Preview - Okitipupa

Nigeria
Nigeria, the “African giant”, as this country is often called, is 2.5 times the size of Germany, twice the size of France and, according to the latest estimates, has a population of more than 150 million. That makes it by far the most densely populated country on the African continent. Owing to its geographical position, the country has a tropical climate with only two seasons – the rainy season during the six months of summer and the dry season during the winter. Nigeria has a large number of different cultures and ethnic groups, which have been unified since the colonial period; there are more than 250 different ethnic groups with various languages.

Okitipupa
Okitipupa is one of the larger towns in the Nigerian federal state of Ondo, not far from the equator on the Gulf of Guinea. It is situated between the megacity of Lagos – the eighth largest city in the world – and Benin City with its population of two million in a region that is predominantly inhabited by people from the Yoruba tribe. Although, for Nigeria, there are a large number of educational opportunities in the many schools, colleges and universities in the state of Ondo, the town has to deal with a number of challenges. There are only a few business enterprises. At present, the government is carrying out extensive road-building measures in an attempt to improve the disastrous traffic situation. The spiritual climate in Okitipupa is deplorable. There are many nominal Christians and only a few dynamic church fellowships with a missionary focus. The town urgently needs the light of the uncompromisingly proclaimed gospel. According to the Reverend John Darku, CfaN’s West Africa Director, what is lacking is fire and commitment. Many Christians are “lukewarm” and Christianity therefore has little influence in the region and the town is ultimately a place of depravity. It is nonetheless apparent that many people are hungry for the word of God. There has been no sizeable evangelistic outreach here for decades and it can therefore be said with certainty that this town is also ripe for harvest!

As you can see, in the season ahead we are expecting a might harvest of souls – several million people – for Jesus, the “Lord of the harvest” (Matthew 9:38; Luke 10:2). That is utterly impossible by human means! We know that we have to rely totally on the Lord. On his behalf we want to plunder hell and populate heaven!

Arrival - Tuesday, 2 December 2008

Dear Mission-Partners,

Today we arrived in Okitipupa/Nigeria in Ondo State. It was a six hour drive by road through costal regions from the city of Lagos. The Governor of Ondo, HE Chief Olusegun Agagu received and welcomed us in his office and assured us of the government’s total support. In Okitipupa we made a Courtesy Call on the Traditional Ruler, His Royal Majesty, Oba George Babatunde Faduyile Adengun II, The Abidi of Ikale Land, and then met the crowds lining the streets. Overwhelming joy everywhere. Evangelist Daniel Kolenda and I had all hands full to do to wave and greet the people through the sun-roofs of our SUVs. Everything is ready for tomorrow. Please pray that this whole state may come to Jesus and see the salvation of the Lord. JESUS saves! What could ignorance of the Gospel do for people? To know Christ and the power of His resurrection life could change their trivialized and smothered existences. Without the resurrection it’s all Good Fridays, but praise the Lord “Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph over His foes...” JESUS IS ALIVE.

Yours forever in Him,

Evangelists Reinhard Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda
With the whole CfaN Crusade-Team.

Day 1 - Wednesday, 3 December 2008

Dear Mission-Partners,

We have returned just moments ago from the opening service of the Gospel Crusade here in Okitipupa, Nigeria.  Here, in this extremely remote place, many thousands gathered to hear the Gospel message and to witness the demonstration of its power firsthand. Evangelist Bonnke preached on the blood of Jesus and a massive outpouring of salvation followed. He then broke the curses over the land calling them out by name and the people responded with shouts of joy.  After the altar call, Evangelist Bonnke prayed for the sick and by the stripes of Jesus the many were healed. (See picture: a blind man demonstrates his healing)

Tonight we have seen, once again, the utter predictability of the preached Gospel.  There is no question; "...In my name they SHALL cast out devils, they SHALL speak with new tongues...they shall lay hands on the sick and they SHALL recover."  "Whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord SHALL be saved." etc. It is not a lottery and there is no rationing. It is guaranteed and freely available to whosoever will.

Tonight was the first fruits of a rich harvest that will continue through Sunday night and beyond. Please continue to lift up our whole team and the land of Okitipupa in your prayers.  

