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What these men and women thought was a lecture on the supernatural soon became a powerful presentation about the kingdom of God. (Courtesy/Bob DuVall)Amidst numerous reports of racial conflict, terrorist attacks, and religious tension, there is something tangible in the air in Israel. It’s not the smell of gun powder or the resonating sound of sirens—but the supernatural presence of God.
Unfortunately, the secular news outlets have not captured the magnitude of what I recently witnessed in Israel.
For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, something miraculous took place during my recent trip to Israel: 1,000 unsaved Jewish people gathered in Tel Aviv to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This was the most significant Jewish outreach since the book of Acts. Seats were filled to capacity. This was a very powerful event!
Men, women, and children listened intently as It’s Supernatural host Sid Roth presented his testimony while an interpreter spoke Russian to the non-English speaking audience. Joshua Aaron led the people in Hebrew worship songs.
The room seemed quiet and cold. At first, people were unresponsive.
Initially, there seemed to be a great resistance to the message. A few people were being very distracting, while others left the auditorium for a while and then came back.
Unlike in the United States, these events rarely ever take place in Israel. In fact, the last time someone stood up and gave his testimony to this many Jews at once, it was Peter in the book of Acts.
All of a sudden, something shifted in the atmosphere. As Sid Roth began to talk about the unconditional love of God; you could see people’s eyes opening and their hearts widening. As Sid went deeper into his testimony, people began to respond.
Then, the most supernatural thing began to happen: Roth stopped the testimony and began to share words of knowledge concerning physical aliments. As he prayed for those in attendance, hundreds stood up reporting that they had received instant physical healing. They were healed in their seats without the laying on of hands.
What they thought was a lecture on the supernatural became a powerful presentation of the Gospel of the kingdom of God.
The Scripture declares that the Jew requires a sign; this was evident in the responsiveness of the people to the power of God.
The time came to give the invitation to make Yeshua (Jesus) their Messiah and Lord. To my utter amazement, nearly everyone in the room stood up and prayed the prayer of repentance and salvation. Many people even stayed after for individual prayer. Local Messianic pastors will follow up and disciple those who made a decision to follow Jesus.
So, contrary to popular belief, God is moving in Israel. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is alive and well.
Miracles are happening in Israel!
Join us on our podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.
“He had the whole book of John verbatim in his notebook”
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A church planter working in the Middle East has shared the miraculous ways the Gospel is moving across the persecuted region, including how Jesus appeared to a Muslim man every night for a month, reciting to him the entire Gospel of John.
David Platt, author and pastor of McLean Bible Church, recently interviewed a missionary identified only as Yazim.
“He lives and works in the Middle East where, not only is it illegal to share the Gospel, it’s life-threatening to talk about how the Gospel is advancing,” Platt said. Speaking via simulcast with a disguised voice, Yazim began by stating, “God is moving inside the Middle East with dreams, visions, and personal visitations.”
He shared the story of a man who lived outside of an unnamed Middle Eastern city known for vast opium use. “This man said ‘A man wearing all white knocked at my door every night and I couldn’t look at him because his face was so shiny and bright,’” Yazim recalled.
“‘When he would come inside, he asked me to write down what he said. The next night, he would come again and this went on for a whole month.’”
Yazim asked the man, “What did you write?” The man showed Yazim his notebook. In it was written: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made,” the opening portion of the New Testament book of John.
“He had the whole book of John verbatim in his notebook,” Yazim revealed.
“Jesus visited him every night until he finished the book. The amazing thing is, the man actually asked us, ‘who was this man that visited me?’”
“I learned a valuable lesson: God will do his part, but we still have to do ours,” he added. Platt revealed that Yazim’s own conversion story is miraculous: His wife was a devout Muslim who, depressed by the demands of Islam, decided to take her own life. However, that very night, she heard the Gospel for the first time and dedicated her life to Jesus.
