Decapolis Blog Summer 2021
Decapolis means "ten cities". We will be doing 10 Gospel Campaigns in Tanzania this year. This summer we will be in five cities and in fall, we will visit another five cities.
Decapolis Recap 2021
5 Days. 5 Cities. 5 Gospel Campaigns. 553,300 reached with the Gospel.
This is the "Decade of Double Harvest" where the strategy of God is not just addition, but MULTIPLICATION.
In June 2021, at our Operation Decapolis event in Tanzania, the people of Tunduma, Iringa, Morogoro, Dodoma, Mbeya were touched by the POWER of God! Multitudes chose Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and miraculous healings broke out before our eyes. This is the glorious Gospel! Praise be to our God!
We have seen over 80 Million Salvation Decisions for Christ!
Fun Facts from Operation Decapolis!
Now that our most recent Operation Decapolis Campaign has come to an end, I wanted to share some astonishing facts with you from what took place. My assistant, Rob Enge, sent this to me, and I thought it was interesting enough to share with you.
Over the course of five days:
- We conducted 5 simultaneous Gospel Campaign
- In 5 Tanzanian Cities (Tunduma, Iringa, Morogoro, Dodoma & Mbeya)
- 10 Evangelists preached (most of them Graduates of the Evangelism Bootcamp)
- 16 Gospel Campaign Directors oversaw the initiative
- 27 Bootcamp Interns served
- 25,102 Volunteers served
- 8 full-time intercessors served (3 on the ground and 5 in the USA)
- 5 Graduation Ceremonies were conducted
- 27 Bootcamp Students/Interns graduated
- I took 12 flights
- I spent 44 Hours and 8-minutes in-flight
- I spent 113 hours and 8-minutes traveling (in-flight, layovers, drive times, etc.)
- I stayed in 7 hotels.
60,752 people made documented decisions for Christ!
553,300 people attended the meetings.
Keep in mind that all of this took place in very small cities where our supermassive Gospel Campaign machine could never afford to go. In the past, we only had one “tool” in our evangelistic “toolbox” – a massive crusade sledgehammer. It was very big and could only be used in certain contexts. Now, in addition to the supermassive crusades (which we are still doing, by the way. They’re now called “Flagship Gospel Campaign”), we have a new strategy that will allow us to reach smaller, more remote, and unreached places with the Gospel while continuing to have a massive impact!
Over the next two weeks, we will be sending you the reports from each of the evangelists stationed in the five cities. Their testimonies will thrill your soul. I have a sense in my heart that we’ve had a crossing of the Jordan type moment this last week. Something has shifted in the ministry. It is palpable and awe-inspiring. God is moving in ways we’ve never seen. Prophetic words are coming to pass. God-given dreams are being fulfilled. There seems to be a Holy Spirit call that’s gone out, and people are answering it. They are coming from all directions to be a part of the greatest harvest in history. The time is now! We must seize it for Calvary’s sake!
Be on the lookout for those reports starting next week. Thank you again for your support. We love and appreciate you.
This is all possible because of you! Thank you!
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(Together with Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team)
Final Day – Mbeya, Tanzania
Holy Ghost Party!
We have just concluded the final night of all five simultaneous Gospel Campaigns here in Tanzania. I preached last Sunday in the city of Mbeya. The crowd more than tripled from the previous night. There was an electricity in the air, and it seemed that the whole city came to hear and see what Jesus is doing!
The two evangelists stationed in this city were Gary Smith and Daniel Garcia (who graduated from the Evangelism Bootcamp). Both men ministered this week with tremendous unction. I was hearing the testimonies from Mbeya even when I was preaching in other cities. You will hear more of those testimonies from Gary and Daniel themselves in the coming days.
