17-year-old New Christian sparks Revival in South Africa

17-year-old New Christian sparks Revival in South Africa

Share good news  –  Share this and any page freely. Over 100,000 views of blogs in 2020.
Share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
17-year-old Evangelist sparks Revival in South Africa
Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

 

 

By Reinhard Bonnke, posted 9 December 2019 on YouTube.

I’ve been for 40 years in Africa – my very favourite continent. What I have seen God do in Nigeria defies all description. So mighty. So glorious. So fantastic.

When I was a young evangelist there, about 30 or 31 years of age, I was in what they then called the Northern Transvaal of South Africa.

I had a crusade there. It was a small crowd, there were only 8,000 people, and it was in an open field of elephant grass – it’s as tall as an elephant. We had our open space. There was no road. I had to drive my car through that elephant grass to arrive.

I just had preached. I just had led a few thousand people to the Lord. We saw mighty miracles of God.

I still wanted to be alone a little bit. All had gone, and I was there. The generator was still running. I switched it off. It was a pitch-black night. No star in the sky, no moon, no nothing. I could hardly see where my car was.

I saw it then, got in, switched the lights on, and drove away through that high grass.

Suddenly there was a young man in front of me and he flagged me down. I stopped the car. I pulled the window down. I said to him, “Is there something wrong?”

H came and said, “No, there’s nothing wrong, but I knew you would pass here. I found Jesus as my Saviour in this crusade, and I knew you would come past here, and that I would meet you here, because I want to receive the Holy Spirit!”

I said, “What is your name?”

He said, “My name is David.”

I said, “How old are you?”

He said, “I’m 17 years of age.”

It touched me so much. I got out of the car and left all the lights on so that I could see what I was doing, laid my hands on him, and that moment it was as if lightning struck him. That was electricity. He was bending backwards, forwards, and burst out in new tongues. It was absolutely wonderful, something I had witnessed already so often, so often.

He said, “Thank you very much. I’m now going to my home village.”

And I went to the home of the people with whom I was staying.

Now here’s the point – 4 weeks later back at home I hear people saying there is a revival in Northern Transvaal.

I said, “Who’s the preacher?”

They said, “You will not believe it but it’s just a boy! Mighty miracles are happening through that boy.”

I said, “What’s his name?”

They said, “His name is David.”

I was preaching in another area. Then I already had a trailer and this time I also had a tent that could hold 10,000 people. And one afternoon there was a knock on my door. I opened. He said to me, “Sir, do you remember me. I’m David.”

I said, “Yes. I remember you very well.”

He said, “I’ve come to tell you what happened when I left you that night.”

He said, “Early in the morning, at the crack of day, at dawn, I approached my home village. And then I saw a mother.” That was a very polite word, courtesy, among the Africans there.

“A mother came towards me and she carried her child, and the child was crying, wailing, whimpering.” He said, “I knew that mother and I knew that the week before she had lost her first child to a fever. Now the second child was just as feverish.”

He said, “Suddenly, the love of God gripped me! And although by our custom I could not have spoken with her, I approached her and I said ‘Mother, can I pray for your child?’ And she said, ‘Anything. Yes, of course!’”

He said, “I prayed for that child.”

Immediately the child stopped crying and said “I’m hungry Mum. I’m hungry.” The kid was totally healed.

The mother was so happy she ran to the chief and said, “Chief, you know how I buried my first child. My second was just about to die when David prayed for my child and he is now completely well.”

The chief said, “What! I have a daughter who’s very sick. She was born a cripple. I have seen the best doctors in South Africa and nobody was able to help her. Call David, to pray for my daughter.”

He said he was called and went to that chief’s house. And the chief said to him, “There in that hut is my daughter. She’s never walked. Go in that hut and pray for her that your Jesus will heal my daughter.”

He said, “I went into that hut and when my eyes got used to the darkness I saw the girl.”

He said, “She had twisted legs, completely twisted, like spaghetti, you know.” And there she was.

He said, “I spoke to her about Jesus. I laid hands on her, and when I started to pray, suddenly,” he said, “we heard cracking noises.”

He said, “And suddenly we realised the bones were straightening.”

He said, “The chief waited outside and his daughter walked out. For the first time in her life she walked and the chief was screaming. Everybody was screaming.”

And the chief said, “David, for the next 10 days you are going to preach here to all my people.”

You know, in Africa when the chief speaks you’d better obey. And people came from all over.

He said, “They came from all over! And I preached every day for 10 days.”

I said, “David, you told me you just got saved in my meeting. What on earth did you preach?”

He said to me, “Maruti, I preached every sermon of yours!”

I said, “Hallelujah! Then you have preached the Gospel.”

People got saved. Pastors moved in and baptised those people in water. This is what God can do.

Clear the decks. God has something great for you in mind.

Open the window and shoot in Jesus’ name.

See also

Reinhard Bonnke’s beginnings in Africa

“This Disco is a Church”

Reinhard Bonnke 1940-2019 – Legacy of Harvest

Reinhard Bonnke’s final crusade in Africa

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

FREE SUBSCRIPTION: for new Blogs & free offers

Free PDF books on the Main Page

Share good news  –  Share this and any page freely.
17-year-old Evangelist sparks Revival in South Africa
Over 100,000 Renewal Journal views annually.

Seeds of Revival in Afghanistan

Miraculous Movements

Miraculous Movements.

Amazing accounts of God changing people – personally and communally.

From Miraculous Movements by Jerry Trousdale (2012).
From the INTRODUCTION – overview;
From CHAPTER 1 – a typical story.

