NEW: Agbor Crusade (Final)

(More Pictures to Come)Final Crusade Night - 400,000 in Attendance

I am now on an airplane flying from Benin back to Lagos and then home. Another wonderful CfaN Crusade has come to an end and the Lamb's Book of Life is bursting with new names.

Each night I preached before Evangelist Bonnke and the response of the people was amazing. On Friday the crowd grew to 185,000. On Saturday it grew again to 325,000 and on Sunday the attendance topped out at 400,000! The swampy field was absolutely packed with people standing shoulder to shoulder. In some places the density was up to 7 people per square meter! One day, after the sun dried up one of the puddles on the field, one of our team members counted over 100 single sandals that had been lost in the mud. The people were not deterred by the uncomfortable conditions. They were content to stand in the mud for hours, shoulder to shoulder with strangers, without food, water or restroom facilities, under the open African sky...for what? To hear a man speak to them from an ancient book about the condition of their souls. This is a phenomenon unique to the Gospel. No other subject on earth has such traction or power. It is truly supernatural.
Next month we will be back in Nigeria in the city of Abakaliki. I am already looking forward to the next harvest. Once again, thank you for your prayers and support.

VIEW EVANGELIST REINHARD BONNKES REPORTS FROM AGBOR, NIGERIA BELOW:
Agbor, Nigeria Day 1 (By Reinhard Bonnke)
Agbor, Nigeria Day 2 (By Reinhard Bonnke)
Agbor, Nigeria Day 3 (By Reinhard Bonnke)
Agbor, Nigeria Day 4 (By Reinhard Bonnke)
Agbor, Nigeria Day 5 (By Reinhard Bonnke)

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

NEW: Agbor Crusade Is Underway

The past two days have been a glorious downpour of salvation. The first night of the Crusade (Wednesday) over 120,000 people were in attendance. I spoke briefly before Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke preached a powerful evangelistic message. During the prayer for the sick, the power of God began to move through the crowd. Everywhere you looked something was happening. A woman testified that her baby who had died in her womb began moving again after the prayer. Bonnke exclaimed, "Jesus raises from the tomb and from the womb!"

Yesterday (Thursday) it began to rain at about 3:00 am and continued to rain thoughout the night. By the morning many parts of the city were under water. The crusade field had been reduced to a muddy swamp. Muddy Crusade Field (photo by Austin Tyson)

CfaN Fire Conference

That morning I preached about the
Fire of God at the fire conference. It was heartily received by the people...they are so hungry for God!

That evening I preached the Gospel message and Evangelist Bonnke prayed for the sick. Preaching in Agbor Nigeria

Our 4X4 trucks struggled through the mud to reach the platform at the crusade field. But the rain and the mud did not stop the people. They swarmed onto the field and the crowd grew to 165,000! Small lakes on the field totally disappeared as many stood in shin deep water to hear the Gospel. Peter Vandenburg (Vice President of CfaN) walked the whole muddy field to get the crowd count. He told me that the people even in the back were intently listening to the message. When I gave the invitation, the response was almost unanimous. The crowd thundered the prayer of salvation with a tangible intensity. I am sure that all of heaven was rejoicing...Hallelujah!

The healings were dramatic and moving. Two totally blind people (one for 18 years) received perfect sight. A lady crippled for 20 years jumped on the platform like a jackrabbit. A man with a broken leg was totally healed! There are too many wonderful things to mention.

Continue to pray that the Lord holds back the rain for the remaining 3 days of meetings and instead sends a deluge of salvation and healing power.

VIEW EVANGELIST REINHARD BONNKES REPORTS FROM AGBOR, NIGERIA BELOW:
Agbor, Nigeria Day 1 (By Reinhard Bonnke)
Agbor, Nigeria Day 2 (By Reinhard Bonnke)

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Back in Nigeria

I hate the expression "the middle of nowhere" because everywhere is somewhere in God's eyes. But if there is such a thing as the middle of nowhere, I think we are there. Early this morning we left Lagos (Nigeria) and flew to Benin where we loaded into vehicles and began driving to Agbor where the crusade will be held over the next 5 days. On the way we stopped at 3 palaces and visited 3 different kings who, along with hundreds of their subjects, greeted us warmly to their land. Their is a palpable anticipation in the air and a great sense of expectation for the Gospel meetings that will commence tomorrow night.

I love being back in Africa! There is something so raw and oganic about preaching the Gospel in these untamed regions of the world. A ceremonially decapitated body in the road served as a stark reminder today that "we are not in Kansas anymore". But somehow I sense the favor of the Lord whenever I am in these places. I can hear Jesus saying "Go into all the world..." and I can't help but think that when he said those words, maybe he was thinking about Agbor, Nigeria. Well we have gone and we have come and all the resources of Heaven are here at our disposal. Please pray for a mighty outpouring of the Spirit and a great deluge of salvations this week.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

NEW: Gospel Crusade, iisalmi, Finland

I have just arrived home after a nearly 36 hour trip from iisalmi, Finland where we held our latest evangelistic meetings. iisalmi is a very small city. In most crusades I will preach to more people in single service than the total population of iisalmi combined(23,000). Even so, wether the Lord sends us to many or few, there is no greater privilege than that of leading souls to Jesus. I was able to minister in 4 services and the Lord was good. In one morning service I spoke about the Holy Spirit giving us the power to be wittnesses and many people were touched. One lady who was filled with the Holy Spirit in that meeting, went that afternoon to visit a friend in the hospital. She was so full of boldness that she began to wittness at the hospital to perfect strangers and two people, with tears in their eyes, received Christ. That evening she testified to the amazing power and boldness that the Holy Spirit brings. Many people with various sicknesses were instantly healed at the alters...Praise the Lord!

