International Ministry

Psalm 2:8 says: (GW)
"Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your own possession"

Isaiah 6:8-9 says: (MSG)
"And then I heard the voice of the Master: 'Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?' I spoke up, 'I'll go. Send me!'
"He said, 'Go and tell this people'"

Wow! I love these two scriptures because they really capture the passion that I have in my heart – and I have the world in my heart!

There are over 6 billion people on the face of the planet, a large number of them are hopeless and hurting without Christ in this world! I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for humanity!

Jesus is the only One who died, and rose again from the dead, for mankind. Jesus is the only One who offers each person the forgiveness of their sins, the free gift of eternal life and the offer of a more abundant life here on earth.

My prayer is the same as David's and Isaiah's – "Lord send me to the nations of the world!"

Here are some great pics and a short report on each of my trips! Join me on my adventures!

Thessaloniki & Athens, Greece / 1st – 22nd July 2009:

I had the opportunity to go to the city of Thessaloniki and spend time with my friend Philip Hyldgaard who runs the A21 office(the abolition of human slavery in the 21st century). It was great meet up with some of the team who run this amazing work!
 
I then travelled to the city of Athens where I preached for my good friend Dimitri Lekka on Sunday, 12th July 2009 who pastors the Athens Christian Church. I had a phenomenal time with them – I preached on a message called: "Never lose heart!" and many came forward to receive Christ and to recommit their lives to Him again.
 
I then had the opportunity to be with Gail Stathis on Wednesday, 15th July 2009 – Gail pastors the Glifada Christian Centre in Athens. I spoke to a group of young people at their 6:00pm youth meeting and then I spoke to the entire Church at their 7:00pm service – the sermon was called: "When God doesn’t make sense!" We had many respond to the altar call and we had a wonderful time in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
 
On Saturday, 18th July 2009 I spoke at a one day young adult conference at the Hellenic International Christian Church pastored by my good friends Xeno and Anna Hadjiliadis. I spoke to the young adults on the subject of: "Daring to make the right choices!" Several people responded to the altar call and made commitments to Christ again.

On Sunday, 19th July 2009 I was asked to preach at the 10:00am service of the Hellenic International Christian Church and I spoke to them on: "When God doesn’t make sense!" Once again we there was a great response to the salvation call and several came forward and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour! That afternoon I had the honour of having lunch at the pastors house and there were leaders from a couple of churches represented there and we were able to have a very fruitful Questions and Answers session together.
 
On Monday, 20th July 2009 I spoke at Pastor Pitta’s Church – he is the senior pastor of the Church of Jesus Christ! What a great bunch of people – I almost did my entire message in Greek! I’m nearly there! I ministered a word called: "The presence of God!" We had a wonderful response to the altar call – many came forward to receive the free gift of eternal life!

Montreal, Quebec, Canada / 12th – 17th February 2009:

I then travelled to the city of Montreal with his good friend Ryan Cook who is the director of "Compassionate" – the Youth and Young adult ministry of Word of life Church. Both and Ryan spoke at the 'Going public' conference in that city and both Sunday services on the weekend of the 13th- 15th February. I also did a few personal meetings with their young adult leaders! It was awesome to make new friends in Montreal and especially to get to know Curtis and Marney Matoga who pastor that great Church. Their Church building is an old Catholic Cathedral!
 
In both cities there were many young people and adults alike who came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and we had the opportunity to pray for many people!! Praise God for an amazing trip!

Red Deer, Alberta, Canada / 3rd – 11th February 2009:

I was in the city of Red Deer in Calgary with my good friend Ryan Cook who is the director of Compassionate Youth and Young adult ministry of his Church. I preached at the their annual 'Going Public' conference and at both the Sunday services of the Word of Life Church on the weekend of the 6th-8th February. What a privilege to be able to share the platform with Jeanne Mayo who has been in youth ministry for over four decades and has been affectionately called "America's youth pastor".
 
I was also asked to do a leadership session on Saturday, 7th February and a teaching session with their Bible school Interns on Wednesday, 4th February. I also had scheduled one-on-one meetings from 9th – 11th February with their youth and young adult leadership of the Church – challenging and encouraging them to go to the next level in their ministry.
 
There were many salvations over the weekend across the youth conference and Sunday Church services.

Athens, Greece / 17th – 27th December 2008:

I then flew to Athens, Greece where I had the opportunity to speak at Gail Stathis who pastors the Glifada Christian Centre in Glifada. I was able to speak to about 100 students from their Christian academy and many young people came forward for prayer and salvation.
 
