Bringing the Fire Home
Today, Renner now finds himself back where he began, in Tulsa, OK with his wife and two young daughters. And much like his father, this wasn’t the call he wanted. “What I said to God when I pleaded not to move here was, ‘God…Russia is so on fire. I’m seeing you move. Why would I go to America?’”

But he started to see that America needs revival too. His passion is helping American churches see worship as more than a structured 25-minute prelude to teaching. “America definitely doesn’t need help with lights production and talent—that is so over the top amazing and a blessing to the whole world. Even in 25-minutes you can have a great worship set if you aren’t focused on your plan, but focused on God’s plan.”

It’s been a year since the Renner’s moved to America. They still return to Russia often (he has several tours planned for 2017), but the slow, sure building of a US presence has opened some encouraging doors. Other ministries are partnering, and industry people have traveled with him to see firsthand the blazing passion of the Russian church, and, hopefully, bring that fire home to America.

“I’ve seen it,” he says when he thinks about the revival that began with a Bible school, “and I believe in a way God asked me to bring it. I say if it’s dark, that means our light stands out more. That’s the way I began to think about it, and I’m excited to be here and see God move.”

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