February:

I preached to the congregation overseen by Jide Lavore on the generational church based upon 2 Timothy. 

July:

I preached two services in Sojourn Church in Carrollton, Texas.  My messages focused on reasons we cannot follow Jesus apart from the local church. 

I preached three services at Northwest church with lead pastor Ben Dixon. This is a flagship regional church in Federal Way, Washington state. I preached on how Jesus released human potential. Every service built upon the other, and God moved powerfully, with almost the whole church responding.

I met with the staff of SonRise Church, ministered to them, and answered questions. After the staff meeting, I did a podcast with Dr. Dan Hammer

I utilized the studio of SonRise Church and did a GodTV interview regarding my latest book. After the interview, I did a podcast with John Hammer. That evening, I preached at the revival service on “Leaving our First Love.” God moved powerfully, and the whole church responded and came to the altar to wait upon the Lord. 

I preached on “The Principles for Experiencing Continual Renewal in the Church” based upon the book of Acts. God showed up, and everybody responded.  The pastor said it was confirmation of what they were teaching last week. 

August:

I preached twice on corporate spirituality based upon Ephesians 4:1-16. I prophesied over several people and John Hammer and used words that confirmed what he was sharing with his staff to describe their plans for the future! The whole church responded to participate in the church’s life and to volunteer.

I ministered to pastors and leaders from several churches in “The Father’s House” church in Portland, Oregon. I taught on the ten commandments and emotionally healthy spirituality. God brought great conviction and clarity through the teaching as it motivated everyone to allow God to work deep within their souls.

I ministered to several dozen pastors in Manna House hosted by lead pastor Mark Estes. God gave me a teaching called “The Pastor and The Psalter” on utilizing the psalms as a way to ground our lives in ten significant themes of this inspired collection of songs and poetry.

I ministered at the Flow Kingdom Ministries in the Bronx, NY, led by Apostle Israel Pena. God moved powerfully as I preached on “The Church In Missions” based on the book of acts. After I ministered, I prophesied over several people, and God’s spirit fell powerfully for worship. Almost the whole church responded to volunteer for the sake of the gospel.

Resurrection Church’s Brooklyn campus held our first ever evangelistic “Hope Arises” tent meetings on our front lawn. 

On the first night, I preached on “Seeking The Lord While He May Be Found” based on Isaiah 55. God gave me the liberty to share a simple message, and the spirit moved me to function in the gift of prophecy and words of knowledge. As a result, two people I had words of knowledge for came to Christ. We also prayed for the sick and saw people healed. 

September:

Lebanon Trip

After the devastating explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2020, I had a burden to raise money to help the churches. Through Bishop Rafael Najen, we were able to connect with several key pastors and send them  50 thousand dollars for relief aid. After a few months, I felt we were supposed to visit those we helped. I knew in my Spirit God was going to open up huge doors and enable us to make key connections for a long-term kingdom partnership. Bishop Rafael worked tirelessly for many weeks organizing this trip, and it would not have been possible without his leadership as our international director for the middle east. 

Our arrival showed the favor of God as our delegation of 18 apostolic leaders from Christ Covenant was met with a high-level military security escort that brought us directly from the plane to cars that took us directly to the hotel. That evening we had dinner with key leaders. Every morning, the team met for prayer from 7-8 AM before breakfast and before leaving for ministry. 

The following are only some of the highlights:

On September 16th, we had a historic gathering with about 80 significant leaders, including 55 pastors from evangelical churches, Syriac Orthodox priests, many high-level political leaders and marketplace leaders.

God gave me great wisdom to share prophetically about the need for the church to collectively hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches in order to fulfill their divine mandate to reach their cities and nation (Revelation 2-3). I also gave a testimony about how we saw transformation in our community of Sunset Park and how the crime rate dropped almost 40 percent after we initiated a united city-wide prayer. I told them we did not come from America to tell them what to do but to wash their feet and serve them in their spheres of influence. 

After I spoke, one of the national government members came to me and said he wanted the message to be heard all over the nation. Even the translator had to stop amid my message because he started crying. That evening opened up much favor from the Lord that manifested the rest of the trip. 

One evening, Bishop Ray Mott and I shared about the Kingdom of God to about 100 pastors and leaders. My focus was on the Lord’s prayer. I focused the most on how our heavenly father desires to break the “orphan spirit” in the church and pastors for Him to fully release them into their divine assignment. 

After the service, we had a private dinner at the home of the top eye doctor of the nation along with a top banker, and the Syriac orthodox bishop of Beirut also joined us. We had a robust dialogue about church history, the church fathers, and what God is doing in the evangelical church. The bishop said he never met an evangelical leader like me and gave me his card and a beautiful cross. He wants to stay in touch with me. 

I taught from my book, The Divided Gospel, and the Spirit started breaking individualistic mindsets from the American gospel. Six others from our team exhorted and motivated the leaders with various messages that helped strengthen the evangelical church. 

