It is our desire that you come to a Deliverance Retreat prepared with a bit of knowledge about deliverance ministry in general and about our ministry in particular. There is a lot of crazy stuff being done out there in the name of deliverance and we would like to put to rest any of those preconceptions. The following are some frequently asked questions that may help.

DELIVERANCE 101

What is Prophetic Deliverance?

Prophetic Deliverance is the act of casting out of demons using the prophetic gifts of the Holy Spirit; without talking to the demon; and not allowing manifestations. Listening to the Holy Spirit is endlessly valuable to find out what is tormenting His people and free them from captivity.

Bear Creek Ranch is the prayer ministry Tim and Katie Mather. They have ministered prophetic deliverance for over 30 years. Over the years, they have been trained by the Holy Spirit to follow the pattern of Jesus’ ministry of deliverance initiated with Jesus’ declaration in Luke 4:18-19:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

What’s the difference between Demonization vs Demon Possession?

The phrase “demon possession,” which we find in most English translations of the Bible, is actually a misnomer. It’s not a mistranslation. Demon possession implies ownership and demons own nothing. They are more like squatters, affecting someone’s life by neglect of the owner. The Greek root meaning is “a demon-caused passivity.” Demons would like us to believe they’re not really here. We are trained to be passive to their presence and their influence in our lives.

Demonization is a more precise term that just means: influenced by one or more demons. Through neglect and/or ignorance, we allow them to have influence in our lives.

What does the term “strongman” mean?

The Chief and Ruling Spirit is, biblically speaking, the Strongman or the one in charge. What we’ve discovered is demons function in a hierarchy and there is only one demon in charge. We ask the Holy Spirit who is in charge and command him to go and any other demons under his authority and dominion to leave. The Lord showed us that you only need to identify the one in charge instead of calling out each and every one.

After reading the Gadarene Demoniac (aka the demoniac from Garasene) was demonized with Legion. A roman legion was between six and eight thousand, which meant the man had six to eight thousand demons attached to him. But how many did Jesus interact with? One. How many did Jesus command to leave? One. How many left? Six to eight thousand.

Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20 , Luke 8:26-39

Why do Christians need deliverance?

Everybody who comes into the Kingdom of God (gets “born again,” “saved,” etc.) needs deliverance. It is a part of the Good News of Jesus. The New Testament tells us that deliverance is the children’s bread, it is for believers. (Matthew 15:26) Unbelievers cannot get deliverance because it is a part of the atonement, the salvation process. Everyone who seeks salvation, needs deliverance.

From what Jesus stated in Luke 4:18, we can understand that everyone needs the gospel. Everyone gets broken hearted in life and needs healing in the emotions wounds. Everyone is deeply bruised and needs liberty from the rule of those bruises. Everyone is spiritually blind and needs recovery of spiritual sight to function in the Kingdom. Therefore, everyone is captive and needs deliverance. Deliverance does not automatically occur at the moment of salvation as many assume, just as healing the broken hearts does not automatically occur at the moment of salvation. Christians need deliverance because we bring our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual baggage into the Kingdom of Light with us when we receive Christ as Savior.

When we receive Christ, we are new spiritual creations (2 Corinthians 5:17) and now live in the Kingdom of Light, but we still have our kingdom of darkness thinking and much unbelief within us (Hebrews 3:12). Deliverance to the captives is the right and privilege of those who receive the good news. This vital ministry is missing from most churches’ salvation messages and ministries.

Why doesn’t the Church teach about deliverance?

Deliverance has been “civilized out” of the western church because we are almost entirely committed to the pursuit of God through the intellect. Not to disavow the intellect but we have removed the supernatural from our interactions with God. We depend upon Biblical stories to pacify the need for an understanding of the supernatural. In actuality, demons have convinced us that they are not present, which is demon-caused passivity. We are convinced that someone from a faraway third-world country might have interactions with demons, but people in this country don’t believe in the supernatural, especially the interaction or influence of demons in our lives. The church doesn’t even approach the subject, so demons get away with whatever they want.

Why do I need Prophetic Deliverance?

