Woman Raised From the Dead and a New Movement Launched

A young Indian man and his wife felt called by God to pioneer. They wanted to take the gospel to an unreached city with few churches. Being sent and commissioned by their YWAM leader, they took a step of faith and moved to the new city.

For six months, they worked to build relationships with other Christians and pastors. They shared their vision for the lost of the city. Knowing prayer was key, Dan* and his wife decided to do prayer walks each morning from five a.m. to seven-thirty.

For more than three months they did this every single day, walking on each street of their city. A new papa, on his walks Dan carried their baby daughter on his shoulder. They interceded morning after morning, asking God for a breakthrough.

A Person of Peace

There were many villages on the outskirts of the growing metropolis. One day, they went to meet a man named Selwa Kumar in one of the villages. They gave him a track and shared the gospel. He was from a Hindu family but was very open and interested in Dan’s message. “Could this be a person of peace?” Dan wondered.

When Selwa put his faith in Jesus and called his friends and family to also hear the message, Dan knew he was the one. They started worshipping in his home regularly. Dan trained Selwa to also share the gospel message with others.

The Miracles Begin

While visiting houses in his area, Selwa found a sick family. An eleven-year-old girl had a problem with menstrual bleeding that wouldn’t stop. The very same day they prayed, she was completely healed! The whole family then put their trust in Jesus. They gave their porch (terrace) to be used as a place for the growing church to meet.

The work of God grew, expanding into other nearby villages. And miracles continued to happen.

Heart Attack Strikes

One incredible day, God did something Dan had never seen before.

A relative of one of the believers was named Babani. She was very, very ill. Her family took her to the hospital for treatment. On the way to the facility, she had a heart attack and died. In shock and grief, the family brought her home. They then called Dan to come and pray for the body.

When he reached their home, everyone was crying. He told them to go out of the room. He then began to pray for the lady. As he prayed, she suddenly moved. She had come to life again! God had done a miracle like none he had ever experienced before.

Dan called the family into the room. Everyone was so surprised to see her alive and began to worship Jesus. The news of the woman who had come back to life spread to all the surrounding areas. This opened the door for Dan and the other believers to start work in six new villages. The church was multiplying as in the book of Acts!

Multiply and Train

God spoke to Dan about the importance of raising up other leaders. He knew that he could not take care of all the people coming to faith by himself. He needed to give others responsibility and train them to carry on the work. Dan wanted them to look to God, not only to him for both teaching and the ministry of healing.

Dan follows the MAWL model (Model-Assist-Watch-Leave). “The first time I show them how to share the gospel and pray for sick people. Then I let them do it and I help them. Very quickly, I then release them to go and do it themselves without me. I give responsibility to them,” he says.

As he trained them, every believer got involved. They too began to see the power of God at work through their lives.

More Miracles – More Churches Started

A Hindu couple came to one of the local believers for help. They had conceived, but the wife began to bleed. They were very concerned about their baby. Praying in Jesus name, the believer asked God to intervene. The bleeding stopped. He then told them that Jesus could also save their souls and give them a new life. They accepted Christ and put their hope in Him for salvation.

A few weeks later, the same problem happened to some of their friends. The woman was there in the village but her husband was in the army. Calling her husband and telling him she’d begun to bleed, he encouraged her to have an abortion. Not wanting to do this, she told her friend, the new believer, about her problem. This woman then shared her testimony. “God stopped my bleeding and saved my baby. He can help you too!” she said.

Though very young in her faith, she laid hands on her and prayed in Jesus’ name as Dan and the others had taught her to. The woman was healed and the baby was born without complications. Glory be to God! As this woman also put her trust in Christ, another new church was started in her home.

Dan was full of stories like this! “In another village, a man had a father who was sick. He prayed and his father was healed. A house church has started there now,” he shared with a smile on his face.

Using Training for Trainers (T4T) to disciple the new believers has been effective. “I teach them the Baby lessons, how to share their testimony, storytelling and Discovery Bible study. I also train them in how to pray for the sick.”

A Movement Has Begun

In this area, there are already 440 baptized believers. 1,200 people attending the house churches and Bible studies. They have ministries in 58 villages and have seen seven generations of growth. It is just the beginning of what God desires to do there. Thousands wait to hear the good news.

God can start a movement through you as well! Dan and his wife launched out in faith. They prayed diligently, walking the streets of their city, looking for persons of peace. They believed God for miracles and trained local believers to do what they were doing. Disciples made disciples who made disciples.

Interested to learn more? Consider attending one of our FM seminars or training. We’d love to partner with you to see a movement released in your area as well.

*Not his real name.