Share good news  –  Share this page freely
Copy and share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
Miraculous Movements  
https://renewaljournal.com/2021/10/03/miraculous-movements/


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 Edition Kindle edition

Added to BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

See also


The real enemy of Afghanistan

uganda
Sheikh sent to assassinate pastor, converted

Iran
Hope in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison

Egypt
Egypt opening to the Gospel amid persecution

Young man reading the Bible
Iraq: Muslim from Ninevah discovered the Bible’s magnetism

woman
Muslim Woman returns from the dead to tell about Jesus

Iran
Iran – fastest-growing evangelical population

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

 FREE SUBSCRIPTION: for new Blogs & free offers

Free PDF books on Main Page

Share any Blog to inform and bless others

Logo Square - PNG
Click here to be notified of new Blogs

Share good news  –  Share this page freely
Copy and share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
Miraculous Movements  
https://renewaljournal.com/2021/10/03/miraculous-movements/

www.renewaljournal.com

Filled to Overflowing

Filled to Overflowing

I spoke with the prayer, worship and production teams at Riverlife Church in Brisbane. Thanks for prayers in faith for them for a fresh anointing and empowering.

Share good news  –  Share this page freely
Copy and share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
Filled to Overflowing:
https://renewaljournal.com/2021/09/29/filled-to-overflowing/

 Here is some of the planned PowerPoint, which I didn’t get to use because other free-flowing prayer and sharing happened instead.

 

.    




Read and listen and respond

 


Pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17) Make your life a prayer (Passion Translation)


Jesus’ last promise

 

Filled to Overflowing: words used to describe this:
Jesus  –  Holy Spirit descended, baptize in the Holy Spirit (Luke 3)
Jerusalem  –  filled with the Spirit, I will pour out my Spirit (Acts  2)
Samaria  –  the Spirit fallen upon, received the Holy Spirit (Acts  8)
Damascus  –  be filled with the Spirit (Acts  9)
Caesarea  –  the Holy Spirit fell upon, was poured out (Acts 10)
Ephesus  –  receive the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit came upon (Acts 19)

20 Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you. 21 Now we offer up to God all the glorious praise that rises from every church in every generation through Jesus Christ—and all that will yet be manifest through time and eternity. Amen! (Ephesians 3:20-21 TPT)

 


Pacific mission teams praying at Kenmore Baptist Church

Scenes from a revival conference in the Solomon Islands:

praying personally


national youth conference overflow crowds

a conference study group


Grant speaking to a youth conference of over 1,000 where most responded for prayer.
See Flashpoints of Revival PDF, chapter 7, for more details.


These Kariki Island youths led revival on their return home

EXTRA RESOURCES

A Flashpoints Koorong1   

Flashpoints of Revival – Blog
Revival Fires – Blog
Flashpoints of Revival – PDF

Inspiring 6-minute video clip: DO IT AGAIN LORD
LORD WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN – a prayer that is being answered now


Message on Jesus’ Last Promise
Dante’s Group sings at 38 minutes; Geoff Waugh preaches at 48 minutes
Geoff refers to the video ‘Do it again Lord

 

God’s Promise – Blog and Video – I will pour out my Spirit Seeing God’s Spirit poured out in over 20 countries
Jesus’ Last Promise – Blog and Video – Pentecost
You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you
Blog: God’s Promise: https://renewaljournal.com/2020/05/25/gods-promise/
Blog: Jesus’ Last Promise: https://renewaljournal.com/2020/05/25/jesus-last-promise Photos from around 20 countries are in both blogs.
riverlife-goingdeeper 
Podcast link: 21st-century revivals – Riverlife Church: Geoff & grandson Dante talk with staff about revivals they’ve seen

God’s Surprises – link to free PDF
Recent biographical revival accounts in 20 countries.

Use any of this blog in any way. An idea for your youth, home, or study group.

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

 FREE SUBSCRIPTION: for new Blogs & free offers

Free PDF books on Main Page

Share any Blog to inform and bless others

Logo Square - PNG

Click here to be notified of new Blogs

Share good news  –  Share this page freely
Copy and share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
Filled to Overflowing: https://renewaljournal.com/2021/09/29/filled-to-overflowing/

Renewal JournalGod’s Surprises https://renewaljournal.com/2019/01/14/gods-surprises/  

The Insanity of God- free online movie

The Insanity of God

With dramatic changes in Afghanistan, thousands of Christians in prison in China and North Korea, murders across North Africa, is God worth it? This free movie explores those stories dramatically.

Free online movie: The Insanity of God
A true story of faith and persecution

Inspiring articles, discounted books, free PDFs
Share good news  –  Share this and any page freely. 
Share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
The Insanity of God:
https://renewaljournal.com/2021/08/21/the-insanity-of-god-free-online-movie/
Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

The Insanity of God – book link

The Insanity of God is the personal and lifelong journey of an ordinary couple from rural Kentucky who thought they were going on just your ordinary missionary pilgrimage, but discovered it would be anything but. After spending over six hard years doing relief work in Somalia, and experiencing life where it looked like God had turned away completely and He was clueless about the tragedies of life, the couple had a crisis of faith and left Africa asking God, “Does the gospel work anywhere when it is really a hard place?

Nik recalls that, “God had always been so real to me, to Ruth, and to our boys. But was He enough, for the utter weariness of soul I experienced at that time, in that place, under those circumstances?” It is a question that many have asked and one that, if answered, can lead us to a whole new world of faith.

How does faith survive, let alone flourish in a place like the Middle East? How can Good truly overcome such evil? How do you maintain hope when all is darkness around you? How can we say “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world” when it may not be visibly true in that place at that time? How does anyone live an abundant, victorious Christian life in our world’s toughest places? Can Christianity even work outside of Western, dressed-up, ordered nations? If so, how?

