Although Christians still face persecution in Vietnam, churches thrive because of leaders who endured suffering to spread the gospel in the communist country.
They include 95-year-old Pastor Duong Thi, also known as Mrs. Ly, who helped start Vietnam’s house church movement. Her favorite verse is Romans 12:21 which says: ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’
She endured many hardships, such as being imprisoned five times. When asked how she felt during the ordeal, she answered: “I was not afraid because God was with me.” Bibles were not allowed in the prison but Mrs. Ly was able to have access to some of its pages which her church members used to wrap the sticky rice they sent her. Even inside the prison, she boldly shared the gospel.
Mrs. Ly’s father served as a pastor of the Christian Missionary Alliance, the only traditional Christian church in Vietnam at the time. She followed in his footsteps, becoming a pastor of that church. In 1982, however, she became the first member to step out after she experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. She went around the different provinces in Vietnam to share about the Holy Spirit baptism and set up the first charismatic house church.
Mrs. Ly mentored many of Vietnam’s current Christian leaders, including Pastor Pham Duc Trung, who went from being dependent on drugs to running several rehabilitation centers which is the main ministry of his church, The Blessing Church. “When I became a Christian, it was her church that I first attended and where I really felt loved. She recommended the rehabilitation center where I was delivered from drug addiction,” Pastor Pham said. Mrs. Ly’s legacy also lives on in her children and grandchildren who have become pastors and church workers.
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This year we witnessed a powerful move of the Holy Spirit across college campuses, beaches, prisons, and churches – so much so that 2023 could be dubbed a “Year of Revival.” It could even point to the beginning of what many have called a spiritual awakening in America.
Faith leaders have testified that “revival is happening” in pockets across the U.S. spanning different age groups, denominations, and backgrounds.
‘The Asbury Awakening’
Many would say that the biggest “firestarter” of them all was a simple worship service at Asbury University in Kentucky where 100 people fell to their knees and bowed at the altar in Hughes Auditorium, just to worship God.
“On Wednesday, February 8, a very small but very faithful group of Asbury students listened to the nudging of the Holy Spirit and stayed in Chapel a little longer, and then a little longer, and then way longer,” shared a student speaker. “And we had no idea that the world was about to know God better.”
That small act eventually inspired thousands to flock to the college campus where they sought God’s presence for more than two weeks, leading to repentance, healing, and salvation.
“Peers, professors, local church leaders, and seminary students surround me—all of them praying, worshipping, and praising God together. Voices are ringing out. People are bowing at the altar, arms stretched wide,” wrote Alexandra Presta, the editor of the student-run website The Asbury Collegian. “A pair of friends cling to each other in a hug, one with tears in her eyes. A diverse group of individuals crowd the piano and flawlessly switch from song to song. Some even sit like me, with laptops open. No one wants to leave.”
What took place garnered national attention and began to spring up across other campuses.
“THE FIRE IS SPREADING. Reports say students from more than 21 colleges have now arrived at Asbury University in Kentucky for revival services. Just imagine what will happen if this spreads nationwide,” wrote missionary Lee Grady in February.
Lee University: ‘Awakening the Deep Wells of Revival’
Lee University, a private Christian college in Cleveland, Tennessee is 250 miles away from Asbury University, but students from this small school felt compelled to take part in what was taking place and it began a movement of revival on their campus.
Lee University Campus Pastor Rob Fultz noted on X, “What’s happening at Asbury is not and will not remain confined. It will, and already is awakening the deep wells of revival on campuses across the nation. They have been churning, pressing against the seals that have kept them hidden, and they are about to burst with new life.”
Fultz reported the revival had reached the Lee campus, writing: “A mighty move of God started this morning at Lee and it has been building throughout the day. We are approaching the 10th hour, nothing but voices in prayer, worship, and repentance.”
He also included a video taken of the worship in the campus’s Stone Chapel. Students were coming to the chapel, crying out to God, praying, and repenting.
The revival continued to spread to schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.
“I think there’s a move of God that’s happening; there’s a revival that’s happening, and I wanted to be in the Presence of God,” Regent University student Shameka White told CBN News. “I wanted to just be among believers. And we need it in the climate of the world today.”
Cedarville University
Cedarville University President Thomas White shared five short video clips of the revival at his school – just 10 days after the start of the Asbury revival.
“Tonight a large number of students gathered again to pray, read Scripture, testimonies, and to worship Jesus for about two hours! We had 2 more students saved tonight. Tomorrow night we are sending our students out to other Universities to share the Gospel,” he wrote. “Keep praying for wisdom and a genuine movement of the Lord! The last video is from students who stayed around to keep worshipping. They were still there when I left about 11 pm!”
In an email to the Cedarville faculty and staff, White wrote, “We are so thankful for how God is working on our campus in recent days.”
Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Some of the evidence that God was moving on college campuses did not involve massive worship services in an auditorium, but rather, outdoor prayer gatherings and spontaneous baptisms wherever there was water.
In February, Michael Fehlauer, the lead pastor of the New Life Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, posted videos to social media that showed baptisms being performed in a public fountain at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Auburn University
An impromptu baptism at Auburn University in Alabama started with one student wanting to be baptized but grew to roughly 200 people who decided to give their lives to Christ.
In September, Hundreds of students made a public declaration of their new life in Christ by dipping in a lake near Red Barn as spectators watched in awe.
“I’ve seen Auburn basketball beat Kentucky. I’ve seen Auburn football beat Alabama, but I have never seen something like I did Tuesday night,” Auburn University senior Michael Floyd told WFSA12 News.
More than 5,000 people showed up to Unite Auburn’s “Night of Worship”. The campus ministry’s outreach was created to bring the Alabama school’s Christian community together for a night of worship. It featured guest speakers New York Times Best-Selling Author Jennie Allen and Pastor Jonathan Pokluda, and worship was led by Passion Music.
“It was such a move of God,” Allen told CBN News. “There is something very special happening right now. I believe in their hearts I think they are, they are hungry for God and, and they want God in a very real way, this is not manufactured.”
