A Really Small Church

June 2008

I have recently returned from another trip into Central Africa. Over all I have to say that it was amazing. I finally reconnected with our original call to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the Pygmies.
For a little over a week Edouard and I lived in the villages of North Congo, preaching the gospel and seeing incredible miracles. We flew into Ouesso and then walked to a nearby village of the Mikya, a tribe of Pygmies living in the area. In a just a few days we saw an entire small village of Pygmies give their lives to Jesus. Not only were they all born again but they were all healed as well. One of the leaders in the village was especially amazed at what was happening and took it upon himself to help us. He (Deni), would bring the people up to us and was astounded when they were healed. One young girl had been deaf since birth in one ear and the Lord restored it completely. Others were suffering from various pains and diseases, from malaria to extreme pains in their stomachs and backs. Jesus was so real.

After Deni was born again I began to immediately teach him how to pray for the sick. He was helping me and before too long Deni, Edouard and I were all healing the sick. Instant disciple! He had only been born again for a few minutes but many people were getting healed under is hands. People were saying to each other "could they build a church here?" "When will they be back?" Before long we had a group that was asking for a church and a person (Deni) we could leave in charge until we came back.

The next day we were escorted by Deni to a neighboring pygmy village and Deni was excited to help again. Again we preached the Gospel and many were healed. The entire village didn't turn out this time but out of those that did, many were healed and all bowed the knee to Jesus. It was amazing to see the deaf hear and many chronic pains disappear. One man in particular had a sickness I had never seen with my own eyes. He literally looked as if he had a coral reef growing out of his feet. It was completely demonic and debilitating. We prayed but we did not see any instant results. Hopefully I will be able to bring back a good testimony on our next trip.

After leaving the Mikya village we headed further south and deeper into the jungle to a village called Attention. In French the name means "be careful, pay attention!" We should have done just that. We were told by a pastor in Ouesso that there was a church in Attention that ministered to pygmies. He told us he had planted it years before. Our reason for going was to meet the people there and then go even deeper in to the jungle to a tribe who had never heard the Gospel.

On our way to Attention we passed another pygmy village on the road where there was supposedly a church. I say supposedly because when we got there we found a building obviously built by missionaries but it was not used as a church. It was used to shelter animals. The people there were still following their old ways. Unfortunately some people have the idea that building a structure is planting a church and the two are not the same. No one had been here in years and there was no sign of a Gospel witness. Only an empty shell of a building. My heart sunk for this people that are not only neglected by their neighbors but also neglected by the church. My desire to come back soon only intensified.

We were not able to stay for an extended time in this particular village so we kept going towards Attention. When we arrived in Attention we soon realized that the situation there was no different. The pastor (who was a Bantu and not a Pygmy) that was left in charge of the church planted by the pastor from Ouesso, was ALONE. His church had died and no one had been there to help in over 12 years. Unfortunately the person that had planted the church abandoned it soon after starting it nearly 13 years prior. We decided to stay in Attention and minister. They graciously opened up a mud hut for us to stay in. We had brought a tent but turning down this home would have been an insult.

Because we were deep in the Jungle and most people were in the forest hunting or working their secluded and small crops, we began the services late at night and preached by candle light. There had not been a service there in years. But it was awesome. Many people gave their lives to Jesus and many were healed including the deaf. The only man we found in the village that was a christian was the pastor and his family. After ministering for a few days the pastor's hope returned. He told us later "We can start having church again. The people are coming alive." They were sorry to see us go. There was no promise that we could return soon, but we told him he had to be strong and continue to seek God. I hope one day soon to return but I could not make him promises that i wasn't sure I could keep. He had been promised help in the past and it never came.
Edouard and the local Pastor in Attention

We headed back towards Ouesso. It was the rainy season and the roads were flooded. As we came within an hour of Ouesso we stopped to see the Mikya. We had to rush through to make our flight out of the jungle so we did not have time to really chat. If you miss a flight in Congo you are stuck for days until the next plane comes through.

