Grace World Outreach Center

This past weekend I had the privilege of ministering at a great church in Central Florida...Grace World Outreach Center. The Pastor, Rev. David Garcia, is a wonderful friend and serves on the board of C.T.E. His church is alive and vibrant and full of the Fire of the Holy Ghost. I preached in both Sunday morning services with New Testament results: the sick were healed, many were saved, and many more responded to the call of God on their lives. I am sure that Brooksville, Florida is in for a spiritual revolution!

Everything

The Fire Fell in Wath

I am on a train now traveling from Sheffield to London where I will catch my flight back to the U.S. We have had two days of glorious meetings in a small north Yorkshire city called Wath. I was invited by a fellow evangelist named Nathan Morris of "Shake the Nations" ministries to come and minister in their church: "The Father's House." It is a church that has been touched by revival and has been experiencing a move of God for the past several years. The people were so hungry and eager to receive from the Lord. I challenged them in the first service on Saturday night to lay down their lives, take up their cross and answer the call of God. A small group of teenagers from the streets had come to the service. They grew apparently uncomfortable as I began to preach and started making a commotion, talking and laughing loudly. I reminded the people that Jesus came for the unrighteous. Soon they walked out of the service, but I know that they will not forget what they felt. The radical message was met with a radical response. Tears flooded the altar, and the fire fell. As we moved through the crowd praying for the people, the glory of God descended on that place and it seemed as if no one was left untouched.

This morning I ministered again and before the message was finished, the Holy Spirit began to move. The presence of God filled the room in a tangible way, and the people were visibly touched. I gave the altar call to the sound of sobs. It was evident that God was doing a deep work and the response was genuine. A powerful altar time followed and once again...the fire fell. I am leaving Wath knowing that God has great things in store for this church and its precious people.

I was so impressed by the ministry of Shake the Nations. It is not often that I feel such a connection with people that I have just met. The ministry is made up of a group of young people who are absolutely on fire for God. They have a deep desire and passion to win the lost that is extraordinary. Nathan Morris, John Wilkinson, Matthew Murray and Becky Hodgekinson, make up this dynamic team that is holding great crusades all over the world. Anyone who has a passion for souls should link up with and support this ministry...I expect to see great things from them in the future. You can visit their website at www.ShaketheNations.co.uk or visit their MySpace by clicking HERE

I am now on my way to Orlando for the Face to Face conference with Evangelist Bonnke for 2 days before heading home. Rebekah and I were able to meet in London and spend a few days together on this trip. We are both looking forward to being home and seeing our children again...It has been almost 3 weeks for me. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us on this trip. God has truly answered your prayers and done marvelous things.

Yola, Nigeria - Final

I am now in London reflecting on the wonderful Nigerian crusade that has just come to a conclusion. On the final night (Sunday), the crowd topped out at 625,000! 2.2 million people attended over the 5 days of meetings and although the final count on decision cards has not yet come in, it is sure to be 7 figures...a week well spent for eternity.

Once again...Thank You to everyone who prayed and fasted for the success of this crusade. We had a special sense of the presence of the Lord. One night I woke up at about 3 am. The Glory of the Lord filled my room in such a tangible way and lingered for several hours. As Evg Bonnke put it one night, "The cloud of God's glory seems to be hanging so low." I am convinced that when we go in response to the Great Commission, the Holy Spirit goes with us. The salvation of the lost is not a carnal ambition, but the very cry of the heart of God.

This weekend I will be ministering in Sheffield, England and then back to Orlando, Florida for the Face to Face conference with Reinhard Bonnke.

Now that I have internet access, I will be posting pictures from the crusade. Please go back and look in the original blog entries as I will place the pictures in their appropriate places. (All Photos by Oleksandr Volyk)

To read the reports of the Yola Crusade from Reinhard Bonnke, please click on the links below:

Yola, Nigeria Day 1 (By Reinhard Bonnke)
Yola, Nigeria Day 2 (By Reinhard Bonnke)
Yola, Nigeria Day 3 (By Reinhard Bonnke)
Yola, Nigeria Day 4 (By Reinhard Bonnke)
Yola, Nigeria Day 5 (By Reinhard Bonnke)

Yola, Nigeria - Day 4

The deputy governor told us on the FIRST NIGHT that he had NEVER seen a crowd of people like this. That was when there was only 200,000. Tonight the teeming crowd topped 525,000! The dynamics here are amazing. The crusade has created a vacuum that seems to be drawing the entire region.

As usual, tonight I lead a healing service before the main service. I taught on healing for a while and then prayed for the sick. Before the main service had even officially started there was a line of people ready to testify of what Jesus had done. I could only take about 6 testimonies, but they were so powerful. One thirty-two year old woman came up to testify with her mother who told me that her daughter had been mute since birth...she had never spoken in thirty-two years! The mother said, "Tonight she called me 'ma ma'." I said to the mother, "Tell your daughter to say 'ma ma' for us now." Instead, the daughter began praising the Lord in PERFECT speech...as though she had spoken all her life. By the time the praise and worship started, the cripples were dancing and the mute were singing...Hallelujah!!

