Lives forever changed

The highlight of the mission, and a great way to conclude it, was the open air crusades in Freretown, Mombasa. 

We were joined by Kenyan gospel singer Salome Mwabindo and the atmosphere was truly celebratory. On the final night of the crusade we saw an amazing 16 people make a commitment to follow Christ. Over the course of the mission there have been 23 such commitments and 11 testimonies of immediate miraculous healing. The figure represents those we know of as many were prayed for in mass prayers as there were too many to pray for individually. We trust God that there are many other people who have been touched by God's miraculous healing power. 

On the final Sunday, before the crusade, I had the chance to preach to a church in Maweni which is a slum in Mombasa. A major part of my topic was helping people to see themselves from the perspective of who they are in Christ rather than their outward circumstances. It went down very well indeed and I was told that some of the things I had taught from the scriptures were things they were unaware of until now. The pastor was very happy. That sermon almost never happened as there was a mix up over transport to the church. It seems that the devil didn't want this to happen but it did and God really touched people's hearts. 

Monday was a leisure day before I fly back on Tuesday. Along with my friends (including pastor Kyomukama Deus from Uganda) we visited the historic Fort Jesus which was built by the Portuguese around 500 years ago. I even found time to film a video series on 'Defeating the Giants' which is about recognising and pulling down strongholds in our lives. 

It has been an amazing time including the leaders conference. Thank you to everyone who supported this mission both financially and in prayer. We trust God that many lives and churches have been eternally changed. 

Shalom... Steve Johnson 

First crusade, salvation and healing.

What a good first day of our open air meetings. 

There was lots of singing and dancing and celebration, Kenyan style. Many of the public sat around the perimeter but when they were invited, they came. Many came for prayer and we had three testimonies of miraculous healing including one who had suffered from heart pain for some time. The symptoms totally cleared after prayer. Another young man came with eye problems which, again, were totally resolved after being prayed for. 

(the picture above is of Bishop Samuel kazungu addressing the crowd) 

I had the opportunity of sharing the message of the gospel with these people and 5 people responded by coming forward and making a commitment to follow Jesus. 

It was indeed a productive, fruitful and colourful day. We are now very much in anticipation of what the next two nights will bring. 

From Mombasa, kenya... Steve Johnson 

Healing & prophecy.

Something is definitely stirring at our lunchtime meetings. Today I taught on one of my favourite topics. The power of a testimony. It has opened people's eyes and encouraged them to be ready to share what Jesus has done with others. 

Later on I was back in the church in Ukombozi where I had preached yesterday evening. I kept it short tonight so I had time to pray for various needs. Virtually every one of the church came forward for prayer. There were so many I prayed for them in crowds by category. I got one specific testimony of healing. I don't know how many others there were. A few relieved prophetic words/words of encouragement. They were very appreciative of the ministry and the pastor told me that many more came out tonight because of how well the previous evenings message had been received. 

I also sensed God wanted me to pray for pastor Chiwai and his wife (family pictured above) and sensed God wanted to encourage them that this was just the start but to rely on his grace. They really appreciated the ministry and blessing. 
Tomorrow I will be accompanied by the awesome Kyomukama Deus as we go to the next lunchtime meeting and on to the first meeting at the church in freretown. Tomorrow is also the last day before the big crusade launch which is in the same place. It's going to be a great time. 
May God bless you as you pray for me and the mission... Steve Johnson 

The resurrected King.

The colourful scenery of the lunchtime meeting in central Mombasa is pictured above. It was another well received message focusing on Jesus as Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. I will be coming here throughout the week to minister at the lunchtime gatherings.

That evening I headed across to an area called Bamburi where there is a church. I had a message but changed it at the last minute to talk about the power of a testimony. It certainly captured the imagination of the congregation who can now see clearly how to use their testimony to spread the gospel.

I am conveniently based near Moi Avenue where the famous tusks are (see above picture). It's a great location just 5 minutes walk from the lunchtime meeting and not much further from the site where our big open air crusades will be held. Tomorrow I will be back at the church I preached at tonight. Pray that God sparks a Holy Spirit storm of fruitful evangelism as a result of tomorrow's messages.
Shalom... Steve Johnson

From a beggar to a prince

Monday and today are focused on some interesting meetings on Mombasa Island. There is a long standing ministry here who have a facility right in the heart of Mombasa and provide a spiritual oasis during the working day. There is a strong emphasis on worship here and it comes with such a clear sense of God's presence.

I had the chance to attend and speak at one of their well attended meetings and address Christians from many different churches. I had all my notes on a doc on my phone which, for some reason repeatedly refused to open once I was there. It did not matter one bit as once I got up to speak it went really well.

I shared a word about the blessing in the beatitudes and how God takes us from the place of being beggars totally unable to help themselves and utterly reliant on the grace of another to the position of being a Prince in the kingdom.
It was later that the devout lady who runs this ministry told me that there are many ministers in Kenya who live in extreme poverty because that's what they believe being 'poor in spirit' means rather than seeing themselves as humbly reliant on God's grace.

These two days are an opportunity to slow down after 3 messages a day and have some time to focus on the ministry for the rest of the week and the crusade.
I am back in the lunchtime meeting on Tuesday and on Wednesday the ministry at one of the churches in Mombasa will be added to that.

Right now I am in my hotel room and I can hear the Muslim call to prayer from the mosque just 50 metres down the road. Thankfully I had an early night and the 4.30am call to prayer didn't wake me up. I was already awake!

A day of salvation and miracles.

Today was the day for our Sunday services. We actually had three and so I got to speak on each occasion.
The morning service was marked by a miraculous conversion. There was a married couple who were going through serious problems. The husband had an evil temperament and was often drunk and violent towards his wife. He was doing all manner of evil things. One day he came home after drinking he began to shout at his wife as she was cooking his food and then started beating her. It was more than she could take. She threw a pan of hot water over him and scolded him in the process. 
His family were furious and had her driven from the village. Somehow God worked to turn this situation around. Her husband offered to move with her to a new area and make a fresh start and this Sunday turned up at the church, wanting to give his life to Christ. 
In our evening service we offered to pray for the sick. Three people testified of God healing them. One man came forward to testify. I had not even prayed for him personally or laid a hand on him but as people were being prayed for he asked God to heal him of the pain in his body and was set free. 
That night I had spoken about the peace of God, how it included healing and used psalm 133 to show how God's peace operates when we are together in unity. He simply believed that God was there to heal and he was healed. 
Today (Monday) I am travelling to Mombasa and a place called freretown where I will be for the rest of the mission. 
Keep praying. God is doing good things... Steve Johnson 

Final day of leaders conference.

Saturday was the last day of the seminars in Mariakani. There has been a good response people seem to be growing in confidence.
My health is certainly better. I've been bitten quite a few times despite having a mosquito net over the bed but my voice is getting better.
It was good to recap what was taught, have a Q & A and share some things that are an 'accelerator' to the discipleship process. All in all it was a good day.
We finished earlier today to allow pastors and attendees to travel back to their church and homes in the region, country and beyond. (Some are travelling all the way back to Burundi 🇧🇮)
Sunday is church day so it is more a case of a main service and what they call a revival service later on. We will have a chance to pray for people's needs and pray especially for the sick.
My friend Kyomukama is still in Uganda 🇺🇬. Pray that he will be able to to make it for the rest of the mission.
We will move to Freretown, Mombasa on Monday morning.