Michael McIntyre reached success most people only dream of achieving. A private jet. Multiple assistants. Tens of millions in revenue. Everything changed, however, when his little daughter became ill.
Michael didn’t know it, but he’d had an army of people praying for his salvation for quite some time. They’d pretty much kept it to themselves because, in his words, he wanted “nothing to do” with born again Christians. He was living the good life of success and admits much of his identity was wrapped up in business accomplishments. Shortly after graduating and then a stint in the Air Force, Michael hit it big in the insurance industry.
“I ran from Jesus for a long long time,” Michael says. Everything changed, however, not long after he sold the company.
Michael grew up Catholic but had trouble reconciling the reality of evil in the world. “I was very successful financially, but I did not like anything to do with evangelical Christianity. I figured there was God but I didn’t see Him as holy because of all the things going on in the world – death, rape, wars and that kind of thing,” he explained.
Little did he know, his entire world was about to be turned upside down. His brother, unbeknownst to him, had been praying for a long time. Praying, specifically, for his brother to be saved. With an army of over 1,000 prayer warriors, Michael’s brother was about to see his prayers answered.
“One day my daughter got really really sick. We took her to the hospital and spent 8 hours in the ER and it was really difficult. At the end of the day, we were exhausted — but she was ok.” The harrowing ordeal reminded Michael of something his mother always said to him when he was younger. “She said whenever something good happens, thank God.”
As he arrived home, mentally and emotionally drained from the health scare they’d endured throughout the day, Michael remembered those words from his mother. “So I went outside and thanked God for about an hour. I was so thankful. I kept thanking him.”
Michael thanked God over and over. But it was later that night that things got really interesting. “That night I had a dream, and in this dream, this voice spoke to me in a language I did not understand. I didn’t tell my wife about it, but I called my brother to tell him about this dream,” Michael explained.
My brother understood the dream immediately and started crying. “What does it mean?” I asked. “You’re welcome,” he answered. That was it. From that moment on, God opened Michael’s eyes. While the process since that time hasn’t always been easy – God promises it never will be – he’s still grateful.
“For the first time, I read the Bible and was just weeping because I could understand what it said,” Michael says. He lost some of his old friends who didn’t understand his heart change. “I probably needed to,” he says pensively.
God wasn’t done there, however. It was just the beginning of something entirely new – something Michael never dreamed he’d do in a million years. Given his background in insurance and leading lots of seminars, his pastor asked him to lead a retreat for the church. He did so, and says the Holy Spirit downloaded a very clear vision for something he just had to do. That’s when Next Level Experience was born.
Now, Michael is helping Christians re-ignite their faith and discover who God really designed them to be in life. “I never thought I’d work in a church or be an executive pastor or anything like that,” Michael admits.
It’s always exciting to be around people who are on fire for the Lord. Michael is definitely one of those people, and he’s taking that energy and fire to Next Level Experiences all around the country.
“We’re not a hospital by any stretch,” Michael says. “They maybe have been stuck in a rut or a job or a career. A lot of people want to start a business. They need something to help jolt them into that next level.”
He continues: “What happens in these three days? You get to look in the mirror and really see who you are. Most people forget who we are because we live in a fallen world. We put these personas on — but what happens is, God wants you to learn how He made you. He’s the manufacturer. So we reveal that to people, exactly who God meant you to be. It’s transformative.”