Following that event, she and her husband decided to stay in their homeland and dedicate their lives to sharing the Gospel. “Our focus is to make disciples who then start new churches,” Yazim said. “We believe that what God commanded us to do that in Matthew 28. If you make disciples, churches will grow.”
Yazim and his wife hope to plant ten more churches, but making disciples takes time and funding, as new Christians must be taken to secret locations to be trained. “This training, along with supporting the leaders, will cost $25,000 for ten churches to be developed,” he shared.
Platt, who earlier in the night announced the proceeds from his latest book will go to “urgent needs in the world,” said, “Well, Yazim, we praise God for what you’re doing on the front lines in the Middle East. We want you to know we are behind you, that you’re not alone.” “Count us in for that $25,000 to plant ten churches in the Middle East,” Platt declared.
Such stories of Jesus appearing in visions to Muslims throughout the Islamic world are not uncommon. According to Mission Frontiers magazine, out of 600 Muslim converts, 25 percent experienced a dream that led to their conversion.
Last year, a former Muslim-turned-pastor who started hundreds of churches in Pakistan said that many Muslims are making decisions to convert after Jesus Himself visits them in dreams and visions. “It’s very dangerous for anyone to preach the Word of God face-to-face in non-Western countries,” the pastor said. “So God reveals things through dreams. People are very faithful in the East, placing themselves in positions to see the signs of God by studying the Word of God,” he added. “They watch for the signs and miracles to show that the Word of God is alive. It is a privilege to own a Bible in the East.
Kanye West blew up this year with Sunday Services and the Jesus is King album, causing internet convulsions about his Christian beliefs. But a biographer of the Queen of England’s faith doesn’t think Her Majesty would ever hit the headlines in the same way.
“You know, she might surprise us and that would be grand,” chuckles Dudley Delffs, author of recently released The Faith of Queen Elizabeth. “But I think she saves things for her annual Christmas broadcast and the charities and not-for-profits she serves as patron … [so] I doubt it’s going to be quite as theatrical as that.”
“The Queen’s has those ups and downs that force one to contend with circumstances …” – Dudley Delffs
Only days away from the latest Christmas message by the longest-reigning monarch alive, there’s no fear of her going full Kanye. She is, arguably, the most famous woman in the world, but the Queen has never been one to grandstand about what she’s about. Indeed, it is “that dignity and quiet strength and that sense of consistency” about the Queen’s personal faith that Delffs has been gripped by.
Delffs is an American author with British ancestry (he’s a descendant of King James I!). He’s also a fan of Netflix series The Crown and Helen Mirren’s Oscar-winning movie The Queen, two artistic portraits of Her Majesty that partly inspired Delffs’ desire to document a key aspect of her person.
Like many people he met while researching his book in the UK last year, Delffs is drawn to how the Queen lives out her ingrained yet no-fuss faith. “I did talk with a number of people who drew inspiration, strength and courage from her ongoing example.”
“She has lived what she believes for her entire life.”
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor has been on the throne for almost 68 years. Not only is she ruler of the United Kingdom – through all its disunity, as now – the Queen is also head of the Church of England. But behind the titles is a real person, a mother and grandmother who experiences joy, tragedy and boredom just like the rest of us.
According to Delffs, the 93-year-old monarch is much more like you or me than you may have noticed. “Like so many of our faith journeys, the Queen’s has those ups and downs that force one to contend with circumstances – and to ask those large questions about why this happened or that did not happen,” explains Delffs, who also wrote The Faith of Dolly Parton.
“[And] to then wrestle with whatever one’s purpose or calling might be in life, and the responsibility of that. Or the burden of that. And how that conflicts with our individual choices and preferences and what we might like to do.”
“I think so much of that is embodied in the Queen’s faith journey.”
Delffs isn’t sure how to distil the Queen’s personal tenets but he can single out key events which he believes have refined her faith.
“In 2002 her Majesty lost her sister, Princess Margaret, as well as the Queen Mother – that was very, very difficult,” says Delffs. “Since then, she seems more transparent about her faith and that she relies on it for her strength, guidance and sense of ongoing purpose to serve the duty she has been called to.”
