Unity & Growth, Personal Evangelism, Follow Up, Plant Churches, Nationals, Believers Conferences

Massive Miracle Campaigns:
 Church Unity and Growth

    In addition to credibility that benefits the local churches; Massive Miracle Campaigns are one of the greatest ways to foster unity.  In one of our outreaches I was told that more than 500 spiritual leaders supported the outreach with their prayers and attendance.  Some of them also served as counselors and helpers to deal with those that turned to the Lord Jesus Christ.  There are those who won’t support a massive evangelistic outreach unless it only furthers the interests of their own church or affiliation.  Some people will not get excited about 100,000 souls saved if it was not to the benefit of their own denomination.  I think there needs to be a shift in our thinking.  Jesus said Seek ye first the Kingdom, not Seek ye first thy denomination! (Matthew 6:33)
    In the United States we run into this problem also.  Perhaps it’s more of a matter of apathy but when we held a tent revival a local pastor mobilized his church and literally called 250 other churches.  Most did not even respond.  But the 30 some churches that did respond benefited by the exposure they received and they also enjoyed fellowship with believers from different groups.  They were also given the names and contact information of the 249 people who had made a decision for Christ.
    Some churches will not participate in such an outreach unless no one else benefits from it but them.  Unknowing to themselves, they are doing so to their own hurt.  I think that if a denomination or church wants to grow, they should be willing to work with their brothers and sisters in other denominations, fellowships and affiliations. That unity causes synergy—the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.
     Churches should not be overly afraid of losing members to another group. We seem to spend a lot of energy holding our own fort, but I think that if we would spend the same kind of energy on soul winning efforts, we will all grow with leaps and bounds. Some non-denominational or so-called independent groups seem to have the same fears.  Some will not work with another denomination, and others treat the word "denomination" with contempt.  That attitude is not helpful either.  But when we allow the Lord to unite us, awesome things happen.

    "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:  that the world may believe that thou hast sent me"  (John 17:21.)

    Jesus Himself said that unity among the believers would induce the world to faith!  Paul took a very strong stand against divisive fragmentation in the Body:

    "For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?  Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?" (1 Corinthians 3:3 5.)

    If Paul were writing today, he would have rebuked those who pride themselves by saying hurtful and arrogant things about each other.  Such infighting cannot be healthy for the church at large, and the apostle Paul calls it carnal. Spiritual minded leaders should value our unity in the Body of Christ.    Massive Miracle Campaigns are splendid opportunities for churches to work together. 
    For example, when we held a massive evangelistic outreach in Pakistan, believers ranging from Pentecostals to Presbyterians and several groups in between were in a spirit of unity with several other church groups.  A Presbyterian pastor remarked “I strongly believe that this was real. Standing on the … platform, I felt one like them. Thank you, Brother Joel for coming to Pakistan and reviving us. Please come back.”  A pastor from the Calvary church said “I have seen Jesus very closely, standing by me, and saying look the out pouring of the end days Holy Spirit.”  Another bishop remarked “But let me tell you that You have made a history in Pakistan. All together we had 25,000 people come to know Jesus as their personal savior…healings…blind eyes opened, deaf ears were opened, the mute spoke, pains, cripple, and different other sicknesses were healed and many more….” 
    It is evident that these brethren, from a variety of denominational backgrounds were unified by the event and blessed by each other’s fellowship.  It was the massive evangelistic outreach that made it happen.

