Well it has begun! Who knew that while we were praying and developing this dream for the last 3 years that at the same time God was preparing a place for us, 5 years in the making. He was preparing a man, a champion of champions. His name is Pastor Arsenio and he is one of the greatest men I have come to know. Just when I think he is too good to be true, he shows us another side of his character that is kingdom minded and I become more convinced. He truly carries the hunger, vision and faith to see his city, his country and the world transformed.
Fear is not holding him back from achieving his goals and God continues to provide for them and their vision which is always bigger than they are. They are already several months into a building project that they believe will house a bible school, a leadership school, a new believer’s class and the possible future home to a Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.
Pastor Arsenio started out with a group who met in his house. It quickly grew to +/- 200 people so they sought out land and a tent. They rented some land and after many trials got a tent up on the land that seats 600+ people and when they opened the church the tent was filled and hasn’t stopped growing. They now have two services and a church of 1,600 in a town of only 6,000 people. These people love Jesus, I mean really love Him. You can tell by their worship. Last year the tent blew down and the entire congregation came together and rebuilt it in 5 days.
Pastor Arsenio has a heart for the nation with plans to purchase a TV and Radio Station in the near future. He hopes to reach people with media, drama and new technology. They have programs for feeding and clothing the poor, youth events, drama and much more. As I watch him dealing with the people, I see love, freedom and empowerment. The people around him believe all their dreams will come true. He is assertive and loving, constantly raising people up to a standard and creating a safe place for them to be all they can be. This man is a true champion ripe for the culture of revival.
They have seen some supernatural, but since being with us at the conference in January, Pastor Arsenio and his team of 30 leaders wanted more. They began with John and Shirley Vaughan who spent time fathering them and doing sozo’s on the pastor, his wife and several other leaders. Then it was our turn.
This last week we started, what I will call the first Ignition Center…. it will be called whatever he decides when and if he wants to, but for now I will refer to it as an Ignition Center. Together we decided what they needed and how much they could commit to come to class. I suggested 7 hours they said 8. So we are training them for +/-8 hours a week for 4 weeks.
This week I taught an intro class, Identity & Relaitonships. I was hoping to go faster, but there were so many questions and a lot of social time so we covered what they could take in and I could deliver. On the Thursday night, at the end of teaching, a woman got healed of a jaw/tooth infection as I demonstrated moving from love toward faith. I wanted to emphasize that the only thing we owe people is an encounter with the Holy Spirit! It was so awesome. She encountered His love and her pain and infection went away. Praise God for what he is doing here in Nicaragua.
We believe we are here to impart revival culture. What these powerful people do with it in the future is up to them, but it looks like enough hunger and love for Jesus to truly transform this nation. It’s our privilege to serve them and I look forward to seeing what God is going to do in Nicaragua.