As any royal watcher knows, Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas messages have increased their level of Christian expression during the past few years. But doesn’t tracing such public testimony back to the family deaths of 2002 seems to brush aside other major moments in her life? Delffs maintains that those events are most defining, while acknowledging the effect of other crises such as the divorce of Prince Charles and his wife Diana, her subsequent death, or Prince Andrew’s recent scandals.
“She endorsed that wonderful booklet … which is very explicit about her faith in Jesus Christ.” – Dudley Delffs
As Delffs shares how the Queen’s approach to her children has informed his own, he also notes a prominent refrain about her approach to everybody.
“It was remarkable to me that across the decades, so many people from members of staff to world leaders and everyday subjects she has encountered, all comment about the way she respects them, shows curiosity and engagement with them.”
With Delffs evidently convinced the Queen is thoroughly shaped by her Christian faith, Eternity asks the American author what he believes have been her notable contributions to the work of God’s Kingdom in our world. His answer is a fitting tribute to a monarch who knows whom she serves.
“One is her very personal involvement and support for the Bible Society and Scripture Union. I open the book with her attending the 150th anniversary service for Scripture Union. She has always been very personally involved with them.”
God led Randy Clark into global revival ministries, particularly from the Toronto Blessing of January 1994. “The Lord said, ‘They’re not wanting you. They’re wanting Me.'”
Revival blessings continue to explode worldwide in evangelism, healing, miracles and signs and wonders as in the New Testament.
Randy Clark reads from his personal journal, recounting the events that lead up to the Toronto Blessing. Before revival comes, it starts with a group of people pressing hard after God, crying out for His presence to come.
Randy Clark wrote:
From the very beginning, the ministry that God gave me and my team has demonstrated that everyday Christians can operate in the supernatural. Today, the power of the Spirit is flowing everywhere from mission fields and shopping malls to grocery stores and even aboard airplanes.
Join me as I read from my personal journal on November 8, 2019, at Global Awakening School of Supernatural Ministry, recounting the events that led up to the Toronto Blessing. Up to that point, I had never journalled before in my life.
THE MEETING ON OCTOBER 27, 1993 IN MISSOURI, JUST WEEKS BEFORE THE TORONTO BLESSING (January 1994), WAS A VERY STRATEGIC TIME IN MY LIFE. MOVING IN THE POWER OF GOD WAS A DREAM COME TRUE. I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE ABLE TO PRAY FOR PEOPLE AND SEE HIS POWER COME ON THEM. THAT NIGHT WAS AWESOME. IT WAS LIKE WALKING IN ANOTHER DIMENSION. I ONLY HOPED THAT IT WOULD NOT BE A RARE OCCASION, BUT THAT GOD WOULD ALLOW ME TO VISIT THAT DIMENSION FREQUENTLY. I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE HEAVEN.
Before revival comes, it starts with a group of people pressing hard after God, crying out for His presence to come. I believed God wanted to touch the leadership – the pastors and the wives – of our region. I prayed in general for the Spirit to fall on the meeting. The great theme of my prayer time beforehand was, “Come, Holy Spirit.”
The meeting was drenched in prayer ahead of time. At the meeting, I shared on “those who are thirsty may come to Jesus and drink” from John 7:37, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Revelation 21:6 and Acts 2:15. It was obvious that the Holy Spirit was at work among the pastors and their wives as well as many others who attended the meeting.
In total, I shared at the meeting for about 40 minutes telling a story of how God had come again into my ministry in a wonderful way and how He was touching people in my church. I also told a story about how far I had fallen from the work in the Spirit that had characterized my earlier ministry when I had first gotten involved with the Vineyard Church in Missouri and how I had repented of that to the church.
The first person I and a team member prayed for was a woman. She came and stood right in front of me. She was very hurt and nothing happened to her initially. She later finally broke through and was touched by God about two hours later.
