By now, you know that our hearts burn with one desire – to see the Great Commission fulfilled. Jesus told us to go, and go we have, with over 78 million decisions for Jesus since CfaN began. But as wonderful as that is, our thoughts are not on the past, but on the future. We are less concerned with how many have already come to Jesus, and more concerned with the vast number of those who have yet to be brought into the Kingdom of God. That’s what the “Decade of Double Harvest” is all about.
Our vision keeps growing
It’s a task far too big for one organization and one evangelist to accomplish. That’s why we’ve been asking the Lord to lead us in new strategies, ways to increase the number of workers in the field. With that in mind, we came to you with our vision for Gospel Trucks, compact vehicles fully kitted out with everything that’s needed to conduct an evangelistic outreach. Our plan was to carefully select and train evangelists, and then send them out two-by-two, just like it says in Luke 10, in the weeks before a big African Gospel Campaign. These teams would head into the surrounding areas and villages, preach the Gospel and pray for the sick, and invite people to attend the main event.
You helped us buy the second truck!
We put the first truck into service before our Gospel Campaign in Ogbomosho, Nigeria. That pilot project went extremely well, with many salvations recorded before the event had even begun. We as CfaN Europe committed to buying and outfitting a second truck, and we were overjoyed and so encouraged at the way our partners responded to this vision, raising the necessary funds in record time. Our technical team made sure the new truck was ready to go, and shipped it to Nigeria. It was time to plan a full Village Outreach schedule leading up to the next campaign in Nigeria, in Port Harcourt.
Six teams of evangelists went out with the Gospel Trucks
Our hand-picked, trained evangelists came from all over the world, eager to preach the Gospel. Wherever we could get permission, the trucks would be set up. Each truck is equipped with a stage, lights and sound system, as you can see in the photos. Being so compact and mobile, we could take them to all kinds of places we would usually not be able to reach.
Jared HortonEvangelist
Andrew RileyEvangelist
Michael JobEvangelist
Din BissoondialEvangelist
Kurian ThomasEvangelist
Asha ThomasEvangelist
Paul MaurerEvangelist
Gary SmithEvangelist
Quentin HarrupEvangelist
Tony GonzalesEvangelist
David UrsinEvangelist
Aaron StainesEvangelist
We had a full schedule of six weeks of “village outreaches” prior to the main event in Port Harcourt. You can imagine the huge logistical challenge, with each meeting needing to be planned in conjunction with local churches, including volunteer counselors, local permits, follow-up booklets and processing. It was no easy task, but from the first week, the fruits began pouring in.
To the highways and byways
Taking turns to minister, the six teams of evangelists headed out to village squares, markets, jails, schools, hospitals – in fact, anywhere that we could find space for a crowd! Right from the first week, people were choosing to say “Yes!” to Jesus. These salvations are handled exactly the same way as in our giant campaigns. Each new convert is given a “Now that you are saved” booklet and fills in a decision card. These cards are then processed into our database, and contacts are passed on to a local church for follow-up. We want to see every new Christian in a home church as quickly as possible.
A move of the supernatural
The Word of God is no different whether it’s preached in a marketplace or in front of a crowd of thousands. His promises are always the same. So, when the teams preached the Gospel, they also prayed for the sick, and God showed up with the miraculous, proving His word over and over again.
In one meeting during Week 4 of the village outreaches, there was a young man born with partial deafness. He could barely communicate with anyone. After the healing prayer, Jesus opened his ears and he could hear perfectly. His father came up to confirm his son’s healing. He couldn’t contain his excitement, jumping up and down on the platform and yelling, “This is my son! This is a miracle! Jesus healed my son!” It was an incredible moment.
Miracles like this began drawing more and more people from the streets to the outreaches. Often, near the end of the meeting, after people testified of healings, the evangelists would make another call for salvation, and many more people would respond, having seen with their own eyes what God can do.
Their names are written in The Book
This initiative is part of our strategy for the “Decade of Double Harvest”. We are pushing to see the number of decisions for Christ through this ministry increase to 150 million by end of the coming decade. Each person who comes to the Lord through the Village Outreaches is added to this count. And their names are written by the Lamb of God in His book! We are so excited to see what happens next, because we know that this is just the beginning.
Let’s do more together, in Jesus’ name!
It’s your enthusiastic support that has enabled us to put this exciting project on the road, and for that we thank you. We want you to know that every euro is a tool in our hands to get this job done, and we appreciate your help so much. Please keep praying for us, and let’s keep this momentum going together.
Together with you for the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
and CfaN International team