Again, I had the honor of officially graduating the Bootcamp students who have been serving here for the last couple of months as interns. Rather than going home to graduate with the rest of their classmates, they chose to stay in Tanzania after their initiation trip and help organize the Operation Decapolis Campaign. As you will know, if you have read reports from any of the previous nights, there is a group of interns stationed in each of the five cities (27 interns in all who worked under 16 CfaN campaign directors). Each night as I preached in their city, we presented them with their diplomas in front of the massive crowd in the Gospel Campaign they helped organize. These have been such powerful and emotional moments.
After the short graduation ceremony, I preached the Gospel, reiterating what the other two evangelists stationed in this city have preached each of the previous four nights and concluding with a short message about Jesus – the Resurrection and the Life! What a Holy Ghost party we had! There is no message in the world more thrilling than the resurrection of Jesus Christ! But we didn’t just talk about the power of the resurrection as a past-tense, historical reality. We demonstrated the power of the resurrected Jesus right there on the field! In His name, sickness still bows, and demons still flee!
Day 5
Amazing miracles happened!
- A woman had a goiter the size of a grapefruit for three years. She was never able to touch her neck without pain. But tonight, that painful goiter completely disappeared! She enthusiastically demonstrated how she could touch the spot without pain!
- Another woman told us that she had been mad (insane) since 1989. When mental illness was commanded to leave during prayer, her mind became completely clear. A friend of the woman confirmed her testimony, telling us that the mad woman used to walk naked, talk gibberish, swear, and hurt people. Now she has peace in her mind and is completely restored!
- Another woman had terrible pain in her ear since birth. Her whole life, she could only hear if someone spoke loudly. Yesterday, her hearing returned completely, and all pain is gone!
- Another lady fell down a year ago, and her leg was very swollen. She limped when she walked all the time. Yesterday she told us that she encountered the presence of the Lord and felt her leg straighten out! Now she can walk without pain and without a limp! She was even able to run on stage!
These are but a small sampling of the many, many miracles that happened tonight and every night in every city throughout the week (25 meetings in all). Over the next two weeks, we will be sending you the reports from each of the evangelists stationed in the five cities. As you will see, many of the reports are mind-boggling! This is nothing short of a move of God!
Thank you for praying for us and supporting this work financially. We are shoulder to shoulder in the harvest!
This is all possible because of you! Thank you!
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(Together with Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team)
Day 5
A witch doctor is SET FREE! – Mbeya, Tanzania
Day 5 | Impressions from Sunday
Iringa | Morogoro | Dodoma | Tunduma
Day 4
Highlights in Dodoma
Day 4 – Dodoma, Tanzania
Demons Manifesting
This morning we flew from the city of Morogoro (where I preached last night) to Dodoma (where I preached tonight) for the fourth night of our Operation Decapolis Campaign, where 5 campaigns are taking place in 5 cities simultaneously! Here in Dodoma, Evangelists Joe Turnbull and Paul Maurer have been ministering since Wednesday. They have been plowing the ground and planting the seeds.Tonight, I felt a wonderful breakthrough took place. After preaching the Gospel, as soon as I began praying for the sick, demons started manifesting all over the field in extraordinary numbers. Our deliverance team had their hands full tonight.
Day 4 – Dodoma, Tanzania
Then I asked the five interns who have been stationed here, working in Dodoma for the last few weeks (and who also officially graduated tonight), to help me minister to the sick.
Day 4 – Dodoma, Tanzania
We saw many amazing miracles take place:
- One man had problems with his eye, legs, shoulders, ears and heart. He could not see out of his left eye, but his eye opened up tonight, and he can see very well. All of the pain left his body in each place where he was hurting.
- Another man had a brace on his back. He used a cane to walk and had to use painkillers. He stopped using his cane and the brace and has been completely healed. He stomped all over the stage, showing how his back and legs had received strength.
- One woman had severe pain in her spine and had to use crutches. After prayer, she was running on stage, showing how she had been healed.
- Another woman had a heaviness on her and pain in her head. She could not go to university or do what she wanted to do in life because of the constant pain. All of the pain left her body during prayer.
