A revival created a hunger to pray in Wanda. Every afternoon she laid her young children down for a nap and went to another room to pray in the Spirit until they awoke.  She eventually made friends with a woman who called herself an intercessor. They held prayer meetings two, sometimes three, times a week. During the day they met at Wanda’s and on Friday nights at the intercessors house.

The prayer meetings grew until her house could barely hold the attendees. Wanda felt the nudge of God’s Spirit to teach, so she started a Wednesday morning Bible study. Many found salvation and were filled with God’s Spirit.

During this season of her life, Wanda became aware of a prophetic gift for which there was little teaching in her church. The misunderstood gift resulted in tremendous persecution as Wanda sought to obey God. When she entered full-time ministry as an evangelist, the prophetic anointing grew stronger. Wanda prayed God would keep her from error and sought him for answers about the spiritual gifts. She found answers to her questions and confirmation in He Gave Gifts Unto Men; a scriptural explanation of the apostle, prophet and pastor as God intended them to function in the church.

By the late 1980s, Wanda found herself in a dry place. National scandals in her fellowship had tragic effects on her family. And the spiritual battles of full-time ministry had taken a toll. For a season she attended church sporadically; until God led her to join a church in New Orleans.

The pastor asked her to conduct a Wednesday morning Bible study. God renewed her ministry and placed a new calling on her life to pastor a church. The calling came with a warning.  If she refused the call, her ministry would be complete, and he would bring her home. Wanda, now in her 50s, wasn’t ready to die.

She reluctantly started a prayer meeting in the home of a friend with four people. Soon people flocked to the meetings. God had already given her the name of the Church, Flames of Fire. Her congregation rented a room in a hotel for $700 a month. As she prayed before a Sunday morning service, the Lord told her to run a thirty-second commercial on a local channel advertising the church. The commercial raised their monthly expenses to $1000. Miraculously, she never missed a payment. Then Hurricane Katrina scattered her congregation and FEMA took over the motel, leaving them without a meeting place.

The members that returned after the hurricane resumed meeting in a home.  Within two weeks they received an offer to rent a suite in a strip mall. Her monthly expenses with a smaller congregation rose to $1300.

While praying before a service, God told her to produce a 30-minute program and air it during prime time. This time she argued with God. “I know nothing about television.”

“I do,” he replied. “I am leading you. Listen to me and do exactly what I tell you to do.” 

Wanda called the station for cost and available time slots. They had an opening on Sunday evening at 5 pm. They also had an opening at 6 am that would have been $200 cheaper. With the 30-minute program in prime time, her expenses would be over $2000 monthly. A fact she pointed out to God, but could not change his mind.

To hold the prime spot, the station gave them a deadline to be ready with the first program. Wanda needed a little over $10,000 to acquire the equipment. Within days a member of her church received an extra unexpected bonus at her job. She wrote a check for $10,000 and handed it to Wanda.

Flames of Fire Church and its television ministry have been in operation for eleven years. Flames of Fire Broadcast recently expanded its viewership when Alpha and Omega broadcasting kazq32.1 Albuquerque invited Wanda to join its program schedule. “Not one time have I struggled to pay the rent, the expenses of the television ministry, or fund anything in ministry. If God has told you to do something, he pays his bills. You’ve got to take a step of faith, and I took a big step of faith,” said Wanda.

The heartbeat of her ministry is found in a chorus an African missionary taught her early in her ministry.

O to be his hand extended

Reaching out to the oppressed

Let me touch him

Let me touch Jesus

 So that others will know and be blessed

“I just to be his hand extended,” said Wanda. “Not trying to build my ministry, but build his ministry. I don’t care if anybody ever really knows who I am. I just want to be his hand extended so lives can be blessed, changed, delivered and set free by that precious wonderful name of Jesus.”