Jesus, stop the negative speaking over your life. Stop the negative speak over your kids. Stop the negative speak over your health and your business and your church, and say, we are able to go up and take the country.
Philip:So good. I want you to get in contact. If you feel this today, get this book. And Phil pastors Higher Life Church in Quispamsis, in New Brunswick, Canada. That's it on the screen right there. You did it. Did I do it right?
Phil Hutchins:You did it again. I'm impressing myself.
Philip:We're almost out of time, Phil. Thank you for being with me on Daily Faith. I love you folks, and you'll be back on pretty soon, I'm sure. Thank you for watching Daily Faith. We love you. Be a part of what we're doing in Ukraine and Moldova. The best is yet to be. God bless.
For over 25 years, the Cameron family has been changing the lives of orphans in Romania and Moldova — from providing running water, flushing toilets, and clean wells, to coal for heat, new windows, as well as food and clothing. They champion the physical needs of the orphan in these broken and desolate countries. Many of Moldova's orphans are saved from the horrors of trafficking through homes founded by the Camerons, and in the process orphans become daughters and sons. They come to know their heavenly Father and are forever changed by the love of Jesus.
God helped the Camerons lift these amazing young men and women out of darkness. Now, no longer orphans, they want to return and invade that very same darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. Orphans' Hands equips these daughters and sons to become missionaries. Your monthly gift of $31 will allow us to rescue and take in more girls and boys, saving them from the hell of human trafficking. Your monthly partnership will allow us to care for those in the Orphans' Hands homes in Moldova and Ukraine. If you want to join Philip and Chrissy in taking care of these precious young people, please contact us today by calling 833-Daily-Faith. You can also give by going online to www.dailyfaith.tv. So many lives depend on what we do. Thank you for loving.
Common questions
Why did Pastor Phil Hutchings get arrested and put in jail during Covid?
He kept his church open during the Covid lockdowns, refusing to comply with government mandates. He was placed in solitary confinement for seven days — the government was trying to hold him for 90 days — and he says they broke laws in the process of making an example out of him.
What was it like for Phil Hutchings in solitary confinement?
He describes it as a cement box with a small bathroom area, where he was kept in ankle chains and given only one shower over the entire seven days. He says the experience felt surreal, like a movie, and that his mind still hasn't fully caught up to the fact that it happened.
How did the jail experience affect Phil Hutchings' church — did people leave?
Surprisingly, the church grew rather than shrinking. Only a handful of families left, and the congregation actually increased. He also shares a striking story: a Satanist who stumbled into one of their outdoor services thinking it was a freedom rally ended up getting saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, and is now in ministry preaching the gospel.
What is Phil Hutchings' book 'A Mouthful of Miracles' about?
The book is about the power of words to shape your life and future. Hutchings uses the biblical story of the twelve spies to illustrate his point — the ten spies who spoke in agreement with the problem rather than God's promise died in the wilderness, while Joshua and Caleb, who spoke in faith, entered the Promised Land. He argues that negative speaking over your life, health, family, or business keeps you from what God has for you, and the book includes declarations in the back to help readers change how they talk.
What did Phil Hutchings decide to do in response to the seven days he spent in jail?
Inspired by advice from minister Ted Shuttlesworth, Hutchings committed to planting one new church for every day he was imprisoned — seven churches total. He framed it as a direct statement to the enemy that you can't come against God and win.
Topics
phil hutchingshigher life churchcovid church persecutionpower of wordsa mouthful of miraclessolitary confinement faithcanadian pastor