Massive Miracle Campaigns:
One-on-one Evangelism

    There are those who object to Massive Miracle Campaigns by saying that one-on-one evangelism is a better way, or that God is not into numbers. 
    Who are we to judge what kind of evangelism is the best?  Sure, one-on-one, face-to-face, person-to-person evangelism is an excellent tool to reach the lost for Christ.  I have used this method numerous times, and led many people to the Lord this way.  In my high school I led many to the Lord, and recently heard that one of the converts of my little high school revival is now a pastor of a thriving church!  But to negate Massive Miracle Campaigns by saying that one-on-one evangelism is better is just unfair.  Even Massive Miracle Campaigns include one-on-one evangelism.  There are many counselors who meet with people as they give their hearts to the Lord.  They take down their names and addresses to visit them later. 
    Massive outreaches are not impersonal.  I know of a man who attended one of Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke’s outreaches.  He was saved that day, and eventually became the president of that country.  God saw the individual in the crowd.
    Jesus said we are to be fishers of men.  We can catch fish with a hook and a fishing pole, and that is a great way to catch them.  Or we can catch fish with a large fishing net.  One uses different methods for different occasions.  One-on-one evangelism is like fishing with a hook.  Massive outreach evangelism is like fishing with a large net.
    And if we only reach one person, it is well worth it because if it were only for that single individual, Jesus would still have paid the price of redemption for that one person. 
    I also believe that where two or more are gathered together in the Name of Jesus, He is right there in our midst.  I believe we can have a revival meeting in a small church in a country town, with the proverbial faithful four in attendance, and the power of God will still visit us in a mighty way. 
    I have sensed the anointing in those small meetings just as strongly as in some of the largest churches I have preached in.  But that does not mean that "God is not into numbers," in the sense that the multitudes don't matter to Him.  The Bible frequently refers to the size of the crowds in Jesus' and the apostles' meetings. 
    The Bible also notes that there were "multitudes" and "great multitudes." Often the numbers are conspicuously mentioned such as the five thousand men Jesus ministered to or the three thousand who believed the preaching of the apostles, followed by another five thousand, etc.  If God were not into numbers, He would not have inspired the writers of the Bible to make a special note on the size of the crowds.
    On the other hand perhaps this is a good place to warn against the numbers consciousness that may become an obsession in the minds of an evangelist.
    We chuckle when we listen to an embellished story by a veteran fisherman, and that peculiar look in his eyes as he tells about the one that got away.  Massive evangelistic event evangelists can be the same way.
    I held an evangelistic, healing event in India once and asked the Americans who accompanied me to give me an honest estimate of the size of the crowd.  We all agreed that it there were about 35,000 people in that meeting.  I was also told by the locals that there were more people in that service than when another evangelist had held an event there years prior.  What struck me funny was that that evangelist claimed 100,000 people had been in that meeting! 
    On another occasion I was told by a local pastor that there were 200,000 people in my meeting, but I knew there couldn’t have been more than 50,000.  There is no harm in estimating and reporting the size of a crowd, but it shouldn’t become an obsession.  In this regard God is not into numbers, but He is into multitudes.  He wants the masses to receive healing and salvation, and Massive Miracle Campaigns as well as one-on-one evangelism are good ways to do it.

Massive Miracle Campaigns:
Follow Up

    Some well meaning Christians have said something like: It's no use birthing a Baby, and then abandoning it—do you have a Follow-Up System?
    They say we should make disciples, not converts.  Of course, God called us to disciple the new converts.  A disciple is a follower, or an imitator of God.  Ephesians 5:1 says that we should be “followers of God, as dear children.” 
    The Greek word used there for “followers” is mimetes, which means “a disciple” and comes from the word which means to mimic.  God wants converts to become disciples—followers and imitators of God.
    Yet we can be so hung up on discipleship that we completely forget to evangelize.  To even start the discipleship process, we need the individual to turn to the Lord first!  We can get so hung up on the discipleship process that it may discourage us to actually win souls.  As important as the discipleship process is—no discipleship is possible until there is a convert. 
    That is where massive outreach evangelism comes in.  In our outreaches I always seek the support of the local churches, if there are any.  Those local churches then get the names and addresses of the new converts to follow them up.  They are invited to church and are visited at their homes, and so the discipleship process begins.
    And then, of course, we shouldn’t underestimate the power of God that is able to keep one from falling.  I have heard numerous accounts of people who continued their Christian walk without having been followed up.  Some had given their hearts to the Lord as a result of an outreach or even an audiocassette.  There was no way to follow up some of these people, but by no means did God “let the baby die after birth.”  Some of them even became preachers of the Gospel!  Others may not have become preachers, but they are still serving the Lord as a result of some kind of evangelistic outreach—even though they were not followed up.
    Many massive evangelism outreach ministries have a very good follow-up system in place.  A study was made about the converts of a certain well known evangelist a couple of years after the event.  They found that a very large percentage of his converts were still serving the Lord and attending a local church long after the outreach was held.  Our ministry gives thousands of pieces of follow-up literature to the new believers.  Ten thousand Bibles were given out at one of our outreaches in India, and still that was not enough. 
    Still, it all starts with the actual first-time salvation of a soul.  Someone plants, another tends after it, and ultimately it is God who takes care of the newborn Christian’s growth:

    “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.... Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.  For we are labourers together with God” (1 Corinthians 3:6 8.)

