Successful ‘Hope for the City’ Reported in Bronx and Detroit
Dr. Thomas Grassano, who leads Urban Harvest Ministries, submitted the following testimonial of lives changed at the recent Hope for the City event.
We give God praise for the mighty things He has done for His glory through Hope for the City this summer!
Through outreach in Detroit and the Bronx this summer, over 320 souls received Christ as Savior – 181 in the Bronx and over 140 in Detroit! All that we do at Urban Harvest is for this purpose – to present people with an informed and relevant choice to accept the saving power of Jesus. We are thankful for the strategies God has given us but we know it is the Holy Spirit who does this work and we give all thanks and glory to God for each soul who took a step into a new life in Jesus Christ.
Here are some highlights from the recent work in the urban harvest fields of Detroit:
Divine appointment at a Baptism I was called upon to assist with the baptism of six new believers from the Russian/Ukrainian congregation in Detroit. The baptism was held at the lake of a public park on a Sunday afternoon, just a few yards away from the public beach. As we began to baptize these new Christians, a crowd began to form not only on the shore but in canoes around the baptism. Onlookers watched with interest or rejoiced with us with each baptism!
After the fourth baptism, a young man in a canoe yelled out, “Excuse me! Do you have room for one more?” As we learned their story, we were amazed: Janelle is a baby Christian just one month old in the Lord. The sermon in their church that morning was on “Divine Appointments.” As they arrived at the lake and rented their canoe, Ross told Janelle, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we came across a baptism today?” Five minutes into their canoe ride, they came upon our baptism! Janelle was baptized along with six Russians and Ukrainians hungry for God.
A testimony of our labor not being in vain! Just prior to a final planning meeting with the lead pastors of the Hope for the City network, I stopped by Central Methodist in Downtown Detroit in response to a call from a staff member. While waiting in the office, Chris – a man I have known for a few years – came out and gave me a hug. Chris has struggled with alcohol addiction for years. By divine appointment, we seem to find each other each year during outreach.
Chris and I spoke for several minutes while he was waiting for his counselor. His counselor then emerged from the offices, saw me, jumped back surprised and said, “Pastor Tom, what are doing all the way over here from the Bronx?” I recognized his face. He said, “I’m James Harris. I attended your mission in the Bronx almost 20 years ago. I went from there to Chicago to Detroit, got my life straightened out, and now I’m a certified counselor!” I remembered this man whom we poured into but seemed to never be willing to give up his habit. God has changed his life and was using James for His glory! With a smile and a laugh, James said, “See what I am doing now? It’s your fault!”
Young Adults Ignited for Jesus! The Ignite Gathering took place three days prior to the Hope for the City outreach week, targeting the young adult 18-20’s age group to ignite a passion for Christ and for serving in the Great Commission. Each night, over 100 were in attendance. Prayer erupted for more than an hour each night, as these young adults laid themselves on the altar of surrender and committed their lives to serve Jesus Christ in consecration and complete abandon. A street drama troupe was formed out of the Ignite Gathering that ministered on the streets of Detroit the following week, becoming instrumental in many giving their lives to Jesus Christ.
Downtown Detroit Prayerwalk The day after the conclusion of the 40-Days of Prayer and Fasting, Christians from around Metro Detroit joined together to bathe Downtown Detroit in prayer. Meeting at historic Mariner’s Church, we began with a corporate time of prayer and then dispersed into prayer teams to walk designated routes and cry out to God for the city and the outreach impact about to take place. There was freedom, unity, and anointing as we walked the streets and prayed, and many divine appointments with people needing encouragement, truth and prayer for themselves!
As the prayer teams dispersed, Susan, a 72-year-old woman, approached the Prayer Station at Mariner’s Church and inquired about what was taking place. As Angel Grassano shared with her the purpose of the Prayerwalk, Susan began to tell her story with tears of joy streaming down her face. Susan accepted Christ when she was 17 years old. At 27, God laid it on her heart to pray for revival in cities. She focused her prayers on Detroit and had prayed for this city for 45 years. Being from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, she had never been to Detroit! She decided to travel to Detroit for the first time in her life for only two days, and while walking around Downtown, felt impressed to go to Mariner’s Church. As she learned what God was doing, she said that she was seeing the answer to 45 years of prayer for this city!
Another man in his 70’s shared an interesting testimony after the Prayerwalk: “I didn’t like the way we were doing this. I wanted to go in groups of two and three and I was complaining to God. Then God said to me, “Did I give you this vision? Look around you. What do you see? These intercessors are carrying the cloud of My presence through the streets of this city. Today, this is holy ground.” Praise the Lord!
Prayer Stations: Prayer Stations in Detroit were established at City Hall and the historic Campus Martius. Within one hour on the first day, two people at each Prayer Station received Christ as Savior! A total of eight received Christ the first day. Hundreds were prayed for during the week. Many divine appointments took place. Christians were encouraged, people in need received prayer, and many received Christ as Savior.
