400% Church Growth!
Dear Mission Partners,
Tonight, we concluded the second week of crusades here in Uganda, wrapping up the first seven of fifteen planned events. The response has been phenomenal. Already hundreds of thousands have come to Christ and the count is still rising!
From the city of Iganga, Evangelist Gary Smith shared a joyful update: "The joy of the Lord is your strength! Tonight, the joy of the Lord enveloped Iganga so profoundly that I could barely preach. One of our CfaN technical team members even grabbed a microphone to join in singing 'I've got the Joy, Joy, down in my heart.' The crowd was so energized, dancing kicked up dust, filling the air as their joy, unspeakable and full of glory, echoed throughout the atmosphere. When asked if they had ever experienced anything like this, their shouts of freedom said it all. Freedom has indeed swept through Iganga, transforming lives from despair to liberty. It's a revival that I believe will continue to flourish."
Across the four cities, the gospel has been preached with power, accompanied by miraculous healings. In Mbale, Gift overcame a year of severe back pain that had left her considering surgery, but after a prayer from Evangelist Kevin Wagner, she was healed, demonstrating her newfound health with tears of joy. In Kampala, Harrison regained hearing in his left ear after four years, a miracle confirmed in a poignant demonstration. And in Iganga, young Ereja Braka, who was deaf in her right ear for two years, can now hear clearly following the healing prayers.
From Gulu, Evangelist Jim Leamon shared the testimony of Jennifer Ajara. In 1977, she turned to witchcraft, becoming a witch doctor. It was a costly decision that resulted in physical and spiritual sickness. Her life was filled with darkness and demonic oppression. However, tonight marked a monumental change: Jennifer repented and embraced Jesus as her Lord and Savior, finding freedom from the demons that had bound her. She boldly declared her commitment to follow Him for the rest of her life and announced that she would no longer be offering services as a witchdoctor. She proclaimed publicly and enthusiastically that Jesus is the true healer!
Another testimony in Gulu comes from a young woman named Innocent, who lived on the opposite side of the city. Suffering from debilitating neck pain for two months, she was desperate to attend the crusade but was immobilized by her agony. Miraculously, as the preacher’s voice was carried on the wind into her home, she was moved to place her hand on her neck in faith. At that moment, she was healed!
Evangelist Jim writes, "These are just two of the many miracles Jesus did in Gulu tonight. Once again time limited the testimonies we heard, and we turned people away from the testimony line due to time constraints. Truly God’s favor is being poured out. Several pastors have shared that their church membership grew because of this crusade, one smaller church by 400%. This pastor told me when he heard CfaN was coming to Gulu City, he planted a new church in an underserved area. He was very appreciative of the willingness of CfaN to come expedite his church growth."
Next week, eight more crusades will take place in Uganda and the Bootcamp students will return home for their graduation on the weekend.
Our team is also on the ground in Congo already preparing for a multi-city, multi-crusade campaign, that will begin there in just three weeks. We will soon surpass the halfway mark for the 50 crusades being conducted this year in Christ for all Nations' 50th Anniversary Year!
We are pressing into God's promises with all our faith and with all our might. Thank you for praying.
"Africa Shall Be Saved!"
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(Together with the whole CfaN team)
These Gospel Crusades are all funded by partner donations. Will you help us meet the costs and bring in the harvest?
Witch doctors, demoniacs and madmen!
Dear Mission Partners,
If you read my report from last night, you know that as a team, in all four cities, we preached about the blood of Jesus last night and went after witchcraft and idolatry, which are strongholds in these cities. The response has been overwhelming. Many attendees have surrendered items linked to the occult—fetishes, charms, amulets, idols, and books—for destruction. We've witnessed numerous individuals freed from demonic possession and oppression. This trend continued today.
From Gulu, Evangelist Jim Leamon reports, “A witch doctor, after witnessing the miraculous during our healing prayers, has converted. She practiced witchcraft for twelve years but experienced a profound spiritual transformation at the crusade. For the first time since she became a witch doctor, she slept without demonic assault. She burned her witchcraft paraphernalia tonight and declared her new faith in Christ. Also, another witch doctor has expressed the desire to renounce their old ways and plans to bring their items to be destroyed tomorrow."
In Iganga, a young man named Brian said that a woman brought witchcraft into his village in 2013, bringing him immediate physical suffering. After years of enduring leg pain that prevented him from wearing shoes, Brian experienced complete healing through the healing prayer. He can now bend his legs and wear shoes comfortably!
