Reading with Amayah
August 14, 2024
Pan in de church
August 14, 2024
By Lesley Taylor Gouveia, Coordinator /Jesus Explosion
All Praise and Glory to Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as Jesus Explosion (JE) 2024 was again a wonderful testimony of the love, mercy, power, and grace of Almighty God. The theme was taken from Ephesians 5: 8 – “You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of Light”.
Deacon Baldwin Powell of Jamaica, Fr Godfrey Stoute, Fr Peter St Hilaire, Archbishop Emeritus Robert Rivas OP, and Fr Ian Taylor (Spiritual Director JE), all anointed men of God, broke the Word, exhorting us to be children of Light. The talks delivered strong punches and silenced the crowd many times as we were forced into self-examination.
Fr Stoute challenged participants to God’s standards for Christian attire and living. He added humour while piercing hearts with conviction.
Fr St Hilaire gave an honest admission of giving his life to God and the struggles with the flesh and the world. It took him three years to fight his way out of sin and back to God.
In true JE styling, though the talks were hard hitting, they were punctuated with much humour and joy. From Fr Stoute animatedly singing “Me I will not suffer; I will not beg for food. He is my Daddy-O”, to Deacon Powell’s reggae vibe –dark shades and all, and in the case of Fr St Hilaire, a first-time speaker to JE, whose testimony echoed with the crowd and had us in peals of laughter.
The presence of 26 Guyanese from Region 1, the interior of Guyana, displayed the great sacrifice they made to attend, as they came to hear the Word of God preached in power and to be ministered to by the Holy Spirit.
We also saw an increase in youth participation for which we thank God, as JE has always paid specific attention to youth who need to be grounded in the Word, and who need to have a personal encounter with Jesus.
The ‘Impact of Social Media (SM)’ workshop geared mainly to youth, but not limited to, drew a big crowd, and was well received. One of the underpinning messages was too much time is spent on SM, with little or no time for prayer and reading the Word of God.
Other workshops that saw strong attendance was ‘Witnessing to Jesus –The Great Commission’ as people sought tools and encouragement to evangelise, and ‘Spiritual Warfare and the Power of prayer’. Feedback indicated that all ten workshops were rated highly.
An important aspect of JE is the Blessed Sacrament ministry. Prior to, Fr Ian shared on the essential ministry of Jesus, not only preaching about the Kingdom of God but demonstrating it through healing, deliverance, and miracles.
He exhorted the people to believe that Jesus is able to do the same today. He encouraged them to reach out for healing, deliverance, and answers to prayers. And they did, and He healed, and answered prayers.
One Guyanese mother touched the monstrance on behalf of her daughter who had been haemorrhaging and it stopped immediately. Another Guyanese young woman was diagnosed with Lupus and when in faith she held the monstrance and pleaded with Jesus, she fell under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. When she rose, she was free of all pain and to the present time is still well. Others testified to God’s healing touch during the ministry.
Healing and comfort also came through the Counselling Ministry which was available throughout the weekend. In listening to God’s guidance, the leadership team discerned the need to develop its own Counselling Ministry and for the first time, 12 persons stepped out in faith and ministered to God’s people.
The success of the weekend is due to God Almighty. May God continue to use Jesus Explosion to bring many to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.
JE Revival is on September 22 at Trinity College, Trincity.