The next evening, Bishop Rafael and our team were asked to attend the mansion of the governmental person in charge of helping the nation solve the economic crisis. There were about 80 leaders of the nation. I sat next to the world-renowned General Abbas Ibraham. He is perhaps the most powerful man in the nation who is also in charge of national security. (He also was the person responsible for assigning our security detail.) Also, at our table, among other dignitaries, was the US General counsel for our embassy, the leader of the nation’s inter-religious department, and the academic leader. Bishop Rafael was bold and anointed the general with oil and gave him an accurate word about what was going on in his life, which startled him as a Muslim. Bishop Najen was asked to give a greeting, and after a few minutes, he introduced me as the leader of the movement and his mentor.

God gave me great liberty to share our national and international movements, sprinkled with some church history. I gave me my testimony of how I received Jesus as my risen Lord and Savior. It was very moving and transparent.  It sowed the seeds of the gospel.

I told the religiously mixed audience that God so loved the world, not just Christians, and that we have come with the message of reconciliation as ambassadors of Christ. 

The audience was greatly touched.  This opened a door for several of us to share the gospel. Bishop Najen led three to four people to Christ, including the US Ambassador and his spouse! This was an incredible move of God among the top gatekeepers of the nation! The host of the event urged me to come back to his home the next evening with my wife so he could get to know us better. 

I preached at the Arminian church of Pastor Kavork. He is a true apostle with churches worldwide and is also building a huge state-of-the-art auditorium that will fit 1000 people and become the largest church edifice in the nation for a pentecostal church. I preached on “Ten Attributes of a Church On Mission.” God gave me great clarity of speech, and most of the members responded to the call to be committed to the mission of Jesus.

That same evening, we had a joint service in a large auditorium and about 800 people showed up as an amazing display of unity among the evangelical churches. Bishop Rafael preached a brilliant evangelistic message, and many came forward for salvation and healing. Everybody on our team joined the local pastors and prayed for hundreds of people. 

The next day, we all went to the other side of the nation near the Syrian border and ministered in a few refugee camps under the ministry of Pastor Kevork. In one camp, the leader of a Bedouin tribe became a Christian several years ago and had a school for children and bible studies meant to make disciples. We distributed our blankets and supplies, prayed with people, and led several to Christ. Our hearts were touched by seeing these poor innocent child refugees who hugged us, told us they loved us, and were so excited to see us. We also went to two more camps that housed disabled refugees, and distributed goods and prayed with them.

After this, our delegation went to the presidential palace and became the first Evangelical group to ever meet with the president! Bishop Najen and I shared about the nature and purpose of our trip, how we are concerned about the plight of the minority evangelical church, and how we desire to partner with government officials to bless his nation. He thanked us for coming and welcomed our help, and said we were welcome to come back anytime. After the meeting, we took a picture with him and held a press conference carried on Lebanese national television. Afterward, we were told that our meeting with the president elevated the status of the national evangelical church in the eyes of political denominational leaders. It will greatly aid the church moving forward. 

The next day, security detail whisked Bishop Najen and myself to a secluded village in the beautiful Beca valley for a private luncheon in the home of a prominent family with about two dozen leaders including a notable local catholic bishop, for a meeting with General Abbas Ibraham. 

Several members of the national press were also present to take notes. 

There was a robust dialogue regarding the nation’s political and economic dilemma, much of which I did not understand since it was in Arabic. At the very end, I was asked to share. I spoke about how we need to represent all people and not merely view people as Christians and Muslims but as human beings. I said that theological differences distinguish us but that we should treat all people fairly. I said that I would lay down my life for a Muslim even though I am a Christian. 

I ended by sharing how I visited a local mosque in my New York neighborhood two days after 9/11 to tell the Imam that I would be willing to help them if they were persecuted as a community leader. I told them that we do not blame all Muslims for what happened. The Mosque leader wept and hugged me along with the others with him in his office. I saw the terrorist attack on America as an opportunity to help tear down the walls between Muslims and Christians that have existed for 1000 years! 

After I finished sharing, everyone broke out into applause, and the General said that I was just like him, that even though he is a Muslim, he sees everyone as a human beings. He said he wanted to meet privately with us and asked us when we were leaving. When we told him the next day, he said we needed to come back soon!

I am amazed at the great friendships developing between the special “men of peace” like this General and our delegation for the sake of His kingdom’s purpose in Lebanon. 

Our final gathering was easily our largest when about 1200-1500 people gathered in “The Life Center” for an evening of worship and preaching. I shared for about ten minutes regarding the backstory of what brought our delegation there. Bishop Najen preached a powerful message on the kingdom. Hundreds came forward for prayer 

Truly, revival and renewal are breaking out across the middle east!

October

I flew into Jacksonville, Florida, to spend two days with my fellow USCAL member Bishop Vaughn McLaughlin. He is the founder and senior pastor of the Potter’s House church. He is a theologian and practitioner considered by many to be the spiritual father of the city. He has the most amazing holistic church I have ever seen in the USA.

Bishop Vaughn interviewed me regarding hermeneutics and the charismatic church. There were several dozen in-person pastors and many others via zoom. God graced the both of us to interact seamlessly with the Holy Spirit, and it was a great 2-hour session. After ministering  I sold most of my books and made many friends. 