The people brought their witchcraft fetishes and we burned them in big barrels as the people rejoiced. But the devil was not rejoicing. One furious man ran out of the crowd and toppled one burning barrel over, and then ran quickly to the other side of the platform and pushed over the other one. He then attempted to assault a member of our tech team, but the police grabbed him before he could do any real harm. Evangelist Bonnke said to me, "He may still get saved...through the Gospel, enemies of God become friends of God." How true. In the crazed eyes of that man, it is easy to see an enemy of God, but Paul says in Romans 5:10, that WE were once enemies of God, but we were reconciled unto Him by the death of His Son. Actually, Jesus didn't come for the preachers in suits on the platform, he came for the sinners attacking Him with hate-filled eyes; but while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. What mercy! What love. It is beyond explanation. It is why we love Him so much.

Tonight was "Holy Spirit Night." After Evangelist Bonnke preached the Gospel and the prayer of salvation was given, he taught on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and prayed for the newly saved crowd. Their day of Pentecost had fully come and the crowd roared with new tongues just as the 30,000 or so Fire Conference delegates had done earlier this morning. These are the days of Joel 2:28: "...My Spirit upon all flesh."

Many more wonderful healings took place at the end of the service...too many to name. Tomorrow is the last day of the crusade here in Yola. I am sure that these 5 days of meetings have changed this region for all of time and eternity. It is amazing to think that we, who are so mortal and temporary, have the ability to participate in something so significant and eternal. Jesus invites us, who were once enemies of the cross, to partner with the Godhead in the strategy of the ages. He takes our mortal hands and filthy lucre and builds His eternal Kingdom that will last forever in righteousness. What a privileged people we are. "Love so amazing so divine demands my soul, my life, my all."

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Yola, Nigeria - Days 2 & 3

What an amazing time we are having here in Yola! Yesterday morning, I preached in the stadium where several thousand pastors and leaders gathered for the Fire Conference. There was a great sense of hunger. They seemed to soak in every word.

In the evening the crowd surged to nearly 400,000...almost double the night before. I led the healing service which took place before the main service. I taught on healing and then prayed for the sick. All over the field, there were eruptions of excitement as people were healed. Before the main service even started there was a crowd of people at the platform ready to give their testimonies. Jesus is so willing to heal. I think if my 3 year old son had prayed, the people would still have been healed, because it is all Jesus. After Evangelist Bonnke preached in the main service, there was yet another wave of healings. Many, many blind eyes were opened and many cripples walked to the glory of God.

When one cripple was giving his testimony, Bonnke asked him, "Who has healed you?" The man replied, "I don't know your name." Bonnke turned to the crowd and asked, "Can you tell him the name of the one who has healed him?" The reply came thundering back as if to shake the earth, "JESUS!!"

During the day as one of our technicians was visiting town he heard a group of locals having a heated discussion. He asked his interpreter to tell him what they were saying. The interpreter said, "They are talking about the crusade. They are saying, 'Blind eyes are being opened, and cripples are walking...we don't care what the muslim immam says, we are going to see it for ourselves.'" The interpreter then told him, "The others are saying, 'We're coming too!'" There is much joy in this heavily Muslim region as the people are meeting Jesus and discovering for the first time the power in his name.

Tonight the crowd grew again to over 450,000. The huge crusade ground looks like a sardine can stuffed to the gills with people. The platform looks like a bar of soap floating in the ocean.

I again led the healing service tonight before the main service, and the power of God moved. In the main service I preached the Gospel, and many thousands were saved. After I finished preaching, Evangelist Bonnke came back to the platform, led the second prayer for the sick and took testimonies. One man was healed after being totally blind for 40 years! There were too many testimonies to count. It is obvious that this entire region is being rocked by the power of God. Principalities have lost their grip, and a new Kingdom is being established...Praise the Lord!


Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Super Wednesday - Yola, Nigeria

Tonight was the first night the Gospel Campaign here in the small, north-Nigerian city of Yola. We were surprised when the crusade director called us from the field early in the evening and said that it was time to come...the people had already gathered. When we arrived over 200,000 people were waiting. What an eager anticipation filled the air. Before Evangelist Bonnke had a chance to pray for the sick the miracles began to happen all over that wide field. A woman crippled for 20 years danced and jumped on the platform to the delight of the cheering crowd. Many cripples walked as wheelchairs and crutches could be seen being lifted high all over the field. It was a glorious start to the crusade here in Yola and I'm sure that the best Is yet to come. Stay tuned.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld