Henry Kakooza, CRI Africa Director, recently visited a church in Uganda that has wholeheartedly embraced church renewal practices. During the service, he felt led to ask the congregation to get into pairs and listen in prayer on behalf of each other.

Among the congregation was a young lady, around 20 years old, who had quietly joined the prayer meeting despite being a Muslim. During the listening prayer exercise, she did not share her need. But her neighbor, guided by the Spirit, sensed her fear and shared a message: "I sense that you have a lot of fear, and the Lord is impressing upon me to tell you, do not fear."

When Henry invited anyone to share a word of testimony, this young Muslim woman, trembling, took the microphone and said,

"This is my first time in church, and I want to tell you I am a Muslim. I have been having a recurring dream where I see a big lion with bright eyes, and each time I wake up terrified. Instead of calling out to Allah, I find myself calling Jesus, whom I do not even believe in. Today, because of this fear, I decided to come to church. When you said we should listen in prayer, something I have never done before, my neighbor, who knew nothing about my situation, told me not to fear. This is why I decided to come to church."

Then she began to cry. In that holy moment, Henry shared with her about the Lion of Judah, Jesus. Overwhelmed with emotion and praying through her tears, she asked Jesus to save her.

Many churches have either misused or ignored the gifts of the Spirit, greatly hindering their impact for God’s Kingdom. Church Renewal International provides the tools and training needed to help churches grow and become confident in Hearing God and operating in the Spirit’s gifts. This results in greater Kingdom impact.