Evangelist Braidwood Rathbone (also in Iganga) wrote:
"On the way to the field tonight, Evangelist Gary, Esther and I were discussing how we’d like to see God move tonight. Just then we passed multiple local ‘mad’ people. I told the team, “These are the people we need at the crusade, let them come and be healed.” Later tonight, Evangelist Gary brought me the first testimony, 'Alex'. He was falling on the ground overcome with joy and crying beautiful tears. Evangelist Gary said to me with a smile, “This is what you asked God for.” I interviewed the man in front of the crowd. Many hundreds of people knew him. He explained how he had been delivered from insanity and received the Holy Spirit! Alex was in his right mind. He praised Jesus and told the crowd who had healed him. Praise Jesus!"
In Mbale, Annette shared her decade-long struggle with a malevolent spirit that disrupted her education and senses. She reported that as the witchcraft items were burned, she felt the oppressive spirit leave. Her sanity, vision, and hearing were restored. She demonstrated her recovery under Evangelist Randy's observation, as he tested her vision in front of the crowd. Annette confirmed her healing, crediting it all to Jesus!
For my part, I ministered in the capital city of Kampala again tonight. This is where our Bootcamp students have spent three weeks on their "Initiation Trip," their final challenge before graduation. When I talk to them, I can see that something significant has happened in their lives through this whole experience. God has used them to lead over 120,000 people to Christ here!
Among the students is my oldest son Elijah, who shared experiences of preaching in the most unusual places, like a slaughterhouse with pigs squealing and a chop-shop for stolen motorcycles. It's a joy to witness these future evangelists being multiplied, using the tools they've been given with great effect and poised to achieve "even greater" things for God in the days to come.
As an example of this "multiplication" in action, Evangelist Randy Roberts, who ministered powerfully in Mbale (and who is also a Bootcamp Graduate) said:
"The thing that had the most impact on me happened as we were driving from the field. My driver said, 'What a great and simple Gospel message you preached.' I began to laugh, and he looked at me and said, 'Why are you laughing?' 'Because that message isn’t mine. It was Evangelist Bonnke’s, then he shared it with Evangelist Kolenda who was kind enough to share it with me.'"
Then I said, “I wonder how many millions of people have been saved from that one message” and my amazingly wise driver said, “And how many more will be because they shared it with you.” Praise God forever!"
This multiplication of the Gospel being preached is happening not just here in Mbale, but all over Uganda, Africa, and the world! Truly, what a great question. “How many more will be saved because of it?!!'”
Tomorrow night marks the conclusion of our second week here, completing the first seven of our 15 crusades in Uganda. Excitingly, next week brings another series of eight crusades! Please keep us in your prayers as we continue our frontline Kingdom work here in Uganda.
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(Together with the whole CfaN team)
These Gospel Crusades are all funded by partner donations. Will you help us meet the costs and bring in the harvest?
Enough is enough
Dear Mission Partners,
Tonight, I had the privilege of preaching in the city of Gulu, Uganda. Jim Leamon is one of the evangelists carrying this crusade (Jim and Kathy are a husband-and-wife team stationed here. Both graduated from the CfaN Evangelism Bootcamp). He wrote:
"Tonight, Evangelist Kolenda returned to the city of Gulu, Uganda to the exact same field he was on in 2012. This is the third night of the crusade where the crowd has grown exponentially each night. And tonight was no exception. The people began gathering hours beforehand to hear the message he would deliver. Evangelist Kolenda rewarded them with a clear gospel message on the blood of Jesus and thousands responded to the salvation call."
This theme of "The Blood of Jesus" is something that each evangelistic team in each city preached tonight. We are all confronting the witchcraft and animism that is prevalent here. We all broke curses and burned fetishes, charms, amulets, idols, and all kind of occult items.
From the city of Mbale, Evangelist Joshua Wagner wrote:
"The Lord has answered our prayers! After the first two nights were negatively affected by the rain, tonight we had perfect weather. Both the sun and the Son were shining down upon us tonight. Evangelist Kevin Wagner began the night by preaching on “The power of the blood of Jesus.” As the people listened to how the blood still has the power to save and heal and deliver, their faith was stirred. When the time came to accept Jesus as Lord, many repeated the prayer, trusting the blood of Jesus to wash away their sins."
From Kampala, Evangelist Macoby Donaldson (who is the Director of the CfaN Evangelism Alliance) wrote:
"After preaching the gospel we burned fetishes, charms, amulets and idols. In fact, the barrels were nearly full of all kinds of religious and cultish items along with witchcraft paraphernalia. I told the audience that tonight when the Holy Spirit convicts them, they should bring up their false idols, talismans, amulets, fetishes, juju etc. And I even gave them one last chance just before we burned the barrels. Even at the last minute, people were running to the altar and throwing away relics of their previous lives! We lit the barrels on fire, burned up that junk and broke the curses the devil has plagued this region with. The team and many of God’s people began to dance and celebrate around the defeat of the enemy. It felt like we had won a battle, and the celebration was a match for the victory Jesus has brought us. The devil was kicked out of Kampala!"
