O u t r e a c h I n d O n e s I a 2 0 1 1 w I t h V O I c e I n t h e c I t y

Rain and crowds usually do not go to­gether very well, especially in the open air. But the outreach in Timika just confirmed the old adage that the ex­ception proves the rule. Here, crowds and rain and mud all mixed together to make an unparalleled experience in the history of VitC.

The rain was so intense that it caused some of the erected tents to collapse, and we had to keep all the electrical equipment well covered. But none of that stopped the crowds pressing in to hear the word of God. Neither did

the incessant rain stop the intercessors from praying continuously throughout all the meetings. They were such a bless­ing, as they stood, literally for hours, in the deluge, beseeching the Lord for their nation and its inhabitants.

How could I preach from the over­head covering on the stage, when these dear people were exposed to the raw elements? So, I plunged into the crowd and preached to them in the mud and pouring rain! Yes, I got wet, but I didn’t melt, and I had a dry change of clothes back in my room. The crowd were so delighted that a ’foreigner’ would meet them at their level. It was how Jesus ministered to the crowds; He had compassion on them and met them at their level of need – either with food, or healing, but most importantly with the truth of the Kingdom of God.

When it came to testimony time, as to how the Lord had met individual needs, the crowd was so densely packed that only those who were near

Gospel Outreach Timika 25 March tO 01 april 2011

Suzette preaching in the downpour.

Mud - rain - and the glory of God.

The word of God brings joy.

Update

the Lord as people committed their lives to Jesus. How blessed it is to see the work of the Holy Spirit in action, as the deepest need of mankind, and the only Saviour of mankind are con­nected under the convicting power of the Spirit of God.

The local pastors are going to be kept very busy in the coming weeks and months, training all these new babies in Christ Jesus to become mature and solid Christians.

For one little boy, life will never be the same again. For nine years, he had been dumb. He came forward and tried to speak. At first, his speech was not clear, but, as I continued to speak to him slowly and clearly, the clarity improved, and soon the crowd were shouting and praising the Lord for what He had done in this young boy’s life.

Receive that which God has for you. Receive the Holy Spirit. A time of personal testimony. “I was dumb but now I can speak.”

The lame to walk, the blind to see, and God is glorified.

the front managed to come forward, but nevertheless, it was apparent that the Lord had done a marvellous work that night.

Of course, the following and subse­quent nights, as the people talked to their neighbours and friends about what was happening at the outreach ground, excitement and curiosity arose and so more and more people turned up.

This culminated on the final night, with an estimated crowd of around twenty thousand people who gath­ered under the clear, cloudless sky to listen to the truth about Jesus Christ the Saviour. The response was remark­able, as a vast sea of hands lifted up to

Prayer is vital for all our outreach mini­stries, and Timika was no exception. In addition to the Prayer Concert, we prayed over the outreach grounds every day, or more precisely every morning, before most people went to work. Over two hundred people were there every day, and spent well over an hour praying for the forthcoming Gospel Outreach and for the Lord to be merciful and pour out His blessings on those who would come.

Each day of the Prayer Concert had its own significant touch from the Lord, and all participants were highly blessed.

The opening night of the Prayer Con­cert was stiflingly hot, and extremely humid, yet the auditorium was packed with around 1,700 eager and atten­tive delegates. It was amazing to see some hundred churches from vari­ous denominations joining together

in prayer and worship; the Lord will surely respond to that show of unity.

We also had a team from Australia ministering in mime and drama to portray scenes from the Gospel, and what a powerful and thought provok­ing message they put across. If a pic­ture is worth a thousand words, then the actions of these eighteen young people make up a whole book!

One of their more spectacular dramas was one called ‘It is finished’, depicting the passion and death of the Jesus. Following this, a spirit of prayer and intercession swept over the whole hall, and the people simply poured out their hearts in petition and supplication for whomever or whatever was their burden. What was

prayer concertEarly morning prayer preparation meetings.

A view of the Prayer Concert in progress.

so amazing about the crowd was that around half of them were young people praying for their friends and nation.

When the Holy Spirit had finished with the intercession, He then poured out a wonderful spirit of joy upon the whole crowd – joy unspeakable and full of glory! I called all the young people to come to the front for prayer, and the aisles erupted with enthusias­tic young people thronging forward. What a blessed ending this made for the final night of the Prayer Concert.

the Secrets of Walking with GodIn this book the author shares some won­derful insights into your walk with God and how you can – in a busy world – nurture and

grow in the Christian life. This treasure trove of practical inspiration, and per­sonal experience mixed with humour, offers biblical solutions to help you over­come, grow, and realize faith and hope for daily challenges.

For both parties, these are not merely ‘sit down and pay attention’ meetings, they are totally participatory, one­on­one, or group activities, with every­one being able to derive benefit and confidence based on the topic taught. Growth is the key­word that many go away with.

We do not boast when we say that we rejoiced to see this third part of the outreach in place in Timika; we give God all the glory for it, for we know by the smiles and attitude of the delegates that they have been so encouraged in their respective walks with the Lord.

For three days, they came and re­joiced, until they had to return to their own towns and villages and begin to put into practice that which they had learnt. May God be with them as they follow Jesus.

The vision of the camp is to create a good biblical foundation, especially for the new believers, to provide basic discipleship training and, whenever possible, each pastor will be given a solar powered mp3 player, from which they can listen to the word of God in their own language. These “Mega Voice” units, costing $30 each, play a key part in spreading the Gospel to the interior and remote areas of Papua and Indonesia.

The first day of the Timika character training camp started off for the ladies with a Genesis­based foundation of their own identity and values before God, together with their purpose and vision. It was absolutely fantastic to see the theme of victorious living in Christ being explained to, and enjoyed by, these ladies.

Meanwhile, the men, in a separate area, had a different theme for their first day. It was a time of envisioning, of defining purpose and roles, but also a day of opening up to one another, lis­tening, talking, forgiving, and simply blessing one another.

character camp

The Character Training Camps follow our Prayer Conference and Gospel Out­reach, and they are intended to comple­ment all that has preceded them. The meetings last for three days and are di­vided into male and female groups; all pastors and new converts are encour­aged to attend. The word camp is a bit of a misnomer, because the meetings are all held in halls or auditoria.

Faith comes by hearing.

Mega Voice units bringing the Word to remote regions.

They received the word with all readiness. (Acts 17:11)

“Let the children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for as such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 19:14)