Yours for the Gospel,

Evangelists Daniel Kolenda and Reinhard Bonnke
With the whole CfaN Crusade-Team.

Day 2 - Thursday, 4 December 2008

Dear Mission-Partners,

On the way to tonight’s meeting, we sat in a traffic jam caused by all the movement towards the crusade grounds. It seemed as if the whole city was coming.The crowd doubled in size from last night and the stream of people flowing onto the field seemed almost endless.  It is clear that we have extraordinary traction here in Okitipupa.

The people listened to the preaching of the Gospel with great intensity and responded with vibrant enthusiasm calling upon the name of Jesus for salvation with all of their hearts. I know many thousands of people were truly born again tonight.

The miracles followed; One young lady suffering from Sickle Cell, was brought to the crusade from the hospital by her mother. When she arrived she was unable to walk. But during the prayer, she received her miracle and walked up on the platform to testify!  Another man (whose picture is attached) came to the meeting on crutches, but after the prayer for the sick, threw his crutches away and demonstrated his healing to the delight of the crowd.

Today was also the beginning of the FIRE conference which continues tomorrow and concludes on Saturday.

Yours for the Gospel,

Evangelists Daniel Kolenda and Reinhard Bonnke
With the whole CfaN Crusade-Team.

Day 3 - Friday, 5 December 2008

Dear Mission-Partners,

Tonight’s attendance rose to 150,000. Okitipupa is gripped by the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Evangelist Daniel Kolenda passionately preached from Luke 19 on Zacchaeus, where the truths of forgiveness and restitution merge. The huge crowd was deeply moved. No matter what, truth remains truth and the Lord says “Give me your heart”, not your opinion. Jesus is the truth; he cannot be a controversy. We cannot judge truth; it judges us. It is a fact beyond debate. We expect many thieves to return stolen goods to their rightful owners.

Then after the prayer for the sick, wonderful miracles were reported….

Please pray for the conclusion of the Fire Conference tomorrow. We expect a mighty “firefall” with glorious long-term results. And please, help us to pray for the finance to pay the bills for this very crusade here in Okitipupa. ….

Yours forever in Him,

Evangelists Daniel Kolenda and Reinhard Bonnke
With the whole CfaN Crusade-Team.

Day 4 - Saturday, 6 December 2008

Dear Mission-Partners,

This morning the Fire Conference came to a climax with a glorious outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 25,000 delegates attended and were not disappointed. The fire of God truly fell. It is for today! Some people sigh and wish they were back in the days of the early Church, but it was neither the days nor the men which made the time special. It was the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Without it, the disciples would probably have gone back to being fishermen in Galilee and grown old telling tales of strange events when they were young. Instead, they changed the world. Tonight we had the proof that this baptism is also for today and that our generation will be saved as well.

The crowd grew to 175,000 tonight, but what God did was most wonderful. Daniel Kolenda preached the Word of God and gave a massive altar call.   Then the prayer for the sick followed and so many lame people were healed. One after another they threw their crutches away and walked. The crowd spontaneously burst into praise when another crutch would go up in the air. It is clear that Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever.

Yours forever in Him,

Evangelists Daniel Kolenda and Reinhard Bonnke
With the whole CfaN Crusade-Team.

Day 5 - Sunday, 7 December 2008

Dear Mission-Partners,

Today was the final meeting in Okitipupa. 225,000 people attended the finale. Daniel Kolenda preached the Word with authority and another mighty harvest of souls was brought in.  Then the Holy Spirit fell in upon the hungry crowd filling them with power from on high. As the roar of new tongues went up a deaf man testified later that he suddenly received his hearing.  This was the first of many miracles to come and it was obvious that God was at work in a mighty way.

Who of us had heard the name Okitipupa before? Hardly anybody. But Jesus is a seeker and a determined Savior! He has invested everything in the work of salvation and said to us “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature!” If we do, the blessing and approval of God is guaranteed. We move along with Him in His greatest purpose and share as He does His saving work.

We very urgently still need the finance for the next crusade in January 2009. Please help. We trust the Lord for this harvest-ministry to continue. During this very year 2008 five million souls got saved in our Gospel Crusades, completed a Decision Card and were fed into the follow-up-system of the local churches.

Yours forever in Him,

Evangelists Daniel Kolenda and Reinhard Bonnke
With the whole CfaN Crusade-Team.