The next people I and this team member prayed for at the meeting fell quickly to the floor under the power of the Holy Spirit. Some began to cry. Others, laugh. And others were just quietly ministered to.
Interestingly enough, I wrote of these occurrences in my journal: “I anticipate this may occur in my ministry in the future.” But I concluded: only time will tell if those were isolated sovereign incidents or whether they will be the beginning of a ministry of revival for the church.
The next two hours of the meeting were like stepping into another dimension, or like living in a dream. I kept thinking to myself, I need someone to pinch me to know this is really happening. (Be sure to watch the video to this point in which you will hear about some of the more notable incidents that are still deeply impressed upon my memory today.)
In the video, I recall a story from the 1980’s in which the whole choir at a Baptist church in southeast Missouri was being “wiped out” by the power of the Holy Spirit while they were singing a worship song. I point out how you could hear the wind—literally, “like a mighty rushing wind”—and the church service went until mid-afternoon. I will report how within a few weeks, every miracle you can think of that you would see in the New Testament—including raising the dead—happened.
My friend Happy watched the meeting happen for some time. He had gotten scared and hidden under a chair. At this point in the story, it’s important to know that “Happy was Mr. Control; he had to have everything figured out down to the last second.” But Happy finally approached me and said, “I’ve received things from you in the past. Now I want this. I want to drink.”
I began to pray for Happy. Happy began to bow his body backwards under the power of God and, instead of falling, Happy began to shuffle his feet backwards to keep from falling. This was not safe because the floor was covered by people who were “slain” in the Spirit. Before I and my team would begin to pray for someone, we had to find a place to position them so that when they would fall, they would not fall on someone. It was like “falling trees”!
I told Happy not to walk out from under the Spirit’s power but to stand and fall. But, not to back up to keep from falling. I prayed again, and Happy fell under the power of God. After about 15 minutes, Happy came up and said,”I want another drink.” Happy was prayed for again, and he began to shuffle backwards under the power of God again.
I and a team member pushed Happy up and continued to pray for a few seconds. Happy fell on the floor under the power of God again. This time Happy began to double up with his knees to his chest and his feet sticking up in the air, as he began to belly laugh. It was quite the sight! You couldn’t help but laugh in the natural at what God was doing in their midst. It was funny, because Happy who was “Mr. Control” had now given God the control.
Then I felt led by the Holy Spirit to kneel down beside Happy as Happy was laying on the floor, laughing. I said, “God, take control of Happy. He wants to control, and I ask that you take control of Happy.” When I prayed this, Happy stopped belly laughing and quickly grabbed his shirt at his belly button area. Happy was gripping his shirt and his hands were clenched. I knew by an unction of Holy Spirit this was a stronghold of the enemy in Happy’s life. Then I and my team member prayed for the power of God to totally take Happy and for the stronghold to be broken.
Slowly Happy’s grip began to loosen and he began to relax his hands. Then I began to pray, “Lord, birth Your work in Happy. This [grabbing of Happy’s shirt at his belly button area and not laughing] is breach. Turn it around, and let it be born.” Very soon, there was a breakthrough in Happy. The joy and laughter returned, and he was once again laughing and enjoying the refreshment of the Holy Spirit.
After about 30 minutes, Happy came up to me again and asked for another drink. I prayed for Happy again and within seconds, Happy fell under the power of God again; enjoying the Lord’s presence. At this point in the story, it’s important to realize that simultaneously others were receiving prayer and being touched by the Holy Spirit as well.
Happy later helped start two of the Vineyard churches in the Midwest. So there’s a history between Happy and me. In fact, the most powerful touch from God that I ever had was when Happy blew on me at his church in 1999 when I thought I was going to die. (You’ll want to watch the rest of the video to hear more stories like Happy’s.)
This meeting was just a foretaste of a new move of supernatural Christianity characterized by signs, wonders and healing miracles that God ignited around the globe and that He caused to transpire in my and my team’s four decades of ministry that followed.
