Taking Back The Gospel To God’s Own Land
The United States played a key role in the liberation of the black continent from the shackles of darkness through fiery preachers of the Gospel in the 18th century. The spinoff which sparked revival in Africa, with Nigeria becoming the theatre of lasting revival that will usher in the second coming of Christ. Nigeria, in spite of poor political and economic leadership, has been leading the world in sustaining the tempo of Pentecostalism in Europe, Asia and America.
Just last month, one of the respected end-time revival voices, Prelate Prof. Isaiah Alfred Issong, took a revival fire brand of the Gospel back to the United States. The occasion was the annual Worcester Miracle Crusade, held in Worcester, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. The crusade featured also guest preachers from Europe and the US, had the theme; God’s Mansion is Here! (John 14:2). The organizers of the annual gospel meeting, United Christian Family Ministries, led by Pastor Atai Udofia, is a Nigerian from Ukanafun, Akwa Ibom State, who caught the vision of liberating his environment through the Gospel.
Worcester is one of the big cities in Massachusetts, where its founding fathers in the 17th century desired a place which would be governed under God’s guidance, with biblical principles. Their goal was to advance the Christian faith. But after a while, the influence of the founding fathers began to wane, impacting negatively on the advancement of the Gospel in the State, which ultimately reversed the peace and progress of Worcester City, as gangs’ violence became an eyesore.
It was a big city with lots of industries but about 1918 and 1982, all those industries began to relocate outside the city. That was how Worcester began to go down and down. But as God would have it, the Gospel light sprang up again and expelled darkness.
Recalling the circumstances that birthed the Worcester City Miracle Crusade, Pastor Atai Udofia narrates: “When I first got to Worcester, Massachusetts in 2005, it wasn’t my dreamed place of stay, because it was undeveloped. Where we bought our first house was not safe to live in. In my first sixth month in the city, the gang boys came at 9am, broke my car and stole something. I called the Police and showed them where the gang escaped into. Surprisingly, the Police said they cannot follow the gang down the area. That clearly told us that the place wasn’t safe to live in.
This experience made me so disappointed because it wasn’t the kind of city I wanted to settle in. As I began to pray, God led it on my heart to find another place where we live now and I bought it and moved out Worcester City. I noticed then that people were also moving out of the place, so God put the burden in my heart to begin to intercede for the City. In 2011, I started what we called, ‘Worcester Miracle Crusade.’ So, every year, we have to move into Worcester City and start praying for peace and progress of the City. I have been leading many people to pray for the city.
For ten years now we have been praying for change in the City of Worcester. Today, the City has experienced a lot of improvement, with lots of infrastructural developments. There are lots of jobs here and people are coming back to Worcester City. The gangs’ activities have been immensely reduced to the barest minimum. Worcester has become today a beautiful and peaceful city that has attracted large number of persons.”
Pastor Udofia wasn’t bearing the burden of restoring the lost glory of this city. He found favour with the Mayor of Worcester, Joseph M. Petty, who confirmed that in 1999, there was a fire outbreak that razed down many houses, forcing people out of the city. One of the abandoned houses was what Pastor Udofia bought in 2005 – located at 4 Glendwood Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610. But the good news is that all those houses that were abandoned have been renovated and people are have occupied them.
Asked how Worcester Miracle Crusade has impacted the City, Atai said: “Let me begin with the Mayor of the City of Worcester, Joseph M. Petty. In 2019, when Prelate Prof. Isaiah Issong first came, we paid a courtesy visit to the Mayor. Before then, the Mayor has been holding a Bible study in his office. This is a major proof to you that God has been working, using our prayers to reach out to the city. The Mayor of the city of Worcester is a born again Christian and Prelate Prof. Isaiah Issong has been meeting with him since 2019 to 2023. So I can tell you that God is interested in the people and advancement of Worcester City.
The Lifetime Achievement Award
One of the remarkable moments to mark the 10th edition of Worcester Miracle Crusade was the recognition of the President General of Fathers In Faith for Good Governance and Prelate of Believers Assembly (Evang.) Nigeria, Prelate Prof. Isaiah Issong, who was honoured and invested with Lifetime Achievement Award. The investiture of such honour in Worcester City, US, was in recognition of the Prelate’s commitment over the years in prayers and prophetic declarations over Worcester, the impact of those prayers, preaching and outreaches have impacted the development strides of the city, which has now recovered its pride of place as, “The City Built Upon the Hill.”
Pastor Udofia observes that, “Since 2019 after ministering in Worcester Miracle Crusade, the Prelate asked me to kneel down and he prayed for me, using the case of Jesus visiting Cana of Galilee where he turned water to wine and gave the new wine first to the Governor of the feast. He declared that I’m going to flow with the blessings of God in the City of Worcester. He made many prophetic statements and as at today, all the blessings that the Prelate spoke upon my life have come to pass. I have experienced unprecedented promotion in ministry and work.
So, on the 10th year of marking the Worcester Miracle Crusade, we decided that we must honour him because he’s not just a man of God but a prophet. God has used him to accomplish many miraculous achievements in the lives of the people and in Worcester City. By this recognition, the Prelate enjoys lifetime privileges, not only as a special guest and friend to the Mayor of the City of Worcester but to the entire Worcester City.
