Elim member Bana Kesete with all the bootcamp students following a successful outreach into the local area
A new generation of evangelists is rising
Through bootcamps and Fire Camps, evangelism organisation Christ for all Nations is training evangelists to reach a ripe harvest around the world. Evangelist Levi Lutz and a bootcamp graduate from Elim explain.
“We’ve seen people running to the altar in repentance, the sick being healed, the power of God falling, thousands being saved, but what excites me more than any of that is seeing another generation – an army of evangelists – being raised up.”
Evangelist Levi Lutz, pictured right, is speaking to Direction at the end of an outreach tour in the UK, telling us about the Christ for all Nations bootcamp he has been leading for the past two years with fellow evangelists Eric Gilmour and Daniel Kolenda.
Every year, outstanding groups of students from other CfaN schools of evangelism are invited to accept the ‘golden ticket’ of a place on one of these intensive three-month training courses in Orlando, specifically focused on mass evangelism.
“The bootcamps are for those who know they are called for crusade evangelism,” says Lutz.
On them, a three-pronged approach encourages spiritual growth, provides practical training and applies what is taught through outreach.
“It’s not just about preaching ability – we want to make sure they are evangelists of integrity who are walking in fear of the Lord rather than wanting to build a platform for themselves,” Lutz says.
“They spend two hours in prayer and devotions each morning because this has to be the root for any minister. If you don’t have a strong prayer and devotional life you will grow a tree without a root system and it will tip over.
CfaN bootcamps are for people who already sense they are called to crusade evangelism
“Then they have practical training on things like how to give an evangelistic altar call or to pray for the sick. Daniel Kolenda and I along with some of the world’s most effective evangelists pour every tool we’ve learned over the years into them.
Learning how to pray for
people at bootcamp
“Then they’ll be taken to the field – typically in a remote location in Africa – to put all they’ve learned into practice.”
CfaN’s focus on mass evangelism in its bootcamps draws on 40 years of experience from faith giants like Reinhard Bonnke and Steve Hill which remains effective today.
“We go out in Orlando to the worst neighbourhoods we can find – I’m talking about people with needles in their arms and prostitutes,” says Lutz, himself a former drug addict, who has now been a full-time evangelist for 22 years.
“During their three months in Orlando, a group will typically see between 5,000 and 8,000 people make a decision to follow Christ.”
If there is one thing CfaN is guilty of, it’s not inflating these numbers, Lutz is keen to stress. A salvation is only reported when people have made a faith decision and connected with a local church.
The impact can be long-lasting, he adds.
“After a crusade in his city some years ago, a student from Africa told us, ‘You evangelised, people were saved, then you left. Praise God for those salvations, but the greatest mark was that it empowered the churches. Now, on every street corner we’ve got people who never did this before going out and preaching the gospel, simply because you demonstrated to us that it still works.’”
Even in the UK’s ‘post-Christian’ world, Lutz has seen God move during a tour this year.
“We’ve seen such a hunger everywhere – people are getting touched by the power of God with healings and deliverance. It’s everything you see in Acts.”
While the bootcamps are for a small number of invited students, Lutz is also keen to highlight CfaN’s week-long Fire Camps in the UK for anyone interested in being mentored and trained in evangelism.
“They’re an incredible experience,” Lutz says. “People spend three or four days experiencing personal revival, then they’re turned loose on the streets and they’re seeing a harvest of souls everywhere they go. The harvest is ripe like never before.”
Interview with a bootcamp student from Elim’s KT
Bana Kesete is a member of Kensington Temple in London and recently attended a CfaN bootcamp in Orlando.
Bana, how did you come to take part in the bootcamp?
I started doing some evangelism training on a CfaN Fire Camp in Norwich last year. That’s when I heard about the bootcamp and the Lord laid it on my heart to go.
What does it involve and what did you learn?
It’s three months of training where you’re equipped and deployed to do mass crusade evangelism. There’s theological, ministerial and practical training where you’re taught to preach the gospel publicly, minister to crowds and work effectively as a team. We did one-to-one evangelism, local outreaches and we also had an initiation trip to Africa.
How did it help your own spiritual development?
There is an emphasis on your own personal growth, keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus and knowing the gospel for yourself. We had morning devotionals with Eric Gilmour, plus mentoring from Levi Lutz and Daniel Kolenda. It’s great because you’re in a room of people who have a burning desire to make Jesus known.
How did the course develop you as an evangelist?
One of the most challenging things was the public preaching side – I’ve done a lot of one-to-one evangelism in my church and on the streets with CfaN so I’m confident with that, but the bootcamp gave me confidence to proclaim the gospel publicly and give effective altar calls. We had to preach in front of our peers and my fear left after that.
This article first appeared in the April 2023 edition of Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.
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