Fifty-Year-Old Testimony Still Unfolding

More than 50 years have passed since Tammy M. McCann, 55, was healed of epilepsy at a revival service in North Carolina. And yet, that miracle is still producing excitement today at Renaissance Church in Jamestown.

The church’s pastor, Jason M. Goins, says his executive administrator’s testimony helped spark a wave of similar phenomena at the church, a two-campus operation just south of Greensboro.

“Our church has seen a lot of miracles the last two to three years,” says Goins, 46, a bivocational pastor who also operates a law practice. “As we were coming back from Covid, she shared her story and it spurred us on to believe this could happen in our congregation.”

For example, Goins says, two women who had been told they were infertile received prayer the night of their baptism. Two weeks later, both learned they were pregnant; today their children are in the church.

Another time, members prayed for a man with scoliosis. At his next appointment his doctor asked, “What happened? You’re three inches taller than before.”

McCann’s amazing story received statewide attention recently when she shared a copy of an account of her healing at an AG ministerial retreat in Myrtle Beach. Written by her mother, it appeared in the Apr. 4, 1976, issue of Pentecostal Evangel.

“My goodness, 50 years,” says McCann, whose healing took place at Lexington First on Mar. 16, 1974. “I think it demonstrates the faithfulness of God and how His healing can be complete. I never worry about having seizures. It’s the furthest thing from my mind.”

McCann’s mother, Doris Morrison, took her to the altar only after the girl’s persistent urging. Today, McCann says, “I knew I had to get to the altar because Jesus was going to heal me.”

John Stevenson, a Spirit-filled Presbyterian minister, led that week’s revival. After he finished praying, there was no doubt in McCann’s mind that God had moved. On the way home, the then four-year-old girl told her parents: “Jesus healed me tonight.”

That experience made a huge difference in McCann’s life, says John R. Bost, who was assistant pastor at the time and remains in touch with her.

Bost says McCann comes out of the Pentecostal belief where the operating in the Spirit is a natural practice.

“She’s one of those people who will say, ‘Why don’t I just pray for you?’” Bost, 76, who today operates a real estate consulting and pastoral coaching business, says. “She has a composure about her that can be very professional and compassionate.”

Baptized in water in 1977 and filled with the Spirit in 1980, as McCann grew older, she realized God had healed her for a purpose.

Knowing God had a call on her life led to her teaching in a Rainbows program as a teen; in her early 20s she led a senior citizens ministry.

Professionally, she enrolled at High Point University, earned a degree in elementary education, and taught first-graders for several years.

While she held a number of other positions over the years, McCann didn’t make ministry a full-time endeavor until long after she helped Goins start Renaissance in 2008.

In 2019 the pastor launched Triad Fellowship, a two-year school of ministry that fulfills many of the requirements for AG ministerial credentials.

One of the first students in the program, McCann has graduated from Triad Fellowship and is working on her ordination from the Assemblies of God.

But the most significant element of her experience with the school goes back to a job interview just after Triad Fellowship opened. The interviewer said she wanted to ask McCann a question.

“You have held some prestigious positions, but I can’t help but wonder if you are searching for something you haven’t found yet,” the woman said. “Do you know what you’re looking for?”

“I knew immediately it was ministry – full-time ministry,” McCann says. “I had not been running from my calling, but I had not pursued it as a full-time job. The next month I applied for Triad.”

A church consultant had recommended Goins hire an executive assistant. Because she enjoyed her job with a corporate franchise owner, McCann only agreed to a part-time position in 2020. A year later, after the franchise sold, she went to work for Renaissance full-time.

In addition to helping the pastor with administrative matters, McCann oversees Triad Fellowship. Goins says the ministry school has transformed Renaissance’s culture.

“Next year we will have graduated 50 students; 75% of them attend our church,” the pastor says. “The power of that level of depth in your church is amazing. I have 35 people who are aching to start new churches.

“As far as Tammy goes, the thing that strikes me about her is this woman has a college degree but felt called to be my assistant and serve. Out of that, the Lord has given her this ministry school. It’s amazing to see how God has honored her sacrifice.”

Some miracles take 50 years to fully unfold.