- Another woman had severe asthma for 5 years, but tonight all of the pain in her chest left, and she could breathe normally!
- For 22 years, another woman was not able to bend over because of the severe pain she was suffering from. Tonight, she was relieved from this pain; all her mobility was restored.
- A man also told us that he came Wednesday to the campaign a severe alcoholic. He has not had a drink since he was prayed for and is totally free.
Tomorrow I will fly to the fifth and final city where I will preach this week during our Operation Decapolis campaign. I have already been hearing wonderful testimonies of what God is doing there. I will graduate the Bootcamp interns stationed there and preach one more time.
I also look forward to greeting the Nations Church congregation live from the campaign field. The church doesn’t launch until August 15th, but hundreds of launch team members are already meeting every Sunday morning for Worship and Intercession services. As I prepare to preach in the evening, they will be meeting in Orlando in the morning. Linking the global evangelistic movement with the life of a local church is a very exciting part of what God is doing. Thank you for continuing to pray for us.
This is all possible because of you! Thank you!
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(Together with Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team)
Help with the Decade of Double Harvest
Day 4
Tunduma, Tanzania
Day 4
Morogoro, Tanzania
Day 4
Iringa, Tanzania
Day 4
Mbeya, Tanzania
Day 3
Highlights in Morogoro
Day 3 – Morogoro, Tanzania
Massive Harvest
Tonight, I preached in Morogoro, Tanzania, the third of the five cities I will visit this week. It's amazing to arrive in city after city where full campaign fields are waiting and where the harvest is ongoing. What amazing days of harvest we are living in!
CfaN Evangelists Jared Horton and Evelina Smane have been carrying the campaign here with great effectiveness since Wednesday (and they will continue after I leave until Sunday night).
Tonight, I preached the Gospel and then worked with the Bootcamp Interns stationed here (and who officially graduated tonight) to minister to the sick.
Day 3 – Morogoro, Tanzania
Wonderful miracles happened! Here are just a few:
- A lady who was unable to walk because of swollen legs for two years was healed.
- Another lady was healed after being unable to bend, walk or work due to heart problems.
- A man who was paralyzed on the left side and unable to walk for two years was totally healed.
- A lady who could not move her left hand for one year was healed, and many more!
As incredible as all these things are, each of the five cities is experiencing and giving reports on equally amazing things. I've been hearing testimonies and praise reports coming in from all sides. I can't wait to share these with you in the coming weeks!
Tomorrow I will travel to Dodoma for the fourth night of this Decapolis Campaign, and on Sunday, I will end in Mbeya. Please keep our entire team of volunteers, technicians, interns and evangelists in prayer as we press on to reap this massive harvest here in Tanzania.
This is all possible because of you! Thank you!
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(Together with Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team)
Day 3
Tunduma, Tanzania
Day 3
Impressions from Dodoma and Mbeya
Iringa, Tanzania | Day 2
Day 2
It has been so overwhelming to see all that God is doing.
Right now, there are five cities here in Tanzania that have ongoing CfaN Gospel Campaigns. Not only that, but we also have teams preaching the Gospel in other African countries and other nations around the world. And, even in Orlando, where our new local congregation meets, there is ongoing, radical evangelism on the streets. There is a soul-winning movement being birthed, and it brings so much joy to my heart to have the privilege to live in the midst of this historic moment.
Day 2
This morning I flew from Mbeya (near where I preached last night) to Iringa (where I preached tonight).
Once again, as we did last night, together with Peter Vandenberg, I had the honor of officially graduating the Bootcamp interns that have been stationed here for the last six weeks helping to prepare this campaign. What an outstanding job they have done and what a remarkable group of students – now Graduates – the Lord has brought together.
Day 2
After preaching a clear Gospel message and seeing many thousands respond, together with the interns, we prayed for the sick and amazing miracles took place.
- A woman who was bent over at the waist - almost 90 degrees - for 2 years was totally healed! She was walking all around the field with no more pain.
