Glory Explosions in the Holy Land

We recently returned from a powerful time of explosive breakthrough in the Holy Land, reaching into some of the hardest places of the world with the good news of the Kingdom and spilling the love and joy of Jesus everywhere we went. We ministered both to muslims and Jews, holding outreaches in Palestinian refugee camps in Bethlehem, as well as hosting a powerful Glory conference in Jerusalem. Besides that, we also saw the Lord release spontaneous waves of revival in the streets.

Ministering to Palestinian children.

Palestinian Outreaches in the Danger Zone
Joining up with ministers Georgian Banov, David Herzog and Che Ahn, our team of more than 100 crazy Holy Spirit junkies ministered openly in one of the most intense seedbeds of islamic suicide bombers and terrorists. We were able to feed and share the gospel with more than 500 muslim girls, as well as pray for hundreds of Palestinian schoolboys. We also brought food – rice, flour, groceries, etc. – to widows. This was such a volatile area, the last time the Banovs came here, there were Israeli military officials that marveled at the fact they came back out alive! Jesus has called us to bless our enemies, and it is the love of God that can radically transform their lives!

Lily with muslim girls.

Because we ministered to orphans and widows, we were able to receive special access from PLO leaders to go right into the refugee camps. This was in Bethlehem, one of the most volatile places on the planet in recent years. In fact, the hall in which we met was painted with huge murals, glorifying islamic suicide bombers. But the Lord allowed us to speak to these children and share the love of Christ – even President George Bush had been denied access to speak to these children in past visits!

In addition to ministering to refugees, we also held a conference for the Christians and pastors in Bethlehem. There were believers that traveled all the way from Gaza Strip, including a young Christian man whose brother was killed for his faith only two months before. Many of the Arab Christians were noticeably touched by the demonstrative worship, the atmosphere of celebration and the loving joy of Jesus that the team brought. Most had never seen such dancing, outward affection, manifestations of the Holy Spirit and open displays of happiness in worship.

Fire tunnel at an ancient synagogue in Capernaum where Jesus preached.

A Drunken Mess in the Streets
Perhaps the highlight of the trip for many was the atmosphere of Holy Ghost drunkenness that pervaded the entire tour, just about everywhere we went – not just in the meetings. At times, we would have huge pileups of bodies, shaking, twitching and laughing under the Spirit’s power right in public. In one Arab restaurant, the team caused such a loud, obnoxious drunken scene that our associate Dave Vaughan had to get up and preach to explain that it all came from God. Four of the six Arab workers gave their lives to the Lord on the spot, including the owner of the building, who said it was the best day of his life!

Restaurant Glory “pile up” as God broke loose & souls were saved.

The Glory was so strong at all of the holy sites we visited, it was difficult to keep ourselves tamed or toned down. We caused quite a few religious devils to manifest just about everywhere we went as docents and curators tried to shush us. But the joy was uncontainable. I thought we would be arrested at the site of the Upper Room, when we could not quiet down our supernatural joy and I would not stop preaching, despite the warnings from an Israeli military guard. We also saw spontaneous outbreaks of the Glory in public along the Sea of Galilee, on the Mount of Olives and at the Pools of Bethesda, where we unexpectedly ran into a huge group of Indonesian believers who were just as wild and crazy as we were. Our groups came together in an unplanned chorus of worship that crossed the language barrier, praying for one another as bodies hit the ground and people were left shaking under the power of God.

Another public Glory pile-up on the Mount of Olives.

Jerusalem Conference
The last three days of the tour, we held a conference in Jerusalem to bless Israel and minister to the people there. There were a number of miracles, healings and demonstrations of God’s love and power that took place. A number of Jews came to know the Lord throughout the course of the tour, and we literally brought dancing to the streets of Jerusalem. We saw a number of young Messianic Jewish believers radically filled and whacked up by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support, and we hope to have you join us on an upcoming mission trip or a conference in an area near you!

Eating falafels with a massive glow-in-the-dark rosary from a holy trinket shop.

John Crowder, 2/28/2008