The Insanity of God tells a story—a remarkable and unique story to be sure, yet at heart a very human story—of the Ripkens’ own spiritual and emotional odyssey. The gripping, narrative account of a personal pilgrimage into some of the toughest places on earth, combined with sobering and insightful stories of the remarkable people of faith Nik and Ruth encountered on their journeys, will serve as a powerful course of revelation, growth, and challenge for anyone who wants to know whether God truly is enough.

See also:

4
Modern Day Daniel


Christian missionary tortured in prison led 40 to Christ


Evangelization in North Korea


North Korea: Cherishing the book he once feared

Korea
North Korean believers meet underground

North Korea
North Korea: The blessing of forced solitude with God

 

FREE SUBSCRIPTION for new Blogs and free offers

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Free PDF books on the Main Page

 FREE SUBSCRIPTION: for new Blogs & free offers

 

Siberia: The light of Christ in the darkness of winter

“I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
– Isaiah 49:6

Share good news  –  Share this page freely
Copy and share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
Siberia: The light of Christ in the darkness of winter:
https://renewaljournal.com/2021/04/15/siberia-the-light-of-christ-in-the-darkness-of-winter/
FREE RENEWAL JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION: for updates, new Blogs & free offers
Over 100,000 views of Renewal Journal blogs in 2020.
FREE PDF books on the Main Page

Siberia: The light of Christ in the darkness of Winter

Elena is a field worker with Operation Mobilisation. In the year 2000 she moved to Arctic Russia to share the gospel with the Nenets people by translating the Bible in their language.

The Nenets are indigenous reindeer herders living in Northern Siberia, including the Yamal Peninsula. ‘Yamal’ means ‘The End of the Earth’. Out on the tundra, locals travel by snowmobile or reindeer sled. To reach particularly remote villages, it takes two to four hours by helicopter from Salekhard, the main city in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (district). The Yamal Peninsula is home to more reindeer than people and winter lasts nine months. “It’s very cold; minus 40°C can be pleasant for a walk if there is no wind,” Elena jokes.

The Nenets minority group has a population of around 45,000 people. Half of them live in Russian-speaking villages, while the other half are nomadic reindeer herders who live on the tundra and speak the Nenets language. Translating the Bible has been a complicated process, but today four books of the New Testament are in print, while others are in progress. OM East also published and illustrated two Bible storybooks.

‘Then I understood the meaning of light’

“I moved to Arctic Russia during December, the darkest month,” Elena recalled. “One day when I was testing translations, the electricity suddenly cut out. We sat without light all day. It was dark! Then I understood the meaning of light.” For Elena this experience of the Arctic winter darkness is a picture of life without Jesus Christ. Her desire is for the Nenets to know Jesus as the light of the world.

“I want every Nenets child to have a Bible,” she says. Over the past years she has distributed thousands of Bible storybooks. Wherever she came, the children took more interest in these Bible storybooks than in the chocolate she brought.

Their nomadic lifestyle makes it difficult for the reindeer herders to carry a collection of Christian literature. “They don’t have extra things – just the minimum,” Elena explains. “They have one pot, one kettle, and they don’t need a freezer!” However, they do have mobile phones. Her solution is to develop publications into applications so they can be stored on mobile phones, also allowing individuals to listen to the text. OM East plans to help provide these resources digitally.

The Warmest Tent on Earth – Pitching in the Siberian Arctic Winter
About 16 years ago, Elena met Neko, a Nenets woman who invited her to visit two family members on the tundra. Elena tested a translation by reading some Scripture verses to their hosts. They reacted strongly by walking out, leaving her alone in the tent. Jesus’ teaching had touched a nerve. But Neko changed, and the next time they met she had decided to be baptised and insisted on giving Elena a tithe to print Mark’s Gospel.

Elena prays for a revival among the Nenets. Today there are around 200 known Nenets believers, representing a small percentage of the population. The indigenous people group believes in numerous gods. For many, the reindeer are their life, their source of food, clothes, transport and shelter. Elena longs for the Nenets to acknowledge their Creator as their true provider and life-giver.

Prayer focus – Give praise to God who is light. Give thanks that He speaks through His Word. Pray the Nenets will put their trust in Jesus and receive His salvation. Pray for wisdom as Elena helps make God’s truth available. Pray that believers grow strong in their faith.

Source: OM, names changed to protect the work

Converted reindeer herders of the Nenets people in Siberia brave the cold to be baptised and commit themselves to Christ.

Watch the video

Source: Friedensstimme

Joel News International, April 13, 2021

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

FREE SUBSCRIPTION: for new Blogs & free offers

Dream led to stolen ‘golden bowl’ instrument and hidden tribe

Dream led to stolen ‘golden bowl’ instrument and hidden tribe

Share good news  –  Share this page freely
Copy and share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
Dream led to stolen ‘golden bowl’ instrument and hidden tribe:
https://renewaljournal.com/2021/03/03/dream-led-to-stolen-golden-bowl-instrument-and-hidden-tribe/

FREE RENEWAL JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION: for updates, new Blogs & free offers
FREE PDF books on the Main Page
Authors Index

God’s leading through an unusual dream and a miraculous meeting led to evangelizing a hidden tribe in the Philippines.

By Mark Ellis —

Caleb & Gladys Byerly with their children

In 2013 Caleb Byerly woke up with a start and began to furiously write in his journal everything he saw in a rather unusual dream. For the previous five years, the small-town North Carolina resident had been engaged in mission outreach to indigenous people and tribal areas in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.

“In the dream, I was standing on top of this mountain. I was looking out across the mountain, and I saw a tribe of people,” he told The Unseen Story. Caleb and his wife, Gladys, live in Moravian Falls, a town of 1400 in the foothills of the Brushy Mountains.

He had never seen the tribe before, so he asked, “What tribe are you? What people are you?”