- A woman with painful tumors on both sides of her waist (the size of a fist) said the tumors instantly vanished during prayer, and all pain is gone.
- A woman who felt a burning pain in her legs, 24 hours a day since 2018, was healed tonight. At the beginning of the service, the pain was so severe that she could not stand. By the end of the service, she was completely well.
- An elderly woman testified that she took a bad fall several months ago, which left her paralyzed on the left side of her body and unable to speak. Tonight, after prayer, the paralysis completely left, and her speech returned. When I asked her if she had any lingering effects from the paralysis, she said that there was only a slight numbness on the left side. I prayed for her again and right there on the platform, all remaining numbness left, and she was made completely whole!
- A man and a woman testified that they had been deaf for many years. They were both completely healed tonight.
- A young lady said she had been suffering for 7 years with pain in the left breast. Doctors were planning to operate, but tonight all pain completely vanished!
These are just a few of the many wonderful testimonies we heard. Even as we were concluding the meeting there were countless people lining up to testify of the great miracles God had done for them.
Tomorrow I will fly to the next city (Morogoro), where the campaign is ongoing. Please continue to pray for our five teams in all five cities as we continue to preach the Gospel here in Tanzania.
This is all possible because of you! Thank you!
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(Together with Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team)
Day 2
Worship in Iringa, Tanzania
Day 2 with Evangelist Evelina Smane in Morogoro, Tanzania
I will preach the Gospel till the last breath in my lungs runs out. I belong to Jesus!
A Historic Milestone
Tunduma, Tanzania | Day 1
Operation Decapolis
Day One Report
Tonight we passed another historic milestone. For the first time in the history of the ministry we have successfully initiated five simultaneous mass Gospel Campaigns in five different cities. As you can probably imagine, the logistical undertaking to execute this has been enormous. I can truly say that the CfaN team is the best in the world. I’m so thankful for them and proud to work with them.
The five cities we are in are Tunduma, Iringa, Morogoro, Dodoma and Mbeya. The campaigns in each city will run tonight through Sunday (five nights each). If you are wondering how we can do this, it is because of the “multiplication” initiative we have been busy with for several years now. In each city, two evangelists are preaching two nights each. Most of these preachers are graduates of our Evangelism Bootcamp! I preach one night in each city and then move to the next, where the campaign is ongoing.
Day 1
Dodoma, Tanzania
Day 1
Mbeya, Tanzania
Day 1
Tunduma, Tanzania
Day 1
Iringa, Tanzania
Day 1
Morogoro, Tanzania
But it’s not just evangelists that are being multiplied. The organizers, technicians, and campaign directors are also multiplying!
Of course, the word “Decapolis” means 10 cities. In our first attempt (last year, during the COVID pandemic), we started with 5 campaigns over two weeks (3 campaigns one week and 2 the next). This time we have scaled up to 5 campaigns in one week (we will do the same again in October). Then next year, we will start full-blown Decapolis Campaigns with 10 simultaneous campaigns in 10 cities over two weeks! Then we will begin doing multiple Decapolis Campaigns each year, resulting in many millions of salvations per year! (This is all in addition to our super massive “Flagship Campaigns” in larger population centres that we will continue to conduct).
Tonight I started in the city of Tunduma.
This tiny city has not seen a campaign since Reinhard Bonnke was here in the early 90s. One third of the population of the city showed up tonight, on the first night of the campaign. An outstanding start by any standard.
The city is heaving with excitement. As I sat in my room before the meeting tonight, I could hear “sound cars” driving through the streets, making announcements. I couldn’t understand the language except for one word “Kolenda.” They were announcing over and over the arrival of our team and the campaign starting tonight. I could not wait to preach and tell the people that Kolenda cannot save them.I did not come here for them to learn the name Kolenda. I came to proclaim the name above every other name, the name of Jesus! The city was filled with thousands of shouts as they cried out in unison “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!”
In each city, we also have Bootcamp students who have been working here for the last 6 weeks helping to organize the campaign.
