By Evangelist Daniel King
Greetings! I am reporting from the frontlines of Gospel Evangelism. We are in a battle for the souls of men, women, and children. I am happy to report that Jesus is the Winner!
When I arrived in Iringa, Tanzania, I saw hundreds of posters, billboards and banners advertising a Christ for All Nations Gospel crusade. The bright colors immediately caught my eye, and I knew the city was ready for a move of God. The setup for this crusade was done by graduates of the CFAN Evangelism Bootcamp. As an instructor at the Evangelism Bootcamp, I was proud to see their diligence and dedication produce results.
On the first night of the crusade, I preached that “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” During the altar call, people all over the field raised their hands to receive Jesus. A total of 4,703 people filled out decision cards which was a great start to the crusade. When we prayed for the sick, cripples lifted their crutches into the air and started to walk. A crippled woman was the first to come on the platform. She lifted her crutch high and began to dance. A 12-year-old girl with “brain abnormalities” was completely healed. A woman who visited a witch doctor seeking a cure announced, “The witch doctor was not able to heal me, but tonight Jesus healed me!”
On the second night, Daniel Kolenda arrived in Iringa to preach. Christ for All Nations is doing five crusades in five different cities in Tanzania at the same time in an effort called Operation Decapolis. It was an honor to be invited to participate in this historical event. Evangelist Kolenda preached on three spiritual laws found in Romans 8:1-2. The Law of Sin will pull you down all the way to hell. The Law of Death will destroy you. But the Law of Salvation will lift you up. He shared a great illustration. Imagine you are holding a Bible in your hand and you let it go…it will fall because of the Law of Gravity. But, if your hand is under the Bible, it will not fall. In the same way that the Law of Gravity pulls things down in the natural world, the Laws of Sin and Death pull us down spiritually. But the nail-scarred hand of Jesus catches us and lifts us up to heaven. The Law of Salvation is greater than the Laws of Sin and Death. Thousands of people responded to his message, and they cried out to Jesus for salvation!
We found the city of Iringa to be ripe for harvest. One morning I went out with one of the sound trucks into the city center. The sound truck is a small pickup truck with two big speakers, a generator, and a sound board. As the truck drives around populated areas, the speakers blast an invitation to come to the crusade. I stood in the back of the pickup and waved to people. They quickly recognized me from my picture on the poster. A crowd gathered around the truck, so I grabbed a microphone and began to preach. Right there in the marketplace across from the fruit stand, I led five hundred people to Jesus. Afterwards they promised to bring their families to the crusade.
Another night, we invited people to drop their witchcraft items and juju beads into a large barrel. We lit the contents on fire. Flames leapt fifteen feet into the sky. We took authority over every demonic spirit. Demons began to manifest. I saw a woman fall to the ground and roll around in the dirt. She was being controlled by a demon. Some ushers lifted her up and carried her to a tent that is set aside for casting out demons. We called it “The Snake Pit.” Pastors prayed for her, and she was delivered. When she came out of the tent she was smiling because Jesus set her free.
On the fifth and final night of the crusade, I preached once again. I asked how many people were there for the first time and almost half of the audience raised their hands. My message was on the three greatest miracles in the Bible: Creation, Calvary, and Pentecost. These are the three greatest miracles for your life. God created you. God saves you. God empowers you. At Creation, we see God the Father’s greatest work. At Calvary, we see God the Son’s greatest work. At Pentecost, we see God the Holy Spirit’s greatest work. The people were delighted to hear they were made in the image of God, saved by the blood of Jesus, and could be filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit. We prayed for people to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and many people shouted for joy as they were filled with God’s power.
Over the five nights of the crusade, attendance each night was between 20,000-32,000 people. A total of 15,715 people filled out decision cards. I stand in amazement at the awesome things God did in the city of Iringa.
Thank you for helping us reach people for Jesus in Tanzania!
Christ for All Nations, the ministry founded by Reinhard Bonnke and now led by Daniel Kolenda, invited me to minister at a Gospel Crusade in Kahama, Tanzania.
This year, I had the privilege of teaching fifty students at the Evangelism Bootcamp hosted by Christ for All Nations. Now these students are on the ground putting into practice the lessons they learned in the classroom. As an evangelism coach, I am so proud of them for reaching people for Jesus.
The students are visiting hundreds of local schools in Tanzania to preach the Gospel.
They are taking evangelism trucks into the streets and marketplaces to tell people about Jesus.
Plus they are organizing a great Gospel crusade in Kahama, Tanzania (one of five crusades taking place in Tanzania over a two week period).
For several months they prepared for the crusade by putting up posters, banners, billboards, and passing out flyers.
They organized the local churches and trained counselors. Everyone in town has heard about the event. Now it is time to preach the Gospel.