“We’re the Tinananon tribe,” they replied.  Caleb had never heard of this people group and he began to carefully observe their actions in his dream.

A tribal chief walked forward carrying a musical instrument. Caleb happens to be an instrument maker by profession, so his eyes “zoomed in” to study the distinctive design of an instrument unlike anything he had ever seen before.

It had 30 strings going all the way around the top of a golden bowl, from the outside, crisscrossing in the middle of the instrument. “I suddenly got a full download of everything about this instrument, what dimensions the instrument was, what material it was made out of, even like how it was tuned and how it was played. After that, I kind of zoomed back out.

“This tribal chief, he took the instrument and he put it on the table. He took two small sticks, and he began to play this instrument. As he played the whole tribe started to dance and they started to worship. This kind of sound of worship just filled the place. It was as if heaven and earth just collided. After that I woke up from the dream.”

God has spoken to Caleb through dreams previously, so he meticulously recorded in his journal the name of the Tinananon tribe. He made detailed drawings of the bowl, its dimensions and materials, a wooden ring that goes around the bowl, the strings connected by wooden pegs, and the two sticks used to play the instrument.

“I feel like when God speaks to you, it’s an invitation to partner and walk with God. It’s not just God commanding you to do things or God just saying do this, do that. But it’s the Holy Spirit inviting you into some new journey that he’s calling you into, and it’s connected to you, it’s connected to your DNA and your calling. I really value that a lot. I really thought that this would be a really exciting thing to follow with the Lord.”

Caleb began to search online for any reference to a Tinananon people group but came up short. “I contacted different organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators, and Summer Institute of Linguistics to see if they knew anything about this tribe. But everywhere I searched, I could not find that word. I tried the different spellings, but just couldn’t find anything there. So I kind of gave up on that.”

But as a professional instrument maker, he was intrigued by the idea of recreating the instrument he saw in the dream. “I’m gonna make this thing!” he decided. Even though he had not put metal and wood together in that way, he was up for the challenge.

“I got into my shop, and I just kept breaking this thing. I kept breaking things and snapping things. I could not figure out this one process. I got really frustrated. I was like, I’m just gonna put this thing to the side. I just couldn’t figure it out.

Caleb in his shop (Evergreen Missions)

“So, I kind of gave up on the whole dream. I felt like I had done my part. I wasn’t getting anywhere. So I just kind of gave it up.”

Trip to the Philippines

About six months later, he took a mission trip to the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, an area where he had previously been involved in ministry.

“I was on a Jeepney, which is like a public transportation. There was this man that was sitting on the other side of me. I could tell this guy was staring at me. I was like, what’s this guy doing? Every time that I would look at him, he would like look away.”

Caleb knows the national language of the Philippines, Tagalog, so he spoke to the man. “As I was talking to him, it turns out that he’s a believer! So we’re chatting and then right in the middle of our conversation, I heard the Lord speak to me. It wasn’t an audible voice or anything. It was just felt.”

The Lord spoke to Caleb’s heart and said, I want you to ask that man about the Tinananon.

Inside, Caleb resisted.  No, I’m not going to ask this man about the Tinananon, he thought. I’ve already tried to do all my research.

 A second time the Lord nudged his heart, Ask this man about the Tinananon.

Caleb built up his courage and said meekly, “Sir, do you happen to know Tinananon?

As soon as he said he word Tinananon, the man’s eyes got really big.

He leaned in and said, “Hey, that’s my people — that’s my tribe! How do you know my people?”

Caleb was rendered speechless for a moment. “Tell me everything you know about your tribe.”

Manigos began to explain that his tribe lives in a deep mountainous region of Mindanao. “This area is a really dangerous place,” he said. “No one from outside goes to this place.” Manigos estimated his people group numbers between 70,000 and 100,000 people, scattered throughout the mountainous region in pockets.

Caleb invited Manigos to follow him to the place he was staying and showed him his journal entry with the word Tinananon.

Manigos began shaking his head, and tears streamed down his face.

He said, “Remember earlier on the bus, I kept looking at you.”

“Yes, what was that all about?”

“I kept looking at you, and the reason why is because I’ve seen you before…I just realized where I saw you, I also saw you in a dream.”

Manigos explained that was born in the Tinananon tribe. He left as a young man and went to Davao City, the largest city on the island of Mindanao, with 1.8 million people. He came to know Jesus while he lived in the city, then God called him back to his tribe through a dream.

In the dream, Manigos had gone back to evangelize his people – with Caleb! “He saw me in his dream,” Caleb said, “and I came and joined him. He and I began to minister and bring the good news of Jesus to his people.”

They were filled with wonder and awe at the way God brought them together. The two men stayed together for several days. “We all worshipped together and prayed together for a few days. Manigos invited Caleb to visit his tribe.

“Yeah, I would love to go to your tribe,” Caleb replied, “but I need to ask my wife first.” His wife, Gladys, was eight months pregnant at the time. Going on a potentially dangerous journey, immediately before the birth of their first child was a big decision they had to make.

After Caleb flew home to North Carolina, he and Gladys sought the Lord’s direction. “We felt like the Lord’s hand was on it,” he said. “And if the Lord showed this, up to this point, then He would continue to be with us. So I decided I was going to go, but I wanted to get back in the shop and try to make this instrument again.”

Caleb got very focused and asked the Holy Spirit to help him. “The Lord gave me wisdom, gave me insight on the process of what to do…with the help of the Holy Spirit and my wife, we were able to get it. I finally made this instrument!

He put the strings on it for the first time. “I tuned it up the way I heard it in the dream. I got the two little sticks. And I started to play it. It was that same sound, the same sound that I heard in the dream. And I was like, this is it. I was just really excited about it.”

