Be Reconciled to God!

​"Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20

BotswanaThe Tswana were the first Bantu people in Africa to respond to the Gospel, and the first Southern African people group to receive a complete Bible in their own language, through the ministry of Robert Moffat. Unfortunately, today, the situation in the church is that most Christians are nominal. There are very few who take evangelism and discipleship seriously, even less so world missions.

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I am Not Ashamed of the Gospel
Because of the need for the church to wake up and preach the Gospel, it was only fitting that we held a Great Commission Seminar. We presented lectures on Full Salvation and the need to share the Way of Salvation through Jesus Christ. After the first two lectures, a woman came up to us and said that she was very convicted by the messages and “felt like the Scriptures were cutting my heart”. She knew that God was talking to her. Another woman was very grateful for the presentations. She expressed some of the fears and difficulties she was going through in her cross-cultural environment. We encouraged her further to stand firm in the Faith.

Evangelism and Encouragement
We stressed the importance of evangelism, and then we took the seminar participants with us for an outreach, just outside of their church. Many people reported on how blessed they were because they went out to share their faith. They were surprised at how enriched they felt. Some confessed how they had not done anything like this, or that it had been incredibly long since the last time they shared their faith. The outreach was followed by powerful testimonies from people who had led some to the Lord and others who had challenging conversations. The people left the service with joyful smiles on their faces.

One of the greatest privileges a Christian has is to show a sinner the way of Salvation and lead people to Christ! 

Too Young for Ministry
Surprisingly, the South African border post was the most difficult one to pass through on our missions to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana. It took about an hour just for our passports to be stamped. The border officials even told me that my vehicle papers looked fake! When I was quizzed about the reason for my leaving the country, I explained that I was busy with Christian ministry. One border official responded, “Ha! You are too young for that!” At the end, our tired patience paid off, and they allowed us back into our own country!

Revive us!
On the way home, we visited a township to speak about humanism and Revival. Afterward the pastor said that they need Revival and they need the Holy Spirit to change their hearts. The next day the pastor sent us a message stating that they will cry out to God until the Holy Spirit revives their hearts, families, church, community and country!

Rehab Reminiscence
​I had the opportunity to minister in a drug rehabilitation centre. This brought back childhood memories, not because I was a drug addict, but because my Dad was the counsellor of the rehabilitation centre where I grew up. The recovering addicts were full of questions about true salvation, repentance, restitution, and forgiveness. It was delightful to help others understand some of these essential Christian beliefs. ​

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​God Answers Prayer
We travelled a total distance of 8600km, passing through over 108 police stops and road blocks in Zimbabwe and Zambia alone! This is far more than our teams have faced in the past. Despite many challenges, we arrived back in Cape Town without any of the team falling sick and without any vehicle breakdowns. We conducted 78 meetings in just one month. Praise God for His faithfulness and Hand of protection over our lives.

A Country in Need
Unfortunately, there is a serious moral decline in Botswana. Drunkenness and sexual immorality plague this country. Botswana has the second highest AIDS prevalence in the world. Out of the small population of just 2 million people, one hundred thousand orphans are infected with HIV/AIDS. While 65% of the country would claim to be Christian, many are nominal, and most are not evangelistic. 

Items for Prayer
​The most obvious and important item for prayer, is that God would revive His Church, that they would take holiness and evangelism seriously. The rampant spread of HIV AIDS and increase of immorality presents an opportunity for the Church to speak out against the very clear sins in the land and to show love in action to the AIDS orphans through mercy ministries. Intercede for the churches who attended our Great Commission Seminar. Ask God to keep speaking to their hearts, calling them to be salt and light. Please pray for the lost souls who heard about the Way of Salvation during our outreaches. They must call upon the Name of the Lord to be Saved. They also need to be discipled by effective Christian leaders. Ask God to raise up men and women who will be energised by a vision of the Great Commission.

"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created." Revelation 4:11

John Clifford
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021689 4480
Email: Jclifford@frontline.org.za
Email: mission@frontline.org.za