The next day, Bishop Vaughn and I drove to Valdosta, Georgia, and had dinner with pastor Mike Wells and his lovely wife. Bishop Vaughn and I taught the CAM pastors network led by Mike Wells. Vaughn interviewed me regarding spirit hermeneutics for charismatic pastors, and I interviewed him regarding leadership and marketplace impact. God moved powerfully, and many were shocked to learn we had just met in person for the first time that week! 

I ministered to all the leaders of New Covenant church regarding what the bible teaches regarding revival and awakening. I taught them that these subjects were not taught in the New Testament epistles and that our focus should be building healthy generational families and making disciples.

I taught in two services on the meta-narrative of the kingdom of God shown in the book of Ephesians. God gave me great liberty to preach, and at the end of the second service, everyone stood up and clapped. The message helped shift the paradigm away from an individual salvation message to the gospel of the kingdom. 

Pastor Michael Wells has the gift of leadership, is a true apostolic leader, and is leading a significant local church that serves the whole region.

My second Lebanon trip

On October 24, I flew back to Lebanon and stayed until October 30. 

I met the president of Lebanon a second time, this time privately with his lawyer, and discussed the needs of his country. I also met with the head of the evangelical supreme Council, Reverend Joseph Kassab, who has great influence among the protestant evangelical churches, including the charismatic and pentecostal churches. We had a great time together, and he promised to help me connect with Pastors from all over the country the next time I come.

I did a conference based upon my book, The Divided Gospel. There were about 50 pastors and leaders present who heard me teach about 3 to 4 hours from this book. God moved powerfully through teaching and changed the thinking of many pastors who began to shift from the individual gospel to the more holistic gospel of the kingdom, (which involves not only individual salvation but also societal transformation.)

I signed a book publishing deal so that my book, The Divided Gospel, can be translated into Arabic and distributed for free by the thousands to pastors and leaders in Lebanon and beyond. The hope is that my books will reach all the Arabic-speaking Christians in the middle east.

My friend, Pastor Kevork Tchaparian, provided the translator and will distribute the books for me.

I also met again with general Abbas Ibrahim in his military office on this day. He is perhaps the most influential leader in the nation and is responsible for national security. His influence transcends Lebanon and goes throughout the world. He has won many international humanitarian awards for being a man of peace responsible for negotiating and rescuing many people held hostage by terrorist groups. We had such a great meeting that he invited me to spend time at his private residence. I spent about four hours with him at his beautiful home, which is protected by 40 special forces commandos. God is connecting us together as brothers. Even though he is a Shiite Muslim, he respects all people because we, as humans, are all made in the image of God irrespective of their religious background. This perspective drew us both together because we have the same attitude of loving all people even if they are not of our particular faith.

I look forward to working with him more in the future. He also provided security for me everywhere I went and was an incredible blessing. I promised him that I would pray for him regularly, which I have done.

November 

In November, we had our annual International coalition of Apostolic Leaders congress in Dallas, Texas. 

Teaching alongside Dan and Ben Juster on a panel regarding Biblical standards of ethics for apostolic and prophetic leaders, I taught on the standings for leadership in the New Testament, utilizing my book Poisonous Power and first Timothy chapter 3 as my guide.

Additionally, I alluded to the prophetic standard statement.com and urged everyone to sign it for prophetic integrity in the body of Christ.

Subsequent to my time spent teaching, I met with nearly 100 apostolic leaders who were part of USCAL to discuss upcoming events and share how God is actively working through our apostolic movement. 

I was able to participate with the international BILD conference via zoom that had leaders from all over the world. I taught from my soon coming book, The Global Apostolic Movement and the Progress of the Gospel. Then the Antioch University president, Jeff Reed, asked me questions about the book in the apostolic movement. After I taught, there was an official ceremony facilitated by the dean of Antioch University, Steve Kemp, who conferred upon me the THD (Theology doctorate, which is the theological equivalent to a PHD).

December

In the beginning of the month, I started assembling a team that will support my global apostolic assignment through MMI Global.

MMI is the acronym for Mattera Ministries International which is the 501(c)(3) I lead that sponsors my books, articles, and all my traveling and educational ministries. Moving forward, I need a strong strategic and prayer team to support me in order to fulfill my calling to the body of Christ.

During this month,I also put the finishing touches on the next book I am publishing called “The Global Apostolic Movement and the Progress of the Gospel”. This is a massive practical and scholarly work tracing the apostolic movement from the first century church into the present. It is approximately 475 pages long.

This might be the most important book I’ve written and certainly the one I put the most work into. It has been in the making on and off for seven years and is based on my THD thesis which focuses on the way of Christ and His  apostles.

Of course I did not report in this newsletter all the teachings I’ve done in our local church campuses. In addition, I conducted weekly Leadership and Global Tables  with apostolic leaders on a weekly basis throughout the year.

It is amazing how quickly this year has passed!. It has been another difficult year because of Covid and other challenges, however God has been with us. He continues to received all the glory in the midst of our spite fiery tests.

I look forward to what God is going to do in 2022!