Massive Miracle Campaigns:
Planting New Churches

    I have heard the argument that we should rather be planting new churches in stead of holding Massive Miracle Campaigns.  But I don’t think this is an either/or situation.  Both methods of ministry are legitimate.
    Of course, we should be planting churches, but different ministries have different purposes.  One plants and another waters, and God gives the increase. Paul continues saying:

    "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon..." (1 Corinthians 3:10.)

    The planting of new churches is one of the most powerful ways of spreading the Gospel.  It is part of the growth in the Kingdom of God.  Yet it is not an either/or situation.  We are all a team in Kingdom of God—each with different functions.  One person may hold a massive evangelistic outreach because that is what God laid on his heart.  Another person builds and plants churches, because that is what God laid on his heart.  Someone else is a teacher or a pastor that will nourish the flock of God week by week.  Each one is a part of God's master plan.
    One ministry should not condemn the other ministry because the one is not going about ministry the way the other is.  For example, in the military one soldier has a completely different task and training than the other soldier.  It would be ridiculous if the one soldier condemns the other for not being part of his area of expertise.  That’s like saying that soldiers should rather focus on building barracks for the troops than drive tanks.  Another may argue that it is more important to feed the troops.  No, each soldier is trained in his own area of expertise and engages in battle in a completely different way than another.  The same is true in the Kingdom of God—one minister engages in Massive Miracle Campaigns, and another may plant churches and yet another may disciple the new believers.
    I want to point out something interesting with regard to this concern.  When I was preparing for my most recent massive outreach, the last thing that even entered my mind was starting any new churches.  I honestly just wanted the existing churches to be blessed with the new souls that would be won for Christ. I don’t always hear from every pastor, but one pastor let me know that they baptized 70 people in India just after the outreach.  Another church baptized 45 new believers.  Then I heard news that just amazed me.  One pastor planted 21 new churches because of the many unreached gypsy-like people that were saved and had no church in their area!  Our focus was not planting churches, yet churches were planted naturally when the souls came to Christ during the massive evangelistic outreach! 
    God certainly knows how to run His business.

Massive Miracle Campaigns:
Evangelism by the Nationals

    What is a national?  In this context a national is a person from the same country and/or culture.  Nationals are already accustomed to the local culture, speak their language, eat their food and are comfortable with their standard of living.  A national is a powerful tool in the hand of God to win his own countrymen to Christ.  God is indeed raising up an army of nationals in their own countries and they are taking the Gospel to their own people with great results. 
    A native can do what I cannot do.  They are people that talk like their countrymen.  They eat their food.  They act like them.  They live like them.  They are awesome tools in the hands of God.
    But we cannot negate the importance of the ministry of Massive Miracle Campaigns.  I don’t think I have ever met a national who felt that they don’t need my ministry.  They have all truly and sincerely appreciated my coming, and I continue to get many invitations from nationals almost begging me to come to their country or city.   They want and need evangelists to come and hold Massive Miracle Campaigns and by so doing support them in their task.  Together we are advancing the Kingdom of God.
   
Massive Miracle Campaigns:
The Ministers and Believers Conferences

    Massive Miracle Campaigns are large meetings where the lost are reached out to, and salvation and healing is preached to them.  It is a pioneering ministry that brings the multitudes from the streets, cities and villages to present the Gospel to them.
    Yet we always try to hold a Ministers and Believers Conference simultaneously with the Outreach during some of the mornings.  This has been a great blessing to the local believers.
    Ministers and Believers Conferences are wonderful ways to encourage local nationals and their leadership, so that they will continue spreading the Word. 

