Introduction to The Elijah Challenge
Latter Day Deliverance Church, Sunnyside, Houston
March 16, 2013
Reports from Kurt & Mary Simms
On this Saturday morning, Kurt Simms introduced The Elijah Challenge to a group of local pastors and leaders as part of the Union Baptist Association Equipping Institute leading up to the Loving Houston Campaign in June 2013. Since the event was hosted by Union Baptist Association, most but not all of the leaders present were from evangelical Southern Baptist churches in the Houston area.
Kurt first spent an hour going over the New Testament scriptures on which The Elijah Challenge is based. After that he did a demonstration of healing based on what the scriptures taught about the healing ministry of Jesus. Kurt reported:
“The first man who came up had knee problems and back problems. After we ministered to him he reported that his knees were better but he was not displaying very much faith. He began to tell us how we could not help him with his back problems and all the things that the doctors were going to have to do. So I asked him if anything was too big for God, and he said “no.” So we ministered to him again by taking authority over his back problem and he proclaimed that everything was better.
Another man came forward and said that he needed knee replacements. He said that everything was fine after we ministered to him by taking authority over his knee problem.
We ministered to another man who had high blood pressure, sugar diabetes, and one other problem I can’t remember. He came up expecting to be healed and reported that he felt the power of God flowing in him.
We ministered to a woman who had vertigo, and the dizziness left her.
At this point we were running overtime so I asked our host Ricky if he would rather us minister to the next woman in another area. He told us to keep going since everyone was so excited and wanted the healing to keep going on.
Another woman had fibromyalgia. We took authority over it and all was well. She reported to me later that she was climbing stairs up and down and never felt so good.
The founding Bishop of our host Church was there at lunch with us, and he had Parkinson’s disease. I was asked to lay hands on him so we took authority over his infirmity. He reported that strength came to his legs and that he felt the power of God. I took him walking he said that he felt improvement.”
Feedback from Union Baptist Association host Rickie Bradshaw
“What a great start to taking on lostness through The Elijah Challenge. Kurt was used of the Lord in bringing the ministry of healing evangelism to Loving Houston. Many of the participants were challenged to believe. And did they believe. They expressed to me how grateful they were because of the The Elijah Challenge experience. Our next equipping Institute will be in a community where the leading pastor told twenty-five other pastors and UBA Loving Houston coordinators Mike Kraxberger and Tom Billings that the Lord told him to put a pool of “Bethesda” in his church, for many people will be healed. They are looking forward to the next equipping Institute in Acres Home.”
Complete Elijah Challenge Training on May 11
Most of these leaders are signing up to attend the complete all-day Elijah Challenge Training to be held in Houston on Saturday, May 11. This will equip them to minister miraculous healing effectively to the lost during Loving Houston in June. The One who had authority to heal also has authority to forgive sin and grant eternal life.