A Move of God at HBCUs
One organization reported in March that God was also moving powerfully among the country’s historically black colleges and universities, also known as HBCUs.
The Black Voices Movement, a ministry of Circuit Riders, is on a mission to reach the next generation with the good news of Jesus Christ by empowering young black men and women across America to be evangelists and preachers of the gospel.
It is an important work because statistics show only 1% of American missionaries are black.
Yasmin Pierce, the director of the Black Voices Movement, told CBN News they had tours to 20-30 HBCU campuses this year and have seen many salvations.
“We are all about the gospel. We’re evangelists. We love Jesus. We’re so grateful for the cross,” Pierce explained.
‘Radically Transformed’ College Students
Healings on college campuses were also reported this year. One report from Texas A&M in College Station revealed that an A&M student who couldn’t previously walk unaided, walked 20 steps after Aggies students prayed over him. One young man shared what he saw in a video posted to Facebook.
Tarik Whitmore, the young adult pastor at New Life Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, told CBN News he is seeing a movement among college students who are getting saved and then boldly proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ with the student body.
The result is campuses are being transformed for Jesus – and it is happening quickly.
“We are seeing these people repent from compromise and make a decision to make a public declaration of, ‘No, I want to give my whole life to Jesus starting today.’ And then we see them radically transformed before our eyes where their lifestyle is radically different [and they have] boldness to preach the Gospel to their friends like never before,” said Whitmore.
Kentucky
This spiritual awakening was not just limited to college campuses but spread throughout towns in America.
As CBN News reported, in a small community in southeastern Kentucky, hundreds of people were changed by a move of God’s Spirit.
Pastor Scott Phipps told CBN News that for 77 nights God moved “in a mighty way” as people were delivered, healed, and set free from addiction.
“People are really pouring their hearts out to the Lord and the altars are full,” Phipps said in January. “There’s no room at the altars and people are just pouring in.”
Nearly 300 people showed up to North Main Community Church in Barbourville, Kentucky to have an encounter with God.
“Addicts have been delivered every night. And one thing about the people coming is that most of them do not have any background in any Christianity whatsoever,” Phipps added. “The Lord says those who have been forgiven much, loveth much, and many of these people were at death’s door.”
He shared that the light of Jesus Christ is shining brightly in a dark season.
Phipps explained, “As far as the world is concerned it looks like it’s not going to get better, but at the same time the Bible says we would shine as light in the midst of a dark world in a crooked and perverse generation and nation. It is a great time for [revival].”
Louisiana
In Hammond, Louisiana, a four-day church worship service turned into an eight-month-long revival at an old Baptist church.
Old Zion Baptist Church held its first service on Oct.16, 2022 by June 2023 thousands had decided to put their faith in Jesus. People from 17 states and two countries traveled to the church to see what God was doing.
“The Awakening in Louisiana has truly been life-changing. When God sent me there on October 17, I never would have dreamed we would still be there! It has been the most supernatural event I’ve ever seen,” Evangelist David R. Harrison of Voice of Hope Ministries told CBN News in June.
“Thousands of decisions have been made for Christ! Salvations, restorations deliverance, and healings,” Harrison reported.
“Has there been many battles along the way? Yes! But, it truly has been worth it all just to see the thousands of lives who have been changed! I’m so thankful and humbled that God would allow me and my family to experience such an amazing move of the Holy Spirit. To God be the glory, great things HE hath done,” he added.
Massive Beach Baptisms
One beach in California, once the site of spiritual outpouring among young people during the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, became a historic location where thousands gathered to be baptized.
Inspired by the movie “Jesus Revolution”, thousands of people came from all across America and the world to take part in the “Jesus Revolution Baptism” in July at the now-famous Pirates Cove in Newport Beach, California.
Harvest Christian Fellowship Sr. Pastor Greg Laurie held the massive baptism event where 32,500 people gathered and 6,794 made decisions to dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ.
Laurie, whose salvation story is featured in the “Jesus Revolution” film and who was also baptized at this location 50 years ago, couldn’t believe the size of the crowd.
“We have around 4,000 people signed up to be baptized today, can you believe that!” Pastor Laurie exclaimed. But then the number grew even larger.
Just a week earlier, more than 4,000 people were baptized on that same beach on Pentecost Sunday to celebrate not only the gift of eternal life but to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Jesus Movement.
Oceans Church organized Baptize SoCal – an event advertised as “the biggest water baptism in history.”
More than 280 churches and 8,000 attendees watched as 4,166 people flocked to the shore of Pirates Cove to declare their new life in Christ.
“What an amazing and historic day,” said musician and pastor at West Coast Life Church, Ray Gene Wilson. “Thousands baptized at Pirates Cove, God is moving in California!”
“A moment I’ll never forget,” one attendee commented on Instagram.
God Behind Bars
God Behind Bars, a national prison ministry, has baptized 599 prison inmates and seen 126,000 salvations this year.
The organization strategically works to reach the more than 2.3 million people in the prison system and bring the hope found in the Gospel.
The ministry’s goal to win souls for the Kingdom of God is exploding into an outreach that is providing hope to thousands in a dark place.
“In prison, it’s very easy to be a bitter, cold person,” one inmate recently shared. “But because of my relationship with Jesus Christ and because of who I’ve become while being in prison, I’ve learned (to be) a joyful person. Having a life sentence plus 30 (years), and people not understanding where this joy is coming from or not understanding how you can maintain a smile while going through adverse moments…and I know that it only came from God.”
Over the years, worship leaders like Brandon Lake, Naomi Raine, and Kirk Franklin as well as speakers like Sadie Robertson and Russell Wilson have prayed and sung alongside inmates. It could be described as a glimpse into a small facet of what we will likely see in Heaven – people from all walks of life worshipping Jesus Christ.
The ministry once shared that what is happening in the prisons is a “new thing” and it is evident in the joy that is felt and the lives that are changed.
“God is bringing revival to prisons! Jesus is doing a NEW THING,” they wrote.
Spontaneous Baptisms at Churches
Many churches across the country have experienced record-breaking water baptisms – some spontaneous.