Massive Miracle Campaigns:
An Economically Cost Effective Method of Evangelism

    A mainline Pentecostal denomination revealed statistics on how  much it cost on average to win a soul for Christ in their mission program—$15.00.  That number is incredible really.  Yet, when I held one of my first Massive Miracle Campaigns, I was curious how much it cost me dollar-wise to win a soul.  In that specific outreach I had spent almost $20,000.00.  That sounds like a lot of money, but consider the return—27,000 decision cards were given out.  That is an average of 74 cents per soul.  As I have said many times—that is a bargain!
    Admittedly, some of these decisions may have been re-dedications to God, and some of them may have been merely requests for prayer—so these statistics are definitively not 100% accurate.  Yet it gives us an idea of how Massive Miracle Campaigns are an economically cost effective method to win the lost to Christ.
    I have discussed this with some fellow massive evangelistic outreach evangelists, or read their statistics.  It appears that consensus is that it cost about $1 per soul.
    The largest donation I ever received was from a guy in Tennessee named Ted.  He was not rich.  He was just an every day, hard working American—who happened to make some good money that year.  He told me that it had been his prayer that God would bless him so big that he could single handedly sponsor one of my Massive Miracle Campaigns. 
    At the time I was working on an outreach in Nigeria with a budget of $40,000.00.  “That’s exactly what I put aside for you Brother Joel!” he exclaimed.  The Nigeria outreach never did materialize, but we held two outreaches for the price of one in India and Pakistan.
    Ted was going to join me on that outreach, but ran into health problems and couldn’t go.  He rejoiced to hear the report of thousands upon thousands of souls that were reached to Christ, and I sent him video footage—even a part where I asked the crowd to wave at the video camera yelling “Thank you Ted!”
    A few months later a letter I had sent him was returned with notice on it something to the effect of “Return to sender.  Box closed…”  I have no idea what happened to him.  I was hoping that I would receive a call or a letter from him, but it has been years now.  I just wanted to know if he was okay. 
    I have sort of accepted the possibility that he may no longer be alive.  If that is the case, there are some very important and powerful lessons to learn from this scenario.  As for one, none of us know where we may be tomorrow—whether we will be dead or alive.  And no matter how much money we may have stored up—we cannot take it with us, “…for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7.)  Ted was able to make a huge investment into souls before (I suppose) he went to be with the Lord.  I wonder how many Indians or Pakistanis may have come up to him in heaven already, saying Thank you, for giving to the Lord…
    Ted had no idea that he would die a few short months after—yet he had made an eternal investment into souls.  He could have done nothing better with his money.
    Every dollar sown into souls is an investment into eternity.  And each investment into God’s Kingdom will always yield a return.  The reader may, as I have, invested financially into real estate and other ventures and at times enjoyed a profit and at other times suffered loss.  However, when we invest into God’s Kingdom—we win each time—no matter what the earthly result.  God sees the seed we sow, and once it is sown unto Him there will always be a harvest—in this world or the next.  Jesus’ words still ring with power and urgency:

    “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and were thieves break through and steal:  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-20.)

Massive Miracle Campaigns:
The Logistics

Anyone can easily draw 100 or 200 people to any event in developing countries.  Just go to a population intensive area and play some music on a small sound system.  As a curious crowd gathers, open the Bible and start preaching, make an altar call for salvation and make sure you pray for the sick and afflicted afterward.   This is a great way to spread the Gospel on a low budget, and we have done so many times.  But to put together a mass crusade is much different.  I will outline the steps very briefly, because it would take a 100 page manual to contain the details.
    First, I make a contact with someone in the country.  This person visits or phones the different leaders in a certain city and feels them out whether they would welcome a massive evangelistic outreach in their city.  They typically do.  A date that does not conflict with elections, sports events, school exams or weather challenges is chosen.  Several committee meetings are arranged.  Committees are organizational groups that take care of details such as an advertising committee, music committee, security committee, etc.  Permission is secured from the local authorities.  A location is selected where the event will be held. 
    About a month before the event a massive advertising campaign is launched.  Thousands upon thousands of hand bills are distributed.  Thousands upon thousands of wall posters are pasted in public places.  Telephone pole posters are set up throughout the city.  Cloth banners are displayed in traffic intense areas.
    Several eye catching bill boards are set up in those areas too.  Advertising artwork is done on plywood, and then attached to jeeps.  These jeeps are equipped with PA systems, and for a few days they drive through town announcing the crusade.  A powerful sound system is rented because what’s the point in drawing a big crowd if they can’t hear the message? 
    Many lights are set up in the field.  Five powerful generators supply electricity, because many times we cannot trust the city’s electrical facilities.  A large platform is hammered together and many giant carpets are laid on the ground for people to sit on.  
    The event is announced on radio, television and in the newspapers.  Sometimes trucks are rented to bring villagers to the event. 
    The night before the event, a special meeting is held with many pastors, leaders and dignitaries from the city.  The evangelist encourages them and thanks everyone for all their hard work.  We enjoy a meal together. 
    The first evening of the outreach draws a good crowd.  I preach the Gospel and make very sure that the Gospel is presented in its simplest form and that I preach it with power and great conviction.  They indicate their decision to accept Christ by raising their hand.  I lead them into a prayer of salvation, in which they repeat the words after me—accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  I make sure they understand that Jesus would now become their only God—not just another demi-god alongside many others.  Later they are given a decision card which they fill in so that they may be followed up by local ministries.  It is the responsibility of the local churches and ministries to invite them to their churches, have them baptized and discipled.
    I also make sure I pray for the sick and trust God to do some notable miracles in the first night of the crusade. At least three or five special miracles will show them that they have to do with something real here.  The word spreads, and the crowd is twice as large on the second night.
    Momentum continues to build and on the final night we typically have our largest attendance.  Thousands upon thousands of souls come to hear the Word, receive salvation and to be healed of their diseases. 
    On one of the final nights I like to also emphasize the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  During the day time we also hold a pastors and leaders conference—edifying the local ministries.

