The coronavirus disrupted everything. Our ministry made a number of pivots. It required taking risks — big and small. We took a risk to see if we could link people’s need for prayer with an experience of being prayed for plus a Gospel presentation. We called the experiment There Is Hope.
We are doing three things with this experiment:
- Lead generation contacts generated: In the last 90 days, more than 5,346 leads were generated of individuals sharing their prayer requests and contact details with us. They are now being served through our mentor center. We also acquired more than 30,000 new social media followers.
- Gospel presentations take place during the prayer experience: Twenty-five prayer events were streamed live on Zoom and social media. Each experience was concluded with a direct Gospel presentation and an invitation to receive Jesus as personal Lord and Savior.
- Digital missionaries are mobilized: Teams from FamilyLife, Athletes In Action, Prayer Igniters (coordinators), Student-Led Movement, and LeaderImpact from Nigeria, Philippines, Canada, USA, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya are involved.
How God is using There Is Hope
“I hope I can be prayed for on this platform…Please pray for me and beg God on my behalf to forgive me and grant me one last chance.” This desperate request was sent to us by a young man named Justin*. Justin is a fetish priest. He wrote to us after an online prayer experience organized to give hope to Nigerians during the pandemic. The event had attracted more than 16,000 people on Facebook over the last five weeks. It is easy for many people to say yes to receiving prayer!
Samuel, a missionary in Nigeria, received one of the contacts generated by a “There Is Hope” prayer event. As he connected with this person, Yusuf, he found out that Yusuf was contemplating suicide. As a result of Samuel’s conversation and prayers, Yusuf decided not to attempt suicide. But it didn’t end there. Yusuf later met a lady, Aisha, who told him that she was thinking about suicide. Yusuf then shared his experience with her about the encouragement he received in Jesus when he, too, had been contemplating suicide. Aisha was so encouraged that she decided not to continue with her plans.
In a live event hosted in the Philippines, we saw 72 people indicate their decision to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. The thousands of prayer requests we have received from all these countries have similar trends. People are experiencing loneliness, fear and anxiety, relationship struggles, health challenges and financial struggles. People need hope that only God can provide. The There Is Hope campaign aims to help them experience that hope.
* Editor’s note: For security reasons, all names have been changed.