The biggest challenge is always just getting people to stop for a moment. If you have ever been to NYC you know there is always someone trying to hand you or sell you something as you walk the sidewalks. People also tend to be running to catch the next train or bus, so you only have a few seconds to engage them in a way they will stop and talk.

We setup a table with gospel tracts with a sign that said “Prayer Station”. We also all wore red vests that had “Prayer Changes Things” written on the front. I am writing a few details here because it might give you a few ideas for doing street ministry. Each day we would go into an area and setup on a busy sidewalk. Preferably at a transportation hub where buses met a subway station. People come in huge waves as the trains and buses unload. A little chaotic but the perfect fishing ground for fishermen of men.

Prayer Station

Over the years I have seen God heal, deliver, and save individuals when we setup these stations. I have even seen people fall to their knees and cry out to God for forgiveness right on the streets. Once, a few years ago, we had a young man begin to shake violently as God delivered him from a drug addiction. You could feel the tangible presence of God as he began to weep openly as we stood on the sidewalk. Prayer is powerful on its own. Combine it with evangelism and you have a potent combination.

Prayer Station neighborhood of Flushing

“Prayed for a lady named Joyce. She was walking with a cane. She asked for prayer for her leg and back. We prayed and asked Jesus to heal her. Her pain left and she was able to walk without the cane and was in no pain.”

“Prayed for man named Vincent. He had a shoulder injury from a soccer game years ago. As he was prayed for a lady on the team felt his shoulder bones move back into alignment. The young man felt his shoulder move as well. ”

“A lady came up and said she was having a bad day and had a bad headache. We prayed for her and she felt better all over.”

“Amal came up and was very lonely and depressed. We prayed for God’s joy to overwhelm her and that she would know Jesus as a friend. She left happy knowing she was not alone.”

“A lady from Ecuador prayed to receive Jesus. She felt the strong presence of God and was in tears as God washed her clean.”

“An overwhelmed single mom with four girls needed a better living situation and a job to take care of her girls. God’s presence touched her and she left with a big smile on her face.”

“Ariana young lady with sleep Apnea asked for prayer. We prayed and felt God’s power come very strong. Ariana felt the anointing as well.”

“Prayed for an Egyptian grandmother out on the streets with no place to go. She was standing on the street with her suitcase and had recently become homeless. We were able to connect her with some people who were going to help her find safe shelter.”

“Lilianna had no concept she had sinned against God. Like many, she had an understanding she had done some things wrong, but had never been told that sin would cost her in eternity. As we spoke with her the conviction of the Holy Spirit touched her. She was dark in complexion but her face went ashen as she realized the gravity of her sin. But she was relieved when we told her Jesus already paid the price for her sins. She repented and accepted Christ.

“Chris was a 19 year old standing with some other guys against a wall. While they would not come out and say it, from all appearances these guys were in a gang. Only one of them would talk, the others just cast insults. He realized he was up to no good. As the gospel was shared with him, he said his grandmother shared the same message with him. After praying with him, as he walked away, yelled out “Chris God is answering your grandmothers prayers”. He responded, “I know“.

We prayed for so many different things throughout the week with hundreds of people, heart conditions, kidney problems, broken hearts, relationship problems, abusive situations, desperate searches for jobs, anger problems, alcohol addictions, cancer, bitterness and so much more.

Woman with cane healed

Jesus said in the book of Luke

“And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Luke 10:2

This is just as true today as the day Jesus said it. The harvest fields are plentiful. NYC is considered a very hard place to evangelize but the harvest is plentiful. All over the world it is plentiful. We just have to position ourselves to reap it. We can’t sit back in our churches and expect them to come to us. We must go out to the harvest. I can’t help but wonder if we spend too much time in our churches praying for each other when there are countless people who have never been prayed for walking the streets of our cities. I am not opposed to praying for one another, we need to and should, but most church activities and services tend to be about us getting blessed as opposed to reaping the harvest. We will have an eternity to experience the blessings of God but only have a short time to reap the harvest.

Everyday we should labor for the harvest in some way. The harvest is there in the communities in which we live. A great way to engage people is just to simply ask them “Is there anything I could pray for you about?” Try it, you might be surprised at what God does!

So begin with, this young woman in her early twenties is brought to us by some family members one day completely out of control, screaming and thrashing about wildly. Seeing all the commotion, I leave the patient I’m attending and rush over to assess the situation. As several men are struggling to hold this small woman down on a table I learn from her family that she had related a dream to them that morning before progressively becoming more uncontrollable. She told them that in her dream a group of people forced her to eat something against her will and it made her very sick. Then, when she actually woke up that morning she was suffering from a terrible stomachache. Well, after seeing this woman and hearing her story, very little discernment was necessary to recognize what was actually going on. I took authority over this nefarious little entity and then gave some explanation to my group of young associates. With the assistance of some faithful Haitian brothers the woman was then subsequently delivered, saved, and sent home perfectly normal and happy. Welcome to Haiti.