A Wave of God’s Power in Okitipupa

Great Expectations
Many months earlier the call came from Okitipupa in Nigeria, like the call of the Macedonians to Apostle Paul. Pastors there pleaded with the CfaN team to come and hold a Gospel Campaign.

Such was the anticipation of what God would do in the crusade that when the team finally arrived in the little town, they were not only welcomed by thousands of cheering Christians who lined the streets, but also by amazing statements from church and community leaders.

What they said in public showed us a glimpse of the great expectations that they had for the upcoming event. A leading clergyman, Bishop E. O. Akinboyo, declared in his welcome speech that, “God sent Joseph to succor the hungry children of Israel. God sent Moses to deliver his covenant people from slavery and subjugation in the land of Egypt. God raised Joshua to lead the children of Israel into the promised land and above all God sent Jesus Christ to deliver the whole world. I dare say that God has sent Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke and his team to rescue us from the shackles of sin and its devastating consequences.”

A true modern day Macedonian call, and the team led by Reinhard Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda rose to the challenge from the very start of the crusade.

Power Evangelism
From the beginning of the week’s event, the Gospel rang out in clear and challenging messages as both Reinhard Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda preached in different meetings, and each night the response to the call of salvation was massive. Under clear nighttime tropical skies, the people were led to the foot of the cross and committed their lives to Jesus Christ by the tens of thousands at each meeting. Thousands of trained counselors made sure that after all their details hade been recorded for the church based follow-up system, every new convert received a follow-up booklet. These nightly calls to salvation resulted in 480,730 decisions for Jesus over the 5 meetings.

From the very first message, the new converts were invited to bring their occult related items to the crusade. Each night, these were thrown into large metal drums and burned with fire as a visible signal that the previous owners had been set completely free in Jesus’ name. Every time this took place it was accompanied by great rejoicing and dancing before the Lord.

The Fire of the Holy Spirit
As is always the case at a CfaN campaign, every morning, thousands of registered delegates attended a Fire Conference, which is aimed at inspiring pastors and church workers to take up the challenge of witnessing and evangelism. Three days of power-packed meetings that culminated in a wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the final session in which 25 thousand delegates roared their praises to heaven in new tongues as the fire of God fell.

Thousands Healed
After the Gospel message each night, prayer was offered up for the many sick and disabled people who had come from all around to receive a touch from the Lord. Many thousands were healed and hundreds pushed forward to the platform after the prayer every night to testify about what had happened.

Over 5 Million saved in 2008!
When the final meeting was over, the tired team reflected with humility and joy on the fact that during this year the combined result of all the crusades has been a wonderful harvest of over five million souls brought into the kingdom of God. These are truly days of unparalleled opportunity for the kingdom of God and for any who will go out and preach the Word. And most important of all, there is a great reward for all of you who have made this possible by your prayers and financial support.

Jesus said that, “The harvest is great but the workers are few.” It seems that this is still the case after so many years, but by His grace, the Lord is granting much success to the ‘few’ who do go and those who support them.

Thank you for your share in this harvest and for making it possible.

Dear Mission-Partners,

Okitipupa was the final Gospel Crusade in 2008. During the 5 meetings there, 480,730 souls received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and filled out a decision card. We are rejoicing in the Lord, who is the Lord of the Harvest.

The total harvest of souls in 2008 now stands at 5,015,095! What a miracle! What a wonder! A very big thank to you all of who have PRAYED and PAID for it. Jesus himself will reward you as only he can! On behalf of the whole CfaN Team, we add our thank you’s to the Lord’s. We love you dearly and pray for you.

Please help us to continue with this ministry. My prayer is that 2009 may be even more fruitful than 2008. Right now, we don’t even have the money for our January crusade, but we have faith and keep our eyes on Jesus. May the Lord touch the hearts of you, our dear harvest-partners. Thank you so very much for standing with us in the great and anointed work. We are praying for you!

Yours for Africa to be saved,

Evangelists Reinhard Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda,
together with the whole CfaN Team.

PS: Even as the world’s economy plummets and fails, we know that not one cent invested in the Kingdom of God will ever be lost or depreciate! We are storing up “treasures in heaven” that are eternal and ever lasting!