More than 2,000 baptisms took place across Life.Church’s 40-plus campuses in August.
The Oklahoma megachurch celebrated as people took that step of faith at a large facility pool used by the church, while others got baptized at satellite campuses. Some even got baptized in their bathtubs, previously recorded video showed.
“We’re not praying for revival. We’re in the middle of one. I thank God for what he’s doing,” Life.Church founder and pastor Craig Groeschel said. “God is doing a big thing.”
In Houston, Texas, 755 publicly declared their faith in Jesus Christ at Champion Forest.
Nearly 300 people were baptized one Sunday morning at The Biltmore Church in Arden, North Carolina. And in one service at Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville, TN, 136 people were spontaneously baptized.
But the numbers represent far more than mere statistics, it is a representation of lives transformed and citizenship established in Heaven.
“This is something to celebrate, people being raised from death to life,” remarked one Long Hollow leader. “And how good is it that we don’t have to earn the victory? We don’t have to earn salvation. We get to rest in the victory Christ already won on our behalf.”
Gen Z
As revival and mass baptisms have hit every generation this year, in many ways Gen Z has been leading the way. This year served as a spotlight on the increasing hunger among young people for God.
A recent Pew Research study claims that Gen Z is losing their religion, but in reality, there is a spiritual awakening that is happening among that generation.
Thousands are hearing the gospel message, making professions of faith in Jesus Christ, and answering the call to ministry.
“This I believe is for Generation Z, for this generation coming up now,” shared Dr. Corne Bekker, dean and professor of the Regent University School of Divinity. “This is their moment where God is getting a hold of their hearts.”
“Their eyes are opening, and they are surrendering their lives to Christ,” he continued.
The move of God is not just happening in the U.S. Bekker references revivals overseas and believes that what’s taking place on a global scale is the beginning of the next Great Awakening.
“From my perspective, I believe it is here,” Bekker said. “The time is now; the kingdom of God is here. What should be our response? Repent and believe in the Good News.”
Bekker believes this could be the last great move of God to usher in the second coming of Jesus Christ. — CBN
Iran: ‘I plant secret house churches because I was saved into one’
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Nathan shares how he found Christ as a teenager in Iran and how God led him to launch a mission to equip persecuted believers. “I plant secret house churches, because I was saved into one,” he says.
This is his story:
I grew up in a Muslim family in Tehran, Iran. My mother, a devoted Muslim, taught me to follow Islamic practices diligently. However, fear of losing my parents haunted me due to uncertainties about salvation. One day, a Christian relative visited us and shared the gospel. Even though I’d been taught that the Bible was corrupted, her words resonated deeply with me. My mother surprisingly listened and questioned rather than getting defensive. Her claims of Jesus freeing us from fear struck a chord in my soul.
Later, I found myself on my knees, asking Jesus to save me. To my amazement, my mother was undergoing her own spiritual transformation. We, along with my father and brother, embraced Christ. A secret house church provided us refuge. Despite potential danger, the Holy Spirit emboldened us to share the gospel with Muslims.
‘We now lead an Instagram fellowship for secret house churches’
Over the years, I delved deeper into my faith, attending Christian conferences abroad and returning to teach in Iran. A dream of leaving Iran in 2013 came true as I became a refugee in the United States, fulfilling God’s promise. My ministry extended to social media, where I equip Persian believers through online education and mentorship. My wife and I lead an Instagram fellowship for secret house churches in places like Iran and Afghanistan, allowing us to reach Muslims globally.
The transformation was powerful – my once fearful heart was liberated by Jesus. My father’s passing brought sadness but also peace, as he embraced Christianity and found solace in his last days. I am now a church planting pastor and leadership coach in North Carolina, thankful for the journey that led me to Christ and my mission to empower persecuted believers.
Joel News International # 1315, September 15, 2023
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Share good news – Share this and any page freely. Over 100,000 blog views annually. Share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, and Emails: Europe: 5 signs of Christian revival
Post-Christian. Secular. A prodigal continent. These are some of the words often used to describe Christianity in Europe. Yet, a growing number of voices believe God is not done with Europe.
“Renewed spiritual hunger, new stirring of prayer, fresh expressions of the church, and migrant churches restoring faith” are signs of hope in our continent today, writes former YWAM Europe director Jeff Fountain.
It would certainly not be the first time that God changes the narrative of a continent. Only decades ago, Protestants described Latin America as a mission field. Today, it’s become a mission force, and the Brazilian church sends the second most missionaries in the world. In 1900, Africa was home to about nine million Christians. Who could ever have imagined that by the 2020s there would be half a billion Christians on the continent?
But the missional challenges for Christians in Europe are overwhelming. The old continent has a complex and unique history with the Christian faith. “No other continent has been exposed to Christianity for such a prolonged period and in such an extensive way,” wrote Jim Memory, the Lausanne Europe co-regional director, in the Europe 2021 Missiological Report. “Yet just as Europe was the first continent to be Christianised, it was also the first to be de-Christianised.”
Even so, in our day, an extraordinary re-evangelisation of Europe is taking place. Here are five ways we are seeing God move throughout the continent:
1. Diaspora churches
Latin-American migrants have planted thousands of churches in Spain, Portugal and beyond over the last thirty years. It is difficult to find a major European city that does not have a large Spanish speaking and/or Brazilian congregation. Similarly, Chinese churches can be found almost everywhere. African-initiated Pentecostal churches number in the thousands in Britain alone.
2. Church planting
Church planting has been also accelerating in Europe through various networks, denominations, and mission agencies. In France, for example, the National Council of French Evangelicals (CNEF) has set a goal of establishing an evangelical church for every 10,000 people. The church planting movement in France saw, on average, one church be planted every seven days over the last few years. “We want to move the church in Europe from decline and plateauing into growth,” said Øystein Gjerme, leader of M4 Europe, a movement with a vision to see one church planted every day in Europe.3. The prayer movement
The late revival historian J. Edwin Orr wrote that “whenever God is ready to do something new with his people, he always sets them to praying.” For the last two decades, the 24/7 prayer movement has seen the birth of 22,000 prayer rooms in 78 nations, the majority of them in Europe. One house of prayer in Augsburg, Germany, has had continuous prayer, day and night, for 11 years, or 110,000 hours.4. Increased Christian unity
The war in Ukraine has fostered unprecedented collaboration between mission agencies. Networks like the European Leadership Forum, the European Evangelical Alliance, and the Lausanne Movement have strengthened unity and collaboration. In charismatic circles, a historic coalition of 29 denominations and mission agencies in Norway brought together 9,000 young people, the largest Christian cross-denominational gathering in over 20 years, for The Send Norway.