P.S. I believe the events that led up to the Toronto Blessing are a prophetic sign to the culture that God can use everybody. Over the years, I and my team have developed two conferences that provide a solid foundation in living a supernatural lifestyle. It’s my heart that people everywhere will be empowered to see a fresh revival come to their spheres of influence.
Randy is the founder and President of Global Awakening and author of books on healing, impartation, and revival history. He spends his time writing, traveling, speaking at events, and hanging out with his children and grandkids. His life’s message is: “God will use anyone who’s willing to take a risk in faith.”
We have just returned from a very special and very emotional service. Tonight,Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke preached the Gospel for the last time on African soil after 50 years of powerful ministry. His wife, Anni and his children were with him on the platform. Our national directors and many ministry friends from all over the world were there to be a part of the historic moment. More than 1.7 million people attended the five days of meetings. Countless miracles took place and many thousands of salvations were recorded. I cannot imagine a more fitting way to celebrate 50 years of Evangelist Bonnke’s ministry than with one more massive harvest of souls in Africa. It was truly a remarkable and historic event. It will stand out in my memory as one of the most precious days in my life.
We faced an unusual level of resistance this week – such as I have not experienced in my time with the ministry. But the Lord spoke to us clearly that what we were experiencing was birthing pangs. Although this crusade was Evangelist Bonnke’s Farewell in Africa, it is really just the beginning of something new and wonderful. God has given me the vision for a “Decade of Double Harvest.” I believe that over the next decade, we will see another 75-million people won to Christ and tonight was the beginning. No wonder we are feeling the pangs of birth. I will share more specifics on this in the days to come, but for now it is enough to say we are on the threshold of “even greater” things. As Evangelist Bonnke has often said, “Nothing diminishes in God.”
This also marks the last crusade of the year. As we approach the end of one year and the beginning of another, I am so thankful for those of you that have stood with us so faithfully through your prayers and giving. Please continue to stand with us as we enter this new season of harvest. All hands are needed on deck. The best is yet to come. We love and appreciate each one of you.
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
Together with Reinhard Bonnke, Peter Vandenberg, and the whole CfaN Team
Gallery
The number is staggering: 75,913,155. That’s how many people have come to Christ through the ministry of Reinhard Bonnke, as reported by his organization Christ for all Nations (CfaN).
The German-born evangelist said on CfaN’s website. “I want not only to see a gigantic harvest of souls but to pass my burning torch to a new generation of evangelists.”
Bonnke, his wife Anni, and their young son moved to the tiny African nation of Lesotho in 1969. The couple spent seven years working there as missionaries. It wasn’t easy. Bonnke says it was during those difficult years that he started praying to see more souls saved across the African continent. He says God gave him a vision for “a continent washed in the blood of Jesus Christ.”
The early days in Lesotho (1974)
In 1974, Christ for All Nations was birthed, and since then more than 75 million people have accepted Christ through the ministry. All these years later, Bonnke says the vision still burns in his soul. “Whether I am eating or drinking, awake or asleep, the vision is ever-present. It never leaves me.”
Now, at 77, Bonnke is passing the torch to a new generation of evangelists as he prepares to retire after more than 40 years in ministry. Lead evangelist of CfaN, Daniel Kolenda, has been tapped to succeed Bonnke.
The preparations for the final crusade involved “500,000 counselors, 200,000 intercessors, a choir of over 23,000 and a security force of over 10,000,” said John Darku, CfaN’s African director. “There is great excitement from all the churches in the country, and we are expecting a spectacular harvest of people coming to Christ.”
Source: Christ for all Nations
Joel News International, March 15, 2017
Bonnke’s Lagos campaign drew a crowd of 1.6 million people (2000)
A Christian who took the Brexit to heart is Dutch artist and theatre producer Aad Peters. He owns a 70 meters long replica of Noah’s Ark and sailed this ship to the English port of Ipswich. It’s the largest Bible museum in Europe.
