We expect evangelists to focus on the lost. But Daniel Kolenda says in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown, the Holy Spirit wants to reset the church to a similar focus.
“God has a way of taking what the enemy meant for evil and turning it around for good,” the successor to famed evangelist Reinhard Bonnke and head of Christ for all Nations tells Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of the Greenelines podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network. “And I believe the Holy Spirit is going to reset the church and refocus us on the lost.
“Instead of having great services within our four walls, we will begin to shake our cities with the power of the gospel, bring heaven to earth and really do what we were called to do all along,” Kolenda says.
Kolenda says Nations Church, wearenations.church, his church plant in Orlando, Florida, is “hours away” from its launch service on Sunday, Aug. 15 at the Hilton in Orlando on Destination Parkway at 10 a.m. He suggests arriving early. But as he shared in a previous Greenelines podcast, the church, even in its pre-launch stage, has already experienced the life-changing power of the gospel.
“It almost feels like it’s already launched, because we’re seeing hundreds and hundreds of people coming out,” Kolenda says. “And we’ve had over 1,000 people saved on the streets of Orlando, people are being baptized in rivers and swimming pools and hot tubs. It’s a movement already, even though we haven’t technically launched. And so I’m just really excited.
Kolenda recognizes that, although Nations Church has seen many move to the Orlando area to be a part of the church plant, not everyone lives in Florida—and not everyone has the gift of evangelism. Yet he also believes God is speaking to churches and pastors in this unusual season.
Kolenda says pastors who may have gifts in areas other than evangelism also have to learn how to grow their churches. “Billboards on the side of the road don’t necessarily do it. It’s getting out on the road in the highways and byways and talking to people who are hurting and need Jesus.”
“I think one of the things that’s got to happen in this in this era, is that the gift of the evangelist needs to be recognized again—and needs to be championed,” he adds. “And if pastors will do that, if they will empower and lift up and celebrate their evangelists, they’ll begin to see the lost saved.”
Kolenda also sees the Nations Church launch as part of something much bigger than himself or CfaN. There’s such a difference between, as evangelist Bonnke used to say, ‘pulling something by the hair’ … and what I just described, this feeling of being carried along by just a torrent of Holy Spirit momentum. … What excited me is God is up to something. I believe the Holy Spirit is doing something in our time that we have not ever seen before. … And every time God does something in the earth, He extends an invitation for His people to get on board. And those who will get on board with it, they can also experience the same kind of miracles and fulfillment in harvest.”
For much more from Daniel Kolenda on the Nations Church plant and its Aug. 15 launch as well as the great move of God He believes is happening now, listen to the entire episode of Greenelines here, and subscribe to Greenelines on your favorite podcast platform for more inspiring stories like this one. {eoa}
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