Arthur Pienaar is a western missionary to Zambia from South Africa who attended the Elijah Challenge Seminar in February 2005. The following is Arthur's report on what the Lord did through him and his team when they applied principles taught in the New Testament.
"Before I accepted God's calling for me to be a missionary in Zambia, I made a deal with Him. I said I'll go but He has to be with me and confirm His presence with signs and wonders during ministry. Otherwise, what's the point! I can't say that I have ever satisfied this expectation I had from God until now.
There was a team of 10 people that came from my sending church in South Africa and I met them with 4 translators and members from a newly planted church in Mulauli (which means witch finder or place of witchcraft). This is the darkest area in the western Zambia region where I work. I started sharing the principles of The Elijah Challenge and the corporate anointing of believers to the team when they just arrived. During the next four days, I started teaching the team The Elijah Challenge end time model of evangelism for 3-4 hours each morning. Our regional overseer had done the training with me when you visited Livingstone, and we took the lead during the first two evenings of ministry. God started showing himself powerful by healing all who came for ministry after we gave the Elijah challenge. I have included below a more detailed report about this. During the following evenings the team started ministering with great success. All the people that came for ministry were healed from various sicknesses, infirmities and demons, and just about everyone there came for ministry.
Some new converts from the first 2 evenings of ministry attended the training, and later that same week they ministered healing to all who came for ministry. To me this was the greatest miracle of all; to see baby believers of 2 or 3 days old healing people with success. It was the most powerful crusade I have attended since I got saved 14 years ago (of which 7 is in full time ministry). I have anticipated this to happen during crusades for a long time and I thank you William for sharing the blessing. There is no new doctrine that you have taught us except to follow the examples given in God's Word, and do it exactly the same way they did. I think there is a mind concept (like a veil of religiosity) over the body of Christ that prevents them from seeing and applying the plain truth. That's what your teaching did for me and is doing for all the people I teach these principles to. We are having our National Annual Conference in the rural town of Sichili, West Zambia from 28 August to 2 September 2005. The theme of the conference is: "The Elijah Challenge" where I will be teaching all the principles you taught me.
Thank you, brother William, for the gift of teaching you imparted to us here in Zambia."
Arthur's Report: Outreach June/July 2005
DATE/PLACE/SHORT REPORTMonday, 27 June. Arrive, pitch camp, fetch Godwin.
Tuesday, 28 June. Nsimba. Witchdoctor tries to cause discord. She shows no faith and is unrepentant at heart. A man with corns on feet is relieved from pain. Healings from headaches, coughing, diarrhoea and demons. ± 15 people healed and saved. We enjoyed an open heaven and God's manifest presence.Wednesday, 29 June. Nsimba. During the day 5 people were set free from demonic oppression. In the evening everyone who we prayed for were healed (20-30 people). ±40 people made a commitment to God. We were summoned to go and see the Silalo Induna (area Chief) who was very drunk and upset. He said we didn’t get the necessary permission for the outreach, which wasn’t true. His ulterior motives was that he wanted money to go to Lusaka to get remuneration for his recent retrenchment.
Wednesday night we prayed for a baby who ate poisonous cassava (deadly), and the parents were fearing for the baby's life! The baby was about to vomit when we started prayer. The next day the baby was completely healed. Another baby was healed from malaria. One baby had malaria – was in the hospital but then discharged. Later she was sick again. The parents asked us to pray, but they feared their relatives and wasn’t willing to put their confidence in God only. When we went to pray for the baby, there were various traditional remedies and witchcraft practices. We told the parents that God would heal the child if they would destroy all their traditional remedies and renounce the witchcraft they are practicing. They were unwilling! The baby died during the night that same day. We know God would have healed that child if they had only put their trust in Him!
Thursday, 30 June. Mungabwa. ± 50 people came for healing – all were healed except for one man who was too drunk to communicate properly. Salvation ± 100 people. After the service the Silalo Induna asked us to see him. He accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour and was delivered from smoking and drinking!
Friday, 1 July. Mungabwa. 40 people came for healing – all were healed including the drunk man from the previous evening. 50 accepted Jesus. Friday morning a lady was set free from cancer and fear of death. She is one of our ministry team members from S.A. She was troubled with this stomach pain for a number of years.
Saturday, 2 July. Kamenyanes. We experienced a resistance in the spiritual realm and did not experience God’s complete blessing. We weren't able to properly follow-up and disciple the new converts, so we resolved that it wasn't the right time i.e. the harvest is not yet ripe! An ice-cold wind came up. All those receiving prayer were healed! The people travelled in groups (for safety) and many groups started to leave because of the cold. About 20 people were saved.