The boat was launched nearly ten years ago and has travelled across Europe visiting more than 50 different ports welcoming more than half a million visitors.
“I came to England because I want to make a statement that you guys are not alone,” he told British broadcaster ITV. “We’re here as friends, as brothers, and the Ark is also a sign of hope.
What makes me sad about England is the mistrust which creates all the discussions and people taking sides. In the Ark we share King Solomon’s story who threatened to kill a baby in order to find out who the baby’s true mother was. It is a challenge to today’s Remainers and Leavers to simply get along with each other as well as the rest of Europe. If you don’t love each other, you might kill the baby.”
Source: Aad Peters
Joel News International, #1150, December 2, 2019
Christmas Gift Ideas
Amazon can mail a book anywhere with your gift note.
This may come as a surprise to many, but Christianity is growing faster in the Islamic Republic of Iran than in any other country in the world. Tens of thousands of Muslims are abandoning their faith and are beginning to follow Jesus.
Experts say the ongoing political crisis and economic challenges are fueling widespread anger against the regime. Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani is promising to resolve the country’s economic, social and political problems after days of protests gripped the Islamic nation last month. At least 21 people died in clashes with police, and over 1,000 were arrested.
Mike Ansari says political turmoil is creating unique opportunities to share the love of Christ. “Many Iranian Christians have turned to us asking what it is they need to do,” Ansari wrote in an email. Ansari is the president of Heart4Iran Ministries, which is bringing 86 different ministries together with the goal of serving and blessing the people of Iran. He says with all the negative news about Iran, it is easy to miss the big and often untold story of what is really happening inside the Islamic nation. “God is at work in Iran. Jesus is building His church, the Spirit is transforming lives and the gospel is on the move.”
Today 4 satellite TV channels are broadcasting continuous Christian broadcasting into Iran.
Mohabat TV is the media arm of Heart4Iran Ministries. In 2006, Mohabat TV became the first 24-hour Farsi Christian satellite TV channel to beam gospel programs into Iran. Today, it is one of 4 satellite TV channels broadcasting continuous Christian programming. “Christian satellite TV broadcasts into Iran have played a vital role in the success of the underground house church movement,” Ansari wrote. “The significance of media strategy is that it by-passes security measures set by the government and reaches the people of Iran through their TV set or on their smart devices. According to World Mission, the house church movement in Iran is one of the fastest-growing churches in the world. It is the lifeline of Christianity inside this country.”
Recently 20 Iranians, many of whom accepted Christ watching Mohabat TV, traveled to an undisclosed location to get baptized. CBN News was granted exclusive access to the celebrations.
Recently 20 Iranians, many of whom accepted Christ watching Mohabat TV, traveled to an undisclosed location to get baptized. CBN News was granted exclusive access to the celebrations.
Ansari, an Iranian by birth, sat down with CBN News correspondent George Thomas for an exclusive look at the church inside Iran.
Why is the house church movement in Iran growing so fast?
“The church is growing because the people of Iran are disillusioned with Islam and they are looking for answers to life. They are not finding answers in the traditional forms of state religion or the faith of their ancestors. They are looking for new answers, they are not happy and satisfied where they are spiritually. It seems that a large number of these people are actually having dreams and visions about a shining man dressed in white far before we are out there telling them about Jesus.”
Is there a specific area of Iranian society that Jesus is touching more than others?
“The demographic that is responding to the gospel the most is the younger generation, who are very tech-savvy. These are people, anywhere from 18 to 30 years of age. They are online, they are following the world’s pop culture, they are very much plugged in and they are looking for answers. They want to belong to a larger purpose and meaning in life, and they are finding that in Jesus.”
The 1979 Islamic Revolution was supposed to usher in this great Islamic revival. Did that ever materialize?
“After almost 40 years of the Islamic regime, the average Iranian is realizing that Islam is bankrupt and Islam is not able to answer to their social, daily lives and the dilemmas they are dealing with. Iran is facing a host of crises, from drug addiction to depression to suicide to sexually transmitted diseases to human trafficking.”
