Decapolis Blog Summer 2021
Decapolis means "ten cities". We will be doing 10 Gospel Campaigns in Tanzania this year. This summer we will be in five cities and in fall, we will visit another five cities.
Countdown to Decapolis
Last month, over 90 Evangelism Bootcamp graduates completed their 3-week whirlwind Bootcamp Initiation Trip in Tanzania, where we saw thousands upon thousands of salvations, healings and deliverances. It’s as if the second chapter of Acts is playing out again in glorious technicolor in front of our eyes!
But this is truly just the beginning for Tanzania in 2021. Our teams have barely had a moment to shake the African dust from their shoes – and it’s already time to turn our collective focus to the next exciting series of events coming up next month!
Decapolis // June 9 – 13, 2021
5 campaigns, 5 cities – in 5 days!
Even as some of the Bootcamp students were winging their way home, many stayed behind to continue offering every assistance to the campaign organization teams. These teams have now been on the ground in Tanzania for months, working day in and day out to train and equip local church leaders and volunteers for the mammoth task ahead, and to handle the truly overwhelming amount of paperwork that is generated by multiple public events.
Not a day goes by that there isn’t one challenge or another. It could be a missing permit, a problem with local authorities, or campaign volunteers that need further training. Our campaign organizers must be on call every day of the week, sometimes with very late hours, as they conduct meeting after meeting to train and teach. It’s physically extremely demanding, especially in the tropical heat. And that’s when everything is working well!
“How can we solve this?”
Africa brings its own challenges, like regularly interrupted power supply, or lack of clean drinking water. And these are obstacles that are even more likely when you are working in medium-sized towns, rather than only the big metropoles, where technological progress is faster and more consistent.
The ideal evangelistic event organizer must be someone who is well-trained, who flows in the gifts and the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and who has a flexible, solutions-orientated mind. Their prayerful attitude has to be “How can we solve this?” at all times! And that’s where having a likeminded team, practically trained and spiritually well-founded, is of the utmost importance.
Trained, equipped – and now sent!
During the action-packed Decapolis week, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda will be preaching at each of the five cities for one night. However, the major responsibility for soul-winning in each town lies in the hands of our teams of evangelists, hand-picked by Daniel Kolenda. Each one of these Holy-Spirit-inspired evangelists has been through the crucible of intense training, both through the Evangelism Bootcamp, and in many months of hard work in various organizational teams.
They have been tested in the field, and they have put in the time, effort and sheer dedication that CfaN’s extremely high standards demand. We thank God for every one of these fiery evangelists and cannot wait to see the harvest that they will bring in during this first 2021 Decapolis.
This is only the first Decapolis this year!
We are moving forward with the vision the Lord has given to Daniel Kolenda and the whole CfaN team. And the Lord said, “Multiply and collaborate”! So yes, this is only the first Decapolis event planned this year. In October 2021, there will be another just like it. Is that daunting? Yes, it is. But we are not slowing down. We are not backing down. And we know with all our hearts that He who gives the vision also gives the provision.
New Gospel Truck for East Africa
Winfried Wentland recently explained to us what an enormous challenge it is to source the right kind of truck to join our Gospel Truck fleet in Africa. From exhaustive bureaucratic demands, to very specific technical specifications and chassis length, this has been no easy task. But Wini is not known for giving up! After a long and tiring search, and just in the nick of time, he was able to find a suitable truck for deployment in Tanzania. With only hours to get the job done, our technical team raced to customize the truck, turning it into a fully-functioning independent stage with sound gear and generator. Within days of purchase, it was already on the road to Tanzania for use in the Bootcamp Initiation outreaches.
Now, in the weeks leading up to the Decapolis campaigns in June, it is once again being used multiple times a day, setting the stage for the preaching of the Gospel anywhere and everywhere the teams are given access.
What’s Next? – a powerful tool for kids’ evangelism
Every outreach that CfaN conducts, big or small, is given the same detailed follow-up methods. That includes putting a copy of our follow-up booklet “Now that you are Saved” into the hands of every single convert. Hundreds of millions of these booklets have helped brand new Christians to understand the decision they’ve made, and the steps they need to take to become a mature Christian.
Tanzania is the site of our pilot project for a brand new, exciting arm of CfaN’s follow-up ministry. What’s Next? is a beautiful, original follow-up booklet written by Evangelist Daniel Kolenda especially for children. In bold, crystal-clear language, What’s Next? helps children who have just received Jesus as their Savior reflect on their decision, and teaches them the next vital steps on their journey as a Christian. Topics include reading the Bible, becoming part of a local church, and prayer.
What’s Next
Production and storage costs covered locally:
500,000 booklets = € 26,700
1,000 booklets = € 26.70
100 booklets = € 2.67
1 booklet = € 0.0267
Let the little children come to me…
Everywhere in Africa, you see far more young people than older folk. The population of the entire continent is 50% below the age of 16! Children are the most important demographic group everywhere in Africa. And we are seeing them turn to Jesus in record-breaking numbers, everywhere the Gospel is preached. Can you even begin to imagine the eternal impact of lives surrendered to Christ early? Lives dedicated to serving the Lord from childhood into adulthood?
God loves us so much, He wants to spare us the effects of a life lived in sin and shame! No wonder Jesus specifically told us to “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14 NKJV).
These wonderful evangelistic tools have already been translated into Swahili and put into use by our Bootcamp evangelists over the past weeks in a huge number of children’s outreaches. In fact, we have already printed 500,000 – yes, half a million! – just for this pilot project phase. And we will be needing many more for the coming months of outreaches in East Africa. To cut costs as much as possible, these booklets are printed locally in Tanzania, reducing our shipping and storage costs to the bare minimum.
So thank you, our dear friends and ministry partners. Your faithfulness, your words of encouragement and love, your financial support and commitment – these mean more to us than you can possibly know. We are energized and thrilled to be right here on the front lines with you.
The best is yet to come!
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
P.S. If you would like to specifically sponsor the printing of What’s Next? for leading children to Jesus, please use the reference “WhatsNext” on your deposit slip or bank transfer. Or you can donate online. Thank you for your love gift for these precious children.