5. The next generation
This May, 13,000 teens and young adults from all over Germany came together for Christival, a conference organized by a nondenominational network with historical roots in the Jesus Movement. Revive Europe brought together 3,000 university students from 68 nations to pray for a revival among their peers. God is raising a new generation of Europeans longing for authentic encounters with Jesus. They are increasingly open to spiritual conversations, prayer, and especially looking for a community to belong to.
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According to the Evangelical Alliance’s Census, ‘Ethnicity and Regular Church Going’, this growth is reflected in Black church attendance being at least three times their proportion in the population. London is the best place to see this as 48% of all churchgoers are now Black, with the London Borough of Southwark having the largest concentration of African churches anywhere in the country. It has an estimated 240 Black Majority churches, with over 20,000 congregants.
What do we know about African churches, their Christianity and their rapid growth? Here are five things worth knowing:
1. African Christianity is active and engaged
African churches expect their members to become fully engaged and involved in the life and activities of the church. Their Christianity is part of everyday life, every aspect of it.
2. African Christians have a positive outlook on life
African church leaders are generally inspirational and often charismatic. Members are aspirational and have a positive outlook on life. They see prosperity as God’s blessing and find it empowering to pursue this.
3. African churches think big and stylish
African Christians think big. They love the term ‘my God is a big God’, which shows the limitless power of what God can do. Many of their churches started with a few members and in record time have grown into big churches. When African churches put on events and conferences, they are likely to be on a grand scale. When they buy warehouses, abandoned buildings, bingo halls, or former churches, they refurbish them to a high standard with a ‘wow’ factor.
4. Africans market and promote relentlessly on social media
African churches have a good grasp of modern communication and information technology. Typically, they are on all the leading social media platforms to grow their churches and attract young people to their services. Many are likely to have had an online experience before going through the doors.
5. ‘Reverse Mission’
Reverse Mission is a concept prevalent among many African Christians, who see their mission in Britain as a reversal of how the missionaries once brought Christianity to Africa. They now believe Britain needs re-evangelising and are committed to doing so.
At the beginning of the last century, a young immigrant from Russia to the US named Ivan Voronaev found himself in the midst of a revival.
This revival had started in a little store-front church on a street named Azusa in Los Angeles, but quickly spread across the nation and also impacted New York where in 1917 Voronaev pastored a small Russian Baptist congregation. He encountered the work, power and leading of the Holy Spirit there, as described in the New Testament.
Photo: The Voronaev family
Several months later at a home prayer meeting, Voronaev received a prophetic message, “Voronaev, Voronaev, go to Russia!” This would not be an easy task. The tsar recently had been overthrown by the bolsheviks, and political, religious, and social turmoil had produced much suffering.
In 1920 Voronaev went to Ukraine with his message of revival and set up headquarters in the port city of Odessa. In a few years of preaching, teaching and mobilising, he saw over 17,000 people encountering the Holy Spirit and following Christ. They fanned out across the Soviet Union, preached the gospel, and established Pentecostal churches. In 1926, Voronaev organised the General-Ukrainian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith, which provided fellowship for the growing number of churches. By 1928, the Union consisted of about 400 congregations with approximately 20,000 members.
Shortly after this revival, Voronaev and his wife Katherine were arrested by the communists and sent to the gulag where he died. His wife sat out her sentence of 25 years. Their story is shared in more detail on the website of the Assemblies of God.
Photo: Odessa before the Russian invasion
Meanwhile, Stalin uprooted millions of Ukrainians (as Putin is doing today), scattering them across the Soviet Union to Siberia and beyond to the Far East, unwittingly spreading the revival. Voronaev’s disciples became the foundation of the underground church of Russia. At the same time Stalin replaced the Ukrainians with millions of Russians, thus creating the problem we are facing today.
Ukraine has long been the spiritual center of Eastern Europe and beyond. Seven out of ten evangelical churches in Russia today have Ukrainian pastors. Ukrainian churches can be found all over the former Soviet Union; and all across Europe, the US and the world.
As the leadership of the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church met this week in Kyiv representing 1800 congregations, their senior bishop, Mykhailo Panochko, shared the belief of state officials that the church was a key element in the healing of their nation. “Don’t miss your chance to be part of great things God is performing,“ he told them. “God’s plans are surely higher than ours!”
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Living in the Spirit – Blog Living in the Spirit – PDF The Holy Spirit andThe Christian Life READ SAMPLE * I find the study material to be balanced in theological emphasis and exceptionally well organized and presented. ~ Bishop Owen Dowling * This book is not only good for personal use but also GREAT for group study. Even good for a Sunday School class. ~ SW * If you are a Christian you need to read this book, it helps to understand the Holy Spirit and how he works in your life. ~ Allen R Lancaster
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In Argentina between 2008 and 2019 the percentage of Evangelicals grew from 9% to 15.3%. This revival is most remarkable in the nation’s prisons.
The evangelical advance in Argentina occurred, as in most Latin American countries, in all sectors of society, but especially “in the most vulnerable, including prison inmates,” says researcher Verónica Giménez of the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET). There are similar developments in Brazil, where the huge Universal Church of the Kingdom of God has 14.000 people working with prisoners.
As an example, 40% of the approximately 6,900 inmates in the province of Santa Fe live in evangelical wards, estimates Walter Gálvez, Undersecretary of Penitentiary Affairs, who is also a Pentecostal. The Puerta del Cielo (‘Heaven’s Door’) and Redil de Cristo (‘Christ’s Sheepfold’) congregations are among those that exert strong influence in Santa Fe’s prisons. They began to evangelise inmates in the late 1980s and today have more than 120 pastors working inside prisons.
