Gandajika Gospel Crusade

It was the biggest crowd in the history of our ministry. How big was the crowd? What message caused thousands of people to come to Jesus? What are the three biggest miracles God has ever done? Watch this video above to find out. Tears came to my eyes the first time I watched it.

Power to Preach the Gospel

To preach the Gospel you must have POWER…first you need the power of the Holy Spirit but you also need the power of a generator to run the sound system. Yesterday, our generator got stuck in a muddy rut in the road so the crusade team was scrambling to find a replacement.

In the town of Gandajika, Congo DRC they were able to find only one generator powerful enough to run the sound system. But the generator was built into a little building designed to protect it from the rain. So our crusade director had to rent a shovel truck to lift the roof off the building and then to lift the generator out of the building to put it in a dump truck to haul the generator to the crusade.

Tonight I preached on the paralyzed man who was LET DOWN through the roof. But for this crusade I have a new story about a generator that was LIFTED OUT through the roof. To make a crusade happen we must often go to great lengths and fight great battles, but this is the first time we have literally lifted the roof off a building.

As I preached on the paralyzed man we had an actor play the part in an illustrated drama. The bed he was laying on was carried to the stage by his four friends. The sight of the bed being lifted above the heads of the crowd attracted lots of attention. The friends laid the bed at the front of the platform and we read the story from Matthew 9. Jesus says three things to the paralyzed man.

Strengthen Your Heart

First Jesus said, “Be encouraged.” The local language of Gandajika translates this verse as “Strengthen your heart.” Jesus encouraged the man because he was sad, worried, and lonely. I told the people, “Jesus wants to encourage you tonight. Jesus wants to strengthen your heart. Jesus will take away your sadness and give you joy. He will take away your worry and replace it with hope. He will remove your loneliness and give you His presence.”

Your Sins Are Forgiven

Second Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.” I explained, “Jesus came from heaven to earth to forgive our sins. Everyone has sinned and the price for sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Jesus dies on the cross to pay the price for our sins and tonight Jesus wants to forgive your sins.”

Get Up, Take Up Your Bed, and Go Home

Third, Jesus healed the man’s body. Our actor on the stage stood to his feet and began to dance. “I’m healed!” he shouted. The entire crowd clapped because they were excited to see that Jesus is a healer. After the drama was over, I prayed for three things.

First I explained the greatest miracle is when Jesus forgives your sin. “If you want Jesus to forgive your sin, lift your hand,” I told the crowd. Across the field, thousands of people lifted their hands. I led them in a prayer of salvation. Our counselors immediately got to work recording the names of the people on decision cards so the local churches can follow up on them later.

Second we prayed for emotional healing and third we prayed for physical healing. Many people were touched by God and we had a variety of testimonies to share with the people.

Let the Little Children Come

Here in Congo ministering to children is unheard of. Typically, pastors tell the kids to sit in the back of the church and to be quiet. So when we announced we were doing a “Children’s Festival” at the crusade grounds on Friday morning the children began to cheer.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.” That’s exactly what happened. The children came running from all over the city. They had big smiles on their faces.

We sang with them. We played games. We had a dance competition. Several of the graduates of the Christ for All Nations Evangelism Bootcamp told stories to the children. Hidden in each story was a Gospel truth. Repeatedly, the children heard the message, “Jesus loves you!”

Before I became known as an international evangelist I was a children’s minister. In my teenage years I dressed up as a clown as a tool for reaching children for Jesus. So, even though I am here to preach at the crusade I jumped at the opportunity to juggle for the children. As I threw balls high into the air, the kids laughed and clapped.

I balanced a pole on my finger. The key to keeping it balanced is to look at the top of the pole. I told the children, “If you keep your eyes on Jesus, your life will stay balanced. But if you take your eyes off Jesus, your life will fall apart.”

Then I told a story about a monkey who lived in the jungle. Some monkey hunters trapped the monkey using bananas. In the same way, Satan uses a sin trap to capture us. But Jesus came to set us free from the trap of sin. All the children shouted, “Jesus sets me free!” After the altar call, we gave each child a mini-book written by Daniel Kolenda. The book uses fun illustrations to teach the children how to follow Jesus.

