Power Outage

Greg realized that being in Africa and preaching an evangelistic series was itself a miracle. Not everyone thought he was the best candidate for public speaking, but he loved to share his faith. He wanted to believe that working with members of a congregation to try to reach their community with the love of Jesus would be as good for him as it would be for them. And as he had never been to Africa, this seemed like the perfect opportunity for several important factors to coalesce in an exciting soul-winning project. But Greg had his doubts. Could God really use him to reach people with the gospel? The church was at the far north of a major urban center, on the edge of a newly developed area with limited infrastructure, poor roads, and high unemployment.

Those with jobs typically traveled long distances into the city to work. The meetings were conducted in a field and began well. Electricity for the projector was supplied through a series of long extension cords, and battery-powered lights were used. But one night early in the series of meetings, the unthinkable happened.

Greg’s projector stopped working part-way through a sermon. He relied on it to prompt him through his presentations, and the pictures and Bible texts aided the people in better understanding the message Greg was presenting.

Repeated attempts to coax it back to life failed.

There was only one thing to do. Greg and church members assisting with the meetings gathered together to pray. In faith, they tried the projector again, and this time —it worked! Greg rejoiced, the church members were happy, and the visitors to the meeting were glad they could continue to hear the Word of God.

After the meeting, as they told their story, people were incredulous. “How did your projector work?” they asked. Greg told them, “God answered our prayer.” “But how did your projector work?” they demanded. “There was a power outage. There was no power in the entire area!” Immediately Greg understood.

It had been a miracle, a miracle to demonstrate that yes, God could use Greg to do a great work for Him.