On June 29, 1994, in Rockville Centre, L.I., John Arnott spoke on many of the different origins of the outpouring that came to be known as the "Toronto Blessing." He and his wife, Carol, had spent much of 1993 and the beginning of January 1994 seeking the Lord for a fresh anointing. They spent all of their mornings with Him. They had been powerfully impacted many years previously by Kathryn Kuhlman, and then more recently, by John Wimber, "who really taught us that the anointing was available for everyone and in the context of team ministry things could be much improved [John Arnott to Richard Riss, Sept. 19, 1994]." The Arnotts were friends of Benny Hinn, who also had an impact upon them. But these things tended to be mountain-top experiences, and they wanted something from God that would last.
Before the current outpouring, their church, the Airport Vineyard, had been in a hospital mode, where there was healing and deliverance, but in the final analysis, it seemed that all of the needs were magnified, and the Lord was minimized. Then, they experienced a turnaround about a year before the outpouring, when they went to Mapleleaf Gardens in Toronto, where Benny Hinn was ministering. In those meetings, about twenty people in wheelchairs were healed. Backstage, Benny Hinn ministered to them, and Carol became really drunk in the Spirit and filled. Later, they went to further Benny Hinn meetings and to Rodney Howard-Browne meetings in Fort Worth. However, he said this was not really what he was looking for -- he wanted healing and salvation more than people laughing and falling to the floor.
But then, in late 1993, they went to Argentina to some meetings conducted by Claudio Freidzon. "Do you want it?" Claudio asked. "Oh, yes," they said. "Take it!" he answered, and at that time it seemed that there was just a click of faith. As a result of this, the Arnotts decided to start a monthly healing meeting at their own church in Toronto. The first was scheduled for January 30, 1994. But then, in Palm Springs, Randy Clark had really blessed them at a Regional Meeting, so John Arnott invited him to Toronto for a series of four meetings beginning January 20. But "the Lord fell on us powerfully there," and the meetings continued indefinitely. "It was wonderful. Too good to be true." On Sunday, the last scheduled day of meetings, they told Randy not to go home. They offered to send some people to his pulpit at home and to fly his family to Toronto, and he accepted. "Everybody catches it if they soak in it, but we're still working under Randy's anointing," John said.
After that time, they went to many places, including Hungary for two and a half weeks. He said that it has proven to be highly contagious and transferable, and has spread to Switzerland, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, England, and Scotland, as well as most major cities in the United States and Canada. Many pastors visited Toronto. These were people who were very close to saying "forget it" and they've been refreshed and have brought this back to their own home churches. "Carol and I are just some of the most ordinary folks in the world.... Through Toronto it's spread all over the place, and we're more amazed than anyone." He said that the Lord keeps "upping the ante." First they were seeing people radically in love with Him. "Now we're seeing our whole Church on fire." At first people would fall. "Now there's major shaking going on, and trembling, and, most recently, roaring and shouting and the warrior thing.... We have been stretched, stretched, stretched. The Lord is raising up an army. But think of Gideon's army. All of those who were afraid were told to go home. People get afraid of the phenomena. You sort out the fearing ones. Then, in Gideon's case, drinking the water like dogs. Don't lean on your own rationale to understand the mind of God.... As John Wimber has said, 'God will offend the mind to reveal the heart.'"
The Arnotts had once been at a meeting in which the speaker, Paul Cain, said he had a word for "a John and Carol from Canada." In this situation, there was a tremendous presence of God, and John Arnott said that he thought, "Oh, God, you've found me." But through this word he realized that his mind had been offended by the things of the Spirit. They had been making general rules at their church which were hindering the Spirit of God from moving. These rules were their attempt to keep things tidy and presentable. He said to the Lord, "if ever You come again [in power at our church], I will not put my hand to it."
Speaking of the Airport Vineyard in Toronto, John Arnott said, "when some of these things first came to our church, it sort of shut down our office. For the first three days, our receptionist could not talk. Then, after that, she could only speak in tongues. But she got so filled, the joy of the Lord just transformed her and her husband John, our sound man, and their kids. He just got so drunk, drunk, drunk.... We've been having a party now for 160 days [as of June 29]. In the story of the prodigal son, the very best party of all is right there in the father's house. The angels party whenever one sinner repents, and there are thousands coming to Jesus every day throughout the world. The real joy comes in anticipation of the wedding of the bride and the bridegroom."