Another young woman was brought to us in somewhat of a catatonic state. She just lay there with a blank stare and would not answer us when we tried to ask her questions. I picked up the gist of her story from her family who accompanied her that day (they did bring a small piece of paper with some vague, nondescript psychiatric diagnosis which made no sense to me). The girl had apparently been telling her family that if she opened her mouth it would adversely affect her heart and therefore she was terrified to open her mouth, even to eat—all since the earthquake. Well I immediately realized that this poor soul was being harassed by a spirit of fear. And again with the help of a good Haitian brother (it is so much quicker to do this sort of thing when you speak the person’s language) the young woman was completely delivered and subsequently saved. She too left us full of joy, completely at peace, and as normal as can be. Wow, can that really be possible without the help of Prozac? Hum…

Since I only have enough space in this article for one more story I’ll tell you about a six month old baby that was brought to us very ill one day. This infant was really sick. She had persistent vomiting, diarrhea, high fever, dehydration, and a severe conjunctivitis (eye infection). Despite our best efforts we could not seem to do anything to help this little one. Even our neonatal ICU nurse could not get an I.V. placed. The infant’s condition continued to deteriorate until we happened to see a peculiar knotted string tied loosely around the baby’s waist, mostly hidden by the diaper. Upon questioning, her mother told us that it had been placed there by her grandfather “for good luck.” Knowing what that meant, we promptly cut it off and broke the curse that had been invoked on the baby. What we then witnessed was utterly astounding. Within five minutes this profoundly listless little baby girl became animated and playful, the foul drainage from her eyes dried up immediately, and she began breastfeeding vigorously! Her mother was also quite amazed and she subsequently accepted the Lord after everything was explained to her. I can tell ya there was a whole lotta rejoicing in the little clinic building that night!

This article is a Part 2 of a two part series. To read Part 1 please click Here.

Let me just go ahead and belabor the obvious a little first though: Haiti is a mess. The sense of hopelessness, helplessness, and despair that was so graphically portrayed to us when it was in vogue is still palpable and is only exacerbated by the heat and poignant odors that seem to follow you everywhere you go. But I have to honestly tell you that at some point while I was there I began to be able to see through the rubble and abject poverty to why Christopher Columbus one dubbed the isle of Hispaniola “the Pearl of the Antilles.” Call it a vision or revelation if you will (or just call me a wild-eyed dreamer—it wouldn’t be the first time) but I believe God is up to something in that nation.

But back to the stories. I was assigned by the organization I went down with to staff a make-shift medical facility in Petit Goave, about 35 miles west of Port-au-Prince and 20 miles from the actual epicenter. Since the community hospital had been flattened in the quake, our little Christian school compound-turned “hospital” was pretty much it for that area. As far as actual medical facilities, we had one brick building which housed the pharmacy with an adjacent small room that served primarily as the labor and delivery suite. Daily clinic patients and emergencies were handled under surrounding tarps and tents. Oh yea, we did also have a small plywood building thrown up by the marines for us that we utilized as an ICU of sorts. Medical staffing was hit and miss depending on what teams happened to be there at the time (there were short stretches when I was the only doc). So there’s a little backdrop for you.

A missiologist I visited with there from the Center for World Mission in Pasadena told me that the data he’d collected in surveying Haitian pastors pointed to a profoundly heightened interest in the gospel since the quake. And this observation was certainly born out in my experience. Though nominalism was clearly rampant (kinda like here) the people’s hearts were open though hurting. I had the awesome privilege of seeing many wonderful Haitian people surrender their lives to Jesus upon realizing their need for a PERSONAL Savior.

Newborn Nursery

I also had the privilege of witnessing a significant number of people miraculously healed right before my eyes after I prayed for them. Examples include one woman who had been plagued with chronic abdominal pain walk away pain-free for the first time in years, a man completely healed of ongoing back and joint pain, and a young boy who was delivered of a severe migraine headache. On witnessing these miracles, my young interpreter Robinson and I would repeatedly just stare at each other in amazement, then get all slap happy and break out in exuberant high fives. We were also involved in some rather dramatic deliverances (oh yea, demonic stuff just like in the New Testament) which I will describe in the second part of this article.

This article is a Part 1 of a two part series. To read Part 2 please click Here.

The services in Okayama were beautiful. The people came with hearts of faith, expecting to hear a Word from the Lord and encounter His Presence. Jesus did not disappoint them, or me. From the opening prayer of the conference, to the last note played by the praise and worship team, the Lord manifested His Presence in a very marked and beautiful way.