Caleb bought a plane ticket and left the next day for the Philippines, taking the instrument with him.

He met a tribal friend named Ansulao and his new friend, Manigos, at the border of the mountain range closest to the tribe. “All three of us, we got on this one little motorbike. It was like 120 cc, a little motorbike.”

The motorbike they took into the mountains (Evergreen Missions)

A large storm had passed through the steep, undeveloped mountainous area the day before. “It was really muddy, very hard to get through there. And then while we were on this motorbike, another storm came. I was trying to hold this instrument, and I couldn’t hold it to my left or my right, so I had to put it above my head.

“Imagine three people on a little motorcycle. I was holding this musical instrument above my head trying to balance.”

They came to a hanging bridge, which consisted of two ropes and primitive wood planks. They managed to get across the bridge and were going up a steep hill, when the motorbike popped its gear and went into neutral.

Suddenly they were flying backward, toward the cliff. The motorbike wheel hit a rock and all three men went flying. “Thank the Lord, we landed in this smooth, green patch of grass, just feet away from the cliff, the drop-off cliff!”

As they entered the area of the Tinananon tribal group, Caleb heard the still small voice of the Lord once more: Caleb, I want you to take the instrument to the chief.

They started asking about how to find the chief’s house, which they learned was another three and a half hours away, on the other side of the mountain.

By the time they reached the chief’s house it was almost evening. Mud covered their clothing as they approached a small wooden house and knocked on the door.

When the chief opened the door he had a shocked expression on his face – especially to see an American in this remote area.

“We are, I am coming to your tribe for the first time,” Caleb said.  “I just wanted to give this as a gift to you,” he said, holding the instrument in his outstretched arms, covered by a blanket.

The chief placed the instrument on a table and took the blanket off of it. “He saw this instrument and he started staring at it. He kept looking at this instrument over and over again. He kept asking me, ‘Where did you get this instrument from?”

“Well, I just kind of made it,” Caleb replied.

“No, no, I’m serious. Where did you get this instrument from?”

“Well, if you really want to know. Last year, I had this dream. In the dream I heard the name of your tribe, the Tinananon, for the first time. I’d never heard that word before. I also saw this musical instrument in the dream. I felt like my God has given this dream to me.

“After that I met this man, Manigos, who is from your tribe, and he helped me lead me to your house today. I was able to make this instrument. I just felt like I wanted to give this instrument to you today.”

The chief continued shaking his head in disbelief, examining the instrument carefully, asking questions about it. He summoned other leaders from the Tinananon tribe and they walked around it incredulously, pointing at it, saying “Salimbaa.”

“They have their own native tongue,” Caleb notes. “And I don’t totally understand their language. So I was pretty lost about what they were talking about.”

Finally, the chief motioned to them and said, “I need to show you something.” They left his house and went down a small pathway over to another structure.

“They call the house Paluvaran, which means House of Prayer in their language. This is the place where they worship. But it’s also sort of a storehouse of all their kind of ancient articles of their tribes. They have pottery work, metalwork, weaving, all these different things that are tangible evidence that their tribe has been living and existing for hundreds of years.

“I was amazed by this place. They had all these musical instruments on the side of the wall.” As a professional instrument maker, Caleb found it fascinating, incredible.

The chief informed him there were different musical instruments for each of their gods. “They have the god of the tree, the god of the stone, god of the river. And they’re not necessarily gods, but they believe that the one true God or the Creator has sent down angels to guard these different things like the angel of the river, the angel of the stone.

One of the musical instruments in the Paluvan along with traditional clothing (Evergreen Missions)

“Instead of praying and worshiping directly to God, they pray and worship to these different angels; the angels would be the ones to connect them to God. And so it’s a little bit different, but it’s not completely like they believe in many different gods, they believe in the one true God.”

Caleb noticed there was one spot that was empty on the wall between the other instruments. “They said that somewhere between 100 and 150 years ago, there was a tribal war. During this war, their most valuable musical instrument that worshiped the God of all gods was taken away from them.”

In response, they lamented for a time and created a song that goes something like this:

The Salimbaa was taken away from us,

God is going to redeem it back to us one day.

“It was a prophecy. This instrument is the instrument that worships the God of all gods. They said, ‘Today, you brought the Salimbaa to us!’”

Caleb was blown away. “Oh my goodness!” he exclaimed.

After that there was a small gathering of tribal leaders. “This is it! This is the Salimbaa!” they cried. Everyone knew what it was when they saw it and heard it played.

Caleb learned the Salimbaa’s golden bowl, with strings stretching from side to side around the bowl, that the convergence in the middle is the place where the Tinananon believe the Salimbaa connects heaven and earth.

The place in the middle

“They said that, in the last time, in the last days, God is going to be coming down from heaven, and he’s going to call all the righteous people to him. When God comes down from heaven, God is going to be riding on the inside of the Salimbaa, as if the Salimbaa was an aircraft that connects heaven and earth.”

Their name for the God above all gods is Manama. “They started praying to Manama…and they dedicated this instrument back to God.”

Caleb with Chief Suhat and the Salimbaa instrument (Evergreen Missions)

As a sign of special honor, the chief placed a tribal leader’s headpiece on Caleb’s shoulder. “We now consider you a chief of the Tinananon tribe,” he said. “Whatever you believe God is calling us or leading us into, we’re going to follow you.”

Reeling from the whole experience, Caleb was humbled by the gesture. They stayed with the chief, Datu Lipatuan Suhat, for three days.

“There wasn’t a lot that manifested with him giving his life to Jesus,” Caleb told God Reports. “I did pray with him a lot and prophesied over him. But after we left, we didn’t return for a few months, but during that time, within a month or two, the chief had an encounter with Jesus, and the Lord spoke to him and he wrote everything out. That is when he gave his heart to Jesus.”

