Why the name?

Into the Inner Room: The Furnace of God's Love

Jesus once gave His disciples a radical invitation: "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." (Matthew 6:6, NKJV). The language is simple, but its implications are vast. The "Inner Room" is not just a quiet corner of the house. It is the sanctuary of the heart, the temple within, the true seat of prayer.

For centuries, men and women of prayer have borne witness to this mystery. Teresa of Ávila described the soul as a castle with many chambers, each one leading deeper into union with Christ. At the very center, she wrote, lies the Innermost chamber, radiant and blazing with the fire of God's presence. In her Interior Castle, she marveled at this seventh dwelling place where the soul experiences transforming union with God—a fire so consuming that the soul becomes one with the Divine Lover. That vision of the blazing interior life inspired our name and expresses what we believe: the Inner Room is not simply a place of quiet but the blazing center where the lifeless are kindled into flame.

We chose this name because it binds the witness of the saints to the present call of God. The Inner Room is not a forgotten metaphor but a burning reality. In this hidden place the soul is purified, ignited, and sent forth carrying the fire of God's love into the world. Scripture calls us "living stones" built into a spiritual house, a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. When we shut the door of the soul and turn inward, we step into that holy temple. Prayer ceases to be performance and becomes communion. Worship ceases to be form and becomes fire. Cold hearts blaze, fractured lives mend, and the Spirit of God burns with consuming love.

Our age has grown noisy with activity yet often shallow in intimacy. We have built programs but sometimes forgotten Presence. The invitation to the Inner Room comes as God's remedy. It is not escape from the world but the true beginning of mission. From this hidden sanctuary flows the strength to love, to serve, to endure, and to proclaim the Gospel. Without the Inner Temple, faith risks becoming hollow; with it, hearts ignite from within.

This conviction gave birth to the FURNACE Christian Fellowship in Canton, Ohio. We are a home church devoted to rediscovering the Inner Room. Revival for cities and nations must begin in the secret place, where souls catch fire with divine love. Our gatherings remain simple: prayer, worship, and fellowship in the Presence of God. Like the innermost chamber of Teresa's castle ablaze with God's presence, we long to be wholly consumed. The soul—and the church—becomes a furnace when surrendered to the Spirit. We do not seek to build a monument of stone, but to prepare a dwelling place for God's Spirit, a space where His people may encounter Him and be transformed.

If your soul feels restless, if your prayers have grown shallow, if you hunger for more, then hear the call of Jesus: "Go into your room." The Inner Room waits. The Father already abides there, in secret—not distant but near, not reluctant but eager to meet you. His love, once kindled, is a fire that never dies.

This is our beginning, our vision, and our invitation. Come with us into the Inner Room. Step into the furnace of His love.

Pastor Scot