Peter K. Johnson
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Is Revival Emerging in Germany?
Spiritual complacency rules in Germany, where most Christians seem more concerned with planning their next vacation than a move of God. But an influx of foreign Pentecostals shows early signs of reawakening the German church. Ulf Bastian tramped into Christengemeinde Elim Pentecostal church in Hamburg, Germany, parading his punk-rocker duds: hair dyed a shocking bright …
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40 Years on the Streets
This article was orginially published in the February 1998 issue of Charisma.
It was Feb. 28, 1958, when the 26-year-old Pentecostal preacher from rural Pennsylvania disrupted a highly publicized murder trial in New York City. David Wilkerson had made the eight-hour drive from his quiet mountain village to downtown Manhattan for a simple reason: to speak to the seven accused gang members about their salvation.
In a grave attempt to share the love of God, Wilkerson had rushed to the front of the courtroom at the close of trial proceedings and pleaded publicly with the judge for permission to meet the teen-age defendants. News media were everywhere, and Wilkerson unwittingly made himself the source of headline news throughout New York City.
The judge had been receiving death threats during the trial, and Wilkerson was almost arrested as a presumed assailant. The judge later refused Wilkerson’s request to see the boys and ordered him never to return to his courtroom.
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Times Square Church Keeps Growing
This article was orginally published in the May 1996 issue of Charisma.
In Manhattan, David Wilkerson has given the term ‘Broadway revival’ a whole new meaning.
Perhaps God had a better idea when the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar opened 25 years ago in Manhattan at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. Today the ornate Broadway landmark houses a flourishing Pentecostal ministry called Times Square Church (TSC), founded by David Wilkerson in 1987.
“We originally came here to find a holy remnant who would welcome repentance and set an example that people could live a righteous life in the midst of Babylon or Sodom,” Wilkerson says.
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Pentecostal Minister Builds Homes for Haiti
An Assemblies of God chaplain is helping Haiti rebuild, one
prefabricated home at a time.Denny Nissley, founder and executive director of Christ in Action ministry in Manassas, Va., plans to ship 5,000 prefabricated homes to earthquake victims in Haiti. The first shipment of 500 homes is to arrive in Port-au-Prince by late March.
Photo: Denny Nissley (left) during a recent visit to Haiti
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David Wilkerson’s Amazing Challenge
It has been 50 years since Pentecostal preacher David Wilkerson moved to New York City to reach violent gangs. His message has restored hundreds of thousands of lives.Fifty years ago, David Wilkerson seemed an unlikely candidate to attack the Goliath-like monster of drug addiction. He was an obscure 26-year-old Assemblies of God preacher from rural Pennsylvania when he traveled to New York City in 1958 to share Christ with seven teens accused of murder.
At the time, he knew little about drugs, addiction or New York’s gang-infested inner city. What he did know was that the Holy Spirit could destroy any stronghold, even one as insidious as drug addiction.
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God at Ground Zero
Five years after September 11 attacks, Christians are still sharing the hope of Christ's love with a broken city.
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Coming to America
Some of the nation’s fastest-growing churches aren’t English-speaking. Immigrants are bringing their vibrant faith to the United States.
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Faith in Uniform
Law enforcement is a dangerous profession. That's why Christian cops take their faith seriously.
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Not Your Grandmother’s Pastor
With his tattoos and earring, New York City preacher Rick Del Rio has redefined what it means to be Pentecostal.
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For the Love of Chinatown
Vicky Liew and her team of Chinese women are taking God's love to illegal immigrants in one of New York City's toughest areas.
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Faith Amid the Flames
Embraced as national heroes since the 9/11 attacks, firefighters are finding and sharing God in the face of danger.
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The Latinos Are Coming
¿Tú hablas español? You might want to start learning Spanish now--because Hispanic churches are growing faster than ever in the United States.
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New York’s Homeless Pastor
Since 1987, Diane Dunne has fed, clothed and cared for her homeless flock while churches in the city ignored her work. Feisty and street-savvy, with a heart as deep as the skyscraper canyons where she ministers, Diane Dunne extends the hand of Jesus to the poor and needy in New York City and the suburbs …
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A Devil-Stomper In Brooklyn
In Brooklyn Lamont O’Neil has taken at-risk youth off the streets by teaching them to dance for God. For Lamont O’Neil of Brooklyn, N. Y., the chances that he’d ever be able to climb out of the pit of ghetto poverty were practically nil. When he was 5 years old, his father abandoned the family, …
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How One Woman Challenged Oppression
Maria Sliwa, a controversial ex-cop from New York City, has a new crime beat. She's calling the United States government to get tough on countries that persecute Christians.