Almost 40 years into the Islamic Revolution the average Iranian is realizing that Islam is bankrupt.
How bad is persecution against those who decide to abandon Islam and embrace Christianity?
“Iran is listed in Open Doors’ top 10 of most persecuted countries. The reality of Iranian Christians is that they cannot go out on the street and share their new faith with people. They cannot celebrate anywhere publicly, and they are constantly in fear of retaliation from the authorities. Becoming a Christian in Iran, especially if you are from an Islamic background, is illegal and is punishable by the legal code in the country. This is why we want people around the world to continue lifting up the persecuted church in Iran.”
You recently commissioned an extensive survey inside the country to find out how many people are watching programs on Mohabat TV. What did the survey results show?
“We had no idea that so many Iranian youth are following our programs. It appears that roughly about 16 million Iranians within the last 12 months have viewed one or more of our programs on satellite TV and also on their mobile devices. That roughly translates to about 20 percent of Iran’s population and that is an overwhelming number.”
Mohabat TV produced a map showing all the locations Iranians are calling the show from.
How many people call in to your channel and how many have accepted Christ since you launched the network?
“It is a rough estimate that within the last 11 years we’ve been able to connect with over one million Iranians through our call center. These are people who have contacted us wanting to know more about Christianity. These are people who have either become Christians or have had dreams or visions, and wanted to find out more about Jesus. Or people who have become Christians and they want to find out how to grow in their new faith and how to be discipled or how to start a house church in the country. In 2016, our call center processed about 700 contacts per day, which resulted in about 93 decisions for Christ per day. That’s roughly about three people every hour that confessed their faith in Jesus.”
Is satellite TV still the most important evangelism tool to reach Iranians with the gospel or is social media becoming even more important?
“In 2013 and 2014 when the Iranian Green Revolution took place, we realized the importance of Twitter. That was a glimpse into what was coming. In 2017, we realized that social media has fully arrived in the Middle East, especially in a country like Iran where especially the youth are actively using social media on their mobile devices. In addition, the numbers we’ve been getting through our survey is additional validation that this is a sound strategy for ministries to start focusing on.”
Source: George Thomas, CBN
Source: Joel News International – # 1067 | January 26, 2018
Iran: Fastest-growing church has no buildings
For the last few years, researchers have credited the underground church in Iran as the fastest-growing Christian church in the world.
It has unique characteristics that defy comparison with churches in America and Europe, and in the opinion of some who know it well, the church in the West could learn by studying it.
The fastest-growing church in the world has taken root in one of the most unexpected and radicalized nations on earth, according to ‘Sheep Among Wolves’, an outstanding two-hour documentary about the revival that has taken place inside Iran. The Iranian awakening is a rapidly reproducing discipleship movement that owns no property or buildings, has no central leadership, and is predominantly led by women.
‘The movement is predominantly led by women’
The documentary was produced by Frontier Alliance International (FAI), which supports disciple-making teams targeting the ‘unreached’ and ‘unengaged’ within the 10/40 Window. There is a mass exodus leaving Islam for Christianity within Iran, according to FAI.
“What if I told you Islam is dead?” one unidentified Iranian church leader says in the film. “Many of the ruling class still follow Islam because that’s where the high paying jobs are, but the majority of the ordinary people love God and recognize that Islam is the problem. What if I told you the best evangelist for Jesus was the Ayatollah Khomeini? The ayatollahs brought the true face of Islam to light and people discovered it was a lie, a deception.”
Efforts by the ayatollahs to destroy Christianity have backfired, but have served to refine and purify the church. “What persecution did was destroy the churches that were only about converts,” the Iranian church leader noted. “Converts run away from persecution, but disciples are willing to die for the Lord in persecution.”
‘What if I told you Islam is dead?’
