Introduction

It is time the Western Church sheds her rational biases from the Englightenment era, and begins to learn afresh from the voices of the marginalized in the Church. These voices are particularly those from the Southern Hemisphere, and those normally passed over as being in the “charismatic” camp. Oftentimes hiding in the back-corners of the “charismatic” section of Christian bookstores, the most profound testimonies to God’s love and power are to be found. Even more, these stories often take place among the world’s poorest, in the streets and in the slums. It is in these very spaces where the ministry of God’s love is most often expressed through his supernatural power of signs and wonders. Leaders such as Heidi and Rolland Baker in Mozambique, Carlos Annocandia in Argentina, and Bill Johnson in California have much to teach us about the imbalance of our ministries to street children.

Ironically, just as these are the stories of a marginalized people of God, on the outskirts of society, the Western Church has marginalized their stories exponentially, because we are held captive by the rationalist worldview passed down to us since the Englightenment. Our worldview has shaped our minds, and told us that the supernatural things of God are not logical, and are impossible. What more, the momentary times when we as Western believers have prayed for the impossible, we are all-too-quickly discouraged by the lack of immediate results. Our faith needs awakening.

It is time that we begin to uncover these often-untold stories, in order that a more wholistic approach to ministry with street children may be crafted. Indeed, if we are able to heed the marginalized voices of the church which speak of God’s supernatural power, perhaps then our faith will be awakened to then walk out that power in day to day life. For the purposes of this course, Ministering to Street Children, I propose that the principles learned from these marginalized mentors be put into action through a tactful ministry of healing for street children in Naples, Italy. For, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (1 Corinthians 4:20).

If the message of Jesus Christ is the power of God for all who believe, what are the spiritual implications of street children who have seemingly received Jesus as their Lord, but remain powerless to addictions and uncontrolled behaviors? The enemy has been allowed to steal, kill and destroy the joy and freedom from far too many street children who have sought to walk towards Jesus. I believe this is so because the vast majority of Western Christians are uninformed and ignorant on matters of the spiritual realm. The vast majority of us practice a powerless Christianity that is far removed from the spirit of Jesus in the New Testament. The issue of demonized street children must be addressed with discernment and care. A balanced and tactful approach to inner healing is necessary for any ministry to street children to be effective in demonstrating the power of Christ. However, above all, prayer ministry and deliverance to children must be executed in an environment of love and tenderness, taking care that no matter the outcome, the child leaves being ministered to by the love of the Father.

Part 1: Heidi and Rolland Baker

The goal of authentic missionary encounter with any culture always must be to bring to bear the life-giving power of God against the power of death.
(Shenk 1991: 106)

Heidi and Rolland Baker are currently ministering to the listless orphaned street children in Mozambique. Likewise, they’d spent twelve years in Asia, and ministered in the slums of Honk Kong where they were inspired by Jackie Pullinger, author of Chasing the Dragon and minister to the poorest of the poor in the infamous Kowloon Walled City. Heidi and Rolland each hold phDs in systematic theology from Kings College. As they studied, they also planted a church among the homeless in the city of London. Then, after many years of praying and waiting, they were drawn to Mozambique to care for the abandoned street and working children of Maputo.

In Maputo, the Baker’s discovered the Chihango center, what they call in their authobiography, There is Always Enough, “the government’s best effort at taking care of its abandoned children, and the largest such center in Mozambique…”:

“Chihango was more like a detention center for delinquents: wild, abandoned, homeless kids, thieves and fighters from the streets whom no one wanted, not even the police. There were about eighty of them, living like animals. They defecated on bare floors and sat there warming tin cans over wood fires. There were no beds, no mattresses, no sheets, no pillows. Every night was spent on the cold cement. They were bloated and covered with sores. They yelled, kicked and fought. The government could bring a bit of food only three months out of the year. They still had to steal and beg” (Baker 2003: 19-20).

Heidi remarks, “I was told, even by leaders of existing churches in town, that paying any attention to these children would be a waste of time” (Baker 2003: 20).

These are the stories of showing the unrelenting love of the Father to the street children of Mozambique. Likewise, they are stories of God’s supernatural power, as in the case of Beatrice. Beatrice was a street child when she was found, maybe ten or eleven-years old. She’d been raped many times, her father was an abusive alcholic, and her mother was dead. Her bloated belly, the worms in her feet, the open sores across her face, and the lice and scabies which covered her all combined to cover any hope she had for life.

Says Heidi, “I felt an overwhelming love for this wounded child. I saw Jesus in her eyes when I looked at her. I held her close and brought her home…I got lice and scabies, too, but that didn’t matter. More important was holding Beatrice close and letting her know she was valued and loved…Beatrice responded instantly with tears flowing down her deformed face…Doctors said she probably wouldn’t live, but she did. The Lord healed her…” (Baker 2003: 41-42).

