Photos by Josh Larson & Tom Price

As a pastor’s kid, Ryan Ries grew up in church under the teaching of his father, Raul Ries, pastor of of Calvary Chapel Golden Springs, CA. Once very concerned about his prodigal son’s severe drug addiction—leading to a cocaine overdose—Raul prayed and watched God deliver Ryan from pornography and drugs, restoring him to a new life. Ryan, as co-founder of The Whosoevers, now delivers the Gospel message to a generation searching for meaning and has a syndicated radio talk show, Live with Ryan Ries. Often ministering in schools; Ryan's goal is to empower youth and adults alike to realize their true purpose in life. He and his wife Crystal have four children.

Ryan spoke at the West Coast Pastors Conference in October 2022 where his teaching, “Be Strong in the Spirit”, exhorted pastors and leaders to be under the influence of the Holy Ghost.

Three days before Chuck Smith died, I was at his house with my Dad and Mom (Raul and Sharon Ries) and Kay; we're there talking for hours, and he wasn't doing well. We all went into prayer, and when we got to [my turn] to pray, I started praying for revival. Kay was pumped and Chuck was pumped, and we were praying that revival would come to Calvary Chapel again.

God doesn't need us, you know. What He wants with us, it's all about our character. He doesn't care what you think you can do, how big of a deal you think you are. I'm that dirty sinner who was in a hotel room when I used to manage a professional skateboard team. High on cocaine, smoking crack, and shooting heroin, that's who I am. I'm nothing. We are nothing. We need to wake up and repent. We are saved by Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit is in us. The Holy Spirit’s power will come upon us, and we will move and operate in power as the Word goes forth. That is Calvary Chapel—through grace and truth.

Read the history of the Calvary Chapel movement. Know who you are, and you will find out where you belong in the movement.

I’ll read the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT) says, Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

The Great Commission is not just about discipleship; it's about preaching the Gospel. And then you disciple those saved. You [let] the Holy Spirit work in and through them and transform their life through the refining process. Then what should you want to do from there? Basically, go on a Great Commission. 

You were created and knit together for a specific plan and purpose here on planet Earth, so be an individual, do ministry, and walk in freedom with the leading and power of the Holy Spirit.

But for us, it's a bigger thing. We hear about Calvary Chapel pastors and leaders going down all the time. Don't be another statistic; be under the influence of the Holy Ghost, whose job is to purge everything that is unholy in our life. It's a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. 

John the Baptist preached that people should repent of their sins, turn to God to be forgiven and baptized. He was fasting and ferociously praying hard—a man of the Word waiting on God. Luke 1:80 (NLT) says, John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry. 

How in the heck are you going to become strong in the Spirit if you're caught up in the lust of the eye and the lust of the flesh and the distractions? It is an impossibility. When I gave my life to Jesus Christ, I disconnected from the mainstream music world, my girlfriends, and all these concerts we were going to. Iron Maiden’s at the Irvine Spectrum Center, and I'm sitting at my house with my Bible. I got discipled, and I read, and I was in that wilderness experience.

I came up with a list of things, with the help of my parents, that we need to repent of. Words are powerful. I put the words down because they'll just hit your heart right: unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness, jealousy, covetousness, pornography, lust, hate, pride, alcohol, drugs, pharmakeia, witchcraft, greed, love for money, love for success, love for fame, becoming a know-it-all, no compassion, deceiver, divider, gossiper, backstabber, cussing, sleeping with men or women in their church or outside of the church or having an emotional relationship, not reading the Bible, trying to do the ministry by the flesh, judgmental, stubborn, critical spirit, foolish jesting, mocking, trash-talking, self-righteousness, unloving, self-control, ‘entertaining sexual adventures’ (fantasy), friendship with the world, self-exaltation, compromising, and drifting away.

I’ll let those words land where they land. I'm convicted by stuff, too. I gotta—we all gotta—keep repenting of our sins. Turn from your selfish ways, pick up your cross, and follow Jesus. In Luke 9:23, it says [we do this] daily.

Young people come up to me, mostly because they want to be used by God, but [have] like five bucks. But they have the Word of God and can fast ferociously, pray hard, and have access to the power from heaven. Acts 1:8 (NLT), says, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses. Underline will be my witnesses. If you're not witnesses, you don't [have] the power yet—that [explosive] Holy Ghost power going on.

Ryan concluded, “We need the refining process of the Holy Spirit to become a vessel of gold, and He will pour in the Living Water (John 7:37). It will overflow and flow through us. The Holy Spirit is in us, He's with us. The Holy Spirit power will come upon us, and we will move and operate in the Spirit-led life. We will operate [in] the gifts, and people will get healed. People will get saved, people will get filled, and revival will break out.”

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Watch Ryan Ries’ teaching in its entirety at: Ryan Ries / 2022 West Coast Conference

Learn more about:
• The Whosoevers Movement
• Ryan Ries
• Calvary Chapel Golden Springs, CA

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In mid-September, 2022, 1,100+ pastors, leaders and their wives gathered at the Calvary Chapel Association (CCA) West Coast Pastors & Leaders Conference at CC Golden Springs, CA, for refreshing in the face of increasing ministry challenges.

Over the past months, Calvary Chapel Magazine has presented summaries of the conference teachings by presenting pastors. Our desire is that these inspiring messages will encourage and bless all believers.

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Follow summaries of pastors’ teachings at the CCA West Coast Pastors & Leaders Conference:
• Garid Beeler, Your Labor is Not in Vain
Senior pastor of VISION City Church in Irvine, CA
• Josh Lawrence, Resting in the Power of God
Senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Eldoret, Kenya
• Dale Goddard, We Are One in Jesus Christ
Assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel Golden Springs, CA
• Don McClure, A Tale of Two Kings: Wisdom vs the Heart
Leader of Calvary Way Ministries and Calvary Chapel Association Administrator
• Mike Focht, How Should We Handle a “Judas” Betrayal?
Assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel Philadelphia, PA

© 2023 Calvary Chapel Magazine (CCM). All rights reserved. Articles or photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of CCM. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.® Used by permission.