As previously stated, deliverance does not automatically occur at the moment of salvation therefore everyone needs deliverance. Many people who have come to us for ministry have received “deliverance” before through another ministry but still have struggles they cannot overcome.

Prophetic Deliverance is an act of the prophetic. By listening to the Holy Spirit, and functioning as a team to verify though the mouths of two or three witnesses, we identify what we term as the “chief and ruling spirit” by its functional name. Demons operate in a hierarchy. When the ruling spirit is identified as in the case of Legion, then the whole entourage can be cast out en masse.

When deliverance is done by interview or lists, they are trying to identify demons by people’s symptoms. They may be successful in identifying a demon but are not identifying the "strongman" (aka chief-ruling demon) present. The strongman usually remains and unfortunately a person only receives a partial deliverance but assumes they are free. The evidence is in the spiritual and behavioral struggles they continue to experience.

How do I prepare for a deliverance session?

We require everyone to read Tim Mather’s book, Prophetic Deliverance to learn about our deliverance method and eliminate any faulty preconceptions about “deliverance ministry” in general. It is available for sale online at Bear Creek Mercantile. Soft cover or PDF eBook is available. (A PDF download is free when you register for a Deliverance Retreat.)

Also, prepare your heart. David said in Psalm 139:23, “search me.” Search your own heart. Demons are confined to live in the realm of spiritual darkness. When we have unbelieving parts of our hearts and hidden secrets and sins, these are the areas where the enemy functions. Confess to Father known and unknown sins. Express to Him your desire to change and live free. Be open to Him. In deliverance, you are giving others permission to look into the spirit realm on your behalf. The Holy Spirit shows them what is needed for deliverance to occur.

Each of our team members has been through Prophetic Deliverance. Each one is on their own journey of recovery and inner healing. It is not their intention to shame you. Jesus came to take away our sin and our shame. The team is coming along side you to serve you by looking into your “blind spots” to identify where the enemy is hiding and working. It is your part in the deliverance to come with an open heart to the Lord.

We do not require people to fast in order to receive deliverance. If it is your practice to fast then we ask that you complete your fast a week before the deliverance session. Fasting can be a practical part of walking with the Lord. But unlike surgery on the body where fasting can be a requirement, for the spiritual surgery of deliverance, fasting should be completed and food intake restored in preparation.

What is a Prophetic Deliverance session like?

Each person or married couple will have a private session with a Deliverance Team. We have two teams running simultaneously and all deliverances will take place on Saturday morning.

The Deliverance Session: The Deliverance Team, consisting of 4 or more people, will sit in a circle with you in the middle. They will write down what they perceive from the Holy Spirit. They usually do not ask you any questions. There will be a person who will scribe, or write down a written record of your session. This will be for later reference during the debriefing session in the afternoon. Your part is to be open to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to give the Team the information they need for you to be delivered.

The Wounded Spirit Prayer: Immediately after the deliverance portion of the session, you will be guided to another room to receive the Wounded Spirit Prayer. This prayer is like the recovery room after surgery, to start the application of healing to the wounded places in the soul as soon as possible. This prayer is patterned after the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:34. Wine is a symbol of the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from sin. Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, our agent of healing. These two are released upon a person’s soul areas even though we call it a prayer for a wounded spirit.

For the full details of how a deliverance session works, please read Prophetic Deliverance by Tim Mather.

What about my children; do they need deliverance?

Heather Trim has written a booklet for parents and what we can do to help them. We recommend that parents never do deliverance on their children. We recommend breaking the generational curse and releasing the blessing. Please read What About My Children by Heather Trim for a step-by-step to breaking the generational curse line and other details concerning children and the supernatural.

What do I need to do after deliverance and why is follow up so important?

During the deliverance retreat, the Saturday afternoon debrief is essential to “process” the deliverance by talking about what was found and how it applies to your life. Then Sunday morning Katie will present a Wholeness Jumpstart session that will reveal the roots of your damage and how to heal.

Wholeness 101

What does the term “inner healing” mean?

Inner Healing (verb) is the process of healing the wounded soul. The soul includes the mind, will and emotions.