I also had the privilege of speaking for Anna and Xenophon Hadjiliadis who pastor the Hellenic International Christian Church in Athens. I had an amazing time with them, two weekends in a row, speaking to their youth and young adults. I was also asked to carry out some leadership training with their leaders!

Thessaloniki, Greece / 5th – 11th December 2008:

I had such an amazing time in Thessaloniki at "The Next Step" youth and young adults conference. My friend Monica Prescott from Canada was also there and we had the privilege of speaking to the next generation of young people in that city.
On Friday and Saturday night I spoke very strongly on the kind of Churches that God desires to build in a city. The book of Proverbs says that when the righteous prosper then the city rejoices. The blessing of the righteous exalts a city but the mouth of the wicked destroys a city.

I emphasised the fact that it's the Church that determines the spiritual climate of a city or a nation. When we as the Church take our rightful place in society - in other words when we have a strong, powerful and significant voice - then that city will eventually be exalted - in other words that city becomes BETTER because of the Church!! But when the Church is silent and has no influence - then wickedness destroys that city!

We saw 21 people come forward and receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour over the weekend. Thank you Lord for your salvation! On Saturday night we were able to pray for the city of Thessaloniki and other cities in Greece affected by the violence in recent days. We were also able to lay hands on every person, anoint them with oil and pray for them. Monica preached two awesome messages on Saturday morning and Sunday morning!

Paris, France / 4th – 8th December 2008:

I flew to one of the most beautiful cities in the world – Paris – and I got to spend a few days with the pastor of Hillsong Church in that city, Brendan White! It was really amazing for me to be able to spend time with Brendan and his team and to see how they are building such an awesome Church in that city.
 
Jesus said that He would build His Church and He is certainly building His Church in Paris. It is so beautiful to see people in different cities with different languages on the planet praising and honouring our God! If you're ever in Paris, you need to pay them a visit – God is doing some amazing things in that city! Thanx Brendan – you're a good man!

Berlin, Germany / 23rd – 29th October 2008:

I then flew to the historic city of Berlin where I spent time with Mark and Joyce Wilkinson! All I can say is that hospitality and generosity marks these people's lives. I was able to just hang out with them, learn from them and catch the spirit of the work that they are doing in the city of Berlin!
 
Mark and Joyce have now six Connect groups in Berlin and they come together once a month for "Open house" meetings. They will be launching public services in April 2009! If you live in Berlin, you need to attend their church! Powerful in every way! Thanx Mark and Joyce for being such amazing hosts – I learnt plenty!!

Athens, Greece / 16th – 22nd October 2008:

We then travelled to Athens, Greece where I was one of the speakers for a four day conference of the Hellenic International Christian Church pastored by Xenophon and Anna Hadjiliadis. I taught three leadership sessions to youth pastors, youth leaders and senior pastors on how to build effective youth ministries in the 21st Century. I also asked my friend Olympia Papas to do one session on vision casting, goal setting and task execution! Each delegate received a training manual for all the sessions – there were both Greek and English manuals.
 
I spoke at the Sunday night youth and young adult rally of the conference! What an awesome night we had! The room was packed to capacity as adults gave up their seats for young people to be able to come in and enjoy the powerful praise and worship and the Word of God. The foyer of the venue downstairs was filled with adults and the venue was filled with young people! Many young people got saved on that night and I thank God for His awesome gift of eternal life!
 
I also the privilege of speaking at the Church of Pastor Dimitri Lekkas which is situated in the centre of Athens. I spoke on a message called: Finishing Strong!! Surprise, surprise! As I gave the invitation for people to receive Jesus Christ as Lord as Saviour, many people both young and old responded and came forward for prayer! So many of them were moved to tears and as one young man said to me: "I felt a presence inside me and I melted inside – I had no choice but to come forward and receive Christ!" WOW! We serve an awesome God!
 
The following after that, I was able to speak at the Glifada Christian Centre which my good friend Gail Stathis pastors. I spoke on a message called: "The people who know their God shall be strong!" I challenged them on the fact that no matter who we are, no matter how strong we think we are – we will become weak and ultimately fall without our God! Many young people came forward for prayer and to receive the free gift of eternal life.

