Restoration Church celebrate after dozens committed their lives to Jesus.,,,
A church took its gospel message to the streets and saw dozens give their lives to Jesus and a miraculous healing.
The five-day outreach by the Restoration Church in Oxford was based at a park and involved sending out 200 people to share their faith in the city.
Pastor Stephen Smith said he saw an amazing move of God, including a woman with a condition that was instantly healed.
“I saw a lady with crooked feet being prayed for,” said Stephen. “Right in front of my eyes they literally straightened out as the guys declared healing.”
The event featured daily equipping, training and evangelistic meetings in a large tent, led by worship leaders and evangelists.
Attendees took to Oxford city centre each afternoon for street outreach, while back at the park attendees were treated to bouncy castles, face painting and free food.
“We had 40 to 50 decisions for Jesus,” said Stephen. “We’ve had eight baptisms and still have two to do. We’ve seen healings, deliverance, families being reconciled and restored and thousands of seeds being scattered.
“One guy struggling with drugs came to faith. We followed up with him the week after and it turns out his family in Scotland have welcomed him to move back home now they know he’s been saved.”
Another day, the team encountered a group of American students. “They’d made a decision for Jesus years ago but had backslidden. They’d just been talking about faith when they walked around the corner and saw me.
“They heard what I said, connected with the team, then one girl got baptised on the Sunday and her friends came to watch. They were recommitting to Jesus and were full of joy, worshipping God.”
God has continued to move, with all the money spent on the event being recouped, confirming to the church that street evangelism is still culturally acceptable.
“In gathering publicly and non-denominationally in the open air to do simple gospel stuff we received from the Holy Spirit that week,” said Stephen.
“I know he did something powerful and I think it marks a new era where we’re going to see more things like that start to happen.
“We saw doors opened for ministry, people reconnecting with God, getting filled with the Holy Spirit and so much more. It’s been incredible.”
