Dear Friends,
Sometimes, God does things that are so good they're almost hard to believe. This Halloween, over a dozen ministries from around NE and the country partnered in "the Love Project", 60 hours of sustained prayer combined with outreach on the streets of Salem, MA. While the groups sustained worship and prayer in a local church, teams went out on the streets of Salem to minister to the revelers.
During three days, the teams saw over 150 physical healings, more than two dozen people make professions of faith, and were able to minister personal prophecy to over 200 people. Some groups reported that everyone who came to them for healing was healed. Many people who were ministered to left blown away by the experience of God's love that came through these young people.
Now, I know--Christians in the past have had a reputation for exaggerating numbers. Growing up in the church, this would drive me crazy! In order to combat that, we've deliberately estimated the total numbers "down" rather than "up". Just one group of around 8 people saw 70 healings in just three hours time on Halloween night. Many of the people who reported being healed that night were openly mocking the team--they came in skeptical, they left rocked by God. Our point is this--In what seems like a very dark place, a lot of people who were not expecting it were getting powerfully touched by the love and power of Jesus. We were able to capture hours of testimony, most of which we were not able to fit into the video update.
For some, this kind of outreach and it's results may not fit into your theological grid. You may see "this kind of thing" as representing some other kind of Christian group other than your own. If that's you, I'd like you to consider that miracles accompanying the proclamation of the gospel is actually central to how the gospel is preached the Scriptures. This is a highly Biblical way of doing evangelism.
For others, it may just be so far outside of what you've experienced personally, as to be almost incredible. I'd ask you to watch and listen with an open mind. We have to let Scripture and the Holy Spirit, not our experience, determine what's possible and what's normal. God is transforming the culture of the Church so that what once was unusual or exceptional is becoming normal. And yes, even if you haven't experienced it to this point, God is wants you to do "this kind of thing" too!
I hope you're encouraged by God's work in our midst. May it continue and increase!
Jonathan Friz
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