THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE! The week that Christ for all Nations held 6 Gospel crusades in one city, at the same time, over the course of a week, will be written in the history books of Dar Es Salaam, and Heaven.
We had the honor to direct and organize the crusade in Gongo La Mboto, a primarily Muslim part of the city. We knew that God was going to do something special on that crusade field. Because when you encounter opposition, you can be assured that God will move with power!
The Third Fastest Growing City in the World
Dar Es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa with a population of over 7 million people! It’s a supermassive city. It’s the 3rd fastest growing city in Africa, and the 9th fastest in the entire world.
The traffic in Dar is so congested, it’s normal to sit for 2-3 hours when only traveling a few kilometers. For a non-believer thinking of coming to a gospel crusade, that’s a huge obstacle.
This is why the Decapolis strategy worked so well. If we had held one massive crusade, many people wouldn’t have been able to attend. Instead, holding six strategically located crusades meant people from all over the city could hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
No matter where someone lived in Dar Es Salaam, they were only 30 minutes away from one of the crusades.
Over 2,000 Local Churches Involved
Directing a Decapolis crusade for Christ for All Nations is one of the biggest honours and blessings of our entire lives. CfaN holds such a high standard of excellence in everything they do. Getting to participate in what God did in that city will forever mark our lives.
Together we stayed in Dar es Salaam for around 3 months. One of the things most people don’t realize about a massive gospel crusade is that people don’t simply show up. There are months, and weeks and very long days of preparations that go into creating a successful crusade.
And there’s absolutely no way we could’ve pulled off this crusade on our own. A large part of organizing a crusade is mobilizing the church to be involved. We met with hundreds of pastors, bishops and key church leaders to share our vision and ask for their involvement.
We also trained 10 ambassadors to visit churches every Sunday to cast vision and ask them for their involvement. Our team in Gongo la Mboto visited hundreds of churches over the course of a few weeks to inspire, encourage and cast vision.
This meant along the way, we had the pleasure of meeting so many amazing men and women of God who were sold out for soul winning in their city. We worked to mobilize the church to get involved in participating in the crusade, and to be ready for the massive harvest of souls about to hit their churches.
Imani, Upendo, Miujiza: An Entire City Turned Yellow
One of the largest tasks for preparing for a gospel crusade is promotion. Our team in Gongo La Mboto, as well as the teams in the other 5 districts, and a regional team, worked together to completely plaster the city of Dar Es Salaam. We believe there wasn’t a single person in Dar Es who hadn’t seen the promotion for the gospel crusades.
The tagline for the crusade wa ‘Imani, Upendo, Miujiza.’ In English, this means Faith, Love and Miracles. The promotions caught on like a wildfire, and soon the entire city was yellow.
The entire city was buzzing with excitement for the crusade. We kept hearing over and over again that everyone thought Daniel Kolenda had purchased the city. People in the city had never seen anything like this. They actually thought we were coming to take over the city. What a pleasure it was to say we weren’t here for politics or government, but for the kingdom of God. We were simply here to bless their city.
The promotion went viral. So much so that locals began creating their own vidoes, memes and artwork.
We had members of our committees asking for handbills for their church members who had businesses. They weren’t to even hand out, but we heard that the promotion was so popular, they were asking us for promotional materials to hang outside their businesses. Why? They found their businesses began to prosper like never before when they associated with the crusade. Isn’t that amazing?
We knew before the crusade people were buzzing about Daniel Kolenda and the guest evangelists. However, these powerful men and women of God so graciously pointed all the glory, honour and power back to Jesus. They may have been talking about CfaN and Daniel Kolenda before the crusade. But I truly believe that now, they’re talking about another name: Jesus.
The level of promotion we put up in a city is astonishing. People often ask us if we leave all the promotion materials up when we leave. Absolutely not. Every single poster, billboard and handbill are cleaned up after the crusade. Further, all the wood and even the vinyl signs are donated to local pastors and churches who helped us during the crusade. Sometimes, entire churches have been built with the wood left in a city. Which is often a necessity with all the new believers who come into churches after the crusade!
5 Nights That Changed Dar Es Salaam Forever
In each of the six districts, across all five nights, over 537,400 people heard the gospel of Jesus Christ preached. We saw a total of 210,553 registered decisions for Christ.
In the book of Acts, it says 3,000 people were saved on the day of Pentecost. What we’re seeing now is truly historical. Think about that. We’re seeing more salvation on each crusade night than they saw in the book of Acts.
God has opened a window for a harvest to come in that is truly supernatural. Only he can bring in a harvest this great, and we are so thankful to play even a small part in bringing in this mighty harvest.
The Gospel Confirmed: Signs, Wonders and Miracles
Every time the gospel is preached, Jesus promises that it will be CONFIRMED. How? With power, wonders, and miracles.
That’s exactly what we saw each night of the crusade. Seeing these miracles unfold before our very eyes is something we’ll cherish forever. I’m still in awe of seeing the power of God displayed. For many people in Tanzania, health care is too costly, or simply not available. Out of desperation, many attend these crusades in hope of receiving their miracle. And many do. And as they received their miracle, we always make sure they know exactly who healed them: Jesus.
We hope these testimonies encourage you and build your faith for whatever it is you’re believing for in your own life.
This precious mama in the crowd was unable to walk for six years. She came on the stage to testify that she had been partially healed that evening! But we serve a God of abundance! Evangelist Daniel Garcia prayed for her again, and she received her full healing right there on the stage in front of our eyes! Jesus heals!
There was another mama who had a son that was blind in both eyes and was never able to go to school. During the time of prayer, Jesus opened both his eyes! The little boy began to walk around all on his own, following Evangelist Daniel Garcia on the platform! Originally, this little boy had been given a name from another religion at birth. But his mother declared from this day forward, they were renaming him a Christian name. She had encountered the power and love of a living God. And from this day forward, she declared she and her household would serve Jesus.
This older man had a very bad limp for many years and was unable to walk without the use of his cane. Tonight Jesus healed his limp! Evangelist Lukas Repert danced with him on the platform and raised his cane that he never took home with him. The next night we saw him helping volunteer as an usher in the crowd! The look on his face says it all as he danced with joy and healing that only Jesus can give.
Many more miracles took place, and we received reports of people who were leaving their lives of sin and crime behind, and truly repenting and turning to Jesus to be Lord of their lives. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and it is more than enough to save, heal and deliver!
Over the course of the 5 nights, thousands received miracles in their bodies, and many thousands received the greatest miracle of all: salvation. There is so much power in the preaching of the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ. Dar Es Salaam was shaken and taken for Jesus!
Thank You!!
Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank every friend and partner that stood by us prayerfully and financially to make it possible for us to be a part of this move of God in Dar Es Salaam. The seed you are sowing is bearing an almost unimaginable harvest, and you share in that reward with us before the throne of God.
But we believe what is happening in Dar Es Salaam is not the end, but just the beginning of a massive harvest happening around the world. And we believe that the best is yet to come, in Jesus Name!
Together in the harvest,
Emmanuel & Deborah Cohen
