Radical Disciples – A Remnant Revolution

The re-Birth of a Heavenly ordained Vision

I write this post burning with Holy Ghost fire, stirred by a dream that thundered through my spirit Sunday night—my spiritual father, now in glory, met me in a coffee shop drenched in the fragrance of divine appointment, and with eyes blazing like coals from the altar, he handed me a scroll pulsing with heavenly weight; I asked, “What is this?” and he declared with authority, “It is the deed to the vision—the legacy sealed in the Spirit, the mandate forged in fire, and I now release it into your hands,” and in that moment, I felt the mantle descend, the commissioning roar, and the breath of God surge through my bones like lightning—this is not nostalgia, this is inheritance, and the scroll is not paper, it is prophecy.

In 2022, I started hearing a still, small voice stirring the depths of my spirit, whispering with ancient authority: “Remember the commissioning.” This sound echoed like a trumpet blast in the halls of heaven, calling me back to the threshold of destiny. Today I realize that it is the Spirit’s gentle wind, unrelenting in its pursuit, beckoning me to reclaim the original fire that burned within my bones. In each breath, I sense the weight of Heaven leaning toward me, poised to ignite anew what time has tried to dim. The call is piercing, the tone prophetic, and I know I stand at the cusp of a renewed mandate.

At first, I bowed my head to the memory of Chuck Pierce’s commissioning, grateful for the mantle of Apostolic teacher that descended upon me three years ago. Yet as the whisper repeated, a holy disquiet rose within me—a knowing that this call was deeper than any earthly ordination. I plunged into the realm of Kingdom pedagogy, devouring truths about teaching in the Church, yet my heart remained restless. The study refreshed my soul but did not satisfy the yearning in my spirit. I sensed there was more, a hidden pathway that Holy Spirit sought to reveal.

In December of 2024, the fog lifted as dreams transported me back to the early 2000’s, to days when my wife and I were part of a ministry that had the vision of launching a movement of home fellowships across North Florida, a Matrix of Ecclesia house Fellowships. For the first year we witnessed faces gathered around kitchen tables, lives intertwined by intimate worship and raw confession.

Those gatherings were embers of a sacred fire, burning bright in the corners of that region. Holy Spirit began through the Bibles and studies of the early Church fathers, exposing me to the  vision of the early Church, birthed at Pentecost, which heaven was beckoning to come alive once more, as Holy Spirit continued drawing me into a much deeper in depth study that reached from 33 A.D. to the rise of Constantine in 325 A.D.

I discovered that the flame kindled on the Temple steps grew into an organic network of over 400,000 house churches across the known world. The very presence of the Lord permeated their gatherings, and Heaven’s favor clothed them like a royal mantle. Even in the furnace of persecution, they prospered in body, in resources, and above all, in holiness. This revelation ignited hope within me, as if the heartbeat of the first Ecclesia pulsed in my own chest.

Yet the vision dimmed within a few short years when Sunday “Church” services overshadowed those home fellowships. The clarion call of intimate community was drowned out by four walls and a steeple. The momentum that once rushed through living rooms and back porches was rerouted into auditoriums, and the homes lay silent. I wept for the church that once danced in living rooms now lulled itself to sleep in sanctuaries.

Around 2010, my wife and I surrendered to a fresh assignment: street ministry, nursing home outreach, and stewardship of ministry schools in distant nations. We worshiped among the homeless and the elderly, and Holy Spirit led me to write lessons that were used to teach emerging leaders in lands we had never seen. Our hearts stretched across oceans, our voices lifted in broken streets, but still the whisper pulsed beneath it all: “Remember the commissioning.”

In 2015, Heaven opened a new door and led us to co-lead a ministry birthed in a 1906 riverfront home overlooking the majestic St. Johns. The “RiverHouse” became a sanctuary of signs, wonders, and unrestrained glory. Every corner of that old house trembled with miracle testimonies—hearts healed, chains broken, and glory unveiled. For over four years, Heaven’s presence made the house a river of living water, overflowing into every life that entered.

Then, as seasons often change, the RiverHouse era drew to a close. Yet in the ashes of its ending, the ancient vision kindled again like a phoenix rising. My spirit surged forward, reminded that every closed door testifies a new portal waiting to swing wide. I embraced the call to lead a homeless mission and then stepped into my current role at Highway to Heaven Church, each assignment a breadcrumb on the path to my true landing.

At the close of my first year as senior pastor, the whisper crescendoed. No longer an occasional breeze, the call now came at least once each month: “Remember the commissioning.” The urgency grew, as if the Spirit were trumpeting through eternity, demanding my full attention. I discerned that the hidden mandate was not lost but patiently waiting within my very marrow.

In February of this year, a prophetic friend called with thunder in his voice: “The Lord is transferring the mantle of that ancient vision to you. Heaven has commissioned you to run with it.” His words dropped like lightning bolts, illuminating the darkness around me. I paused, wrestling with doubt, for another who was trained up under the one who had received original mantle had begun his own work, launching his own ministry.

But something deep within me asked the question: Could this still be my portion?

I confessed my uncertainty and immediately I heard the Spirit warn against clinging to a man-made mantle. “Mantles are issued by My Spirit alone,” He thundered. “A borrowed mantle may appear authentic, but it will unravel as another religious enterprise, cloaked in imitation.” I trembled at the gravity of His word, understanding that my call must be heaven-endowed, untainted by human ambition.

Several days later, that friend returned with fire in his eyes: “I prayed, and the Lord confirmed—He has truly bestowed the mantle upon you. The other man received only what he settled for, like Terah, who never pressed toward the promised land.” His report burned in my spirit, a divine seal on what the whisper had long promised. A few days later a second witness spoke, as this word was confirmed by an Apostle who stated the same message that the Lord has transferred the mantle to me.

Now I stand in holy expectancy, watching a fresh wind blow across my life. I record every answer to prayer, every sign of shifting seasons. It feels as though the fiery trial of refinement has reached its climax, and as Abraham emerged purified, so I sense my own spirit girded for breakthrough. The gates of Kingdom authority are swinging wide before me.

During a recent prayer walk, the Lord broke the stillness and asked, “Do you see what has brought you to this place?” I lifted my eyes and answered, “You alone, Lord.” He laughed with uncontainable delight and spoke again: “It is because you refused to settle when others said, ‘This is it.’ You have never bowed to lesser promises.” His affirmation settled in my bones like honey, sweet and irrevocable.

I may not see the full landscape of what lies ahead, but I hold fast to one unshakable truth: I will walk so close to Him that even the dust of His footprints cannot fall between us. My soul vows to cling to His every whisper, every nuance of His voice, until the commissioning unfolds in its fullness. The prophetic call rings out, and I step forward, commissioned by grace, clad in heaven’s fire, ready to awaken the pilgrim-exiles to their own destiny.

To be continued…..

~Dr. Russell Welch
Elder / Apostolic Teacher: Highway to Heaven Church and Founder and Shepherd of Remnant Warrior Ministries / Remnant Warrior School of Spiritual Warfare.

Much of what I have studied with regard to the Ecclesia and house church is shared in two books I’ve authored: The Father’s House: Returning to the Ancient Path as the Lord’s Ecclesia and Ancient Paths – Modern Gates: The Kingdom Blue-Print for House Churches