Tonight, those stationed in Tunduma officially graduated and Peter Vandenberg and I presented them with their diplomas and rings in front of the tens of thousands present. I will do this each night as I travel from city to city with the interns stationed there when I arrive.
Also, those same Interns/Graduates who have been working in Tunduma assisted me in praying for the sick and interviewing the testimonies tonight. They ministered with great power and anointing. I was so proud of them.
Mighty miracles happened as well, including:
- A man who couldn’t breathe, jump, or shout for over 15 months. Jesus healed him and he was rejoicing by jumping and dancing on stage!
- A woman had cataracts and was unable to see for 12 months. Jesus healed her and she was able to see fingers held up from a distance!
- Another woman had such back pain she couldn’t bend over for 6 months, and she was healed and totally able to bend over and rejoice and praise God.
- A woman was unable to walk, but tonight she walked for the first time in 8 years! Her sister was crying, jumping and rejoicing at all that took place.
- Another woman had an issue with her spine for 12 months and was unable to bend over at all. Jesus healed her and she was bending over, rejoicing and praising Jesus.
There were so many healing testimonies that came forward it became quite chaotic. But as Evangelist Bonnke used to say, “This is the kind of chaos we prayed for”. Each night my reports will come from another city. We will continue to share testimonies from the various evangelists in the five cities in the coming days and weeks.
Thank you for continuing to pray for us and each of these cities. Tanzania shall be saved!
This is all possible because of you! Thank you!
Yours in the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(Together with Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team)
Help with the Decade of Double Harvest
Evelina Smane
This is happening all over Tanzania right now! TONIGHT, In 5 cities, 5 Gospel Campaigns will begin.
All five trucks have reached their different destinations in Tanzania and are setting up their systems.
On our way to Tanzania
Our "ABNORMAL" banners were fixed to the front and back of our trucks as we have oversized lengths.
Countdown to Decapolis
Last month, over 90 Evangelism Bootcamp graduates completed their 3-week whirlwind Bootcamp Initiation Trip in Tanzania, where we saw thousands upon thousands of salvations, healings and deliverances. It’s as if the second chapter of Acts is playing out again in glorious technicolor in front of our eyes!
But this is truly just the beginning for Tanzania in 2021. Our teams have barely had a moment to shake the African dust from their shoes – and it’s already time to turn our collective focus to the next exciting series of events coming up next month!
Decapolis // June 9 – 13, 2021
5 campaigns, 5 cities – in 5 days!
Even as some of the Bootcamp students were winging their way home, many stayed behind to continue offering every assistance to the campaign organization teams. These teams have now been on the ground in Tanzania for months, working day in and day out to train and equip local church leaders and volunteers for the mammoth task ahead, and to handle the truly overwhelming amount of paperwork that is generated by multiple public events.
Not a day goes by that there isn’t one challenge or another. It could be a missing permit, a problem with local authorities, or campaign volunteers that need further training. Our campaign organizers must be on call every day of the week, sometimes with very late hours, as they conduct meeting after meeting to train and teach. It’s physically extremely demanding, especially in the tropical heat. And that’s when everything is working well!
“How can we solve this?”
Africa brings its own challenges, like regularly interrupted power supply, or lack of clean drinking water. And these are obstacles that are even more likely when you are working in medium-sized towns, rather than only the big metropoles, where technological progress is faster and more consistent.
The ideal evangelistic event organizer must be someone who is well-trained, who flows in the gifts and the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and who has a flexible, solutions-orientated mind. Their prayerful attitude has to be “How can we solve this?” at all times! And that’s where having a likeminded team, practically trained and spiritually well-founded, is of the utmost importance.
Trained, equipped – and now sent!
During the action-packed Decapolis week, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda will be preaching at each of the five cities for one night. However, the major responsibility for soul-winning in each town lies in the hands of our teams of evangelists, hand-picked by Daniel Kolenda. Each one of these Holy-Spirit-inspired evangelists has been through the crucible of intense training, both through the Evangelism Bootcamp, and in many months of hard work in various organizational teams.