Often a disciple-making movement begins the first moment someone comes into contact with an unbeliever. “Everything is founded on prayer. We find people of peace through prayer. We even find locations through prayer,” the Iranian church leader noted. “Jesus has gone faster than us. He has come in their dreams or he’s come miraculously in their lives. When we hear this, we know that Jesus has gone ahead of us.”
Their emphasis is not planting churches; it is making disciples. “If you plant churches, you might make disciples. But if you make disciples, you will plant churches,” the Iranian church leader said. “It is obedience-based discipleship based on the authority of Scripture. Every time you read the Scripture, you must obey it. This is how people become conformed to the image of Christ and sanctified. They are not just reading the Bible for information. They are reading the Bible to get transformed.”
About 55% of the disciple-makers are women, according to the film.
Cali, Columbia – 60,000 Christians fill the municipal soccer stadium for all-night prayer vigil – a multi-billion dollar drug cartel destroyed – explosive church growth.
Kiambu, Kenya – witchcraft and crime overcome by repentance and prayer – churches grew.
Hemet, California – united repentance and prayer led to a city transformed – gangs transformed – crime reduced – churches grew.
Dr. Charles Mully was a self-made millionaire living in one of Nairobi’s wealthiest enclaves when God called him to dedicate his life to caring for impoverished children.
And that’s exactly what he did.
Giving up his life of comfort and wealth, Mully established the Mully Children’s Family (MCF), a charitable organization helping tens of thousands of the more than 2.6 million children living on the streets of Africa.
“I walk by faith and not by sight, and everything I own really belongs to God,” Mully, 68, told The Gospel Herald in an exclusive interview. “So, it was not difficult to give everything up. When I surrendered to him, He never let me down, and many lives have been changed as a result.”
Mully’s amazing story of faith, sacrifice, and determination is the subject of the forthcoming documentary, Mully. From October 3-5, the film will be shown at about 750 theaters across the United States.
The desire of the Kenyan-born entrepreneur to transform the lives of vulnerable children stems from his own experience. At 6 years old, he was abandoned by his family and forced to survive by begging on the streets.
“I was raised very poor; my father was an alcoholic who abused me and my brother,” he recalled. “One day, I woke up and discovered my family had left. That was a very difficult time in my life.”
After ten difficult years on the streets, Mully, now-teenager, was on the verge of committing suicide when a man invited him to church. There, Mully heard the Good News of the Gospel for the first time.
“When I heard the Word of God, it changed my life forever,” he shared. “It gave me a purpose and a motivation to live.”
As a young man, Mully walked to Nairobi, where he landed a job and met his future wife, Esther Nthenya. Against overwhelming odds, he found incredible success as a businessman, soon providing a comfortable lifestyle for his wife and their eight children.
Still, Mully was convinced that God had something more in store for his life. Leaving his company behind, Mully moved back to Kenya, where he and his wife opened their home to orphans who had nowhere else to turn.
“People thought I was crazy,” Mully admitted. “It has not been an easy journey. My wife and I have experienced rejection and mockery from those around us. But, God never fails. He is a God of love, of peace, and deliverance, and He calls us to obedience.”
Since 1989, Kenya’s “Father to the Fatherless” has transformed the lives of over 15,000 children through rescue, holistic rehabilitation and reintegration. Today, it’s the largest children’s rehabilitation organization in Africa.
Many of his children, Mully said, have gone on to become successful businessman, doctors, and lawyers.
“The Bible says, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,'” Mully said. “Yes, this organization has seen great success, but it is not because of me – it is because of the Lord, who gives me strength. Through God, anything is possible for the benefit of mankind.”
Through his story, Mully hopes Christians worldwide are inspired to take seriously the words of James 1:26 – “look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
“Many people in the Western world are about working hard to acquire wealth and money, money, money,” he said. “When God calls us, we need to listen. There are so many poor brothers and sisters around the world, and we are called to help those in great need, to share what little we may have.”
He continued, “That is the love of God. If don’t have love, if we don’t care for those God loves, we cannot please God. That is my challenge and advice to my brothers and sisters in America.”