Sunday, 3 July. Church. All responded to the message of grace: "We have to first receive the grace of God, before we can minister the grace of God to other's!". 10 adults and 5 children responded in the altar-call of the first service of the newly planted church of Nsimba. During that afternoon another team member set free from severe demonic oppression.
Monday, 4 July. Mulauli School. During the previous year's outreach to this school, the people cried out during the Jesus-film; "Crucify him, crucify him!" Only one young crippled boy was saved. We encountered strong resistance. This year we experience an open heaven of God's favour. An icy wind started to blow very strongly in the morning, and even blew over the Jesus-film screen during the evening. We rebuked the strong, icy wind that blew, and it stopped. In became warm and 50 -100 people came for ministry – all were healed and saved. We even found the young crippled boy of the previous year and he was still holding to the faith.
Monday, 4 June and Tuesday, 5 June. The Zambian team members were set free from demonic oppression. All the team members that were ministered to were also healed. New believers/members from Nsimba, and those of the South African team, completed the Elijah challenge training and successfully ministered healing and deliverance to the people during the evening crusades. Some of those believers were only a few days old in the faith!
Positive remarks about the outreach:
•Many mind concepts and wrong thought patterns were destroyed concerning the old model of evangelism (asking God to heal the people) and the new model of evangelism (thanking God for the authority He has given us, and then exercising this authority to heal the people).
• The teachings were well received and applied. God confirmed the word with signs and wonders.
• Numerous people were healed and believed.
• All believers will be discipled by the local church. Chico has already started to do follow-up at Kamenyane, and his wife that was terminally ill, is still healed and enjoying her health!
• The local church was empowered to minister.
• The team functioned well together. The harmony and unity amongst the was team was awesome.
• The children's ministry was excellent and all the team members participated in this.
• The teachings in the mornings were well received.
• The team maintained excellence in their ministry and servitude.
Arthur Pienaar's Report from Zambia:
Elijah Challenge Conference
September 2005"We had an Elijah Challenge Conference in September 2005 where 26 churches attended the training. During the demonstration time all who came forward ministered in authority and saw the power of God confirming the word. All were healed, except one woman who was deep in witchcraft and voodoo and her sickness was a direct result of habitual evil practices. She started manifesting when we prayed for her and after much demonic torment, she revealed her practices and renounced them. She immediately received deliverance and healing. We have seen that sometimes when people are not willing to stop their evil practices, God would not heal them. But everyone who showed a change of heart experienced the power of God restoring them. The Elijah Challenge...is a new way of ministering with a clearer understanding of the word of God. We’re still following Jesus’ example, but only with a clearer understanding of how he ministered."
"We do not regard The Elijah Challenge as a milestone in ministry or as a momentous event in terms of “been there, done that,” or “those were the days.” We’ve adopted the End Time Model of Evangelism as our ministry practice. If God confirms The Elijah Challenge principles with signs and wonders, it will be nothing less than disobedience to not continue in what God is doing.
My calling is to mobilize the Western Zambian churches starting by laying a sure foundation on the principles of the Word of God. Only once these churches are properly trained and equipped and start to take the initiative to fulfil the Great Commission, will we see the true impact of the End Time Model of Evangelism. You have made a great contribution to this end."
Arthur's father healed while visiting in Zambia
"During the time I was in Mulauli, my parents visited our home in Livingstone to be with my wife and children. My dad was very sick with severe damage to his intestines, caused by medicines (diclofenic) he used for backpain over the years. The doctor explained to him that his intestines had little "cracks" in like perished rubber and that the inner soft "skin" of his intestines were pinched inside this crack. He also had huge blisters and polyps on his intestines. Here in Livingstone he was in so much pain that he seriously considered going back home to South Africa as soon as I returned from Mulauli. However, my wife asked American missionaries Butch and Janet Berner (who live next door to us) in Livingstone to come and pray for my dad. After the first prayer he already felt much better and a warm sensation on his stomach, but not completely healed. Butch prayed for my dad again the next day and again at a later stage. Every time my dad felt better and better. When my dad returned to South Africa, he had to see the specialist again. According to my dad the specialist could not believe how fine my dad's intestines looked. There was no sign of damage, blisters, polyps or cancer! God had done it again!"
Note: Light of Africa missionaries Butch and Janet Berner were the hosts of The Elijah Challenge Seminar held in Livingstone, Zambia in February 2005.
