Kimberley, South Africa - 2008

The nation of South Africa is in many ways different from all the other African countries. For one thing you find that drivers stay in their own lanes, and you don’t have six cars trying to squeeze into two lanes. Another thing I was not expecting is that South Africa actually has a winter season, and I ended up being there in the midst of their winter. Since their church buildings were not heated most people wore jackets in church, especially in the evening services.

 The primary reason for me going to South Africa was to represent Dave Reagan and Lamb & Lion Ministries in dedicating a church building that they had helped build. But there was no way that I could go to Africa and not do some evangelism, so we set up evangelistic services in the evenings.

 My host pastor was a wonderful man of God by the name of Abraham Louw. Pastor Abraham has been ministering to God’s people for many years and is a faithful and solid servant of the Lord. I couldn’t help but love this man who has such a sweet and gentle spirit. He and his wife have been through many difficulties and trials, but they are faithfully serving the Lord in the calling He has placed on their lives.

 Since the meetings I did here were primarily sponsored by one church, rather than the citi-wide meetings I often do in East Africa, we don’t have exciting pictures of huge crowds like we sometimes do, but though it was on a smaller scale, God was clearly pleased to work in these meetings.

 In the evangelist evening meetings, we met in the new church building. There was a high concentration of young people in these meetings, and I was pleased to find there was great liberty in the Holy Spirit for ministering each of the evenings. Because the church was lit by just a few small light bulbs we didn’t have enough light to videotape these meetings, which is a shame because these were by far the most anointed times. The first night I gave a simple message which focused upon Jesus’ healing and deliverance ministry. At the conclusion I challenged the people with the necessity of the new birth and asked them to raise their hands if they no assurance of being born again but would like to settle the matter. I could hardly believe the number of hands that went up. In fact there were so many that raised their hands I had to tell them this invitation was not for those who were already saved, but for those who wanted to be saved. I asked them to put their hands down if they were already saved, but I could see no hands that went down.

 The first night’s response was so amazing that I left the meeting that night thinking, “If nothing happens the rest of this week, this one night was well worth coming here.” But each night we had a similar tremendous response to the invitations, most responses from the many young people that attended the meetings.

 There is a point I have to make about this. Before starting Spirit of Grace Ministries I did mostly U. S. meetings for over ten years. In all that time I never saw responses like this in any of the meetings I did. I believe the reasons for this are twofold. First I am now doing what I was made to do and what God has been preparing me to do for a long time – in fact a very long time. But secondly I am convinced that there is a harvest in Africa and Asia in these days that you simply will not experience in the United States or Europe. The harvest is ripe in Africa and it is thrilling to be a small part of the reaping of that harvest.

 I am so sold on evangelism that when I am not doing evangelism I am teaching others to do it if at all possible. For this reason I almost always include a teaching on effective evangelism wherever I do leadership conferences. In South Africa we did not set up a city-wide leadership conference, but Pastor Louw did invite some of his pastor friends to join us in the mornings where I taught some basic things about effective ministry. These teachings were a lot more informal that I normally do, in that I sat at a table and had the pastors sitting just in front of me, so the teaching was a little more conversational and less preachy than usual.

 We dedicated the church on a Saturday afternoon. It was a time of great joy for these South African believers. They had a little parade by some of the members as they marched down the street toward the new church building. Pastor Louw wanted me to cut the ribbon, officially opening the building, but I convinced him to join me, representing the unity between American and African believers. African Christians love to dance when they are happy, and it seems they are often happy, so they dance a lot! I sometimes think the American church has lost a great deal by having given dancing over to the world and thinking it has no place in the church. In Psalms we read, “Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance…”

 This new church building was such a blessing to these people. The pastor described their former building as nothing but a shack. This was truly a rags to riches experience for these wonderful folks. Paul talked about having learned to be abased and to abound. It was their time to abound, and it was a blessing for me to be there and experience their joy and gratitude for this wonderful blessing.

 Even though the meetings here were not large, I left South Africa with great joy. The Holy Spirit had been richly evident and we had had a mini-revival especially among the youth of this community. There is no price too high, there is no journey too long, when precious souls are born into the kingdom of God. In the book of Revelation John hears the saints worshiping Jesus and declaring, “You have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” The idea of tribes means little to Americans, but it is very significant in Africa. Africans all identify strongly with a particular tribe, and it is so beautiful to see men, women, and children from all the tribes of Africa coming to Jesus and being washed in the blood of the Lamb.

 I am so sold on evangelism! I want to do it and teach it and encourage it and promote it as long as I live. Jesus plainly tells us it is high on God’s priority list, when He says, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”

 Your support of Spirit of Grace Ministries is enabling us to go after our Father’s lost sheep throughout the world, and to raise up others to do the same in their own nations. Thank you for your generous giving and for caring about our Father’s sheep.