On the second visit, Caleb asked Chief Suhat how he could help the tribe.

“Well, if you can help us with one thing, I want you to help us translate the Bible into our language.”

In January 2015, Caleb arranged for Translators Association of the Philippines to meet with all 50 chiefs of the Tinananon tribe.

“Some of the chiefs didn’t want the Bible to be translated and others did,” Caleb told God Reports. “There was tension in the room. None of us as foreigners felt led to speak up. The chief came up to the front and opened up the Cebuano Bible, from Genesis.”

Caleb learned the Tinananon believe that God came down and took the soil of Mindanao and put it in his hands and blew on it and that is when the first man came alive.

“We believe God made man from his breath,” Chief Suhat said, “by taking the dust of the earth and breathing on it.”

Chief Suhat proceeded to read the biblical account of the creation of man:

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)

Then the chief paused, set the Bible down, and said: “It’s only the first few pages, imagine what it would be to have the whole Bible translated.”

The other chiefs nodded their heads in agreement. “That’s true,” they said, and all 50 agreed to let the translators begin their project.

Chief Suhat passed away in 2015, shortly after the translation process began.

Since then, there have been four churches planted among the Tinananon. “It’s just amazing, the open doors that the chiefs have given us for this tribe,” Caleb says.

Manigos (left) with Caleb and another Tinananon pastor

“It was mostly through Manigos,” he adds. “He could speak the language and knew the culture. He has such a heart for his people. He has a God-given call to his people.

First church built by Manigos among the Tinananon

“Last year (2019) we went and visited the tribe and he had taken this small group of people on fire for the Lord and it’s grown to hundreds of believers there now.”

The first believers among the Tinananon (Evergreen Missions)

Could God connect an instrument maker living in Moravian Falls, North Carolina with an unreached tribe in the Philippines through a dream?

In 1727 the Moravian Church established a continuous prayer movement that ran uninterrupted, 24 hours a day, for 100 years. Moravian missionaries were part of launching the first large-scale Protestant missionary movement, beginning in 1732.

Did God touch Caleb and Manigos in response to the Moravians’ prayers?

“I felt like the Lord had arranged everything,” Caleb says, “in such a perfect way of organizing everything, just perfect timing. It was such an amazing series of events that took place that I couldn’t take any kind of claim for it.

“The best way I could explain is I was right there in the middle of the journey with God. I felt like He was there in the moment. I was like, yeah, this is Him. This is Him, this is what He did.

 

Caleb and Gladys Byerly are the founders of Evergreen Missions. Their focus is to partner with God in bringing His kingdom to the Earth. Caleb and Gladys focus mostly on mentoring and discipling indigenous leaders, who will go to their own people and bring them life from Christ Jesus. To learn more, go here

Adam Fish and his wife Brooke started The Unseen Story, which features firsthand accounts that reveal the reality of God’s love. Their interview/podcast with Caleb Byerly, along with many other great stories may be found here

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

FREE SUBSCRIPTION: for new Blogs & free offers

China: how a mother started a house church movement

China: How a mother started a house church movement

Share good news  –  Share this and any page freely.
Share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
China: how a mother started a house church movement:
https://renewaljournal.com/2021/01/20/china-how-a-mother-started-a-house-church-movement/
Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

The Chinese Communist Party has long tried to eliminate or control the Church, but without success. Take Sister Hu’s amazing story, a mother who started a house church movement after Jesus healed her son.

When Sister Hu’s son fell seriously ill with kidney disease, she visited numerous temples to seek help from the gods, but he got worse. Then a Christian at the hospital told her that if she believed in Jesus her son could be healed. Her son fully recovered and Sister Hu committed to always serve God and share the gospel with as many people as she could.

Soon, a small group of believers emerged, and the fellowship quickly outgrew the building where it met. “Over time, the Holy Spirit revealed that we should focus on two things: evangelizing the lost and training leaders,” Sister Hu said. “We formed teams with five people in each, and we targeted 18 towns with the gospel. As we approached each town we prayed, and then we would look for the poorest household to share the good news of Jesus with.”

‘Many people believed and more churches were formed’

Each team was supported by an intercession and fasting chain, which operated around the clock, with believers rotating in two-hour shifts. “We fasted for seven days before a campaign, and to this day we still gather every morning at 4:30 a.m. for prayer, even in winter when it’s minus 30 degrees outside.”

The results were remarkable. “In the first 15 towns many people believed our message, and we formed new churches in each place. The final three towns were further away, so we had to cycle over long distances to reach them. Miraculously, in one town the officials let us use the municipal loudspeaker, to ensure that everyone could hear the message. Many people believed and more churches were formed.”

‘We have seen God perform many remarkable things’

“Our meetings were always crowded. Some people who came were demon possessed, but when we prayed they were completely delivered. Others were healed from deafness and other ailments. At first, we had many sisters but only one brother on our teams. We asked God to add 100 new brothers, and after the first evangelistic campaigns, we found that was exactly the number of men who had been converted. Later, we added mercy ministries to help the sick, elderly, and orphans.”

Over the years Sister Hu’s church has grown to 40,000 believers, and they have 1,000 evangelists and pastors. “We have seen God perform many remarkable things, which have helped spread his salvation message more widely,” she said. Some towns have been so thoroughly saturated with the gospel that now over 80 percent of the people are Christians.

“Jesus has been so good to us,” Sister Hu said. “He has been our best friend and He sticks closer than a brother. In recent years we have faced fresh challenges, as the government’s strict new religious policies have taken effect. We are under pressure to compromise, but we are determined to fully obey Jesus, regardless of the cost.”