Thessaloniki, Greece / 15th – 16th October 2008:

We then travelled to the city of the Thessaloniki which is in the north of Greece where our good friends Maria and Dimitri Stamati pastor the Philadelphia Christian church. I had the opportunity to see the A21 office which was set up by Nick and Christine Caine. A21 stands for the abolition of human slavery in the 21st century. The A21 office has been set up to help rescue young girls who have been drawn into sex slavery – to rescue them and restore them back to normal life with dignity!
 
I had the privilege of speaking at the mid-week meeting of the Philadelphia Church on a message called: "How healthy is your heart?" Even though it was a short visit, we had an awesome time with our friends from Thessaloniki and I will be with them again this coming December 2008 for their annual youth conference!

London, UK / 6th -13th October 2008:

I travelled with my good friends Olympia and Evan Papas to London where we attended the Hillsong Europe Conference in the Excel Centre in London. This has been the third year that the conference has been running and this year saw over 650 churches represented from all around Europe and the rest of the world!
 
What an exciting time to see churches and believers coming together from all around Europe for ONE common purpose and Cause – the Cause of Jesus Christ – Championing the cause of the local Church – this is the entire aim and goal of this conference!
 
The speakers this year included: Brian and Bobbie Houston; Donna Crouch; Zhenya Kasevich who pastors Hillsong Kiev; Joseph Prince from Singapore; Joel Houston from Sydney; Gary Clarke who pastors Hillsong London; Casey Treat from the USA and some of the artists were Israel Houton and Mary Mary.

Hillsong Conference, Sydney - Australia - July 2008

I flew out to Sydney Australia on Friday, 27th June with my good friend Olympia and we got back to Johannesburg on Monday, 14th July 2008 - It was certainly a very fruitful and an AWESOME trip in every way!!

The weekends were spent at Hillsong church in various services and campuses that they have - namely the city campus and the Hills main campus.

On Monday morning I attended a staff meeting with Nick and Christine Caine in the Equip and Empower offices which are situated just across the road from the Hillsong main campus. Christine shared on her six week ministry trip away and stressed the importance of the gospel being preached in Europe but that powerful churches needed to be established in Europe, specifically in Greece.

Olympia and I were both invited to have dinner at Christine's Nick's home on Monday night and the discussions continued around Europe and the establishment of churches – all I can say is that there are some very exciting things coming up in the near future!!!

The rest of the week was spent in the Equip and Empower office. We helped out in various aspects of the ministry and also with some of the practical aspects of the up-and-coming Hillsong conference the following week.

I was invited again to go and have dinner with Nick and Chris at their home on the Friday night with the Pastors from Thessaloniki and other friends of the Caine's.

I also spent time with Christine's PA (Annie) who explained the goal and the purpose behind Project Europe!

The following week was the Hillsong Conference which was absolutely powerful in every way. The Monday started off with the Hillsong network lunch which is hosted by Ps Brian and pastors and leaders from all around the world were there. It was a great opportunity to meet great leaders and to see and hear what God is doing around the world in His glorious church.

The conference began that night and there were many awesome speakers from around the world and the main emphasis of the whole conference was on these three aspects: worship, evangelism and justice!! Some of the speakers and artists included people like: Joyce Meyer, Joseph Prince, Judah Smith; Gary Clarke, Brian Houston, Paul De Jong, Israel Houton, Leeland and many others! All I can say is a huge WOW!! His Church is rising up in an amazing way!!

The church of Jesus Christ needs to rise up and not only lead people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ but to alleviate human suffering on the planet. The conference was about championing the cause of the local church that she might take her rightful place and reach out to a hurting humanity!

I also had an opportunity to meet with Nick and Chris during the conference to discuss Europe, Greece and some proposed future plans for the region.

Olympia and I together with friends and family in Sydney also managed to sneak in a couple of site seeing tours and to have a bit of fun in one of the most beautiful cities in the world! Check out some of the really great pics!

Red Deer & Leduc, Alberta - Canada - February 2008

What an amazing time I had in Canada! One of the best conferences that I've had the privilege of been a part of. I spoke in a church called Word of life in Red Deer, in the province of Alberta.

On Friday night I spoke to about 120 of the core youth and young adult leaders of the church. I preached a message called: "Get up and win your race!" I encouraged leaders that even though we all have challenges and that we may fall at times - we must get up and run the race set before us and NEVER QUIT!

We had a powerful time of ministry afterwards - laying hands on people who felt they needed a touch from God to keep on fighting the good fight of faith!