I was sorry to be leaving this area but God had done so much in such a short time. As our plane was taking off, all I could think about was coming back. This was where the ministry truly is, among the poor, the outcast, the neglected. These people are small in size but their hunger for the Gospel is huge. Many of the websites you look at will tell you that many of the pygmy people have been reached by the Gospel. Unfortunately this is not true. Catholics have built school buildings in a some villages that are rarely used but the Gospel is still not preached. I continue to be amazed at the lack of Gospel preached in this area of the world. These people are ready and waiting for someone to come and tell them the truth. To introduce them to the King and His Kingdom.

Our flight back into Brazzaville was good and only lasted about an hour and a half. For the next two days I was to be teaching Edouard's people in Talangai. I stayed in Edouard's home as much as i could instead of a hotel so that I could spend as much time with him as possible and minister to his leaders.

One of the strangest things happened to me on this trip while i was preaching, the Lord physically shut my eyes so that I could not open them and then proceeded to take over my thoughts. It was a bit scary and exactly what I have been looking for for years. Before the services began He would only give me a scripture to read and then when it was time to preach, as I walked to the front the anointing and presence of God would come on me very strong, my eyes would shut and I physically could not open them. I looked "bizarre", as the Congolese coined it for me (bizarre is also a french word). Then I would begin teaching things that I was amazed at. I quoted statistics, dates, periods of time and facts that I honestly don't know. After a period of time my eyes would open but even then I had no control over them. I was staring at the ceiling for another 10-20 minutes. When I was done the people were extremely excited by what I just taught and preached and to be frank, so was I. This happened for two nights and when I finished the power of God would fall on the people and many were touched by the power of God.
I was a little worried about some of the things I quoted during preaching, hoping that what I just experienced was genuinely God. It was. I checked dates, facts, and years and they were all right on the money. God knew exactly what He was talking about. That really is my desire. For God to put me on like a glove and use me for His glory.

The flight home was rough. All I could think about was getting back into the bush with the pygmy peoples. The next step for us is moving back into Congo and I am REALLY looking forward to it and so is my family.
God has called us to give our lives for these people. What an honor. We can't turn Him down.

Yesu azali Makonzi. Bokonzi ya Likolo ezali Awa!!!!!
(Our message: Jesus is King. The Kingdom of Heaven is here. Matthew 10:7-8)

Slight Change of Plans

and a few miracle stories

Update: My trip planned for March 9th has been postponed for a few weeks. I was trying my best to make it to Congo on the same date as our last trip but unfortunately that is not going to happen. The church in Congo has made March 10th their official birthday because of what took place when we were their a year ago.

The date for the trip has not been finalized, as we are still in the process of changing the ticket but I assure you it will be soon. For those of you who have given to this trip, don't fret. A delay in no way means a cancel. Wild horses, a locomotive, nor a two ton Ford truck could pull me away from this trip. Please be patient while I finalize all the details. I will get back with you soon with all the details.

If there are any of you that wanted to give but didn't have the time, there is still a chance. Congo Support. I really do appreciate all of you that have given towards this trip, whether it be in financial support or prayer.

In the mean time I have some awesome stories for you reading pleasure.

This past weekend a group of us from NorthGate Church were in Oklahoma City at Harvest Fest. You have got to see the conference website. click here for the website.
Imagine that, my picture on a poster for a conference. That is 'stinkin hilarious'. We have done training like this before here in Georgia in places like Atlanta, Jonesboro, Milledgeville, and Newnan and once in Lake Charles, Louisiana. All with incredible results.

If you don't already know, for years here in Atlanta we have been preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom with some incredible results. We are literally seeing the deaf hear, the blind see, the lame walk, cancers disappear, and even a two or three people raised from the dead. And no, I am not exaggerating. The key to it all has been training up everyone to go out and do what it says in Matthew 10:7-8 "Go, preach The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, and raise the dead. Freely you have received, freely give."