The Father of Hugs and Kisses

On the third night of the crusade I preached on the Prodigal Son. The story is one of three stories found in Luke 15. First is the story of man with one hundred sheep. He loses one and he leaves the 99 to look for the one. Then there is the story of a woman who has saved ten silver coins. When she loses one, she searches the house until she finds the lost coin. Finally, is the story of a lost son.

In this story Jesus reveals God the Father to us. Many people think of God as an angry judge who is ready to condemn people who sin. But Jesus reveals that God is like a father who is searching for his lost son.

The son asks for his inheritance and then he wastes the money by living a sinful lifestyle in a faraway land. The son runs out of money and is stuck feeding pigs. He remembers his father and he decides to return home and beg for forgiveness. But as he walks the long road home he wonders if his father will be angry at him.

But the father (who represents God the Father) is out in front of his house looking for his lost son. He sees him coming from a long distance and the father runs to his son. The son falls to his knees in shame, but the father lifts him up and gives him a hug and kisses him. He gives his son his coat and puts his shoes on his son’s bare feet. He puts a ring on his finger and calls his household together to celebrate the return of his son.

In this story, Jesus reveals the Father of Hugs and Kisses. I told the crowd, “God is not angry at you. God loves you. God is looking for you.” I asked the people, “Will you come home to the Father’s House tonight? Will you turn away from your sin and come running home to your heavenly Father?” The crowd shouted “YES!” and I led them in a prayer of salvation.

Jesus said that all of heaven rejoices when one sinner gets saved. Tonight thousands of people came home to their heavenly Father and heaven is rejoicing!

I Will Pour Out My Spirit on All People

We invited all the local pastors and church leaders to a Fire Conference on Saturday morning.

Here in Congo many of the churches do not believe women can preach. Because of this religious doctrine, they have silenced half of the body of Christ. Also many of the pastors are older because they tell the young men they are not old enough to preach the Gospel.

So I preached on Acts 2 which tells about what happened on the Day of Pentecost. After the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit Peter began to preach. He quoted from the book of Joel, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit.” I asked the pastors, “Do you want God to pour out His Spirit.” They all shouted “Amen.”

I continued to read, “God will pour out His Spirit on all people.” I posed the question, “Do you believe God can pour out His Spirit upon all people? The pastors shouted, “Yes!”

“Your sons and daughters shall prophecy,” I read, “Your young men will see visions…Even on my servants, both men and woman, I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they shall prophecy.” I asked the pastors, “Do you believe God can use the women and the young men?” They pastors were a little hesitant this time, but a few replied quietly, “Yes.”

I told the story about the time Reinhard Bonnke was asked, “Do you think God can use a woman to save someone?” He replied, “If I was drowning, I would not care if it was a man or a woman who threw me a life preserver.”

I explained, “God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.’ God can use your sons and your daughters if you will let Him.” I asked the pastors again, “Do you believe God can use the women and the young men?” This time they answered with more enthusiasm, “Yes!”

Then I invited two of the women evangelists who are on our team to share. Their names are Grace Smith and Anastasiia Dvoinikova. They both shared a powerful word and by the time they finished, the pastors were all shouting, “Amen.”

At the end of the Fire Conference we laid hands on every pastor and the fire of God fell.

Holy Spirit Night

Saturday night at the crusade in Gandajika was Holy Spirit night. I preached on the three greatest miracles in the Bible. Creation, Calvary, and Pentecost.

Creation: At creation is where we see God the Father’s greatest work. I told the crowd, “God created you. You are made in the image of God. You are God’s special creation.” I explained that God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, to be His friends. Every day God walked and talked with them in the Garden of Eden. But one day they disobeyed God and this sin broke their fellowship with God. I told everyone, “You were created to be God’s friend, but your sin separates you from God.”

Calvary: At the hill named Calvary, we see God the Son’s greatest work when Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. I announced, “At Calvary, Jesus saved you.” Jesus, the Son of God, came from heaven to earth. Every day he walked and talked with His disciples. Then Jesus gave his life so we could once again have fellowship with the Father. The price for sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. The crowd listened intently as I explained, “If you will call of Jesus, He will forgive your sin and you will be saved.”