I am now preparing to leave again this weekend for Agbor, Nigeria where I am anticipating that many tens of thousands will be saved. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue in our mandate to "Cover the Earth" with the knowledge of the Glory of God.

On the Road Again

It was such a blessing to be home with my family for the last couple of weeks, spending some quality time with them and catching up on many things that tend to get neglected while I travel around the world. I must admit that I have been feeling the "itch" for the last week or so to get back on the field. I do not like to sit around for long. I was happy to get going again this past Monday. This trip is special because my father is with me. He is a pastor in Port Charlotte, Florida (where I am from). We had a day-long layover in Frankfurt, so we were able to go and visit the Bible school that my Great Uncle helped to found many years ago. He was a tremendous influence on the German Pentecostals. The denominational headquarters for the whole of Germany is based out of the same campus, so it is really a hub of activity for the BFP (German Pentecostal Church).


Last night we arrived here in iisalmi (pronounced E-sal-me), Finland. Where we will be holding an evangelistic crusade throughout the week. I was told on the way from the airport to the hotel that the Fins are quiet and introverted people that don't respond outwardly. I said "I have heard that before". The last time was in Japan this past July (you can read the report in the archives of this blog). I have never ministered to Fins before. I really don't know what to expect as far as their personalites or culture is concerned. But there is one thing that I have learned. The power of the Gospel is the same! Yes, the soil varies from one place to another. Sometimes it brings a harvest of 30 fold, sometimes 60 fold and sometimes 100 fold, but it always produces results! I am so excited to see what God is going to do here in this tiny nation (of just over 5 million) in this tiny city (of 20 something thousand). I know that I know that God is going to move powerfully and change many lives for His glory.

Please keep me in your prayers this week that the Lord would break through any obstacles and preconceptions and religious mentalities with the power of the Gospel.

Fire Conference - Germany

I am now in Oslo, Norway for the Centennial Scandinavian Pentecostal Conference. I have been so blessed to experiance what God is doing in Europe. Last week I spoke at the Hans-Martin-Schleier-Halle stadium in Stuttgart, Germany for the CfaN Fire Conference. There was a wonderful presence of the Lord in each service. I was invited to minister in an afternoon session with about 5,000 people in attendance. I preached about answering the call of God and about the next generation taking the baton and running with it. The response was overwhelming and I believe that the Holy Spirit did a mighty work in many hearts. One of the leaders of the conference told me that after the session a couple stood before him...the woman was physically shaking...the Holy Spirit was all over her. She said, I have never experianced anything like this before, can you tell me what is happening? The same couple contacted him again later and said, "the direction of our lives was impacted in this service". Also many more wonderful testimonies are coming in all the time. Each night Reinhard Bonnke ministerd powerful evangelistic messages that were broadcast around the nation. We saw hundreds of salvations and many wonderful miracles...Praise the Lord! In a few weeks I am looking forward to being back in this part of the world...this time in Finland where we are holding a Gospel Crusade. Please remember this in your prayers as final preparations are underway.

A Church on FIRE...Covenant Community Fellowship

What a service we had yesterday at Covenant Community Fellowship in Tampa, FL! This is the church that we planted a little over two years ago with a handful of visionary people. I hadn't been there since mothers day (4 months ago)...I have been out on the field almost constantly since then and constantly hearing about the great things that are happening at CCF for some time, but yesterday I was so blessed to see it myself. It was the first official week of our new Associate / Music pastor; Austin Beil. He led a FANTASTIC worship service that went on for nearly two hours. The presence of the Lord was there in a powerful way. People saw and heard angelic voices and a number of prophetic words were given that preached my sermon. It was a sweet time in the atmosphere of Heaven. By the time I got the microphone it was almost 12:30. I shared some powerful testimonies of the things that the Lord has been doing around the world. Perhaps the thing I love the most is the sense of the community that the church is known for. There is truly a supernatural love that the people share that I rarely find in other places. One lady who is fairly new to the church told me yesterday, "its so refreshing to find a church where I don't sense any jealousy or competition". I said, "you wont find that here". What an awesome testimony! I know that the Lord has great things ahead for CCF and it is so refreshing to see a church on fire.

Minstry in Pennsylvania

I am on a plane now flying back to Tampa from Pennsylvania where I ministered over the weekend. I was invited to preach in the morning service at Benton Assembly of God in Stillwater and then in the evening I ministered at Glad Tidings Assembly of God in Bloomsburg. The service at Glad Tidings lasted late into the evening with the people gathered around the alters receiving from the Lord. There was a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit and I am anticipating many wonderful testimonies.

Tonight Rebekah and I will head to Orlando for the next 2 days where I will be leading worship for the “Face to Face”; meetings with Reinhard Bonnke and other Evangelists from around the world. Next weekend I am looking forward to ministering at Covenant Community Fellowship in Tampa where I pastored and then its off to Germany and Norway. We keep moving for the sake of the Gospel and everyday is an adventure.

Keep your eyes open for the next edition of REACH magazine. It will be dropping in the mail shortly and it will be a great one. If you don't receive REACH already, let us know by sending an email to USA@CoverTheEarth.org or visit the website www.CoverTheEarth.org and click on “FREE GIFTS”, fill out the form and we will make sure you are added to the mailing list.

CTE OFFICE OPENING!

I have wonderful news...CTE is opening a new office in Berwick Pennsylvania. We have felt that the northeast U.S. is a strategic place for the ministry to focus so Richard DiLena (CTE's Executive Director) and his family have relocated to PA where they are working hard to set up a Northeast office. For all of you that live in Pennslyvania, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio, etc...I look forward to seeing more of you in the days ahead.