What A Month!

From early June up to now I could well have been the busiest I've been. I have organised my first Gospel crusade, commentated at the FIFA World Cup, and been part of recording a CD! And here I am... finally with a bit of time to journal the experiences. If I could take one thing from all the action; it would be the confirmation of Psalm 37:4:
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."

I have found the more I have simply let go and delighted myself in my Father and His Love for me, the dreams within my heart are stirred. And they supernaturally seem to get realised.

The first project worth talking about would have to be the "Clermont For Jesus" crusade. Although technically it wasn't in Clermont, but neighbouring area Kwadabeka. For those that may be wondering why we kept referring to it as the "Clermont" crusade, the reason is two fold. Firstly, the original plan was to hold the crusade in Clermont, but the best venue we could find to host the event was in Kwadabeka only minutes away from Clermont. And secondly for promotional reasons many people are more familiar with Clermont and hence we just decided to keep the name as it was: Clermont for Jesus.

This truly was, and still is, a dream realised. God clearly spoke to me midway through 2009 that He wants to bring revival to the townships of South Africa. And this radical wave of God would spill over and impact the entire nation and even continent!

I have always had a passion for my black brothers and sisters! Especially the people of the Zulu Kingdom! Ironically, "Zulu" literally translated means "Heavenly people".

Toward the end of 2009 we had an old apostolic pioneering friend Keir Tayler come and share in one of our pastor's meetings, and what did he share on? Revival. My heart was burning and I shared my heart with him regarding revival in the townships, and he suggested I set something up, invite him in, and learn everything I can. The best way to learn is experience.

So I did. Not knowing what I was getting myself into. My first ever crusade of any kind, and we went big! And this where I can so testify to God's provision for the dreams of your heart. God gave me this desire deep within, and all I needed to do was act on it, and He would do the rest. We ended up getting full sponsorships for our scaffolding stage (Formscaff Pinetown), generators and lights (Need-A-Tool), ministry tent (ABC tree feeling), and portable stage and sound for street ministry! And the provision kept on coming as people offered their services wherever they could. Not to mention the donations of food parcels and blankets for the many underprivileged in the area.

God gave me the dream. I acted upon it. And it all came together.

Sure, there were many times when I thought to myself, "what on Earth have I got myself into?" But it's faith that keeps you going. Faith in the Goodness of your Father. Knowing that He has called you to this, and if He called you, He will sustain you and provide for you. And that He did!
And from 13 - 17 July 2010, we saw thousands of lives impacted by the incredible Good News of Jesus Christ. It was a combination of taking the crusade to the streets, school ministry, the main event in the evenings, that saw over 700 people commit their lives to Jesus Christ and many others receive a touch of healing and deliverance as God revealed His Love and Power.

And this is only the beginning. This is truly the first of many. We have learnt much from our first event. And these small beginnings are an incredible foundation for great things to come in our country! Hold on to your horses!

You can click all of the photos linked in this post to go to full album as posted on my Facebook profile.

Now, while preparing for my first ever crusade, I also had the immense privilege of commentating at Durban games of the FIFA World Cup 2010. Again, Almighty God, my Father, set it all up!There was an opportunity for me to get involved at Supersport (South Africa's primary sporting channel) during the World Cup. But it would most likely have meant doing work in Johannesburg during that time. As much as I would've loved to be involved in the soccer World Cup, the opportunity fell through.

But I worried not, and knew that my Father knew my heart. I loved sport, and I loved soccer. And a week later I received an email about FIFA's new project to bring the atmosphere of the FIFA World Cup to the blind. It involved commentators describing the action as it happens broadcast via FM radio to blind and visually impaired fans in the stadium. The perfect opportunity.

I went for an audition, the rest is history. Everything fell into place. I was given the job and with it the opportunity to commentate at 6 of the 7 FIFA World Cup games at the glorious Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. It was at times surreal. Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Martin Tyler, Arsene Wenger, Christiano Ronaldo and others was just a downright fun experience. One I will cherish for all my life, and thank my Father in Heaven deeply for.


And amidst all of that, the incredible group of people I have the privilege of "leading", Fuzion, were in the middle of recording their first worship CD. A project also birthed in the Throne Room of Heaven.

As a youth group we have been unashamedly going after the Presence of God. And that has many repercussions. I believe everything flows from His Presence. His Presence is concentrated perfection. So the best songs, the best ideas, the best projects, come from His Presence. And our worship band had begun to write some of the most glorious songs about Heaven, for Heaven, from Heaven.

The catalyst for actually putting these songs to CD came when we realised we needed major funding for a trip we were doing to Singapore at the end of the year. We felt inspired by God to put our songs to CD, and from the sales of the CD trust Him to provide for our trip to Singapore.

So far so good!

The project has already been featured in a local community newspaper, and the actual live recording worship night saw many people touched and transformed in the Presence of God. We even raised enough money to pay for the first batch of CDs. God started it. He sustains it.

Let me just add... the reason for the CD is not to raise funds. That was the catalyst to go ahead with the project. Had we not planned on a trip to Singapore, we would have made a CD anyway. But the timing most likely would have been different. The fact is, we had a trip to Singapore planned, and realised a great opportunity would be to record the music at this time so as to double up and raise funds for our trip.

The purpose of the CD in a nutshell: That people would encounter Jesus in reality through the music, and be transformed forever.

That's all we want. Lives to be transformed in the Presence of Jesus. That they would know how much He Loves them, and how much He wants to touch their lives.

So that's been my life since June. Now for the 2nd half of the year. Thankfully it was capped off with an incredible trip to the Kruger National Park for an amazing break.

Remember friends, God wants to give you the desires of your heart. Pursue Him, and watch everything simply fall into place.

For the Fame of His Name,

James