We do this in every crusade just like they did in Acts 19:19 when it says, "A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly..." Often people live in fear of items they have been instructed to wear by the witch doctors to ward off evil spirits or curses. Sometimes the people have been told that if they remove these charms (like a necklace or bracelet) they will die. Instead, when they surrender all to Jesus and throw those trinkets away, they find new freedom and peace.
For example, in Mbale, Janet had been wearing a witchcraft item and, since November 2023, had been suffering from excruciating chest pain. She cried at night, and her husband almost surrendered her to God. However, she had strong faith that God would heal her. She came to the crusade on the first day, despite the rain, and declared to the devil, "No, enough is enough." Tonight, she threw the witchcraft item into the barrel to be burned. While it was burning, she was rejoicing and noticed she was no longer in pain. When the evangelist asked who healed her, she confidently testified, "Jesus!"
Many other amazing miracles happened tonight as well. Blind eyes, deaf ears, crippled legs, hernias and all kinds of pain and tumors were healed! We are rejoicing and looking forward to a powerful climax in the last two days.
Thank you for continuing to pray for us.
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(Together with the whole CfaN team)
These Gospel Crusades are all funded by partner donations. Will you help us meet the costs and bring in the harvest?
Miracles in droves
Dear Mission Partners,
Today I traveled to the city of Iganga, one of four cities where CfaN crusades are ongoing this week in Uganda. Evangelist Gary Smith described the scene beautifully.
"As we were pulling up to the field, you could feel the charge in the atmosphere! Some people of Iganga walked for more than 4 miles to the crusade field. As the sun was setting, a wind suddenly began to bring much cooler air and even lightning in the distance. Despite the sudden change in the weather, there was also a sudden change in people's lives as Evangelist Kolenda began to pray for salvation! Thousands of people lifted their voices in unison, repenting and asking Jesus to be Lord of their lives. This indescribable sound of people crying out to the Lord never gets old. In fact, it hits you in the heart, full of compassion, love, and awe of the goodness and mercy of God. While the people cried out to the Lord, it began to rain, but nobody was leaving. It was a beautiful symbol of new birth in the Spirit."
The city of Gulu had a special treat tonight. Evangelist Jana Bielava, who is one of our executive crusade directors here, also preached the Gospel powerfully. Her family has been part of Christ for all Nations for 21 years. They organized crusades in Europe for 17 years and over the past 4 years they have had the privilege of organizing 39 crusades for CfaN across Tanzania, Zambia and Uganda and they have seen entire regions and nations transformed by the power of the blood of Jesus.
Evangelist Jana wrote:
"Signs, wonders and miracles broke out as I preached the ABCs of the Gospel – the presence of God was tangible across the field. Gulu is buzzing with excitement about what God has in store for this beautiful city in Northern Uganda. With every word I preached, I honored God and gave Him all the glory – He alone is worthy of our praise."
In Mbale, the father/son team of Evangelists Kevin and Joshua Wagner ministered powerfully, preaching the Gospel and praying for the sick. Despite a downpour of rain as Joshua was preaching, the people stayed and listened intently. After the altar call, Joshua writes that "a spirit of joy descended upon the people, a crowd of many newly saved believers. In the heavy rain, the people began to worship with passion. As we praised, the rain began to dissipate. It was not long until the rain had basically ceased, for we had literally ‘danced the rain away.’”
Meanwhile in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, Evangelist Levi Lutz (who is also the Director of the Christ for all Nations Evangelism Bootcamp) was preaching the Gospel. He writes:
"Thousands raised their hands high across the crusade field. Some had tears running down their cheeks. Others were rejoicing and shouting. The atmosphere was marked by sincerity and electricity – such an authentic touch from heaven on these precious people.
After our counselors had met with every single new believer who had made a decision for Christ, I called the sick to the front. I was very excited for this moment because I was going to get to join with this incredible army of evangelists from the CfaN Evangelism Bootcamp that both Evangelist Kolenda and I had been personally mentoring for months. I felt so honored to minister alongside them.
As they laid their hands on the sick, miracles began to break out all over the field. There was a constant stream of testimonies. Verifiable, demonstrable, undeniable miracles in droves. Far more than we could possibly hear from the stage. Cancers were healed just as Evangelist Kolenda had prophesied, twisted arms popped straight, deaf ears were open, the lame were jumping and shouting. Demons were coming out of people with loud shrieks and their torment was replaced by peace, joy, and even laughter.
