CfaN Portraits
Lukas Repert
Today I’d like to introduce you to Lukas Repert, one of our CfaN staff from Germany. Not very long ago, he graduated from our first Evangelism Bootcamp, and is now a fully-fledged campaign organizer for CfaN in Africa. He and his wife Lisa have an amazing testimony of God’s leading and provision. As they have stepped out in faith to obey His call, they’ve seen miracle after miracle in their own lives. Lukas and Lisa have seen firsthand that when we listen to the Holy Spirit, He goes ahead of us and makes a way. He doesn’t just give us the vision – He gives us the provision to make it reality.
Lukas has recently returned from Operation Decapolis in Tanzania, where he was responsible for two of the city campaigns.
If your church would like Lukas to come and speak, or conduct an evangelistic outreach in your town, then please contact our Frankfurt office.
Together with you in Jesus,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
and the whole CfaN team
Our “impossible journey” to Bootcamp
In 2019, not long after I started working full-time for CfaN, I felt God put it on my heart to attend Evangelism Bootcamp. But many months went by before the morning I received the email that said, “Congratulations! You have been accepted to Bootcamp.” I was a little overwhelmed, because this was one week before Christmas in Frankfurt – and the Bootcamp was starting just three weeks later in Florida, USA! Not only that, but my wife, Lisa was 8 months pregnant. It seemed impossible to get visas and flights and make all the arrangements in time.
As I sat there reading the email, Lisa woke up. Immediately she said, “I had a dream and I have to tell you. You and I were in a hotel room. You were working at a desk. I was standing by the window, looking at palm trees – and I was texting my family, ‘Best wishes from Florida. We are doing well. The baby is doing well.’” Wow!
I took a deep breath, and said, “You need to see this email.” Lisa took one look, and calmly said, “Well then. I think we’re going.” Moments later, she opened her daily Bible reading, and the verse was, “See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it” (Revelations 3:8) – such a beautiful confirmation.
“Now is the time for truth”
Then followed the craziest, most stressful three weeks of my life. Many told us we were crazy to even try to get into the USA with Lisa visibly pregnant, but we knew what the Lord had said. When it came time to apply for the visas, we walked in together. There was no possible way to hide Lisa’s enormous belly. I prayed, “Lord, blind their eyes.” And sure enough, the official barely even looked at Lisa. He didn’t notice her obvious baby bump at all! Instead, he asked me what “Evangelism Bootcamp” was. “Are you going to evangelize?” he asked. At first I thought, “Maybe I should water it down a little,” but the Holy Spirit clearly whispered to me, “Now is the time for truth.”
“Yes, sir,” I said to him. He went to discuss it with a supervisor, both of them frowning and shaking their heads. When he came back, he had more questions for me, this time about my past. I knew I had to be honest – and my life before Jesus was not good. “Have you done drugs?” he asked. I said, “Before I became a Christian, yes.” I answered every question with complete truth.
As he walked away, his face cold, I thought, “There is no way this guy is going to give us visas now.” But praise God, he walked back and said, “Visas are approved. You can pick them up in three days.”
God will make a way!
Suddenly, things got real. With just days to go, we had so much to organize. There were moments when I was almost paralyzed by fear, thinking of all the ways things could go wrong, from something happening to our baby, to us being rejected by US immigration when we landed. But the Lord kept lifting me up, and my CfaN colleagues prayed for me and ministered to me, building my faith and my courage.
Even on the flight, I was attacked again by fear. I started thinking of how we could maybe hide Lisa’s belly to go through immigration. But that was hopeless – she was nearly nine months pregnant by now! Then the Lord spoke to me again… “Hide nothing. Go in as you are.” Suddenly, all fear and doubt slipped away. We walked off the plane with heads held high and the baby bump proudly on display.
“What is your relationship?” the immigration officer asked. “We’re married,” I said. “Well, that’s the best relationship there is!” he said with a wide smile, stamped our passports, and we were in the USA! God made a way for us against all odds.
Bootcamp was much more than I expected
I had clear expectations of Bootcamp, because Daniel Kolenda made sure that each of us truly understood what we were getting into. I knew it would be very hands-on, that we’d be trained in every aspect of evangelism, have a heavy study load and take part in outreaches. But once I was actually there, I was astonished at the depth and breadth of what I was learning.
One thing that blessed me over and over again was how much time Daniel spent with us, opening his heart and life to us freely so we could learn from him. He went into the tiniest details with us about organizing evangelistic campaigns. Together we would examine every aspect of a campaign, all the reasons why we do things the way we do – and always bringing that back to the Biblical solid foundation behind it.
A heart for the lost
One session that really stands out for me, was the time Daniel told us a story about D. L. Moody, an evangelist in the 1800’s. He was preaching one night in Chicago and told the 2,500 people there to evaluate their lives and decide if they wanted to follow Jesus – and to come the next Sunday for the altar call. But then the Great Chicago Fire happened, and nearly half the city burned, including that church. Moody was heartbroken at the thought of those who missed the call to salvation, and always gave an altar call after that.
As Daniel Kolenda told us this story, his eyes filled with tears. I could see the passion he has for souls, and it moved me so much. To see someone who has seen millions get saved, seen so many miracles and deliverances, still weeping for the lost – it was really impactful for me. Something in my heart changed right in that moment, and I knew, “I want to be a minister like that. Even when I see big successes in my ministry, I never want to lose that simple hunger for people getting saved.
You’ve had the training – now go!
Straight after Bootcamp, I was put to work organizing two of the city campaigns for the first Decapolis in Tanzania in 2020. One moment I was a student, and the next I had all this responsibility. By now, though, that guy on the plane who was still battling fear and doubt was gone! I felt very confident in the exceptional training we received, and I knew we had the tools to get the job done.
Of course, it’s one thing to “read the manual” and another thing to find out what’s behind it. When we arrived in Tanzania, we first had an intense 3-day training session for the tasks ahead of us. At the end of the 3 days, we were sent to the various cities.
For me, that meant a 4am start to a 15-hour drive on very bumpy roads. I was exhausted. But about 15 minutes before we arrived, the local campaign organizer turned to me and said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you. You are live on radio in 30 minutes! And you will be sharing for an hour.” Praise God, it went very well, and over 300 people called in after the show to say they had given their lives to Jesus. That was a great indication of what it would be like, long before the campaigns took place. Every day had a story like that, for everyone in the team.
Training others – and looking to the future
In 2021, I’ve been working on Decapolis again. This time, I was training interns who just graduated from Bootcamp, showing them the inner workings of a campaign, giving them responsibility. And I’ve had the joy of working closely with the participating churches, often preaching in 6 churches in one day. Seeing pastors and leaders from many different denominations move from skepticism to enthusiasm and unity has been amazing.
I believe God has also called me to my own country, Germany. I know I’ll be preaching the Gospel in Germany and the rest of Europe, and I’m looking forward to that. But in the meantime, I know I’m exactly where the Lord wants me to be, learning and growing in ways I could never have imagined. And I’m surrounded by the most incredible group of people, all with one purpose, one goal – to see people come to Jesus.
For anyone who feels called to evangelism, I strongly encourage you to apply to Bootcamp! Your life and ministry will never be the same.
