In July, we held an outreach at Centro Familiar de Adoración (Family Worship Center). This church has over 40 daughter churches with over 20,000 people attending. The main sanctuary can hold up to 15,000 people. We held the drama ministry over a Sunday morning and evening, the following Friday night, and ended on Saturday evening.
For us, it was an amazing thing to see over 10,000 people come to each performance, but it was even more amazing to see over 12,000 people fill the altars after the 4 drama presentations. We are trusting that God ministered in a special way to each and every one of them.
After working with the church for over a month in fasting, prayer, and training how to evangelize and disciple new converts, the week before the drama we held the main practices. Just choosing the cast was a monumental and long task. It took almost 4 hours because we had 165 people try out for 36 parts. Every one of them wanted a speaking part. We ended up having over 200 angels (not all were at each presentation at once), 10 demons, extras for the party/drug scene, and we ended up doing 11 different scenes. The logistics, lighting, video, sound, etc. were all done by the church. A nice woman from the church who is in charge of decoration did all the scenery. The equipment that we have would not even begin to cover the choir loft. So, the church worked really hard to make it look nice.
The sound and lighting crew worked really hard to get the sound just right (especially for Satan's voice), and they hired a lighting company to come in and add a lot of lights to what they already had in order to make it look really nice. The video crew worked really hard, as well. It took a lot of work and a lot of hours of preparation and working on the computer programs to get it all working, and it was all worth it.
The latest report from the church is that they have added a lot of new people to the church. The youth pastor, Herman Juilfs, told me that his youth group is now running over 1000 each Saturday night, and their cell groups are adding more each week. That's the reason we do it. We desire for the churches to grow.
Tomorrow night, we start another month of fasting and prayer with a church in Guarambaré. It's about an hour outside of Asunción. In October, we will have three nights of the outreach there. We are looking forward to seeing what God will do in this church to help it grow and see more people come into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Blessings to all,
Charley
Being the national directors of "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames"("Las Puertas del Cielo y Las Llamas del Infierno") in Paraguay is a challenging but fun job. Not only do you work with people who are sometimes not that committed in their relationship with Christ, you also have to deal with electrical issues, props being misplaced, power outages, etc. It makes for an interesting time of work and ministry.
This weekend, we had the privilege of doing the drama outreach in Villa Elisa, Paraguay. The churches name is Centro Familia de Adoración or Family Worship Center. When we started the drama, the church had around 40-50 people. After three nights, they are now trying to consolidate or disciple the 206 people who gave their lives to Christ.
Here are few testimonies. I wanted to write them down before I forget:
Thursday night: Before the drama begins at each church, I give an altar call for the cast. On this first night, 12 cast members gave their lives to Christ. It was amazing!
After the drama ended that night, a young lady came to me with her family and explained that she had just arrived from Spain that afternoon. Her family brought her straight to the drama. She came up to me afterwards and told me that God has been chasing her. She said she just can't run anymore. She came forward and gave her life to Christ. So, all the way from Spain to meet Christ. What would have happened if we would not have done the drama?
Also, on Thursday night, the altars filled with weeping couples, fathers, mothers, children, teens, etc., as the Holy Spirit was moving on their lives. It was emotional and amazing! God knows how to change live. We watched as 67 people gave their lives to Christ.
Friday night: During the altar call, I felt a strong need to speak to fathers. There is a scene in the drama with a father and son where the father encourages the son to work hard and he'll get all he wants. He even goes as far as to say that the son's mom has enough religion for all of the family. There is no need to accept Christ. Giving your life to Christ doesn't get you the nice car, the nice home, etc. Only hard work does. They both end up going to hell in the drama. As I was talking to them during the altar call, I had them all bow their heads, and I asked the fathers about their lives. I asked them if they have been trying to provide everything for their families except for the one thing they really need, a personal relationship with Christ. I told them that the only thing that could help their family was for the fathers to become the spiritual leaders that they needed. One gentleman, that God laid on my heart, looked directly at me and nodded his head. He was the first to raise his hand and the first to come forward. Many fathers came forward as we saw another 67 people give their lives to Christ.
Saturday night: As we were beginning the drama, there was a heaviness in the building. It was palpable. You could feel the tension and sense a presence that wasn't very nice. I was trying to introduce the drama and begin the ministry. It was very difficult. I finished the first part and exited as the cast began the opening scene. I walked out of the church and began walking around the outside praying. I could just sense a presence of something that was coming against the ministry. The cast could feel it, the pastor could feel it, and you could sense it. It was tough! We prayed throughout the entire drama. Towards the end, some of the cast came and informed me that the four drug addicts/drug pushers from the neighborhood (the one's who use and control the drug flow in the neighborhood) had come to the drama. I told them that wouldn't it be amazing if God saved them tonight. Guess what happened? Yep, He did! I found them in the audience and spoke directly to them in the altar call. The Holy Spirit gave me a boldness and confidence that I normally don't have, and all four came to the altar. What is even more amazing is that the pastor informed me that they all came to the church service on Sunday morning and were asking questions about salvation, Christianity, etc. Pretty cool!
I sometimes don't understand why me and how God can use me? Don't get me wrong. I know He can use me, and I enjoy when He does, but I am still amazed each and every time. He is so good to me and to my family. We love Him and love serving Him in Paraguay.
The same God that works in Paraguay can and will work wherever you live. It just takes a complete reliance on Him. I have been saying a lot lately that many Christians will tell you that they believe IN Jesus Christ, but the one thing that I have noticed is that many Christians do not BELIEVE Jesus Christ. What I mean by that is that they believe that Jesus exists, and He may even be their savior, but they don't really believe His words and His promises. He promised to never leave you. He promised to be with you when you go and make disciples. He claimed to be the Son of God, He said that all power was given to Him in heaven and on earth, He healed, He saved, He taught, and so much more. Yet, sometimes we find ourselves not believing that He actually meant what He said and that He spoke the truth. He also promised He would return again some day! Do you believe Him? Do you believe His words are true?
If you prayed that prayer and meant it in your heart, then you are saved. It's vital that you do 3 things, right now. First, tell at least three people what happened just now in your life. A good one to tell would be a pastor of a church that preaches the Word of God. Others, would be family members and friends. This step will encourage and build your faith in Jesus. Second, you need to pray and talk to God, every day. What is praying? It's communication with God. Just speak to Him and tell him how you feel, what you are thinking, and what concerns you. Reading the Bible is the best way to hear from God. He speaks through His Word. Third, it's very important to find a place where you can be with friends who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. That is why we have to attend church. It builds us up, helps us feel part of a community of like-minded believers, and it helps us learn. It is critical that you find a place that teaches the Word of God and it's truths.
Blessings,
Charley
charley.mattix@gmail.com
@charleymattix