Source: Asia Harvest

Joel News International: # 1199, January 19, 2021

Posts on Chinafrom Mission Blogs:
Asia’s Maturing Church (David Wang)
The Spirit told us what to do (Carl Lawrence)
Revival in China (Dennis Balcombe)
House Churches in China (Barbara Nield)
China – New Wave of Revival
Chinese turning to Christianity
Revival breaks out in China’s government approved churches

China: how a mother started a house church movement
China – Life-changing Miracle
China’s next generation: New China, New Church, New World
China: The cross on our shoulders and in our hearts
George Chen – In the Garden: 18 years in prison

See also:

House Church: the fastest growing expression of church

Grassroots movements with no church buildings explode

Dinner Churches

House Churches, by Ian Freestone

House Churches in China (Barbara Nield)

China: how a mother started a house church movement

Laos: a church for the So

 

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Share good news  –  Share this and any page freely.
Share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
China: how a mother started a house church movement:
https://renewaljournal.com/2021/01/20/china-how-a-mother-started-a-house-church-movement/
Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

Hosanna – revival in Nepal

Hosanna – Revival in Nepal

Adapted from Chapter 9 of God’s Surprises by Geoff Waugh

 

Bob and Jill Densley, friends of mine, worked with the United Nations in Nepal and they loved to help pastors and leaders there. That’s how they met and supported the fiery young evangelist pastor Raju Sundas. We visited them many times in the 1990s and spoke at pastors and leaders meetings in Kathmandu, in West Nepal and in East Nepal, hosted by Raju. Some of those pastors walked for two or three days across the high ranges just to attend the meetings.

Their churches, led by Hosanna Church, are saturated in prayer. I prayed in their “Power House”, the upstairs prayer rooms of their church in Kathmandu. Those small upper rooms were open 24 hours a day and many people went there to fast and pray, sometimes for many days. Since then, Hosanna Church and its ministry has exploded and planted so many churches across Nepal, developed schools, vocational training, Bible Schools, and huge welfare ministries to the needy.

We saw God’s Spirit move beautifully and powerfully in those early meetings. Many were filled with the Spirit and healed. I heard a young man from one of their church bands praying eloquently in beautiful English – but he cannot speak English. They pray for one another with strong faith, expecting God to save, heal, deliver and anoint them.

The dedication of those Christians impressed me. Most of them had been imprisoned for their faith many times. One young pastor conducted a Christian wedding which infuriated relatives so they complained to the police and he spent a month in prison for disturbing the peace. Our host had been severely beaten while in prison.  Two young evangelists were shot to death when we were there. They had returned from Bible College in India and were accused of spying. God gives those Christians amazing peace and joy amid the persecution, just as in the Book of The Acts.

We were greatly blessed to see the zeal, faith and perseverance of Raju and his team as we shared ministry in Hosanna Church in Kathmandu as well as with them in conferences in West and East Nepal. Their faith opened the way for God to move in power among them all as He poured out his Spirit, especially on leaders, pastors and on their people.


Raju and team

Pastor Raju Sundras (Photo), our host for our visits, tells about our visit there at Easter 2000.

Greetings in the name of our Almighty God Jesus Christ from the land of Himalayas!  The Lord continues to do great things in this land, we have not much to do but to praise Him and thank Him for every good gift raining on us from Him and only Him.

It was a great blessing from the Lord to send us a team from Australia mid-April. The fellowship, the Word from God, the mighty touch of the Holy Spirit, the love of Christ flourishing from our Australian brothers and sisters, the awesome presence of the Lord throughout the rushing schedule of conferences, trips, and visits, overwhelmingly expressed the great love of our Lord Jesus Christ towards this nation.  During the short stay of about two weeks with the team of eight people we had the privilege to see the ministry of the Holy Spirit through them in several occasions. …

Out of about 200 participants in the conference by the grace of God 100 of them were baptized in the Holy Spirit praising the Lord, singing, falling, crying, and many other actions as the Holy Spirit would prompt them to act.  About ten of them testified that they had never experienced such a presence of the power and love of God.  Some others testified being lifted to heavenly realms by the power of the Holy Spirit, being surrounded by the angels of the Lord in a great peace, joy, and love toward each other and being melted in the power of his presence.  Many re-committed their lives to the Lord for ministry by any means through his revelation.


Pastors and leaders conference

On the second day of the conference the trend continued as the people seemingly would fall down, repent, minister to each other in the love of Christ, enjoy the mighty touch of the Holy Spirit, singing, prophesying, weeping, laughing, hugging, and all the beauty of the Holy Spirit was manifested throughout the congregation by his grace and love.  One woman of age 65 testified that she never had danced in her life in any occasion even in secret, but the Lord had told her that she should now dance to him and she was dancing praising him with all her strength.  For hours this outpouring continued and the pastors of the churches were one by one testifying that they had never experienced such a presence and power of God in their whole Christian life and ministry.

Pastors and leaders, West Nepal

Some 60 evangelists declared that they were renewed in their spirits by the refreshing of the Holy Spirit and they are now going to serve the Lord in the field wherever the Holy Spirit will lead them to be fully fledged in His service.  In the last day of the conference while praying together with the congregation and committing them in his hands, many prophesied that the Lord was assuring them of great changes in their ministry, life and the area.  While the power of God was at work in our midst three children of 6-7 years old fell down weeping, screaming and testifying about a huge hand coming on them and touching their stomachs and healing them instantly.  After the prayer all the participants got into the joy of the Holy Spirit and started dancing to the Lord, singing and praising Him for His goodness.