Stories of God’s supernatural provision and his healing among world’s most poverty stricken children abound all throughout their book, There is Always Enough. The faith-awakening stories continue on their website for Iris Ministries. This month, Mozambique was hit with torrential flooding, making the already-dire situation even more difficult. But the Baker’s newsletter communicates even more hope:

“A wave of humanity in Mozambique is again left without any hope but Jesus. And again we are in a position to participate in the building of the Kingdom in the most unlikely places, and to see another level of revival that we could not have predicted or imagined. We don't know yet all that God will do in this country among our Mozambican people, but He surprises us every day. Reports of miracles are flowing in from the camps. Four blind people saw and two deaf people heard today” (Baker 2007: 1).

Lessons Learned from the Baker’s Story:
1. In God’s Kingdom, “there is always enough” provision and hope, no matter what the circumstances may be.
2. As we actively embrace the unlovable, we will release God’s power to them through our very touch.
3. God invites us to participate in Kingdom work “in the most unlikely of places,” and it is often here, in the margins, where we will see his Spirit move the most powerfully.

(Photos from Heidi and Rolland's website: Iris Ministries, Inc.)

Part 2: Carlos Annacondia

Christians either underestimate or overestimate Satan. (Annacondia 1998: 45)

Carlos Annacondia is a crusade minister from Argentina who has become known by the signature decree he issues before speaking at meetings: “Listen to me, Satan!” In the Forward to Annacondia’s book, C. Peter Wagner writes, “As I have seen with my own eyes, when he shouts this out in his public meetings, literally ‘all hell breaks loose!’ Demons manifest, and the demonized victims are immediately taken out and ministered to one-on-one, sometimes through most of the night, by trained deliverance counselors”
(Annacondia 1998: viii).


The scene that erupts from Annacondia’s pronouncement is almost difficult to imagine. And yet, it has even been documented by secular news sources that’ve investigated these country-shaking crusades. Annaondia writes: “In every crusade service, there are hundreds of men, women, and children who, after a few moments of prayer, start manifesting demons. Perhaps their bondage is due to magic, spiritualism, macumba, or false doctrines. These people’s spiritual deliverance is necessary for them to be set free from their slavery to Satan’s rule. The best way to minister to someone in bondage is by giving that person love…caring for the person’s soul.” (Annacondia 1998: 75)

Annacondia presents relatively simple principles for ministering to those in bondage. These include moving the person towards forgiveness, renouncing ties to the occult, releasing blessing over curses, and praying for others in the restorative authority of Jesus Christ.

Annacondia recounts many outstanding testimonies of God’s healing love being ushered in through a power encounter. However, he admits, these encounters are still filled with uncertainty and mystery. One such story was of a presumably homeless man from Córdoba who wandered the mountains, insane, much like the Gadarene whom Christ set free in the gospels. The man was brought to Annacondia half-naked, barefoot, and not having bathed in three years. Exhausted, Annacondia listened for the Lord to give him insight on this man. He sensed the Holy Spirit say, “there are two legions.” And so, Annacondia laid his hands on him and rebuked every demon that might be present. With this, the man ran, not to be seen again for quite some time. Six months later, the man showed up at another crusade, only this time he was well-dressed and in his right mind. He arrived with leaders of the city who came to testify that this, in fact, was the man Annacondia had prayed for. (Annacondia 1998: 48-49)

Lessons Learned from Annacondia’s Story:
1. Spiritual authority springs from a humble walk with Christ, in which his Lordship is continually realized.
2. The majority of Western Christians are not walking in the authority given to us by Christ to trample darkness.
3. Even the most intense moments of God’s power encounters are still filled with uncertainty and mystery.

(Photos from Annacondia's website: Reaching Souls.)

Part 3: Bill Johnson

Our trust in God is demonstrated by action…How can we not pray for the sick? I am not implying that everyone we pray for will be healed—surely they are not! But I am asserting that Scripture never qualifies who will be healed. Our task is to pray; God is the one who heals. (Wimber 1987: 171)


Bill Johnson, pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, has seen the supernatural power of God manifested in great measure over the last decade. Even more, he has cultivated such an environment of faith and testimony whereby his congregation regularly prays for people in the streets and in shopping malls. Laypeople in Redding, California weekly report wild healings and hearts turned to Christ. Johnson is an excellent example of a Western leader who is taking risks in Jesus’ name to allow God’s love to be disclosed through his power. Unlike other healing-evangelists, Johnson is neither showy nor emotional. He is rather quietly spoken and calm as he welcomes the Presence of the Spirit to invade a situation.