I preached a simple gospel message and thousands of people responded to the altar call.
God performed many miracles.
Over the week in Kahama, a total of 13,457 people filled out decision cards as an indication of their decision to follow Christ. Now the local churches are following up on these new believers to make them disciples.
Thank you for your financial support. It is because of your generosity that we are able to go tell people about Jesus.
I landed in Tanzania on Sunday and was greeted by the CFaN team. Despite my jet lag, it was an exciting moment to step foot in this nation for the first time. On my plane were many of the technical engineers who come from different nations around Europe to run the sound and lighting systems for each crusade. The team is highly experienced in doing crusades with CFaN in Africa, but this time is different because they are splitting up and each going to different cities. Doing multiple crusades in multiple cities at the same time presents new challenges to overcome.
After an overnight stay in Dar es Salaam, our team took a much smaller plane to Kahama. We were greeted upon our arrival by Lukas Repert who has been living in Kahama since August in order to organize the crusade. He was one of my students at the Evangelism Bootcamp in the spring, and now it is amazing to see him organize his first crusade event. He has been working hard to secure permissions from the government, build relationships with local pastors, distribute publicity material around the city, and to train counselors to help follow up on new believers.
As we drove from the airport into the city, I could see already that this was going to be a great crusade. The city was covered in posters, banners, and billboards all announcing the crusade. I heard sound trucks driving around telling people about the event. I felt an urgent anticipation in the city.
We stopped by the crusade grounds where the platform was in the process of being assembled. One team was hard at work digging a trench to bury electric wires from the generator to the sound system. Another team of local workmen were helping to erect a light tower so the field would be well lit.
The following day, I went with Paul, another Evangelism Bootcamp graduate to visit local schools. Before the crusade even begins, the team has gone into every school in the region in order to tell the students about Jesus. Our first school assembly was at 7am and in the course of the day we visited nine different schools and had the opportunity to minister to a total of 3,341 students in both primary and secondary schools. In each school we communicated a clear Gospel message and we found the students were eager to pray with us for salvation.
On Tuesday I asked my driver to show me around town so I could take some pictures. We visited the local market place and passed out flyers. I found that everyone in the city has heard about the event. One woman at a fruit stand saw my face on the flyer and she asked if I was one of the speakers. She was so excited to hear that I was and I gave her a personal invitation to come to the crusade. She promised to bring her whole family. A Muslim man asked me if Muslims are allowed to come to the event and I assured him that Jesus loves Muslims and that Muslims are most welcome to come. He said he would be there. I also visited a local ranch where cattle with long horns are bought and sold. There were twenty young men taking care of the cows. I gave them all flyers and invited them to the crusade. I took the opportunity to preach a short message to them and all of the young men prayed with me for salvation.
I climbed on the back of one of the five sound trucks that is driving all over the city announcing the crusade. A generator provides electricity and big speakers blast a jingle inviting people to the crusade. I grabbed a microphone and with the help of a translator I gave people a personal invitation to come to the crusade. As we drove through the center of town, I saw people dancing to the upbeat music we were playing and when I waved at them, they waved back enthusiastically.
On Wednesday, it was time for counselor training. Hundreds of counselors came to the field and the crusade director explained to them the process for giving books to all the people who will get saved at the crusade. He gave them instructions to help the new believer fill out the decision card in the back of the book. He said, “Please, treat these decision cards as if they are gold. We use the decision cards to follow up on all the new believers.”
There is anticipation throughout the city. The stage has been set. Now we are eagerly waiting to see what God will do this week in Kahama, Tanzania.
The first day of the crusade in Kahama, Tanzania started with a parade of cars, motorcycles, three wheeled taxies, and a host of singing Christians marching through the center of the city. Paul Mauer and I sat in the lead vehicle and waved. The Christians smiled at everyone in the street and invited them to join the parade as we marched toward the crusade grounds. The highlights included a man who made a hat and a poncho out of crusade posters and a car that was completely covered in posters except for a tiny portion of the windshield for the driver to see through.
As the parade arrived at the crusade grounds, the music started. People rushed forward to secure a good spot near the platform. Spirits were high as the band led the people in high-energy songs about Jesus.
Bishop Emmanuel, the crusade organizer for Kahama, greeted the people. Then the commissioner of the state arrived along with other dignitaries. The commissioner officially welcomed CFaN to the city and he said, “I will be the first to receive a miracle tonight.”
Paul Mauer took the platform and preached a message on “The Two Doors.” One door is a devil door and the other door is the Jesus door. He asked the people, “Which door do you want to go through?” Everyone shouted, “The Jesus door.”
When Evangelist Paul gave the altar call, thousands of people responded. The councilors quickly captured the information of those who accepted Christ and a total of 3,024 decision cards were filled out.
