A unanimous desire from religious leaders in Kimberley to bring residents closer to God and seek divine intervention for the city is at the helm of the upcoming Jesus Week Crusade.
A UNANIMOUS desire from religious leaders in Kimberley to bring residents closer to God and seek divine intervention for the city is at the helm of the upcoming Jesus Week Crusade.
The crusade, which will take place from October 23 until October 26, aims to bring together thousands of residents and members of many different churches to gather in worship at AR Abass Stadium.
The Senior Pastor of City of Hope, Jan van Reenen, said earlier this week that more than 30 churches from different denominations and 30 evangelists from Christ for All Nations (CfAN) had already agreed to be part of the crusade, with many more expected to come on board.
Bring revival and spiritual transformation
He said the aim of the crusade is to bring revival and spiritual transformation to the Diamond City, as well as to build on the legacy left by CfAN’s founder, evangelist Reinhard Bonnke.
“The second place that evangelist Bonnke ministered at was in Kimberley in 1984. He has since passed away. However, at that time, when he ministered in a church, he noticed that there were no young people in the church. Upon enquiring from a pastor where the youth were, the pastor took Bonnke to a nightclub.
“Bonnke asked the owner of the nightclub if he could speak to the young people, but the club owner at first refused. After asking the nightclub owner whether he believed the youth were getting what they were searching for at the nightclub, he made the nightclub owner change his mind.
“The nightclub owner told Bonnke he was only granted five minutes on a Saturday at midnight to speak to the youth. When that day and hour came, Bonnke preached for two minutes and offered an altar call. Hundreds of young people responded to the altar call, some were very emotional. That was the end of that nightclub as it went bankrupt and some young people bought the building and turned it into a church.
“Many of the pastors and bishops we partnered with on this crusade, indicated to me that they were saved during that crusade by evangelist Bonnke 40 years ago and received their calling from the Lord after they gave their lives to Christ.
“The religious leaders who are part of this crusade have all agreed that our city needs a transformation, and only God can render the spiritual transformation we yearn for. That crusade of 40 years ago is evidence of the power of the Lord and how it can break any strongholds,” said Van Reenen.
An opportunity for salvation
He explained that the main aim of the crusade is not only to unite in worshipping God but also to afford thousands of people an opportunity for salvation.
“We are trusting to have about 50,000 people make the decision to give their life to Christ. If 50,000 people can have an experience to encounter God, take hands with churches, be discipled, and in the end grow spiritually, we believe they would deal with life better than they would have without God. It will definitely change the atmosphere in our city for the good,” he said.
Evangelist Shaun Smit from CfAN said several outreaches were conducted from October 16 to October 18 in schools, Sol Plaatje University (SPU), government departments and private businesses as part of the build-up to the crusade.
“We have 30 evangelists from CfAN that will conduct outreach at various places. There will also be pop-up crusades on Monday, October 21, and Tuesday, October 22, in Roodepan, Lerato Park, Greenpoint and Galeshewe. Some of the evangelists will share the word wherever the Lord instructs them to share the word,” Smit said.
He emphasised that they had witnessed how people struggled without Christ.
“The greatest choice each person has to make is whether to accept or reject Christ. Even when opting not to make a choice, it is also a choice you make. Many religious leaders witnessed the trauma the church suffered during Covid-19 and the burden the church was carrying. Many church members and residents experienced so many struggles, either financial, health-wise or emotional struggles after the death of loved ones.
“There are amazing religious leaders in the city who are competent and can walk with people through the healing process and be effective in their respective churches. They will see that Jesus changes lives,” he said.
‘We are part of a larger community’
Pastor Bryan Coetzee from Christian Revival Church (CRC) in Kimberley said he is looking forward to a wave of spiritual transformation.
“We as CRC are very excited to be supporting the organisers of this crusade. We acknowledge that we are part of a larger community and it is encouraging to see so many Christians uniting for this event. Our expectation is to see our city transformed by the power of the Gospel and to see Christians as well as churches strengthened.
“Since the days of Covid-19, the church has really struggled to get back to a place of strength and impact. We believe by supporting each other and uniting as Christians, we will see the gospel and many positive spin-offs impact our city. We believe this crusade will result in a revived influence of Christian morals and values in our schools, communities and suburbs,” said Coetzee.
Pastor Werner Strauss from TD Church in Kimberley said he was in agreement with the event since its inception.
“The Jesus Week crusade was born out of a relationship a few pastors in the city built over a year ago, where we felt there is something bigger in the city for God that our churches in isolation would not be able to provide.
“We expect the change Jesus will bring to the lives of the residents to impact our city in a positive way and on a huge scale. We look forward to the broader church of Kimberley taking responsibility to disciple all new converts and in so affect positive change, not only in their lives but in the city as a whole,” said Strauss.