Massive Miracle Campaigns:
 Financial Support

    When we hold a massive evangelistic outreach, we cannot treat it like a conference in a Christian environment.  Many, if not the majority of those who come to a massive evangelistic outreach may be unbelievers, and some may have been lectured by the enemies of the Gospel that the Christians are after their money.
    That is why not much emphasis can be placed upon the joys of giving during these outreaches, so that the Gospel may not be hindered.  Yet we give those who come to an outreach an opportunity to contribute financially.  Even though thousands of people would attend an outreach, very little money actually comes in.  We have to sponsor the outreach with the help of our friends and partners at home.
    Not only do we not place much emphasis on the offering during an outreach, but the offering is also much smaller because most people in third world countries simply make much less money than those in developed countries.
    80% the world’s people live on less than $10 a day, and half of the world lives on $2.50 a day. (http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats)
    It is among this demographic that we hold our Massive Miracle Campaigns.  World Bank statistics show that “…an American having the average income of the bottom US decile is better off than 2/3 of world population…The top 10 per cent of the US population has an aggregate income equal to income of the poorest 43 percent of people in the world, or differently put, total income of the richest 25 million Americans is equal to total income of almost 2 billion people…” (The Economic Journal, page 50, Branko Milanovic, 2002.)
    Interestingly, globally the top 10 % of adults own 85 per cent of global household wealth.  The top 5% owns 71%.  The top 2% owns 51%.  And the top 1% economic elite owns 40% of the world’s wealth.  The bottom 50% owns only 1% of the world’s wealth.  To be considered in the top 50%, you need to make only $2,161 a year.  To be a member of the top 10%, you make $61,000 a year, and to be a member of the top 1%, $500,000 (The World Distribution of Household Wealth, page 25-27, James Davies, Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario.)
    Some uninformed people may make the statement that we hold these outreaches because we are after their money.  Someone who makes a statement like that about an evangelist who holds Massive Miracle Campaigns in poor countries has no idea what he is talking about.  Not only are such events financial losses, but the evangelist typically makes great sacrifices himself.
    These Massive Miracle Campaigns are typically held among the poorest of the poor and the evangelist goes there with the knowledge that the event will be a financial loss.    For example, in one outreach my expenses were about $20,000.00, and although many thousands of people attended the meetings the donations received there amounted to a total of about $660.
    Had it not been for our friends and partners in ministry who make great financial sacrifices, many of these events would simply not be conducted.
    The motivation and driving force for a massive evangelistic event is the winning of souls, period.  To use another larger ministry campaign that I had attended as an example—their expenses were about $800,000.00, and although literally millions of people came to the event, the total of the donations amounted to about $30,000.00.
    This makes no business sense to hold such an event.  What a financial loss, but the millions of souls won for Christ was well worth it.



"Miracles for the Multitudes" is a combination of two focal points of Joel Hitchcock's Ministry, namely:

(a) Miracles, Signs and Wonders and (b) Massive Miracle Campaigns

This Blog is based on Dr. Joel Hitchcock's book "Miracles for the Multitudes".  

 
Copyright since 1999:
All rights reserved under international copyright law. 
Permission to duplicate is hereby granted as long as the complete quote does not exceed more than 1,000 words and that due credit is given to the source.

For the website of the church led by Pastor Joel and Heidi Hitchcock in Georgetown DE, which is an exciting Pentecostal, Charismatic, Word of Faith, Cross-of-Christ preaching church in Sussex County, Delaware, go to www.rivercity.co.

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