It is because of this that we were invited to this conference in Oklahoma City. Ryan Lawson, Dolly Drysdale (a mother of nine who has been running with this for a while), and I flew out on Thursday and a team of four teenagers, and two mommies and a grandma, decided to drive and arrived in Oklahoma the next day.

I won't bore you with all the details of who preached when, so I'll just jump straight to the good stuff. From Friday night on the people in OKC got to see teenagers, house mommies, grandmas, and normal business men cast out devils, heal the sick, and get very detailed and accurate words of knowledge during the meetings. By Saturday afternoon they were primed and ready to step out and do all of this for themselves in their local neighborhoods. Leading up to Saturday we had already preached several messages, and trained people in power and prophetic evangelism and now we were ready to send them out.

Teams led by a few of our folks and a few from Brian's group went into some of the worst neighborhoods in OKC. 70 plus people were sent out. They came back with some incredible testimonies. Teams came back with stories of cripples being healed, multiple salvation's, and incredible prophetic words. One older lady even gave her cane to one of the teams after prayer because she no longer needed it. A few teams, like mine unfortunately, couldn't find any sick people. But that didn't stop us. The prophetic began to flow and when God reveals a mans heart to you and you begin telling them the secrets of that heart, they break and it is easy to have them on their knees giving their lives to Jesus.

The people that attended the conference were truly pumped and couldn't wait to go out again. Four churches got together for this conference. That in itself is no small thing. They are meeting together this week to discuss how to keep this move of God going. The hunger of the people in Oklahoma to actually go out and "do the stuff" is amazing and we were so honored to be there to help.

By the time we left on Monday our teams had seen deaf ears opened, blind eyes seeing, bad backs healed, demons were cast out, and multiple diseases including a 28 year battle with a brain disease all healed by the power of Jesus. And we still haven't heard in detail all the testimonies that came out of that weekend.

Jesus is KING!!!!!!

In Woodstock

I have to share one more story. Yesterday, March 6th, I had stopped at a local park after work to walk and pray for a few minutes. I noticed a young couple standing a few yards from me and asked the Lord for a word for them. He showed me that the young man seems to always be were the action is. Right in the middle of things. If there was a big event, for some reason he was there. This really didn't sound like an impressive word to me but I stepped out. I started off by telling them Jesus was King and that is Kingdom was on the Earth. I then began to share the word I had for him. He and his wife's eyes got big and their answer was "You have no idea!" They began to list off events that they had witnessed and I was amazed how accurate the word was.

I then looked at the young man and said "You have a problem with your left ear, don't you?" "Yes, I'm partially deaf in that ear." His wife confirmed that he has to turn to the right to hear her and he is always saying "WHAT?" I asked to pray for him and wile I had my hand on his ear, it popped and he was instantly healed. His wife checked him out and was amazed. I loved her response "well you can't use that as an excuse for not listening to me any more."

I began talking to them about the Kingdom and by this time they were all ears. The wife noted some anger she had towards the Lord but didn't tell me exactly why. Her eyes got even bigger when i told her the details of why she was angry and explained to her that premature deaf was the devil's fault not God's. Before long i was praying with them. I got their address and hopefully will see them again very soon. The Kingdom was established in another household. JESUS YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!

First off I would like to thank all of you that have given towards the trip coming up in March. Thank you so much for your financial support. We are not quite there yet so please continue praying for us. If you haven't given and would like to, there is a link at the end of this email.

To those of you who have been praying for us, thanks and please keep it up! I am not saying this in desperation but in sincere gratitude. I have had multiple calls and conversations with some of you that have had words of encouragement from the Lord, visions, and a few confirmations that have really helped solidify what we have been feeling like the Lord has been saying. It has been awesome. I really appreciate you taking the time to lift us up and it has been interesting to hear what the Lord has been speaking through you.

I have felt for a few weeks now that I should send out another email giving you a brief description of my mission this trip. This trip is very pivotal for Edouard's churches in the Congo. Yes, I did say "Churches". Since our last trip another smaller church has emerged in a distant village that could easily take off. It is under Edouard's leadership and was started by someone trained in Edouard's church. So far it is the first official church plant, but as of right now it resembles more of a small cell group, but if they continue with Edouard they will undoubtedly grow quickly.

