South African evangelism ministry In His Name Ministries ended 2023 with what was literally a “dream crusade” in the town of Metu in south western Ethiopia.
The four-day evangelism outreach from November 30 to December 3, during which thousands of people turned to Jesus, came about after In His Name crusade director Samuel Murrombe had a vivid dream in which pastors from a town called Metu, asked them to hold a crusade in their town.
Upon waking, he contacted the ministry’s Ethiopian team and asked them if there was a place called Metu.
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After confirming the existence of Metu, he discovered that pastors there — just like in his dream — were eager for a crusade in their town. But conflict between rival groups in the area made it impossible to schedule a crusade there until the end of 2023 — about two years after the dream.
“Even in the planning of the crusade, our team faced great hostility from those of other faiths, being violently attacked on the streets and some spending a night in jail, on account of pushback from opposing religious groups,” said Cape Town evangelist Tamryn Klintworth, who founded In His Name in 2008. The ministry focuses on evangelistic outreaches in South Africa and Ethiopia, where it has been active since 2017.
In a report on the crusade she says that when they started labouring in Metu, less than 30% of its inhabitants were born-again, with around 50% being Muslim and the remainder, Ethiopian Orthodox.
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“Now, thousands more have become children of God! We held six services over a period of four days and the Gospel went forth with clarity and conviction. The response to the preaching of the Good News was tremendous and over 35 000 pieces of follow-up material were distributed. The pastors are working to connect with the new converts, a task that is challenging in towns such as these on account of the animosity faced by those who convert to Christianity,” she writes.
She said prayer for the sick yielded magnificent miracles with tumours vanishing and canes tossed away.
On the final day of the crusade, a Sunday, the evangelical churches in Metu closed their doors and all congregations gathered for a mass service. Believers were equipped to preach the Gospel with signs and wonders following.
The four-day crusade in Metu was In His Name’s sixth crusade in Ethiopia this year. The ministry also held two fire conferences in Ethiopia in 2023.
In His Name say that during 2024, in addition to holding crusades across Ethiopia, they plan to fund and spearhead the holding of 50 crusades across South Africa.
The crusades will either be held by In His Name or by other evangelists with whom they have a relationship. Each crusade will involve multiple churches with believers equipped for soul-winning.
They estimate that at least half a million people will be impacted through the crusades which will be in needy areas, including townships where crime, immorality and gang violence abound and rural villages where witchcraft and ancestral worship prevail.
The 50 crusades initiative, which they have branded WOWZA, will include 11 crusades in Alexandra township, Johannesburg, from early February to mid-April.
Sixteen local evangelists, trained by In His Name will work with the In His Name team to hold a crusade in different sections of the township every weekend until all Alex has been reached, says In His Name.
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