Thank you for helping us do an outreach in Cape Coast, Ghana in partnership with the Global Network of Evangelists. Our team ministered in schools, community hubs, churches, youth environments, and festival gatherings to a total of 54,044 people and we saw a total of 11,036 salvation responses. One of the highlights of this trip was ministering near the Cape Coast Castle.

The Story of the Cape Coast Castle

The Cape Coast Castle is a fort built in 1665 in order to facilitate the slave trade. Deep under the ground is a dungeon that holds up to 1,300 slaves. Slaves were captured in the heart of Africa and marched 300+ miles to the coast. At the castle the slaves were tightly packed into a dark, hot, humid dungeon. The only light came from a small window set thirty feet up on the wall. Human waste covered the floor. The slaves suffered there for weeks or months until a ship arrived to take them to the Americas for a lifetime of hard labor in the sugar cane or cotton fields. Women were raped. Men were beaten. In this dehumanizing process the slaves lost their heritage, their dignity, and their future.

High above the dungeon the colonial officials lived lives of luxury. Their rooms had high ceilings with multiple windows with shutters opened wide to let in the cool seaside breeze. Their floors were covered in wood shipped from England.

Directly above the dungeon was an Anglican Church where the British soldiers worshiped God every Sunday. Unfortunately, they saw no contradiction between their faith and their evil practice.  You must wonder, “Where was God in the midst of this human suffering?”

I am reminded of John Newton who felt a deep conviction when on a slave ship and later wrote the song, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” I’m also reminded of men like William Wilberforce who worked hard to abolish the British slave trade during his lifetime. When people are held in slavery, it takes people of boldness to make a way for them to be set free.

The Cape Coast Castle is a UNESCO world heritage site. When Barack Obama was President of the United States he came here with his wife Michelle because one of her ancestors was shipped to South Carolina through this fort.

When I saw the fort, I was reminded that many people today are still slaves. They are slaves to sin. The devil has bound many people with chains of sin, disease, anger, lust, addiction, pride, and hate.

Jesus Sets Me Free

At the Festival, I preached a message about how Jesus sets people free from the bondage of sin. My key verse was “He whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” (John 8:36).

Satan puts people in bondage but Jesus sets people free. I told a story about a woman that Jessica and I met in Uganda. She was demon possessed and no one was able to control her. They brought her to our crusade, and we were shocked to see that her legs had a chain welded around her ankles. She was so crazy that in the middle of my sermon she jumped up and tried to rip the microphone cords from the back of our sound system. The demons made her so strong that six strong men were required to hold her back. When I gave the altar call, she cried out to Jesus and in that moment, she was set free. Every demon left her and she was in her right mind for the first time in many years. The next day she came to our pastor’s conference in a beautiful dress and the chains had been cut off her feet.

Then I explained the Gospel message. In the beginning of time, Adam and Eve were created free. But, Satan came and tempted them and when they disobeyed God they became slaves to sin. It was like they walked into a big cage and they shut the door behind themselves. When they entered the cage of sin, they died spiritually. Today, all humans are slaves to sin. Adam and Eve became slaves voluntarily but the rest of us were born slaves.

The problem with the cage of slavery is that you cannot open the slave door from the inside, you can only open the slave door from the outside. A slave can’t free himself. Only someone on the outside of the cage can open the door to let the slaves out. This is why Jesus came from heaven to earth. When Jesus died on the cross, He went to hell and He took the keys to death and hell away from the slave master, Satan. Jesus took the keys to the slave market and opened the door of the slave cage. Now anyone who wants to walk out of the slave cage can do so. Some people choose to stay enslaved to sin, but some people choose to trust Jesus for their salvation. When you get saved, Jesus sets you free from sin and you become spiritually alive. All you have to do is walk out. Jesus opened the door for you.

Lives Changed for Eternity!

When I gave the altar call, hundreds of people came to the front to ask Jesus to set them free from sin and from the power of the devil. Rejoice with us for all the people whose lives were impacted for eternity.

You are responsible for helping to set people free from the slavery of sin. Your prayers and your support make it possible for us to bring God’s good news to those who are held in captivity by the devil. Thank you!