From hired killer to pastor
Rosario, a city with 1.3 million inhabitants, has high levels of poverty and crime. Violence between gangs seeking to control territory and drug markets has helped to fill its jails. Eighty percent of crimes in Rosario are carried out by young hitmen who provide services to the drug gangs, whose bosses are imprisoned and maintain control of the criminal business from the jails.
Jorge Anguilante from Piñero prison was sentenced to 12 years for murder. He has been allowed to head home every weekend to minister in a small evangelical church he started in a garage in Argentina’s most violent city. As he leaves, the former criminal-turned-pastor greets the guards with a single word: “Blessings!” His violent life is behind him, the word of God made him “a new man.”
His story, of a convicted murderer embracing an evangelical faith behind bars, is common in the dungeons of Argentina’s Santa Fe province and its capital city, Rosario. Many began selling drugs as teenagers and were caught in a spiral of violence that sent some to their graves and others to overcrowded prisons divided between two forces: the evangelicals and the drug traffickers.
In a church service in prison pop-style hymns blared from loudspeakers while three TV cameras recorded the ceremony for other worshippers watching at home via a YouTube channel. “No one else is going to jail. Not your children, not your grandchildren,” the pastor shouted to the crowd. “Change is possible!”
Inmate Ruben Luna, who is serving a 14-year sentence for murder, embraces Sebastian Monje, who has been in prison for eight months for attempted murder and robbery, before being baptised inside an evangelical cellblock at the penitentiary in Pinero.
Each evangelical unit at Pinero is run by 10 prisoners who have about 15 assistants for the 190 inmates. They’re in charge of controlling everything and keeping the peace. “We don’t use knives, but the Bible to take over a cellblock,” says Pentecostal pastor Sergio Prada. Prisoners who want to be allowed in must comply with rules of conduct, including praying three times a day, giving up all addictions and fighting.
Oasis inside prison
For the past 20 years, Argentine prison authorities have encouraged, in one way or another, the creation of units effectively run by evangelical inmates, sometimes granting them some additional special privileges, such as more time in the open air. The wards are much like those in the rest of the prison: clean and painted in pastel colors, light blue or green. They have kitchens, televisions and audio equipment, here used for prayer services. But they are safer and quieter than the regular units. Violating rules that prohibit fighting, smoking, alcohol or drugs can get an inmate sent back to the regular prison.
“We brought peace to the prisons. There were never any disturbances inside the evangelical wards. And that’s better for the authorities,” said Rev. David Sensini of the Redil de Cristo church, one of Rosario’s largest Pentecostal churches. Access is controlled by both prison officials and ward leaders who function as pastors and are wary of gang attempts to infiltrate.
Source: Evangélico Digital
Joel News International, # 1248, February 22, 2022
Revival behind bars How God’s grace transformed Los Olmos, Argentina’s largest maximum-security prison. This inspiring e-book describes in detail how the revival in Los Olmos prison started, which changes it brought, how inmate leadership emerged and how the prison church was organized. Specific attention is given to the role of the prayer watches and how the revival influenced other prisons across Argentina. Detailed growth statistics are included. | order here
“The church has to become small in order to grow big.”
– Wolfgang Simson
Global: The fastest-growing expression of church
German missiologist Wolfgang Simson published a global status report on house churches, in his observation “the fastest growing expression of Christ-followers on the planet.”
House churches like we read about in Acts have been present throughout church history, but these groups were often sidelined and even persecuted by the mainline church. However, since the early 20th century, we see a major comeback of house churches. First in China, where some researchers speak of 160-200 million members in more than 10 million house churches.
Since the 1990s house churches also experienced a rapid renaissance outside China. In particular Egypt and India have experienced the emergence of large house church networks, and became modern-day apostolic epicentres for this global phenomenon. The sum total of all current believers in house churches in India alone, about 80 million, already outnumbers the Lutheran Word Federation.
Simson estimates the number of house churches in mid‐2021 as follows:
1) 10 Million house churches in China.
2) Since 1996, about 2 million house churches have been planted in India, Egypt and the rest of the Middle East.
3) 3 Million house churches have reportedly been planted by various missions collectives like 24:14 and T4T.
4) 2 Million house churches are not on the official radar. This includes movements like Hoffnung Deutschland (founded by Marcus Rose, about 1,000 house churches) and 20,000 newly planted village house churches in Uganda – many meet under a tree for the lack of a hut large enough – as reported by Riccardo Meusel.
5) 1.5 Million ‘ halfway houses’ for church misfits in the USA. According to American sociologist Josh Packard, in his book Church Refugees, the US experiences a gigantic church exodus of so-called ‘doners’ – people who are done with church, but not with God, and organize themselves in ‘halfway houses’.
6) 1 Million ‘doner’ [done with church] house church groups outside the US in countries like Australia, the UK, South Africa, Korea, Singapore and Israel.
7) 1.7 Million house churches inside businesses and Insider Movements. Insider movements are house church movements that do not openly identify with Christianity but remain outwardly loyal and therefore hidden inside existing religions like Islam, Hinduism, Shintoism or Buddhism. Many see their religious environment as their cultural heritage within which they have become secret followers of Christ. This phenomenon also exists inside secular groups, clans or tribes. An additional form of this are ‘business churches’, house churches that function inside a business as their cover. Close observers speak of about 500,000 ‘business house churches in China and 200,000 outside China.
8) 400,000 Informal small groups in mainline churches like the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches that fulfill a role in ‘re-evangelisation’.
9) 1 Million house churches in 20,000 smaller house church networks and so-called ‘Apostolic Networks’.
Small expressions are booming. Picture: tiny houses in Almere, The Netherlands.
There are several significant contributors to the expansion of house churches:
1) Mission researcher Dr. Todd Johnson, in his ‘Status of Global Christianity 2021′, lists 113 million ‘unaffiliated’ or ‘Crypto-Christians’ who are following Christ outside the official church system, often in private, non-public gatherings in homes.