The "Going Public" conference started on Saturday morning and there were about 400 registered youth and young adults that attended from Red Deer and from other towns and cities.

The worship team in this church is so amazing - I was blown away - there was such an atmosphere of praise and rejoicing in God!

I preached a message in the morning called: "Can you see it - do you know it!" In the evening I spoke on a message called: "Let me tell you why you are here".

In both meetings we had powerful times of altar ministry - praying for people, praying for the city and praying for a fresh fire of God in all of our lives!

I preached in morning service of the Word of Life Church in Leduc this past Sunday - just over an hour out from Red Deer.
My good friends Mike and Monica Prescott pastor this church. Monica and I preached together in a youth conference in Thessaloniki, Greece last year October!

My time with them on Sunday was brilliant. I preached a message called: "Building the house of God". At the end of the service, people responded to the salvation call and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
There were just over 47 salvations over the whole weekend! I thank God for the opportunity to come to this nation and be able speak His Word and see Him change lives! Thank you Jesus!

Athens & Thessaloniki, Greece - October 2007

I had the privilege of ministering in four different churches in Greece. Two of the churches that I worked with, hosted their very first ever youth conferences over two separate weekends in two different cities namely, Athens and Thessaloniki.  

We had an attendance of a couple of hundred people in all the various meetings in both cities. There was a good response to the salvations calls - many also came forward in each meeting for prayer, recommitments to their faith in Christ and people were baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues!

In one of the meetings in Athens, a young girl came forward for the salvation call and I began to pray for her. She had cuts all over both her arms and she was crying uncontrollably. I found out later that the night before she had tried to overdose with drugs and tried to slit her wrists - she never managed to do that and made a decision to come to church the next day.  God gloriously saved her and set her free! How awesome is God! 

In another meeting a young guy who was a Satanist walked in off the street into the building and sat throughout the entire message - the guys were able to minister to him and give him some of my cd's on salvation and some of Joyce Meyer's books that are translated into Greek. 

There was another young guy who was totally Greek Orthodox and was suspicious of what we were doing and couldn't understand what this was all about. He wanted to leave but the guys convinced him to stay. He did and at the end - he came forward and gave his life to the Lord.

What an amazing time to be alive and what a privilege to be part of what God is doing across the planet!

Watch video footage!

London, UK - October 2007

All I can say is WOW! Attending the Hillsong conference was a totally amazing experience! So many people from all over Europe and other people from around planet were represented there. Just some of the amazing speakers that we heard were: Brian Houston, Gary Clarke, Joseph Prince from Singapore, Bobbie Houston and Darlene Zscheck and Christine Caine.

I also had the privilege to preach in Pastor Wolfgang Eckleben's church in the East of London called Every Nation Church – we had an awesome time, there were salvations and we prayed for many people at the end of the service with various needs.

Watch video footage!

Athens & Thessaloniki, Greece - March 2007

Opa! How amazing it was to be in my home country where I could attend a powerful conference in the city of Thessaloniki hosted by the Christian Church Philadelphia headed up by Pastor Stamati and his lovely wife Maria.

What a privilege to be invited by Nick and Christine Caine, from Hillsong Sydney who were the main speakers at the conference, to tag along with them on this trip. Many doors opened for me to build some really wonderful relationships and opportunities to come back and speak in Greece.

London, UK & Paris, France - October 2006

It was a privilege to speak at Pastor Wolfi Eckleben's Church, Every Nation Church in the West of London. In my message I challenged the church to get up and to win their race in Christ. It was so awesome to see many people respond to receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour!

Lyndon Petersen, one of our worship leaders from church, also joined me on this trip and his anointed singing seemed to bless everyone present.

Part of my trip was to attend the first Hillsong Conference ever held in Europe. The conference was powerful and it really gave me a vision and passion for what God can do on the European continent.

I also had the privilege of attending a Hillsong Friday night service in Paris run by Brendan White. It was so incredible to see so many French in love with God and so on fire for the Lord!

Lisbon, Portugal - April 1999

It was my first time to Lisbon and what an awesome trip it was. I was a guest speaker in a four-day youth conference in the Mana-Igreja Crista Church in the very heart of Lisbon. My messages to the youth were about being an example as young people, and living a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him!

The response in the conference was amazing with many young people surrendering their hearts and giving their lives to Christ – praise God for His powerful saving grace!