Johnson’s second book, The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind addresses the realities of the Kingdom, and welcomes Western believers to allow God to begin to transform our minds to show us what “normal Christianity” truly is. In chapter one, he begins by recounting the story of two people who came to Bethel in great physical need: a man with tumors and a woman with lung cancer who had great difficulty breathing. After being touched by the power of God, the man left the church with pants that no longer fit him, because the tumors had disappeared. Likewise, the woman left pain free and breathing normally. (Johnson 2005: 19-20). Johnson asks:

“Is that normal? Absolutely! But is it common in today’s church? Not yet. But God is changing the way Christians think about the so-called impossible. He is teaching us to work hand-in-hand with the Kingdom so the reality of heaven comes crashing into earthly problems and overwhelms them. The results are astounding miracles, great victories over the enemy, healing, deliverance, revelation, and more.”
(Johnson 2005: 19-20).

Lessons Learned from Johnson’s story:
1. My mind has so much room left for tranformation.
2. Even today, it is possible to see great works of God’s power here on American soil.
3. The normal Christian life is that of the realities of the Kingdom being made present, “on earth as it is in heaven.” Instead, the majority of us in the West have settled for a sub-normal Christian life, bereft of God’s power.

(Dot on Redding, California Photo from Wikipedia.)

Part 4: John Wimber and Chuck Kraft

Spiritual strongholds must be defeated before our evangelism and social action will see any results…The issue of strongholds is an important one and we must address it if we are to have any success in our ministries to at-risk youth. (Burch 2005: 114)

John Wimber was a man well acquainted with the power ministry of God before departing to be with Him in 1997. Wimber wrote and taught extensively on the guiding principles he’d learned in his praxis of God’s healing ministry. One principle I’d like to highlight from Wimber's book Power Healing is this: “God wants to heal the whole person, not just specific conditions” (Wimber 1987: 171). This simple principle has profound implications for the street child in Naples, who has likely suffered emotional abuse, physical abuse, and even sexual exploitation. (In 2001, for example, UNICEF reported in an online press release that 80 percent of Albanian street children were sexually exploited in Greece or Italy.) Wimber writes:

“Emotional and psychological hurts, including bad memories, are caused both by our sin and by our being sinned against. The healing of these past hurts restores the inward (unseen and unseeable) part of men and women, as opposed to purely physical, visible, or outward healing…I define inner healing as a process in which the Holy Spirit brings forgiveness of sins and emotional renewal to people suffering from damaged minds, wills, and emotions. It is a way of bringing the power of the gospel to a specific area of need” (Wimber 1987: 80).

Wimber defines the two greatest ingredients of inner healing as first forgiveness, and second as seeing our past experiences through God’s perspective, through what he terms “conversion therapy” (Wimber 1987: 92). This therapy is not unlike Chuck Kraft’s approach to inner healing.

Fuller professor, Dr. Chuck Kraft has ministered to demonized Christians for over six years. His knowledge and experience of inner healing is extraordinarily extensive, as are his books on the subject. In his book Defeating Dark Angels, he advises that those who desire to minister inner healing to a person must spend time listening to the Holy Spirit on their behalf. Likewise, he exhorts us to work on a small team of people, with a mixture of spiritual gifts including words of knowledge, prophecy, and especially, discernment of the spirits. This team must have extensive prayer support from outside sources, particularly in preparation for a time of ministry.

During a ministry time of inner healing, Kraft advises that we then invite Jesus to appear to the person within the situation or the past event needing healing. Before doing so, however, Kraft notes that it’s vitally important to explain to them the following:

(1) We can’t explain why God allowed it to happen, but,
(2) We do know Satan intended it to completely destroy them.
(3) But since they were not totally destroyed,
(4) This means someone more powerful was there with them, protecting them. (Kraft 1992: 150).

(John Wimber photo from "Doin' the Stuff.")

Part 5: Proposing a Ministry of Love and Power to Street Children in Naples, Italy

Urban theology must, of its essence, be praxis-oriented, trenchant, impatient, observant, and engaged within the reality of life in all urban communities, as well as understanding the dysfunctional realities that produce areas of multiple deprivation. It must have a vision of how the future must be different and be committed to finding some of the mechanisms to make that a reality. (Davey 2002: 11)

Ministering inner healing to street children is a particularly tender business, particularly because children are open to such manipulation and suggestion by adults. The scandal in the Congo in recent years is one horrible example of how deliverance has been used to manipulate street children, as the Human Rights Watch reports:

“Children are blamed for economic or social ills which befall an extended family member, particularly a death related to HIV/AIDS, and are accused of being witches. Boys and girls accused of sorcery are often physically and emotionally abused at home or in churches at deliverance services led by self-proclaimed prophets in an attempt to rid them of "possession…" Save the Children UK estimates that as many as 70 percent of street children in Kinshasa have been accused of sorcery” (Jubilee 2005).

