Porta Vila, Vanuatu: When the Vanuatu Nazarene Evangelism Team gathered to pray for a movement of the Holy Spirit, little did they know just how God was going to move!
“Be olgeta we oli glad long hem [Jisas], mo oli bilif long hem, hem i givim raet long olgeta blong oli kam pikinini blong God.”
Jon 1:12, Baebol long Bislama“But whoever did want him [Jesus], who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves.”
John 1:12, The Message
Seven years earlier, a Work and Witness Team from the USA assisted in showing the JESUS Film in this area called Black Sand. There had been many technical difficulties at that time and once again, as the Vanuatu Nazarene Evangelism Team prepared for an outdoor revival at the Black Sand Nazarene Church, they were plagued with technical challenges to be overcome.
The church had no electricity to offer for the outdoor campaign and when Pastor Gideon asked another family who did have electricity, they said it would cost at least $100 for the 3 nights! Another pastor from the local area, saw the need and met the need, providing the power necessary to run lights, keyboard, and speakers.
As the revival began, people from the community started coming.
“We could count more than 100 the first night, but we knew there were many more who stood in the shadows or behind fences, or just inside their nearby homes, ” said Sylvia Potter, team member in Vanuatu. “They listened to the messages that proclaimed the good news that our lives can change through the power of Jesus Christ living in us.”
Each night more than fifty people came forward during the invitation to pray, and more than 75 people came forward on Sunday night to ask Jesus to forgive them and come into their hearts for the first time. In addition, more than 50 came forward to pray about other concerns.
Many of the people who came to the revival services, would never step foot inside a church. Sylvia prayed with one lady on Saturday night who told her that she wanted to come to the church for a long time, but didn’t feel like she could. This lady prayed for God to forgive her and to come into her life. The next morning she and her three children came and worshiped at Black Sand Nazarene Church!
What is so incredibly exciting is that this is the local church and district reaching out to their local community! The Vanuatu Nazarene Evangelism Team is a demonstrated great step forward in maturity.
“This is the first time that anyone other than Nazarene missionaries have organized such an event for the Church of the Nazarene,” exclaimed Pastor Peter Isaac, Vanuatu District Superintendent.
We praise the Lord for those who have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and have been brought into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ! Please continue to pray for the Evangelism Team as they prepare to hold a crusade this December in the area of Etas, where we have no established churches. Please pray that many people will be saved from their sin and will be brought into the fellowship of the body of Christ where they can be encouraged and discipled in their new life of faith.
— Submitted: Pastor Peter Isaac, David & Sylvia Potter,