I have a little understanding of how Paul must have felt after he left a church in a far away region. Many of his churches experienced persecution and needed someone to visit them and encourage them in their journey. The church in Congo feels the same way. I have heard on multiple occasions from Edouard, "It is good that you are coming. My people need to know that we are not alone. It is easier to fight wen you are not alone."

Not only am I going to encourage them to fight the good fight but also to impart some of the knowledge that we have learned in Atlanta. Things like our position in Christ, the true power of the Gospel, intimacy with God, and impart to them more spiritual gifts. Most of this comes not by teaching only but literally showing them. Jesus did his training on the go and it is definitely the most effective way.

Just this past weekend our church held a conference where 120 people were trained to go out and pray for the sick and preach the Gospel. They were not just told what to say or how to say it, they were shown, and it produced incredible results. Jesus modeled it. He didn't just talk about it. That was how His disciples learned.

So please pray for me. Pray for Edouard. And please pray for the church in Congo. We are also planning more trips in the future so keep us all lifted up. This is an incredible journey. Jesus is truly KING!!!

Congo Support

Back into "The Heart of Darkness"

Act 1:8 "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." This has been our commission from the beginning of this new age. For centuries Christians have been looking to this verse as a compass for their life and purpose. It has been a driving verse to me and I can honestly say we are following the call.
Starting in Jerusalem (Woodstock for us), Judea (the metro Atlanta area), Samaria (Jonesboro), and even to the remotest part of the earth (The Republic of Congo). There has been great fruit and power. In Woodstock people continue to get healed, saved, and delivered. Our out reach in Jonesboro has been a blast. The instant healings, salvations and disciples we have made make it well worth the hour trip. Now it is time to continue with the "remotest parts of the earth."
We haven't been back since our trip last March. Things needed to settle down a bit. Our coming at one point could have stirred everything back up again. But now its time to return. I will be leaving the second week in March to go right back into the "Heart of Darkness."
Mat 4:16 "THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED." This scripture is a perfect scripture for this area. Since we left from our first trip the light has dawned in Brazzaville and Edouard has been an incredible steward of the fire Jesus has given him.
I want to ask you to please pray for my trip and please consider giving towards the costs. Trips into the Congo aren't cheap. This trip will cost a little over $5,000. It really is some of the remotest parts of the world. Where there is darkness the light is that much brighter. Many of you have given in the past and I really do appreciate your support and thank you for sowing into such fertile soil. All the money is sent through our home church. To give double click on this link Congo Support. Make sure to write David Congo Trip in the notes line

Whenever I call Edouard he is over joyed to talk and wants to hear the stories of what is happening here in Atlanta. The stories push him forward and change a lot of the mindsets that have been preached to African cultures for years. I told him stories about my kids and other kids preaching the gospel with signs and wonders and he got excited. Not too long after that while praying for a sick woman in her home, Edouard saw a young neighborhood boy peeking through the window. The young boy was amazed at the healing power of God and began to ask Edouard all kinds of questions. The boy lives in a district far from the church but his parents send him 3 times a week in a bus (overcrowded van) to the church to be discipled. This takes incredible commitment of his families part because that is money they could be using for food. He is now considered one of the leaders in the church and moves incredibly in healings and prophecy. He is only 10 years old.
Edouard is hungry for God and his goal is to see the Kingdom come to Congo. Edouard and his disciples consider our trip in March of 2007 to be the birthday of his church. They have preached the Gospel unwavering in the persecution, imprisonment, and assassination attempts. But they are asking for more. "Come help us! We need more and we know you can impart it to us." I am truly humbled that Edouard looks to us for help. He is such a Godly man. But it is impossible to deny the fruit that has been born from these trips. I know there are many more to come and I look forward to going every time.

More stories and updates to come. Please keep lifting up Edouard in your prayers.