This month, we’re celebrating men in missions — men who have left their norm to advance the gospel and bring the love of Christ wherever they step.
Logan Kafer, currently leading R Squad, has seen God move in big ways in Malawi. While working to plant churches in local villages he was blown away by God’s power to heal the sick and unite new bodies of believers.
Let me set the stage real quick. I was working with a team who would travel to a different village each week and plant churches. Throughout the week they would go to different spots in the villages, share the gospel, pray for the sick, and share with them where the location of the new church would be on Sunday. People would gather there on Sunday, worship together, select a leadership team, and begin to take ownership of their church.
My team was in a village sharing the gospel with a group of about 15 bicycle taxi drivers. I felt God tell me that one of them had lower back pain, so I asked the group if anyone struggled with back pain.
Sure enough, a guy playing a board game raised his hand and said his back had been hurting for many months. I asked him to stand up because I believed Jesus wanted to heal him, and he let me pray.
Right there, in front of all those men, Jesus healed this man’s back pain.
Afterward he looked at me in shock and asked if I would pray that the pain would never come back. Once the Spirit had manifested his presence through healing we had a platform to share the gospel. It was no longer just talk to these men — but the power of God.
After hearing the gospel, a man wanted to accept Jesus. But he wasn’t just a local kicking it at the bicycle taxi station: this man was Chief Mkaka, the chief of the neighboring village!
According to the chief we were working with, this guy is now the only other Christian chief in the whole area! This man of influence just accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Say what?! We began to share with him how to walk with Jesus and encouraged him to come to church on Sunday. However, we weren’t sure if he would actually show up.
After that, we drew another crowd of 30 people (it happens pretty easily in an African village). We shared the gospel and many started following Jesus and experiencing his power.
One lady came up to me with a wrap tied tightly around her waist. She explained that she had suffered from painful stomach ulcers for close to four years. The wrap put pressure on the ulcers so they wouldn’t hurt as badly. So … we prayed.
Jesus touched her ulcers and right there she began to loosen her wrap. Before, she had been in a lot of pain, but now, she is free.
A few seconds after that ended, a man walked up who had suffered intense head and neck pains for months. He often would fall forward when he walked because he couldn’t stand the pain. The doctors had told him to go home because they couldn’t heal him. He had no other hope, so he asked for prayer.
We prayed, and his loving Father removed the pain and healed him right there. THE MAN BEGAN TO DANCE!
Cool thing is, the story didn’t stop there…
Sunday morning came around and we drove to the designated spot where the new church plant was to gather. People from the village began to trickle in.
One of the many that rolled in was none other than Chief Mkaka. I had to do a double take. He had sincerely accepted Jesus and was now walking back to this village to worship his Lord and Savior with other believers.
The chief wasn’t the only villager we recognized. At the end of the gathering there was a time of testimony, and during this time two people stood up to share. Can you guess who they were? … Yep! The woman who was healed of ulcers on Friday proclaimed of God’s healing and said she hasn’t had pain since, and the man who had intense head and neck pains proclaimed he came to church today to be a testament of the healing power of Jesus. He shared that he wants to follow Jesus every day as his Lord and Savior!
And Chief Mkaka’s time at church was just as awesome: while there he received a Bible, formed a relationship with the chief of that village (who happened to be the pastor of the new church), and committed at the end of the service to be a part of this community of believers! This man who is a CHIEF of a village is following Jesus! What does God have in store for this man’s village?! Think about what this means!
The Father is at work, y’all. He is expanding his Kingdom. He is doing a mighty work in YOUR neighborhood, workplace, city, and nation, and all over the world! We must pray that God opens our eyes, that we would walk slowly down our streets, through our school hallways, and in our grocery stores, giving God space to move.
Let’s not miss it! It’s a simple yes, a step of boldness. The beautiful thing is there is no pressure in the Spirit, because the Father is the one at work! It isn’t you or me; it’s Him! He’s faithful to who He says He is. So let’s start taking Him at His word.
Are you ready to see God heal and chiefs believe? Click here for October routes.
