Praying for Revival in South Africa

At Christian Leaders Institute, students are asked at the end of some classes to submit a final reflection paper. Sometimes the courses offered at CLI impact students in amazing ways. One such student was David James, who wrote of his experience in the course Missions and Revivals.

“I found this course extremely valuable in several ways… …Living and working in South East Asia, I was particularly interested in the missions aspect within this course, although the revivals did hammer home one key message; prayer is always the starting point!” After talking for a few minutes about the power of prayer, David goes on to say, “Someone that I found most helpful to my own personal situation was John Williams… …He sent missionaries to Samoa in 1830 and in just seven years, over half the population had converted to Christianity. In the Christian History extract, it asks, “Why such spectacular growth?” and goes on to state, “Williams understood how much influence chiefs had in village life, and he intentionally sought to win them over in order to secure not only the respect of the community but also the admiration of other chiefs… …This really emphasized to me the need for a good understanding of local and national culture and attitudes. It’s often far too easy for us to think that the way we have been brought up is the only way and everything else is wrong. I think we need to remember that being different is often just that, different, not wrong.” David James has many other things to offer concerning the course Missions and Revivals, but in his conclusion he returns to the starting point: prayer. He says “I will continue to pray for guidance in this matter, knowing He will reveal His plan for me in His own time.” This is key for him to understand if he is to be an agent of God in bringing revival to South Africa.

Revival in South Africa Starts With Prayer and Training

David James began his studies at CLI with the course Getting Started: Christian Basics Certificate. This course serves as an orientation where students get acquainted with the Bible school model. Additionally, it asks students to fill out a profile and write a letter. These assignments allow them to introduce their ministry goals and reasons for studying at CLI. In his letter, David writes “My returning to the fold, as I like to see it, has been quite recent, although it’s been “getting there” for the last decade. As Was mentioned in the course, it’s often in our worst times we can come close to God. Even though I was away from God, He was never away from me. How true the “Footprints” poem is! I can see that where there was one set of prints, God was carrying me.” He also writes in his reflection paper that he has a deep desire to serve God in helping to bring revival to his country. It is the prayer of everyone at Christian Leaders Institute that the Lord does a great work through him. It is also our prayer that the training he receives here will equip him for everything that the Lord has in store for him.

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