Written by: CfaN
Article source: JOY! Magazine
Holy Ground – This is a story that beautifully demonstrates the redemptive power of the Gospel, and the infinitely wide, infinitely deep love that the Father has for us.
It was late in 2015, in Ghana, and CfaN’s West African team were on the hunt for a piece of land. We were running two full preparation teams in two cities, Ashaiman and Tema, at the same time. Both were cities where people battled extreme poverty.
We needed a very big piece of ground indeed, something that could accommodate hundreds of thousands of people, given the enormous amount of attention the event was getting. But as days stretched into weeks, no suitable place could be found. “Lord,” we prayed, “please make the right piece of land available to us, for your work.”
John Darku
At last, John Darku, our West African Campaign Director, had a possible solution – one of those “good news, bad news” situations. The good news was that he had found a huge piece of land in the perfect spot, right in the middle between the two towns. The bad news was that the field was currently a literal waste-dump. And it was notorious as one of the most dangerous places in all of Ghana, so dangerous the police and military refused to go there.
Can the Lord use this terrible place?
Our team went to have a look. The smell of burning rubber hung heavy in the air. Smoke from burning waste stung their nostrils and eyes. Mounds of garbage were everywhere, and over these stinking hills, destitute people climbed, looking for anything usable. On one side of the field was a flowing ditch of raw sewage.
It was difficult to imagine a more hopeless place than this. How on earth could we make this awful place safe and usable for our Gospel campaign? The obstacles were literally stacked high before us.
But the population density in this area was so great, shacks built tightly together in every direction, there was simply no other ground big enough. The burden of the decision was on our technical team, the ones who would have to face this giant. And they didn’t hesitate. These fearless men of God said, “We will find a way.”
Just as our team had resurrected this forgotten, filthy, scary part of town, so we were seeing the resurrection power of Jesus radically transforming lives in front of our eyes.
God will make a way, where it seems there is no way
How does God make a way? Mostly, He does it using our hands, our feet, our voices. Bulldozers were hired and began clearing the land. Piles of refuse were removed. Wood chips and sawdust were brought in by the truckload to make the swampy areas dry. Finally, the tech team built a wooden bridge that would allow people to safely cross the polluted stream.
Never before had our team had to work so hard to prepare for an event. As the final mounds of rubbish were removed, and the stage was erected, we felt we had truly “possessed the promised land”! As we looked around at this clear, empty field, ready and waiting for the event to start, we knew we had already seen the first miracle of the campaign.
You reap what you sow
After all that effort, would the people come? Would ordinary folk dare to come to this place, infamous for gangs and crime? We had prepared the ground, but only God can bring in the harvest.
And then the second miracle began. On the very first night, 90,000 people streamed in. We saw wonderful healings – a woman who had been paralysed on her left side after a stroke received total healing, and a young boy who had been paralysed and partially blind ran on the platform without even a limp. As word of the many miracles spread, the crowds continued to grow. Over 710,000 people attended the meetings in total, with 300,000 in one night alone. It was breathtaking.
Just as our team had resurrected this forgotten, filthy, scary part of town, so we were seeing the resurrection power of Jesus radically transforming lives in front of our eyes. Over the four days, 381,610 people chose to follow Jesus.
This is Holy Ground
Long before, we had planned to record a worship album during the Ashaiman/Tema campaign, inviting well-known worship leaders Roy Fields and Hope Darst to join us. Of course, we had no idea back then of the challenges we would face, and of what this place would come to signify to us. Can you imagine the joy in our hearts as we began to lift our voices to God? Instead of the smoke of garbage being burnt, the sweet incense of worship was offered to heaven. In this forgotten, discarded place, hundreds of thousands of people were lifting their hands and their song to the Lord.
In this forgotten, discarded place, hundreds of thousands of people were lifting their hands and their song to the Lord.
What a beautiful act of transformation
What a perfect picture of the way God works! He takes what has been discarded and left behind – the dying, the filthy, the unclean – and He transforms it all through the Blood of Jesus. What was broken becomes whole. What was a place of horror becomes holy ground.
Order your own copy of the “Holy Ground” CD from our online shop at shopza.cfan.org for R180.
The first three orders in South Africa will receive their copy FREE!
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Date published: 21/05/2022
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