2) An Egyptian missiologist reported that during the Arab Spring at least four million Muslims in Egypt alone have turned away from Islam – many in search of God.
3) A growing number of young evangelists, like Torben Sondergaard (The Last Reformation) and Werner Nachtigall (Global Outreach Day) are intentionally connecting evangelism with the immediate planting of house churches.
4) Several megachurches in the US feel called by God to be instrumental in the planting of house churches. Mission strategist Curtis Sergeant has created a web-based ‘simple church saturation’ project planning to plant one simple church for every 5,000 people in the US and for every 50,000 people globally with material currently available in at least 37 languages.
5) During the COVID19 lock-downs many traditional church members have been forced to engage in ‘stay-at-home-church’, and a significant percentage will continue in this mode. They organised themselves into neighbourhood churches in homes, sometimes with online input. These numbers are not yet fully researched but may be very significant. One thing is evident: the post-corona church will not be exactly the same as pre-corona-church.
6) A large percentage of the children of church-goers have said their farewell to ‘mum’s-and-dad’s church’ and are in search mode for community, values and lifestyles that are radically different. Abraham Piper for example, the son of famous US‐theologian John Piper, runs a TikTok account with more than 1.1 million followers where he is trying to deconstruct fundamentalist evangelical church culture in search of a new and non-religious framework for life. It is to be seen what forms of following Christ will emerge from this very explosive and creative global people group.
Source: Wolfgang Simson
Editorial note: Wolfgang Simson did not research house church networks empirically or scientifically. Such a research is fairly difficult, if not impossible, with organic small groups that in many countries operate under the radar. He used ‘informed estimations’ of ‘trusted insiders’. Obviously data from church leaders who estimate the size of their own movements, and don’t keep records (although many of the Indian movements track conversions and groups), are less reliable and can only be indicative. In the past Simson has exaggerated numbers, and on various occasions was not willing to provide the contacts of those he claimed to have spoken to. So it was not possible for Joel News to check these claims as thoroughly as we would like to. On a general note we can say: house church movements are surely one of fastest-growing segments of the church, and the drivers that Simson suggests are valid, but the exact numbers are debatable.
Germany: The secret behind 1,000 new house churches
One of the networks, Hoffnung Deutschland (Hope Germany), planted an estimated 1,000 communities in 20 years, which for Europe is quite remarkable.
When Joel News asked Marcus Rose, Hoffnung Deutschland’s founder based in Berlin, about the number of house churches in his network, he responded: “We crossed the 500 sometime in 2017, after which we stopped counting.” What also stands out is that most people in these house churches are new Christians. On the question how this remarkable growth happened, Rose remarked drily: “There are many reasons. The one I usually give is that we just never stopped doing the small things.”
Photo: Marcus Rose
In a podcast on missions he elaborated on this: “I always wonder why people ask me: ‘What is the secret of the growth around you?’ And I would say: probably the most important thing is that I would never ask myself that question! I consider growth in an individual’s life the necessary foundation for growth as churches. In 1 John 2:12-14 the Christian work is described as newborn babies who are supposed to become fathers with children of their own. The way to get there is by overcoming the evil one, by being so strong in Christ, his Word and the Spirit, that the world stops being the place where you get your answers from.”
‘Church is the most progressive institution in a country, with the power to transform’
“It’s a continuous process to encourage people on that track and to do it together, to put in their time, giftings and financial resources. The most important part of leadership is just observing: what do people already get from God, and how can we connect people with a similar vision?”
In another podcast, Rose shares his own life story – how he grew up in communist East Germany, and at age 15 had a personal encounter with Christ. When the Wall fell in 1989, even though he was still a teenager he contacted schools to ask if they were interested to replace the lessons on communism in the curriculum with the teachings of Jesus. This opened many doors, and 30 house churches were established.
Later on, in Thailand, like Jonah on the run from his calling, Rose discovered church as “the most progressive institution in a country, with the power to transform, because it brought together prostitutes and millionaires as new people in Christ.”
‘There was no formula, I simply connected with people I met’
Around 2000 he moved back to Germany with the explicit instruction from God to not work in the Christian scene, but to work under the radar, connecting with non-Christians and discipling them in the way of Christ. This was a challenge as East Germany was culturally atheist, almost immune to the Gospel. In the first three months in Berlin God gave Rose a kick-start with a handful of young people getting baptised. “There was no formula. I simply connected with people I met, showed genuine interest, told them I had come to Berlin to plant a church, and if they were open to continue the relationship, I got their number and followed up.”
It quickly spread to several other cities in Germany. Rose communicated from the start that his vision was to see communities started in every region and subculture, and for God to raise up 10,000 missionaries out of Germany.
Image: A visualisation of apostolic hubs and the explosive growth potential of house churches in regions and subcultures
From 2010 onwards the network developed what Rose calls “an apostolic pattern” that started to catalyse things. “God instructed us to divide Germany into 90 minute regions. The idea was that a German could get in his car or step on a train on a Saturday, drive 90 minutes to a place, do outreach there, mentor people, organise something, pray for sick people, do sports, make it a family trip. This is something that people dare to do, that feels very natural.”
‘Continuously ask God what He wants you to do’
Rose also helped new Christians to focus on what he calls ‘the three steps of spiritual planning’, as explained in a third podcast:
1. Ask God: what are the qualities He wants to establish in your life, and through your life in the world around you?
2. If you have security about that, then ask God how many of your resources (time, money) you should invest in that.
3. Then ask Him in which specific projects you should invest yourself.
“This creates an atmosphere in which people continuously ask God what He wants them to do. Not what the church expects of them, or what others might want them to do, but what God says.”
New Christians with an apostolic gifting receive personal coaching to start similar processes themselves in other regions and countries. This is how the multiplication takes place. Rose’s vision for the next years is to start and support 100 apostolic teams, with every team being unique in giftings and reach. Each team could support 100 house churches, reaching people Rose or the apostolic workers could never reach themselves.
