Caught by the Lord

Félix and Adela had been hearing for weeks about a big rally planned for Bangui in the Central African Republic and wondered what all the fuss was about.  

They asked their friend Joseph, the director of a Christian radio station, “What is Tyrannus 2009?”

Joseph encouraged Félix and Adela to go to the evangelistic rally to hear Rev. Paul Mpindi, radio preacher for “Perspective Réformées,” Back to God Ministries International’s French-language program.

They decided, mostly out of curiosity, to join 15,000 others who crowded into a soccer stadium for the rally. The encounter changed their lives forever.

Pastors and church leaders in Bangui organized the Tyrannus Rally (named for the discipling ministry of the apostle Paul in Acts 19:9) and invited Mpindi to speak.

Mpindi also trained 900 pastors and 1,000 women (faithful listeners to a program hosted by Mpindi’s wife, Charlotte) in preparation for follow-up after the rally.

After months of planning and preparation, Mpindi preached a powerful message based on John 8:30-36 about the freedom God gives through Christ. At the end, more than 3,000 people came forward to commit their lives to Christ, and approximately 5,000 people made a recommitment to live as disciples of Jesus.

Félix and Adela joined those who flocked to the front of the stadium to give their lives to Christ for the first time. “They were longtime unbelievers who came out of curiosity,” reports Mpindi, “but they were caught by the Lord!”

Mpindi spent the next three days in Bangui, along with the follow-up leaders, discipling those who came to the ministry center for prayer, Bible study, and spiritual counseling. Many asked to be freed from the power of witchcraft.

“The exciting part about the success of the rally is that it was initiated and planned by the local churches working in cooperation with each other and with Back to God Ministries International,” he said.

“In addition, the president of Central African Republic [who is a Christian] lent us his high-tech sound equipment to use at the rally free of charge. It was truly remarkable to see the wonderful collaboration of so many people to bring the good news of freedom in Christ. The place was soaked with the Spirit of God. Everyone could sense it.”