World Impact Ministries / Peter Youngren

The Easter season has reminded us again that religion deals with ridding the soul of sin, guilt, remorse and shame. There are hundreds, if not thousands of recommended ways to get the job done. In the early fourth century, empress Helena, later St. Helena, believed she had discovered the staircase that led to the guardroom in Jerusalem where Jesus appeared before Pontius Pilate. Helena was the mother of emperor Constantine the 1st, who adopted Christianity as the religion of Rome, though, to this day, no one knows for sure whether his conversion was a political convenience or a heart-felt conviction. Helena saw to it that the Sancta Scala, the Holy Stairs, were transported to Rome.

It’s been rewarding on our Grace 2010 tour to be able to announce that as of March 15th we are now available on Shaw Cable, channel 166. That in itself is an answer to prayer. I knew from the onset when we took over The Christian Channel now Grace TV, that to be really effective we would need Shaw Cable, which is so strong in the four western provinces.

It’s a suggestion I have heard repeatedly, and just last week I heard it again; this time from a well-known Canadian media personality. “Every religion is the same; it’s all summarized in the golden rule, ‘Whatever you want that people should do to you, do so to them.’ Or the reverse, ‘Don’t treat anyone in a way that you wouldn’t want to be treated yourself’.”

Critics of religion often point to the many wars, killing and strife caused in the name of religion both today and throughout history to deride its very essence and purpose. Much has been made of this point. If you haven’t heard these arguments make your way to a local bookstore and go to the religious section. And, yes, the blame goes in many directions. No religion is off the hook.
That criticism has also been pointed closer to home, within the ranks of our “Christian” community. How about the fact that we kill our own. No, maybe not physically, but in every other way. When a believer sins, or God forbid a minister, they are publically humiliated in the name of Christianity. Often the hands of those who do this sacred spiritual exercise are more soiled than the hands of those they are “purifying” to ease their self righteous piety.

Every day people make thousands of decisions, expressing thousands of opinions. All these various views beg the question: In what is our knowledge grounded? Furthermore, how do we know about God? What about the accuracy of the Gospel accounts of Jesus? How can we be sure that God made us, and not the other way around? Many people have ready-made answers, but maybe we should ask; “how do we know anything?” Regardless of the answer let’s not apply a double standard, but whatever criteria we use to gain knowledge about anything, let’s apply that criteria to God as well. There are three fundamental ways in which people know things; experience, reason and authority.

Our campaign is in full swing, and every day has been filled from morning until evening. First we held a press conference to get word out through the media. I particularly stressed that we have peaceful intentions towards the large muslim population. My mission is to reveal Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, and now the Living Savior. Beyond this I don’t discuss religions - Jesus is our message.

I cried on my way to the meeting tonight. Nathan Thurber, who is with me here told me a story that moved me so much. I will let him tell it.

Nathan: From 2002 to 2009, I was involved in Gospel Festival set up and preparation for World Impact Ministries (WIM). For the past year my role has changed with WIM’s purchase of Grace TV. However, I had the opportunity to return to a Gospel Festival in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this week in the role of a journalist interviewing those whom are healed each day at the Festival. Along with Kyle Sweitzer, another member of our media team at Grace TV, we visit the homes of those who were healed the previous day.

If you tuned in to the news this week you probably know that yesterday Elvis would have been 75 years old had he lived. I was never a devoted Elvis fan, though like most people I enjoyed his music from time to time. Whether a fan or not, no one can deny the impact Elvis continues to have on the American psyche.

A few years ago, while pastoring at Niagara Celebration Church, we did an illustrated sermon, “Crying in the Chapel”, telling some of Elvis’ story. To prepare myself, I read Elvis’ life story, “Down at the End of Lonely Street”, by Peter Harry Brown and Pat H. Broeske.

There are few, if any, things as rewarding to me personally as to present Jesus to people, who have never heard of Him. That’s what made the Ikara Campaign so special.

Our start was dismally small after the government had rumored the Gospel Festival was cancelled, and the muslim leaders had warned their people not to attend. Then night after night the crowd multiplied and thousands of muslims heard and received the Gospel. Pastor Oddleif Wahl from Norway shared in the Pastors Seminar. He has the same passion as our team - the Gospel.