They have been tested in the field, and they have put in the time, effort and sheer dedication that CfaN’s extremely high standards demand. We thank God for every one of these fiery evangelists and cannot wait to see the harvest that they will bring in during this first 2021 Decapolis.
This is only the first Decapolis this year!
We are moving forward with the vision the Lord has given to Daniel Kolenda and the whole CfaN team. And the Lord said, “Multiply and collaborate”! So yes, this is only the first Decapolis event planned this year. In October 2021, there will be another just like it. Is that daunting? Yes, it is. But we are not slowing down. We are not backing down. And we know with all our hearts that He who gives the vision also gives the provision.
New Gospel Truck for East Africa
Winfried Wentland recently explained to us what an enormous challenge it is to source the right kind of truck to join our Gospel Truck fleet in Africa. From exhaustive bureaucratic demands, to very specific technical specifications and chassis length, this has been no easy task. But Wini is not known for giving up! After a long and tiring search, and just in the nick of time, he was able to find a suitable truck for deployment in Tanzania. With only hours to get the job done, our technical team raced to customize the truck, turning it into a fully-functioning independent stage with sound gear and generator. Within days of purchase, it was already on the road to Tanzania for use in the Bootcamp Initiation outreaches.
Now, in the weeks leading up to the Decapolis campaigns in June, it is once again being used multiple times a day, setting the stage for the preaching of the Gospel anywhere and everywhere the teams are given access.
What’s Next? – a powerful tool for kids’ evangelism
Every outreach that CfaN conducts, big or small, is given the same detailed follow-up methods. That includes putting a copy of our follow-up booklet “Now that you are Saved” into the hands of every single convert. Hundreds of millions of these booklets have helped brand new Christians to understand the decision they’ve made, and the steps they need to take to become a mature Christian.
Tanzania is the site of our pilot project for a brand new, exciting arm of CfaN’s follow-up ministry. What’s Next? is a beautiful, original follow-up booklet written by Evangelist Daniel Kolenda especially for children. In bold, crystal-clear language, What’s Next? helps children who have just received Jesus as their Savior reflect on their decision, and teaches them the next vital steps on their journey as a Christian. Topics include reading the Bible, becoming part of a local church, and prayer.
What’s Next
Production and storage costs covered locally:
500,000 booklets = € 26,700
1,000 booklets = € 53.40
100 booklets = € 5.34
1 booklet = € 0.053
Let the little children come to me…
Everywhere in Africa, you see far more young people than older folk. The population of the entire continent is 50% below the age of 16! Children are the most important demographic group everywhere in Africa. And we are seeing them turn to Jesus in record-breaking numbers, everywhere the Gospel is preached. Can you even begin to imagine the eternal impact of lives surrendered to Christ early? Lives dedicated to serving the Lord from childhood into adulthood?
God loves us so much, He wants to spare us the effects of a life lived in sin and shame! No wonder Jesus specifically told us to “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14 NKJV).
These wonderful evangelistic tools have already been translated into Swahili and put into use by our Bootcamp evangelists over the past weeks in a huge number of children’s outreaches. In fact, we have already printed 500,000 – yes, half a million! – just for this pilot project phase. And we will be needing many more for the coming months of outreaches in East Africa. To cut costs as much as possible, these booklets are printed locally in Tanzania, reducing our shipping and storage costs to the bare minimum.
So thank you, our dear friends and ministry partners. Your faithfulness, your words of encouragement and love, your financial support and commitment – these mean more to us than you can possibly know. We are energized and thrilled to be right here on the front lines with you.
The best is yet to come!
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
P.S. If you would like to specifically sponsor the printing of What’s Next? for leading children to Jesus, please use the reference “WhatsNext” on your deposit slip or bank transfer. Or you can donate online. Thank you for your love gift for these precious children.