There was one young lady that came to the meetings full of idolatry – literally. She was afraid just to enter the building. She felt the powers of darkness trying to keep her away, but God had a divine appointment for her that day. She entered and heard the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit convicted her heart of sin and delivered her from her darkness of idolatry – He set her free and the Light of His Glory filled her heart until her face was ablaze with His Presence and Love. Her face told a story of The King of Glory entering the heart of one in deep need. She was born of His Spirit, washed in His blood and filled with His grace. Amazing Love!

There was another lady that had been a Christian for a few years; her left knee was in severe pain to the degree that she could not kneel. The pain was excruciating and the doctors had no remedy. It was difficult for her to walk or even stand in one position for any length of time. When we prayed for her the Holy Spirit brought warmth in her knee and He healed her of all her pain and stiffness. She was bending her knees and dancing with the vitality of a little girl jumping for joy – very “un-Japanese like”. It was amazing to see the light in her eyes and hear the joy in her voice. She ran to different people in the congregation crying out “ Jesus healed me! Can you believe it? He healed me!” Everyone began to bless the Lord with hands lifted. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place. Amazing Love!

Jesus is our High Priest FOREVER after the Order of Melchisedec and His one time sacrifice continues to save, heal and deliver today! Jesus is also our Heavenly Mediator. He comes to take up residence in our hearts and he lives out the New Covenant through us for all to behold the Goodness of the Lord and His Eternal Grace. Everyone in the church in Okayama was refreshed and strengthened to continue to run the race set before them. Truly, his love is Amazing Love!

November 2009

The services were FULL of His Presence and Power. We had an older Japanese man born-again in the seminary classes. Someone brought him to class, this is amazing that the man would even be willing to come. He was very sick and we prayed for him. The Holy Spirit moved on this man in a very powerful way and healed him from his sickness. That miracle swept him into the Kingdom of God – he was born-again. The entire class rushed to the altar to renew their commitment to Jesus! It was as if fire from heaven was inflamed at that altar! The Holy Spirit can do what no one else can do – and He often accomplishes these things in a moment, in a heartbeat!

Pastors from several different churches attended the classes. I usually teach for an hour or so and then minister to the students around the altar for twice the amount of time spent in preaching and teaching. The pastors have been the first ones to fall at the altar in a fresh surrender to Jesus.

God is doing something very special in Japan in this season. The heavens are open and people are hearing God’s Word deep in their hearts. The Holy Spirit combined His Power with His Word and miracles happened daily. In every service there was a demonstrative increase in the power of the Spirit of God manifested in people’s lives. God poured out specific prophetic words for the young people and the pastors … He refreshed and revolutionized their hearts at the same time. The young people in particular were set on fire for God. The Gospel of The Kingdom is advancing and the territory of the nation of Japan is being shaken and changed. Darkness is retreating and God’s Kingdom is ADVANCING and Possessing new territory … and I am just pleased to be along for the ride – I get to have a front row seat to witness His Glory and His Power releasing His people to walk in the Liberty of His Glorious Kingdom Gospel.

Matt 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom , and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Heb 12:26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.

God is shaking everything that can be shaken in Japan that His Kingdom – WHICH CANNOT BE SHAKEN – may remain and ADVANCE …

So we are in the mode of receiving His Kingdom and simply opening our hearts to release His Kingdom through His Word and His Spirit in the work God has given us to accomplish in Japan … We will be sharing at least two more blogs on the testimonies of the services in Japan … soon to come the testimonies in Osaka and Okayama.

To God be the Glory … Great things He has Done and Continues to DO …

Testimony from November 2009

One particular tribal group they are reaching are the Bheels. The Bheels are called the untouchables. A little history is in order. In 1947 the Islamic Republic of Pakistan which is called by some “The Mother of Islam” (Saudi Arabia being called “The Father of Islam”) gained Independence from England along with India. The Muslims wanted their own country. So the country was partitioned in two pieces. Essentially, it was a split along religious lines. Hindus went with India and Pakistan was formed as a country for the Muslims.

The Bheel tribe is at the bottom of the Hindu cast system and not really cared about by India, so these desert Bheels were essentially left in Muslim Pakistan. They were not wanted by their own people and not accepted by the Muslims. They live in a desert region on the southern border of Pakistan. Truly an unwanted forgotten people living in a desert. But God did not forget them and sent people to share the gospel. Thousands have responded by giving their lives to Christ. Agape International is also doing a lot of practical ministry putting together schools, building homes etc for the Bheel people.

Here is a link to Agape International’s website.
www.agapeintlonline.org

Samson and Qamar also present a Christian radio show in the Urdu language on 700 AM Dallas/Ft Worth area. Which airs on Sunday evenings between the hours of 6:00-7:00 p.m. The great thing is this station is not Christian so the audience is full of people who need to hear the gospel. You can also listen live at www.funasia.net

There are over two hundred thousand Urdu speaking people living in the Dallas Ft-Worth area. This is a great tool to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Please pray for Samson and Qamar as they share the gospel in Pakistan and via radio in the Dallas/Ft Worth area.