Source: Marcus Rose, Hoffnung Deutschland
Small is the new big… Do you long to be part of this global movement? Consider supporting Simple Church Europe, a project of Dutch charity Joel Ministries. We equip Christians to start missional simple church groups in Europe that multiply.
Joel News – Inspiring stories on the advance of God’s Kingdom around the globe today, delivered once a week in your mailbox. We cover all continents and serve mission-minded Christians in over 100 nations.
An excerpt from Miraculous Movements by Jerry Trousdale
INTRODUCTION
Miraculous movements are sweeping through some parts of the Muslim world today. The Spirit of God is moving in a powerful way — indeed, in a way that we think is unprecedented — as hundreds of thousands of Muslims are turning their lives over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Former sheikhs and imams; men who bombed Christian churches and mercilessly persecuted the followers of Christ; ordinary men and women who have followed the teachings of Islam their entire lives — these and many others are finding the truth of eternal life through Jesus Christ, and the number increases every day.
Many of these Muslim people come to God’s Word by dramatic means, through dreams and visions, or as a result of seeing miracles, for men and women are being healed of physical disabilities and addictions, bands of hardened rebels are voluntarily laying down their arms, and thousands are seeing the power of God’s Spirit in their lives. You will read some of these stories in this book, and you will see that what God is doing among Muslims today is indeed unprecedented.
It is not easy to be a Muslim today. If Christians can begin to engage Muslims beyond the headlines of burkas and bombs, we will discover hundreds of millions of disheartened and discouraged people. Muslims’ lives are too often bounded by desolation and broken walls, but today many of them are desperate to discover people who love them, a God who loves them, and hope for the future.
We know this because we have observed up close thousands of new churches planted among Muslims; we have met these courageous people and heard their stories. You are about to meet some of them as well. Their lives will illustrate for you a marvellous picture of what transformation looks like among new Muslim-background Christ-followers. Reading their stories is a paradigm-altering experience, which is precisely what we Christians need in order to believe that this is possible and to make it happen.
When Jesus looked upon the lost people in first-century Palestine, “He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9: 36). And then He proclaimed something remarkable: these lost souls were a “plentiful harvest” that only lacked harvesters. Therefore, it is tragic when Christians look at Muslims, not with compassion, but with a default to fear, anger, and rejection.
If Christians were to be highly intentional about approaching Islam in a way that is inviting and attractive, without compromise, staying as consistently biblical as possible, here are some of the characteristics that we should expect to see: * That approach would demonstrate the compassion and love that Jesus has for individual Muslims. * It would be grounded in much prayer. * It would depend on Muslims discovering God in the Bible and faithfully obeying His Word. * It would be grounded in making disciples who make disciples, and churches that plant churches. * It would be achieved by the efforts of very ordinary people participating in an extraordinary harvest. * It would expect the miraculous favour of God to reproduce transformed people who are transforming whole societies.
And what would reproduction and transformation look like in Muslim countries? It would look like Muslim-background Christ-followers proving their discipleship by bearing much fruit. And when disciples multiply and obey, things change!
CityTeam and our partner organizations are seeing changes as increasing numbers of churches are being planted among Muslims in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, but our longest and deepest involvement with Islamic regions has been in Africa. Therefore, over the last seven years, for us and for a few hundred African ministries with whom we partner, the changes among African Muslim peoples has resulted in the following: * more than six thousand new churches have been planted among Muslims in eighteen different countries; * hundreds of former sheikhs and imams, now Christ-followers, are boldly leading great movements of Muslims out of Islam; * forty-five different “unreached” Muslim-majority people groups, who a few years ago had no access to God’s Word, now have more than three thousand new churches among them; * thousands of former Muslims are experiencing the loss of possessions, homes, and loved ones, but they are continuing to serve Jesus; * multiple Muslim communities, seeing the dramatic changes in nearby communities, are insisting that someone must bring these changes to their community also; and * more than 350 different ministries are working together to achieve these outcomes.
DISCIPLE MAKING MOVEMENTS
Throughout this book, we will use the term “Disciple Making Movements” to describe what we see God doing to spread His gospel worldwide. In recent years, we have concluded that “disciple making” is a more accurate term than “church planting” to describe the core biblical principles at work in these rapidly multiplying movements. …
In a nutshell, Disciple Making Movements spread the gospel by making disciples who learn to obey the Word of God and quickly make other disciples, who then repeat the process. This results in many new churches being planted, frequently in regions that were previously very hostile to Christianity. All the principles that we are seeing at work are clearly outlined — indeed, commanded — in the pages of Scripture.
As we examine each of these principles, we will use terms that might not be familiar to the average reader, such as “Discovery Bible Study” or “person of peace.” … It is not our desire to create a new set of buzzwords and jargon to be bandied about in discussions of missiology, but merely to find easy ways to express important biblical concepts that are at the heart of what God is doing among Muslims today.
GOD’S STORY
This is God’s story, a testimony to the blessings that are “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3: 20), the movements of God’s Spirit that have made these first years of the twenty-first century “miraculous.” It is also the story of many brave men and women who, even this day, are taking God’s story to one more Muslim community, often at significant personal risk. And for those who have endured great suffering for the gospel, and especially for those who have given their lives in recent years for the sake of the gospel, this is also their story. It is our great privilege to share it with you.
CHAPTER 1: UNPRECEDENTED!
You must come back to this area! A tidal wave has come! Muslims are coming to Christ in a flood. Come and help us. — plea from a former regional Muslim leader who had become a church planter
THE SHEIKH’S DREAM
Sheikh Hanif’s dream was very curious indeed, both over-whelming and hopeful. It was not at all like the frightening and troubling nightmares that he had sometimes known. No, this was very different, and there was little time to reflect on this dream. It required immediate action because, according to the dream, something important would happen today, something that required him to be in place before first light.
Hanif was a seasoned Muslim leader. Like his father before him, he had studied the Qur’an for years. One of Hanif’s superiors had observed Hanif’s people skills, which had resulted in his being recruited to organize Muslim communities and launch new mosques. For eight years, he had done this with excellence. For his community, Hanif was the voice and character of Islam, a decent man who represented what it meant to be a good Muslim.