One day at Campus Martius, a young lady named Tiara asked for prayer for a job. The following day, she returned (like the one leper of ten in the scriptures) to give thanks that she had received a call back from an application and it looked like she received the job. She stopped by on her way to the final interview. As we joined to give God thanks and pray for her one more time, we noticed a man standing close and observing. We asked Larry his name and then how we could pray for him. Larry said, “Would you please pray for me? I really need a job!”
A quick note about Prayer Stations in the South Bronx: In one week, 171 people received Christ as Savior! PRAISE THE LORD!!!
Community Outreach: The testimonies from outreaches are too many to tell in one report! Many, many lives were changed as God’s people took to the streets to pray and tell the Good News to all who would hear.
East Detroit Imagine African Americans, Caucasians, Kenyans, Russians and Ukrainians from nine churches walking the streets of East Detroit in outreach? That’s what happened during Hope for the City Week! The first night, 13 received Christ as Savior. The second night, 15 more did the same!
A miraculous thing happened on one street as a Prayer Team (Black-White and Russian!) came upon a drug lord and his crew. After a brief polite exchange, the Spirit of the Lord began to anoint His Word through God’s servants. Using 1 Corinthians 13 to share the message of the love of God in Jesus Christ, these youth and young adults were captured by God’s presence. The girls began to weep. The guys remained silent and attentive. Then we asked if they wanted to change their lives that night by repenting of their sins and giving their lives to Jesus Christ. They responded that they did, and we prayed.
Upon finishing our prayer and opening our eyes, Parker’s face (the drug lord) had completely changed! God had transformed his countenance and even his eyes by a powerful touch of His grace. After that, more of his friends opened their hearts to the Lord.
The next night, a Prayer Team led by the local pastor (who were not with us the night before when we met Parker) happened upon a man and woman sitting in front of their home. A conversation went from a greeting to a “what are you people doing” to open hearts receiving the Lord. Upon completing the prayer of repentance, the wife looked up at her husband in astonishment: “What happened to your face?” God had done it again!
As the week progressed, we noticed something truly amazing: For the first time in 21 years of doing this work, the majority of those responding to the Gospel with hunger for God and truly open hearts were men! What a powerful thing this could mean for families, communities and churches in the city!
I remember David Wilkerson telling me years ago, “Tom, when you see men hungry for God in the city and responding to Jesus, you will know revival has come.” May it be so, Lord!!!
Southwest Detroit A day that appeared to be a failure at first turned out to be God’s divine plan to touch the lives of people He was calling by name.
Many things attempted to prevent the outreach from having success on this Thursday night. Delays prevented people from being there. The outreach started about 20 minutes late. Then some of the outreach teams got lost and couldn’t find the streets they were to be on. Had it not been for these things, the following would not have happened:
An outreach team decided to walk down a street. At the third house, a woman was just getting home from work. A lady in the outreach team approached this weary-looking woman and asked if she could pray for her. The woman said, “Come back tomorrow. I have too many things to pray for.” The outreach team member responded, “Can you just give us one thing to pray for?” The woman began and gave a list of eight urgent needs in her life, revealing the tough road she was walking on and the trials she was facing. Then the outreach member asked, “Ma’am, do you know Christ as your personal Savior? For I know He is able to meet all of these needs!” The woman opened her heart and in sincere prayer, received salvation that night. Five more people also opened their hearts to salvation on the same street!
God is always in the details, even if He doesn’t appear to be!
Family Day in Clark Park At least 1,600 people came to Family Day at Clark Park. While it was raining all around us, the Lord held back the rain until the event was finished. The day included inflatables, clowns, puppets, balloon animals, face painting, snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn, hot dogs, music, drama, resource booths serving the community, street hockey with the Detroit Red Wings, Prayer Stations, Bible distribution and Gospel presentation. Hundreds received food donations. Area churches connected with people from the community. Families took advantage of resource booths providing everything from counseling services, immigration lawyers, home heating credits, free mammograms, and more. A Hall of Fame NHL veteran and a famous Fox Sports Detroit reporter were present at the street hockey event.
And Jesus was there in a wonderful way! More than twenty youth at the street hockey event received Christ, along with 60 children and adults at the Child Evangelism Fellowship tent and others at the Gospel rally. To God be all the glory!
___________________________________________________________________________________
There are many more testimonies pouring in about all of the wonderful and powerful things God has done in the harvest fields of this city this summer. We are so grateful and humbled that God would allow us to serve this city, uniting His people in Great Commission outreach, touching the lost and hurting with the hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ!
And that hope is timely in Detroit! Hope for the City Week began just two days after Detroit declared bankruptcy. This great American city is in great need, but the greatest need is not in the fiscal crisis or mismanagement that plagues this city; It is in the spiritually bankrupt lives yearning for answers and help that can truly touch the deepest needs in their lives!
This is what God did through Urban Harvest outreaches this summer, resulting in more than 140 salvations in Detroit and another 181 in the Bronx!
–His bondservant, Dr. Tom Grassano