Perhaps it is due to these rampant abuses that no documented cases of an inner healing ministry with street children could be found, apart from the Baker’s itinerate ministry of healing and deliverance, often simply through their embracing of a child. Clearly, there is a wide-open space for discovery and documentation in this area, as it is a ministry needing to be pioneered by a tactful, discerning team of individuals.

In light of Judith Ennew’s extensive study on development in her Street and Working Children: A Guide to Planning, in which resource-gathering and child-participation is of the utmost value, I propose that a pilot ministry of inner healing for street children be prepared in Naples, along the course of four years. This ministry should work alongside of already-present ministries to those on the streets, such as the Betel Center—a family-style ministry to Neopolitan males who are drug-dependent.

A Simple Plan:

The first two years of this ministry should focus simply on building relationships with the street children in the poorest neighborhood of Marianella. These two years should be wholly devoted to going to where street children are, living in their world, listening to their stories, and getting to know their deepest needs. This stage of the ministry is of the utmost value, as it is the foundation of any action that will take place. Surely, ministry will occur through the course of these friendships, as love and affection, as well as prayer and counsel may be offered to these street children, but the bulk of the work will be unseen by the community, as trust is built in relationship. Likewise, natural and intentional connections should be made with others in the community with a vested interest in the children’s well-being such as parents, teachers, social workers, NGO’s, and any existing ministries present in Naples, such as Mother Theresa’s Sisters of Charity.

In the following two years, a small team of discerning, prayerful adults should begin inviting street children to begin what I’d term simple “prayer conversations.” These conversations would be the initial steps of inner healing ministry, as described by John Wimber and Chuck Kraft. Does the child have anyone they need to forgive? Then encourage the child to talk through that person or incident. And as the child is willing, welcome the Holy Spirit to carefully bring light and healing to those wounded parts of the child’s heart.

Clearly, these conversations must be age-appropriate, and surrounded by love. The context of these initial steps of inner-healing for the child must be wrapped in the earned trust and proven love that the adult team had achieved in the first two years. And all throughout the process, the distinguishing mark of these “prayer conversations” must be the love of the Father, as made manifest through the prayer-team’s interaction with the child. Likewise, throughout the process, a careful record should be kept of what went wrong, what proved helpful, as the prayer-team “debriefs” together after each ministry time.

Following any of these “prayer conversations,” the child should always leave feeling loved and valued. No matter what the deeper-level spiritual outcome may be, the prayer team must have tactfully communicated God’s love to the child in an appropriate manner. In the absence of this environment of nurturing and the primary motivation of love there is room for great misunderstanding and abuse, as made clear in the Congo. However, through this simple plan for ministry, and through the perseverance of a prayer team, I believe the street children of Naples will discover God’s love through the disclosure of his power towards them. And likewise, a firm foundation can be built for the development of the inner healing ministry to move in more dynamic ways in the future, especially as the prayer team grows in their experience of the children and in their experience of the Holy Spirit.

(Naples map from Univ. of Texas at Austin Map Collection.)

References

Annacondia, Carlos. 1998. Listen to Me, Satan! Exercising Authority Over the Devil in Jesus’ Name. Lake Mary: Charisma House.

Azzopardi, Marika. For the Children of Naples. Times of Malta.
http://lifestyle.timesofmalta.com/article.php?id=4215

Baker, Heidi and Rolland. 2003. Always Enough: God’s Miraculous Provision Among the Poorest Children on Earth. Grand Rapids: Chosen.

Baker, Heidi and Rolland. 2007. Floods of Revival. Iris Ministries. March 3, 2007. http://www.irismin.org/news/35.php

Burch, Greg W. 2005. Community Children: A Ministry of Hope and Restoration for the Street-Dwelling Child. Greg Burch.

Davey, Andrew. 2002. Urban Christianity and Global Order: Theological Resources for an Urban Future. Peabody: Hendricson.

Ennew, Judith. 2000. Street and Working Children: A Guide to Planning. London: Save the Children.

Johnson, Bill. 2005. The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind: Access to a Life of Miracles. Shippensburg: Destiny.

Jubilee Campaign. 2005. Statement by Tony Tate, Researcher in the Children's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch. November 15, 2005. http://www.jubileeaction.co.uk/campaigns/kbb/jcusa051115. html#tate

Kraft, Charles H. 1992. Defeating Dark Angels: Breaking Demonic Strongholds in the Believer’s Life. Ann Arbor: Servant.

Shenk, Wilbert R. 1991. “Missionary Encounter With Culture.” International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 15:3 (July 1991).

Unicef. 2001. “UNICEF calls for eradication of commercial sexual exploitation of children.” Unicef Press Release Centre. December 12, 2001.
http://www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr97printer.htm

Wimber, John and Kevin Spring. 1987. Power Healing. New York: HarperCollins.