Pentecost: The day of Pentecost is where we see God the Holy Spirit’s greatest work. One hundred and twenty disciples were gathered together in the upper room when suddenly a mighty wind began to blow. Tongues of fire rested on every head and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit wants to come walk and talk with every believer.  I prayed for everyone to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As the thousands of people began to pray in the Holy Spirit, it sounded like the roar of a mighty lion.

Jesus Breaks Every Curse

People in Africa are intensely aware of the supernatural world in a way that the Western world often does not understand. They believe in curses and they often go to witchdoctors in search of a cure or a benefit. For example, a businessman might go to the witchdoctor and pay her to cast a spell upon his business rival. A barren woman might ask the witchdoctor for a potion to help her get pregnant. The witchdoctor makes money off of curses, so there is often a spiritual struggle when a Gospel crusade comes to town.

On Thursday night a witch doctor came to our crusade. She intended to walk through the crowd and place a curse on Christian believers. But as she walked around she found that her magic was not working. She stopped to listen to the message and she heard about how Jesus has the power to break every curse. She was convicted by the Holy Spirit for her evil ways of living and she decided to cry out to Jesus for salvation. She repented of her witchcraft and she was saved!

I pointed to two big barrels on the field and said to the crowd, “Tomorrow night we are going to burn every work of Satan. I want you to bring your juju beads, your witchcraft charms, and anything that represents your life of sin. We are going to burn everything in the barrels and send the devil’s curses to the fires of hell.”

The following night the former witchdoctor brought a paper with the names of all of her curses written down. She came to the front and threw the cursed paper into the barrel.

We doused the contents of the barrel with gasoline and threw a match in. Woosh! The fire burned hot. Our team of intercessors danced around the burning barrels and shouted, “Jesus! Jesus!”

From the platform I proclaimed, “Jesus breaks every curse. When Jesus died on the cross, He destroyed the power of sin and the power of Satan. Be free from every evil curse in Jesus’ name.”

Night of Blessing

The final night of the crusade in Gandajika was awe inspiring. The crowd size increased substantially. No one in the city wanted to miss the final night of the crusade.

The theme of the night was Deuteronomy 30:19 “I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life!”

I gave the crowd a list of words. Some of the words were God words and some of the words were devil words. I asked the crowd to point up to heaven if a shared a God word and I asked them to point down to hell if I shared a devil word.

The first word was “LIFE.” Everyone pointed to heaven.

The second word was “DEATH.” Everyone pointed down. I explained that Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus comes to give us abundant life (John 10:10).

“BLESSING” It is a word that comes from God.

“CURSING” It is a word from the pits of hell.

The next word was “SALVATION.” Every index finger on the field pointed up. “SIN” Everyone pointed down. I repeated the word “SALVATION” and listened to my translator say the word in the local language. I tried to repeat it after him. I must have messed up my pronunciation bad because everyone laughed at me. “Do you think I should learn your language?” I asked. “Yes,” they all replied.

“HEALING” comes from God. “SICKENESS” comes from the devil. The people knew the right answer even though some theologians get this concept wrong.

“PROSPERITY” is from God. “POVERTY” is from the devil. “LOVE” is a God word, “HATE”  is a devil word.

I preached, “Everyone must make a choice. You can choose to go to heaven or hell. You can choose to trust in Jesus for salvation or you can walk away from God. There is a broad road that leads to hell and many people are following it. There is a narrow path that leads to God. The name of that narrow path is Jesus! If you cry out to Jesus, and turn from your sinful ways, you will be saved.”

“Do you want to choose to follow Jesus?” I asked.

“Yes,” roared the crowd. I led them in a prayer of salvation and the councilors moved through the crowd giving books to all the new believers.

Everyone chose blessing instead of cursing. At the end of the evening, we burned two barrels full of the curses of witch doctors. Then I prayed a powerful prayer of blessing over the crowd. “You are blessed, blessed, blessed!” The whole crowd went home full of God’s blessing and thankful that the crusade had come to their city of Gandajika.

CAN YOU HELP US REACH PEOPLE FOR JESUS?

Evangelist Daniel King is on a mission to lead people to Jesus. But he cannot do it without your help. Can you give a financial gift today to help us “plunder hell to populate heaven?” To support King Ministries in our quest for souls, click here!