But there was one thing that no one else could ever know. Hanif’s commitment to Islam was genuine, but there was a deep void in his soul that Islam had never really satisfied. He longed for certainty regarding his status with God. He struggled to find answers or reasons for the violence inside his Islamic world. He grieved at the lack of compassion for suffering people. And he recognized that his religion did not allow him or the people he led to make choices for themselves, nor did it give them satisfying answers for the huge struggles of life. But this night, Hanif had awakened in the dark hours with a new hope burning inside: perhaps he was about to learn the answers to these questions!
It had been a dream like no other dream. In it, Hanif had encountered a very handsome and graceful man. The man addressed him by name, simply saying that he wanted Hanif to serve Him. But then came a warning: Hanif must learn to listen to Him, the man said. Surprised and shaken, Hanif asked, “Who are you?”
“I am Isa al Masih [the Qur’anic term for Jesus the Messiah],” the man answered, “and if you obey me, you will succeed in what you have longed for in your life.”
“What should I do?” Hanif asked.
Jesus showed him a tree standing alone atop a hill, a very busy road running beneath its branches. Hanif recognized the place, for it was well known to him and not too far from his home. Jesus then showed him the face of a man and said, “Go now, and wait under the tree by the road. Look for this man, for he is my servant. You will recognize him when you see him. Find him, for he will show you the true answers to all your questions about God.”
Hanif awoke from his dream, pondering his encounter with Jesus, still seeing the face of the man he was commanded to meet. He must not forget that face! In the press of crowds, he might only have a second to make the connection. Within an hour, the first glowing of the East African sky would begin, and the designated road would quickly fill with carts, livestock, and thousands of people with their loads, sometimes overflowing the road space beyond its shoulders and ditches. Finding the man in the midst of this chaos would be a genuine challenge.
Hanif dressed quickly and quietly, not bothering to pack food or water in his haste. He would have to try to outrun the sun to the exact place he was told to be so that he could be there to examine the face of every passing person. Hanif dared not tell his wife about this assignment. She might think that he was under a spell or becoming unstable. Or worse, she might even betray his intentions to the local Islamic council. And even if she was sympathetic, how could he explain that he was looking for a stranger who was being sent to answer all his important questions, deep questions that had tormented his soul?
How many years had he prayed daily, asking God seventeen times a day to show him the right way? But until this dream was given to him, he had feared that he would die without ever experiencing the right way of true peace and certainty. Of course, he had kept all the requirements of Islam — devotion to the Qur’an, leading the daily prayers — yet still he had no assurance of paradise, no enduring “salaam” (peace) inside. How many times over the years had he grieved when trusting Muslims asked him for help with the same issues he struggled with, or came asking how to find unity and love in broken families? How humiliating it was to give them the same answers of “more sharia” that had left him empty for years.
Hanif made his way to the appointed tree, sat down at its base, and waited. He waited and he watched; he sat and he scanned, searching every passing face. From time to time, a thrill would shoot up his spine: “That’s him! It’s . . . no . . . not him.” Time passed and people passed, and still Hanif waited.
In the late afternoon, several miles away, a man named Wafi was wondering if he would finally have a chance to get some sleep when he returned home the next morning. It had already been a full day, and there was still another hour of walking to get to the secluded place selected for this week’s all-night prayer meeting. Thankfully, the sunset winds so common in this part of Africa refreshed him and his companions. Today had been a good day, traveling on foot with the two promising young leaders whom he was currently mentoring, visiting new Christ followers in their homes. There was no better way of making disciples than this.
Wafi had developed an ability to find the people whom God had prepared and positioned to become bridges for bringing the good news of Jesus into a new town. For those who had the privilege of spending time with him, Wafi could always be counted on to model and mentor the disciplines of prayer, the processes for finding those “bridges” into a community, or the patience of overcoming trials. For Wafi, sharing, teaching, walking, praying, and enduring together were how Jesus discipled the Twelve, and it was the only way he knew to do the same.
Curiously, Wafi had recently had a strange dream, in which God had said to him, “I will give you a sheikh!” Wafi understood the dream to mean that God might have a plan to use him to disciple a shiekh who would perhaps become a bridge for taking the gospel to other Muslim leaders. But Wafi would have to wait to find out. That dream, however, was not in his mind as he and his two friends walked along the darkening road.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hanif, still at his appointed place, was beginning to despair. He had not imagined that his dream-imparted task would take more than twelve hours of scanning innumerable faces, until the last light was growing dim in the western sky, matching his own fading hope. Then, in near darkness, there came a few more people on the now almost-empty road. He could barely discern three figures as the distance closed between them. And then, the one in the middle . . . yes! It was the face for which he waited!
It took a few minutes for the excited sheikh to convince Wafi that he meant him no harm, in spite of the intensity of his greeting. “My friend, understand! It is Isa al Masih himself that requires you to answer my questions tonight.” This seemed to Wafi like a heavy burden, to be met unexpectedly by a stranger and told, “You must answer all my questions . . . tonight!” But the man was unwilling to meet at a later date; he had waited all day — actually, many years — for answers to life-and-death questions, and he was not inclined to wait any longer. And Wafi could not pass up the chance to share the good news of Christ with this man who was so hungry to hear. (Strangely, it was not until much later that he made the connection between Hanif and his dream of God sending him an influential sheikh.)
Finally, Wafi suggested that they go quietly to Hanif’s house where they could have privacy to talk more in depth. There they found a stunned wife who understandably had more than a few concerns about what was happening in her family. But within days, she and her husband had both experienced what true freedom in Jesus Christ means, especially for those who had lived for so long with dark uncertainty and discouragement.
***
Since that time, Hanif has been well discipled in God’s Word, and in turn he has discipled two new leaders who are now planting churches in another area of his country. He has also felt the Lord calling him to an even more challenging Muslim area, where he has planted seven churches. And he loves to tell this story with much joy. The very good news is that every day, hundreds of stories like Hanif’s are happening throughout the Muslim world. Trousdale, Jerry. Miraculous Movements (pp. 13-23). Thomas Nelson. Kindle EditionKindle edition