One precious lady even brought medical documentation to the crusade field and testified with documented proof that she had been HIV positive. This morning after attending the crusade the night before, she was now HIV negative! Another man who had been a worldly singer and destroyed his lungs with drugs, now sang praises to Jesus in front of the entire crowd. A soccer player who had been injured testified that he was instantly healed!"
Tomorrow night I will travel to the city of Gulu, where Evangelist Bonnke and I preached in 2012. The crusade there 12 years ago was historic, and I believe God is going to do even greater things this week.
Thank you for praying for us. More to come...
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
Together with the whole CfaN team
These Gospel Crusades are all funded by partner donations. Will you help us meet the costs and bring in the harvest?
Intense Spiritual Warfare
Dear Mission Partners,
The spiritual warfare is real here in Uganda. Earlier today, some of the Bootcamp students found themselves in a terrible situation. They were trapped and detained by some radical religious fanatics for trying to preach the Gospel. It was a potentially dangerous moment that put our whole team on edge. The crusade director here in Kampala told me that, as this was going on, he received two phone calls at the exact same moment. The first call was to tell him about that situation where our students were in danger. The other call was telling him that witch doctors were on our crusade field pronouncing curses on our team!
Well, the devil is defeated! The Lord was gracious. Our students got out safely. And on the very field where the witch doctors were doing their nonsense, the power of God showed up tonight!
Evangelist Macoby Donaldson wrote:
"I’ve just returned from the crusade field here in Kampala, Uganda, where Evangelist Kolenda preached the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have strategically set up our crusade grounds in the northern region of Kampala where a large majority of the residents are Islamic. One of the older pastors told us that when Islam first came to Uganda, it was this exact neighborhood where it was planted. To this day, 60 to 80% of the population is in the Islamic religion.
We have come to this place because Jesus loves Muslims, Jesus died for Muslims and tonight, the first night of our crusade in Kampala, we have watched the love of Jesus sweep through this place and change many lives."
While I was preaching in Kampala, three other crusades started in three other cities in Uganda as well.
From Mbale, Evangelist Kevin Wagner wrote:
"The crowd, which was so excited and engaged, responded well to the message as many gave their lives to Jesus. The “Next Steps” book was excitedly displayed in the air all across the grounds, demonstrating the many people who gave their lives to Jesus!"
From Gulu, Evangelist Kathy Leamon wrote:
"So many people chose tonight to call upon the name of Jesus for the first time. As the night continued, I felt so happy that the crowd was shouting and responding with such strength in their voices, because it did not start out this way."
From Iganga, Evangelist Braidwood Rathbone wrote:
"The first explosive healing testimony was a man named “Patrick”. He had been deaf since birth (40 years) in his right ear. Tonight, as we prayed, God totally restored his hearing. Nobody could restrain their joy, including me. Evangelist Gary Smith and I were beaming from ear to ear!"
And these miracles broke out in city after city as Evangelists Joshua Wagner, Jim and Kathy Leamon and Esther Tshimuanga and Macoby Donaldson prayed for the sick.
One man couldn’t see anything in his left eye because he was beaten, but tonight his eye was healed.
Ruth's baby had a fracture during delivery, with a bone protruding from the baby's backbone. Three days after birth, she returned to the hospital, but they couldn't help. Tonight, the Lord has completely healed her baby.
And maybe I can mention one more from Evg. Kathy in Gulu, which nicely sums up what we are facing here. She writes:
"We have had a witchdoctor praying against our crusade in this city. They even put up their signs over the top of our crusade signs. It has been a battle of altars in prayer. We are on the winning side.
On this very first night we had Florence who was demon possessed. She had pain in her waist and back for 2 years. She felt the power of God touch her and deliver her. She could not bend before but now she was walking across the stage, bending up and down. Hallelujah!"
This is the beginning of our second week here in Uganda. Four teams in four cities, five nights each. We will conduct a total of 15 crusades here in Uganda before moving on to Congo. To those who have been praying for us – thank you, and please continue. For everyone else, please take a few minutes out of your day to remember us in prayer. The spiritual warfare is intense, but the harvest is great, and Jesus is worth it.
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
Together with the whole CfaN team
These Gospel Crusades are all funded by partner donations. Will you help us meet the costs and bring in the harvest?
Gallery
Uganda Crusade 2024 - Week 2
Event Dates: June 19th - 23rd, 2024
Coordinates: 1.3733° N, 32.2903° E
Population: 47.25 million (2022)
Coordinates: 1.3733° N, 32.2903° E
Population: 47.25 million (2022)