The moment Paul started praying for the sick, demons began to manifest in the front of the crowd. A woman threw herself to the ground and shrieked loudly. The people around her were distracted from the prayer but the deliverance team arrived and carried her to the “demon tent” also known as “The Snake Pit” in order to pray for her. No sooner was the demon possessed lady out of sight when another lady in the front of the crowd started to shriek. It was obvious the devil was trying to distract people from the prayer. Again, the deliverance team carried the woman to the tent. This happened several more times and it quickly became obvious that the devil was frustrated at his inability to distract from the meeting.
Paul continued to pray for the sick. When testimony time came, several people came up to the platform to share that Jesus had healed them.
Overall, it was an excellent first night for a crusade. The people of Kahama are hungry for the Gospel.
Today’s crusade meeting was scheduled to begin at 2pm, but at one o’clock rain was falling from the sky. The Christians knew that people would be hesitant to come if it was raining, so they started to pray. Slowly, the sky cleared and soon the rain completely stopped.
The music was powerful and anointed and everyone danced as they heard the sound of the drums and the keyboard. All the songs were upbeat and specifically chosen to build faith in the people to receive from Jesus.
When I arrived at the field, I felt the expectation and excitement of the people. They were ready for miracles.
We were pleased to welcome Peter Vandenberg, the executive vice president of Christ for All Nations. He has attended hundreds of crusade meetings across Africa and it was an honor to have him sit in the front row as I began my sermon. After a few minutes, he stood up and walked around the perimeter of the crowd in order to carefully count the number of people who were in attendance, a task he has performed many times before.
Tonight I preached on the paralyzed man who was let down through the roof. In Matthew 9, Jesus said three things to him. First, Jesus said, “Be encouraged.” Second, Jesus said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Third, Jesus said, “Get up, take up your bed, and go home completely healed.” Jesus healed the man spirit, soul, and body.
As I preached, five actors did a drama about the story. One man pretended to be paralyzed and his four friends carried him on a stretcher through the crowd. They brought him up on the platform and laid him right in the front. The crowd watched to see what would happen.
I preached, “Jesus saw the faith of the four friends. Tonight Jesus is looking for someone who has faith.” I asked the crowd, “Do you have faith in Jesus tonight?” They waved their hands and shouted, “Yes!”
I told the crowd that Jesus encouraged the man because he was sad, worried, fearful, and lonely because of his sickness. In the same way that Jesus encouraged the paralyzed man, I told the crowd that Jesus wanted to encourage those who are sad, worried, fearful, and lonely. Smiles broke out on the faces of the people as I shouted, “Be encouraged!”
Jesus also forgave the man’s sins. The reason Jesus came to earth was to forgive our sins. He died on the cross to pay for our sins, but He did not stay dead. After three days he rose from the dead. Now, Jesus is alive and He says the same thing to you as he said to the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Finally, Jesus said to the man, “Get up and go home completely healed.” The actor playing the part of the paralyzed man began to move. He stood to his feet. He took a step and another step. Then he began to run back and forth across the stage shouting, “Jesus healed me!” The crowd erupted in applause.
I gave the altar call and thousands of people responded by raising their hands. They all wanted Jesus to forgive their sins. After I led them in a salvation prayer, the counselors gave each new believer a book and recorded their names on a decision card.
Then I prayed for the sick. First I prayed for emotional healing and Jesus encouraged the hearts of many people. Then I prayed for physical healing. As I rebuked every pain and sickness, miracles broke out across the crowd. Across the crowd, over a dozen crippled people lifted up their crutches and began to take steps of faith.
The first woman to come to the platform to share her testimony was carrying her crutch in the air. She said she was unable to walk for ten years but now Jesus had healed her. The band began to play music and she danced with her crutch lifted high.
The second testimony was from a young girl who had an enlarged heart and was unable to run for over a year. The music started and she ran back and forth to show that Jesus had healed her.
The third testimony was a woman with pain in her stomach for three months and pain in her shoulder for over a year. She told the crowd that both problems were healed.
The fourth testimony was from a woman who was paralyzed for one year and nine months and was unable to walk. Her neighbor brought her to the crusade on public transportation and she was healed. Her face had a big smile as she danced with the crowd.
The fifth testimony was another person who was paralyzed and was healed. It became clear that the theme of all the miracles tonight were of paralyzed people who were being healed. I preached on a paralyzed man being healed by Jesus and then Jesus proved He is still alive by healing many paralyzed people in Kahama, Tanzania.
The sixth testimony was of a woman with terrible back leg pain for four years. Because of the pain, she went to the doctor for expensive injections. Now she can walk pain free. There were many more people lined up to testify including a woman who was deaf whose ears were opened and another woman who was blind whose eyes are now able to see.
