Spirit of Grace Ministries
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Spirit of Grace Ministries
-- Feeding Jesus' sheep
-- Equipping His servants
-- Proclaiming His Gospel

Outreach: Africa!

Den & Ben in Kitale, KenyaIn what seems like a lifetime ago, as a pastor of a small church in a small town in north central Texas, I watched my first Reinhard Bonnke video. Bonnke, a German-born evangelist, has been for many years the Billy Graham of Africa, preaching to crowds of hundreds of thousands regularly. But unlike Graham, Bonnke prays for the sick as well as preaching Christ to the lost. The fruit from his ministry is abundant and amazing. In some of Bonnke’s crusades over a million people make professions of faith in Christ.

 As I drank in Bonnke’s passionate preaching, the many and dramatic testimonies of miraculous healings, and the masses of Africans making commitments to Christ, it was overwhelming. Through much of the video I cried like a baby. Something in what I saw touched the deepest recesses of my being and seemed to beckon me to follow in Bonnke’s footsteps.

 At the time it seemed impossible. I had no money, no connections in Africa or even in the U. S. that could possibly make an African ministry possible. Africa was half a world away, but it might as well have been across the galaxy. The likelihood of me ever having a significant ministry in Africa seemed slim to none. And yet something was planted in my spirit that would not let me go.

 Paul spoke of how the Holy Spirit worked “effectively in Peter toward to Jews” and “effectively in me toward the Gentiles.” Apparently the Holy Spirit not only gives specific gifts, but also fashions His instruments with specific population targets in mind. As I look back over my own life and ministry it is apparent that God’s calling on me toward Africa began long before that viewing of the Bonnke video. Years before, when I preached the first time in a nearly all-black church I was amazed at the measure of the anointing on my preaching. I was pastoring a white church at the time, but when I preached among the blacks I was a different man. My preaching seemed twice asAfrica powerful and a whole lot more fun! I went back to my white congregation and rebuked them light-heartedly for their coldness. But it was not really that my church was cold and the black church was hot. I was just discovering a grace in my life God had given me to reach His black children, a grace I had not asked for nor knew until then that I had.

 For many years after that Africa seemed as far away as ever. The closest I would come was to occasionally preach in a black church. When I passed out tracks I was often drawn to go into black communities and found myself more at home there than in the white neighborhoods. I knew God was in this somehow, but for the longest time I couldn’t imagine how He would ever make much use of this grace He had given me in this area.

 It was while I was serving as an assistant to Dr. David Reagan at Lamb & Lion Ministries that the door to Africa first swung open for me. Through an email relationship with a Kenyan pastor named Gideon Mudenyo the decision was made for me to go to Kenya and hold a church leadership conference and evangelistic meetings in the evenings. Years of bottled up yearnings and prayers were finally released in those five days of meetings. While the meetings were not on the Bonnke scale, for me they were far more than anything I had ever experienced. Hundreds came to Christ, many healings were reported, and the local churches gained significant growth as a result of the meetings. Once again my preaching seemed to have far more anointing and power than I ever experienced in the U. S. By the time the meetings were over I hardly needed the plane to fly home!

 Since that first trip we have seen these blessings repeated many times in various African nations. Clearly Africa is a harvest field that is ripe and ready. We are certainly not the only ministry in the African harvest fields, nor the largest, but we are eager to do our part in gathering in the precious souls Jesus died for. And while God does use me in other parts of the world, it seems clear to me that Africa is to be my primary field of labor in terms of evangelism. As a teacher my desire is to teach people from all the nations the Biblical truths relating to evangelism, revival, the Holy Spirit, the Last Days, and other cardinal doctrines that have become bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. But as an evangelist I feel called to particularly focus upon the great continent of Africa.

 Along with the evangelistic outreaches, we have planted correspondence Bible schools in a number of cities of Africa, in order to equip our African brothers and sisters with the keys to effective ministry. We Benedicta preaching in Aprovide dozens of books and hundreds of sermons and teachings on mp3 files for our African students. By this means we are able to multiply the ministry far beyond the days I am there to preach and evangelize. Also when I preach crusades and conferences I provide mp3 players loaded with solid Bible teachings to our cooperating pastors, so that they may be enriched in their knowledge of the Word.

 I love Africa! To get up on a creaky wooden platform on a hot, humid night and preach Christ before the Africans, and watch the Holy Spirit honor the gospel by drawing men and women to the Savior, is the great joy of my life. And then to follow that up by training African pastors and evangelists in effective ministry is icing on the cake!

 I am convinced that one of the main reasons God called Spirit of Grace Ministries into existence is to minister to the Africans. Doors have swung wide open for me in many nations. All we need are the funds. Would you consider supporting this African outreach? In addition to your regular giving as a Friend of Grace would you consider frequently sending us special offerings marked for our crusade outreaches? As long as you keep generously giving, I plan to keep on going and telling the beautiful people of this great continent that Jesus Christ is Savior, the Healer, the Deliverer, and our soon-coming King!

Click here for music video from Malava, Kenya Mission.

     

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