Ethiopia: one hundred thousand people gathered for the crusade in the city of Dila

A four-day evangelistic crusade in Ethiopia in the city of Dilla gathered one hundred thousand participants. The organizers of the event are the Christ is the Answer international ministries and local ministers. The speaker is director of the Mission Taras Sen.

“Jesus wants to free you from the power of hell, Jesus forgives your sins, Jesus loves you”, “No one can save you like Jesus Christ!” – these words were proclaimed from the stage during the days of the crusade.

The evangelistic crusade was the main event of the trip to Ethiopia, says Taras Sen, director of the Christ is the Answer ministries. Preparation for it lasted two months: the team was praying and fasting, inviting local residents and Christian singers.

Even on the first day, at least 20,000 people gathered at the big stadium.

“After the sermon, many attendees came out to pray and receive Jesus Christ. We have experienced blessings from God. Evil spirits could not withstand the influence of the Holy Spirit and manifested themselves. People were released,” shared Taras Sen.

80 thousand people listened to the preaching of the Gospel on the third day of the large-scale event.
“People responded to the preaching of the word of God and many of them came to Christ to receive salvation and forgiveness. We prayed for healing, people testified that God healed them of their diseases. There was great joy among the people. It was nice to see that, after the event, thousands of young people were going home through the city and singing the songs they heard at the crusade”, commented the speaker.

On the last day of the event, the number of people present reached one hundred thousand Africans, with whom Taras Sen prayed for Ukraine:

“I called on everyone present to pray for Ukraine. I prayed in the Ukrainian language, and after me the minister from Ethiopia prayed in the Amharic language. I am sure that every prayer of a righteous person matters even at a great distance, because God is real, He answers the requests of His people. Many Ethiopians sincerely pray for our country.”

Eye clinics in Dila

In three days, the eye clinics reached more than a thousand people (Muslims, Orthodox and Protestants), who received free glasses, had a doctor’s consultation and heard the word of God. People here live very poorly, says Taras Sen, for them glasses are a luxury, so they were really grateful for the help.

A seminar for pastors

For two days, Ukrainian missionary and pastor Taras Sen taught ministers and shared his experience at the pastoral conference:

“At this meeting, I talked about what is happening in Ukraine, how the “liberators” are behaving, what is happening in the occupied cities and villages. I shared about how God freed me from captivity in 2015.

I wanted the ministers to understand the situation, to feel the pain that Ukrainians are going through. Although they understand it that way, because there is also a war going on in their country, in which 500 thousand people have already died. The pastors told me that they would constantly pray for our country. They were impressed that we came from Ukraine to Ethiopia to minister to their people, while we were having the war. That is why their hearts are open to us.”

At the conference we also discussed the pitfalls that Christians, ministers in particular, can fall into. It was about being tempted with money, debauchery. The speaker emphasized the importance of paying enough attention to families, because this area is also vulnerable. He pointed out that ministers must speak the truth regardless of whether someone likes it or not.

A meeting for couples in Dila

The family conference was about the 12 commandments of a happy marriage, in particular, respect, love and care for each other, forgiveness, serving God together, etc.

“Mostly, I addressed men, because they are always in the ministry, and wives carry everything on their shoulders. For this reason, I pointed out that the situation in families should be improved.

The pastors told me that they will review their family life after the conference: they said that many things really need to be changed. I spoke about the importance of properly raising children, investing in them. In the end, I gave the men homework: arrange a date with their wives and send me a photo report.

During the meeting, the couple prayed and hugged. It was touching,” shared Taras Sen.

Other services in the city

During the trip to Ethiopia, the team managed to visit a prison and help with food, as well as preach the Gospel, and people converted to Christ.

Missionaries also visited local hospitals and poor districts, brought food and prayed for the sick, including many children hospitalized with malnutrition.

Missionaries also visited local hospitals and poor districts, brought food and prayed for the sick, including many children hospitalized with malnutrition.

The Director of the Ministries shared: one widow said that her children do not eat in the morning before school because there is nothing to eat, and she was very grateful for the help with food.

Ministry in Addis Ababa

Taras Sen visited the Christ is the Answer church and the missionary center in the capital of Ethiopia.

According to him, it was a pleasure to see the church in Addis Ababa in person, preach there and pray together.

In the church, he preached from the book of Jeremiah and spoke about obedience to God’s voice, about the importance of adjusting our hearts to listen to God, regardless of age.

Taras Sen had the first water baptism in the African church: “Ten people decided to firmly follow God. I baptized Africans for the first time in my life. Praise God for the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of people. The soul is rejoicing. We thank God for the missionaries of the Ministries in Africa, for all the opportunities and help in their work.”

The Christ is the Answer ministries plans to develop its ministry in Ethiopia through local missionaries who will open local churches after being trained in the missionary school which is currently held on the basis of the CITA missionary center in Addis Ababa.

During this trip to Ethiopia, I saw God’s hand in everything, says Taras Sen, – in the preparation and holding of events, in the power of God revealed during the crusade.

CITA missionary activities in Ethiopia began in the spring of 2021 when Ukrainian ministers visited the country for the first time. Evangelistic crusades were held three times in different cities together with local churches. And a media department, a church and a missionary center were opened in the capital of Ethiopia.

CITA press center.