Right as the testimony time was finished a drizzle of rain fell from the sky. God had held back the rain all the way to the end of the crusade. The crowd pulled out umbrellas and went home happy because of everything God is doing in Kahama.
The third day of the crusade in Kahama, Tanzania started with rain. As the music began, there were only a few people close to the stage. Everyone else was huddled around the edges of the crusade grounds trying to find shelter from the rain under overhanging roofs.
We began to pray, “God, please send rain to the famers, but not to the crusade.” Soon, a breeze stirred and pushed the rain clouds away. When the people saw the clear sky, they left cover and ran forward to find a good spot on the crusade grounds.
I preached on the Four Greatest Miracles in the Bible. I held up my Bible and proclaimed, “This is God’s book. In this book is the history of many miracles, but tonight I will share with you the four greatest miracles contained in this book.” As I preached, actors on the stage did a little drama about each point.
Miracle #1 – God Created You. In the beginning of time God created the first man and woman. He walked with them and talked with them. God created them to be His friends. But one day, they sinned and this broke their relationship with God. This is why God hates sin.
Miracle #2 – God Loves You. Even though we have sinned and disobeyed God’s commands, God still loves us and wants to have a relationship with us.
Miracle #3 – God Saves You. God sent His Son Jesus Christ from heaven to earth. Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary. He grew up and walked the dusty streets of Israel. He had twelve disciples and He walked with them and talked with them. Then Jesus died on the cross but He did not stay dead. After three days, He rose from the dead. Now Jesus is the bridge between heaven and earth. He is the only way to get to heaven. Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved.
I led the crowd in a salvation prayer. Thousands of people prayed with me for salvation. By lifting their hands, they indicated they were ready to turn away from sin and to turn toward Jesus. After the salvation prayer, the counselors gave away copies of Reinhard Bonnke’s book, “Now that You are Saved” to all the new believers. Then I talked about the final miracle.
Miracle #4 – God Heals You. The same Jesus who healed people two thousand years ago is alive today and ready to heal you. I was the first to pray for the sick. Then I turned to three of the Evangelism Bootcamp graduates and gave them the opportunity to pray for the sick. It was their first chance to speak from a crusade platform. They prayed with fervency and when it came time for the testimony time, it was obviously their prayers were effective because many people lined up to give a testimony.
A woman who had pain in her legs for ten years was healed. A man who had a stroke three years ago and who needed a cane to walk was healed and he lifted his cane high into the air as he shouted “Jesus healed me!” A woman with double vision was healed and she cried because she was able to read the Reinhard Bonnke book. A woman with stomach pain, high blood pressure, and shoulder pain was healed of all her ailments. A girl had to take injections in order to eat, but Jesus healed her two nights ago and now she can eat without pain. There were three woman who were all healed of deafness and ringing in the ears. A woman had blurred vision and was unable to see the faces of her children but she said Jesus healed her. A woman was carried to the meeting by her parents and another woman had a hip problem. Both were healed and are now able to walk and even dance.
The crowd danced and shouted with joy as they heard each testimony. I asked the people to come on the final night of the crusade to hear Evangelist Daniel Kolenda and to bring a friend. Anticipation is high in the city of Kahama, Tanzania to see what miracles God will do on the final night of the crusade.
On the final night of the Kahama Gospel Crusade, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda spoke on three spiritual laws. The first two laws are the laws of sin and death, but the third law is the law of salvation. He gave an illustration using his Bible. If he holds the Bible up in the air and drops it, it is pulled down by the natural law of gravity. This is an example of the laws of sin and death. But, if his hand is under the Bible, it does not fall. This is what the law of salvation does. It keeps us from falling to destruction.
When Daniel Kolenda gave the altar call, a total of 4,737 people responded by filling out decision cards. When this number is added to the other numbers of people who have been saved this week, it pushes Christ for all Nations closer to a significant milestone. Since 1987, CFaN has been counting decision cards and before this week, the total number of decision cards filled out equaled 79,957,136. This week, the total number of decision cards filled out at CFaN crusades officially approaches the eighty million mark and with two more crusades next week, we will surely go over eighty million! We rejoice that almost eighty million people have made a decision to follow Christ through the ministry of Christ for All Nations.
Daniel Kolenda also prayed for the people to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Across the field, people began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
As Daniel Kolenda prayed for the sick, demons began to manifest. Members of the deliverance team grabbed them and carried them to the demon tent, also known as the snake pit. There the deliverance team cast out the demons and led the newly free people in a salvation prayer.
Several graduates of the Evangelism Bootcamp were invited by Daniel Kolenda to help pray for the sick. As they prayed, many people were healed and the stage was full of testimonies by the end of the evening.
The final night of the crusade in Kahama Gospel Crusade was the best-attended night. It had the most salvations, the most healings, and the most people filled with the Holy Spirit. Tonight was a great success!