What does the term “wholeness” mean?

Wholeness (noun) is the result of inner healing. It is taken from the word SHALOM meaning “nothing broken, nothing missing.” After deliverance a person needs to pursue healing for the wounded places in the soul (mind, will and emotions). The term “wellness” is used for physical wellbeing only. But the term “wholeness” is used for the healing of the human soul (mind, will and emotions.)

What is Wholeness Coaching?

Inner healing does not happen in one weekend. Healing transformation occurs in the recovery process. Coaching equips you with the tools to bring healing to the wounds and transformation to your soul. Wholeness Coaching follows the Deliverance Retreat with five topics per week with written and audio teaching arriving by email. A wholeness coach will also be available by conference call and email. Check out more information on the Wholeness Coaching page.

What, Where, Who is Bear Creek Ranch?

What is Bear Creek Ranch?

Bear Creek Ranch (aka BCR Ministries, Inc) is the three-fold vision of a Retreat Center, Community Center, and Equipping Center founded by Tim and Katie Mather in 2007.

The Retreat Center exists to provide a place to engage the brokenness of the saints through deliverance and inner healing retreats.

The Community Center exists to connect families, clans, tribes, and nations in order to heal relationships with self, with others, and with God.

The Equipping Center exists to raise up Servant Kings through practical equipping and coaching for healthy Kingdom living.

See the blog post on the full BCR Vision…

What is Bear Creek Ranch’s Mission?

EQUIP

All ministry through Bear Creek Ranch must maintain vigilant attention upon maturity and healthy relationships. We function as a family of kings, each focusing upon the stretch toward maturity personally and corporately by maturing in our inner life and in relationship with others. We are all equipping one another in the pursuit of healing of the whole self: Spirit, Soul, and Body.

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13)

E

Engaging Brokenness… 

The Saints are broken and we engage that brokenness with deliverance and inner healing.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)

Q

Quickening Relationship… 

The Kingdom of God is all about relationship. We are committed to reconnecting and healing the relationships with self, with others, and with God.

“’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…’ and the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22: 37-39)

U

Unearthing Identity... 

The King of kings is revealing His True Identity. As we discover our identity, we become the fodder for spiritual giftings for the benefit of all.

“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” (1 Corinthians 12:13-14)

I

Instructing Servant Kings… 

Practical training and coaching is essential to healthy Kingdom living. As a family of servant kings, we get our own revelations through asking questions and retraining the mind in upside-down Kingdom thinking which leads to healing for the Spirit, Soul, and Body.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

P

Pursuing Jesus’ Mission… 

As servants to the King of kings, we are dedicated to fulfilling each portion of Jesus’ stated mission.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19 KJV)

What is Bear Creek Ranch’s Statement of Faith?

1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

3. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His victorious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

4. We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

5. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

6. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

7. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ as both saints and kings.

Where is Bear Creek Ranch?

The home of Bear Creek Ranch is located in the mountains of Northwest Georgia:

BEAR CREEK RANCH
138 Knox Bridge Hwy
White, Georgia 30184

Who is Bear Creek Ranch?

You can read all about the Bear Creek family on the About page…

What is the Retreat Cancellation Policy?

We understand that life happens, and you may need to reschedule or cancel your retreat reservation. Last minute cancellations are difficult for the registration team to fill, so we ask that you contact us as soon as you know you need to change your retreat plans.

Rescheduling

Only one “reschedule" is permitted per registration. When rescheduling a second time, there is a $50 rescheduling fee.

You may switch to another retreat up to two weeks before your scheduled retreat date free of charge. In the event of rescheduling within two weeks, there is a $50 rescheduling fee.

Refunds

You may receive a refund for a canceled retreat up to two weeks prior to the scheduled retreat date. All refunds use the same payment method in which they were paid minus a $50.00 administrative fee.

For a cancellation within two weeks of a retreat or for a no-show, no refund will be given.

*Under rare occurrences, if Bear Creek must cancel an event, you may choose a new retreat date free of charge. We always suggest that flights not be booked as nonrefundable.