Before leaving Gochadda while we were having snacks in the pastor’s house a woman of high Brahmin caste came by the direction of the Lord to the place, claiming that she was prompted by a voice in her ear to go to the Christians and ask for prayer for healing of her chronic stomach pain and problems, and that is why she was there.  We prayed for her and she was instantly healed and we shared the Gospel, but she stopped us saying, “I need to accept Christ as my Saviour so don’t waste time!” She accepted Jesus as her personal Saviour being lifted in spirit, and even the body as she said she didn’t feel anymore burden in her body, and spirit, Hallelujah!


Roadside fellowship and ministry

We held another conference in Nazarene Church pastored by Rinzi Lama in Kathmandu.  Ten churches unitedly participated in the two days gathering where about 100 people participated.  The outpouring of the Holy Spirit continued in this conference refreshing many in their spirits and bringing much re-commitment. We showed the Transformation video.  All committed themselves for constant prayer to bring transformation to their cities too by God’s power.


Geoff and the Himalaya mountains

by Geoff Waugh

Adapted from Chapter 9 of God’s Surprises

Revivals Index

Renewal Journal – main page

FREE SUBSCRIPTION: for new Blogs & free offers

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN  REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

 

Share any Blog to inform and bless others

Logo Square - PNG
Click here to be notified of new Blogs

Share good news  –  Share this and any page freely.
Share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

FREE RENEWAL JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION: for updates, new Blogs & free offers
FREE PDF books on the Main Page

Slovakia: Revival among the Roma

Slovakia: Revival among the Roma

For 20 years, an unprecedented revival has been growing among Slovakia’s marginalised Roma (gypsie) population.

“These unprecedented occurrences have captured the attention of governments, law enforcement, social workers, and scholars studying the Roma culture.”

Since the formation of an embryonic Roma church fellowship in Sabinov, Slovakia, in 2000, the revival has gained momentum and spread to the unlikeliest of places. “We have never seen anything like it. No one can take credit for starting it,” say Jim and Sherry Sabella, AGWM area directors for Southeast Europe. “Christ the King has gone into the highways and byways, inviting whosoever will come to His table. The Roma are coming in droves.”

Roma church leaders Marian, Rinaldo, Marek, and Tibor rejoice in God’s miracles in their communities and lives.

In 2007, the construction of a building for Sabinov Gypsy Church began. Miraculously they were granted government permission to begin, but many hurdles were faced in the process, related to discrimination of the Roma in Slovakian society. Despite the opposition, the building was completed with no debt, and has continued to expand. Today Sabinov Gypsy Church stands as the physical birthplace of a revival among the Roma in the neighborhood, the country, and the continent.

‘Crime rates began to drastically fall’

The Roma community in Sabinov, like Roma communities across Europe, traditionally endured many problems. Unemployment, alcoholism, sexual abuse, violence, theft, and few education opportunities were rampant. Yet as the Lord began to pour out His presence through the church, crime rates began to drastically fall. Police and local authorities took notice, soon partnering gladly with the church. Over the years, the pattern has proven itself: Roma who come to Christ experience and consciously engage in dramatic life transformations.

Substance abuse and addictive, destructive patterns are defeated, Marian states. Homes, though humble and often in squalid settlements, are cleaned and kept immaculate. Hygiene improves. Begging and thievery stops. Jobs are sought. Money is handled with wisdom and foresight. Education becomes prized. Young families seek higher living standards. Communities once characterized by chaos become organized from the inside out.

Generosity is also born. Rinaldo shares that in one transformed community, impoverished believers learned of a blind man living in a shack. They pooled their money to build the man and his family a new home. Marian says that Roma believers also tithe faithfully. “I am deeply touched by this,” he says. “Even those who are unemployed are still willing to give to God.”

These unprecedented occurrences have captured the attention of governments, law enforcement, social workers, and scholars studying the Roma culture. Marian, Rinaldo, Marek, and Tibor have had the opportunity share with government officials the changes that have originated in their own community of Sabinov.

In two nations, they have even spoken with the national parliament. When asked what they are doing to bring about change and how those results can be replicated, Marian answers clearly: “You can offer the Roma any kind of help, but they will not change unless they have been changed in their hearts by Jesus Christ. He will first change their hearts, and then He will change their minds.”

‘They spread revival fires wherever they go’

Roma who are touched by the revival in Slovakia are now moving across Europe seeking better opportunities for their families. They carry Jesus with them, spreading revival fires wherever they go.

Hundreds of Roma churches being planted across Europe look routinely to Marian and his team for training and guidance, and so do mainstream European church leaders. Teams of pastors from England, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria come to Sabinov’s church leaders to learn how to reach the Roma in their own countries.

“To see revival is hard work,” Marian says. “But we are seeing its fruit – and the blessings of God – and in that there is great joy. We do not wait for the broken to come to us. We go find them. Revival must first be in us. Its fire must be in our hearts. Pray this for us: We need more servants to come help us. Many villages are crying out to us for help in terrible situations, and we do not have enough people to send.”

In the meantime the Romani Bible translation project in Slovakia has been very successful, with a complete New Testament and about 34% of the Old Testament translated.

Roma Networks in Eastern Europe produced an inspiring video on God’s work among the Roma people. It shows how the global church can partner with the vibrant Roma communities in healthy and dynamic ways.
More information: https://romanetworks.org.

Source: Assemblies of God World Mission, TWFTW

Joel News International, #1187, September 9, 2020

Revivals Index

Renewal Journal – main page

FREE SUBSCRIPTION: for new Blogs & free offers

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN  REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

 

Share any Blog to inform and bless others

Logo Square - PNG
Click here to be notified of new Blogs

Share good news  –  Share this and any page freely.
Share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
Slovakia: Revival among the Roma:
https://renewaljournal.com/2020/10/10/slovakia-revival-among-the-roma/

Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

FREE RENEWAL JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION: for updates, new Blogs & free offers
FREE PDF books on the Main Page