Ivory Coast

When God spoke to Richard Roberts and said, “Go to the Ivory Coast in West Africa and I will pour out My blessings,” Richard obeyed. And God kept His promise!
Richard received a special invitation from 1,000 pastors and the Ivory Coast’s President Gbagbo to bring the message of healing and prosperity to the recently war-torn nation.
He brought along a very special crusade team made up of 40 people—doctors, dentists, nursing students and staff, faculty, singers, television technicians, and more. For four days and nights the people of the Ivory Coast experienced medicine, ministry, and miracles.

Meeting Medical Needs

During the day, thousands of Ivorian citizens were drawn to the Oral Roberts Ministries-sponsored medical clinic in the capital city of Abidjan. Because of financial donations from ORM Partners and friends, in addition to medical attention, the team was able to dispense much-needed medicine, vitamins, and supplies to children and adults.
Dr. Scott Cordray, an ORU graduate and medical doctor, said the reason he joined the crusade team was to serve the people of the Ivory Coast.
“In the Bible, Jesus said that when you’ve done something for any of His people, you’ve done it unto Him,” said Dr. Cordray. “So we treated these people as if we were treating Jesus. Our goal was not to lift up ourselves, but to lift up Jesus so that people could be drawn to Him.”
ORU graduates Dr. Mark Babo and his wife, Doreen, were also part of the medical team. The Babos currently run Faith Medical Hospital in Benin City, Nigeria, with Bishop Benson Idahosa’s widow, Margaret. “We came to this crusade without a second thought,” said Dr. Babo. “We knew we wanted to be a part of what God was going to do in the Ivory Coast.”
One of the greatest needs in the Ivory Coast is quality dental care, and hundreds of patients were helped each day by the team of dentists led by ORU graduate Dr. Glenda Payas.

Teaching Business Skills

Another way that the crusade team reached out in the Ivory Coast was to teach business skills to local businessmen. Dr. David Dyson, Dean of the ORU School of Business, held business seminars during the day, helping teach businessmen how to prosper God’s way.
“Scripture says, ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you,’” Dr. Dyson told the businessmen. “When we get into that rhythm of giving and receiving, running our businesses becomes one form of worship for us.”

Pastor’s Conference

While the medical clinic was going on in the mornings and afternoons, Richard was involved in a special pastors’ seminar in Abidjan with more than 1,000 ministers in attendance each day.
On the last day of the seminar, Richard laid hands on almost 1,200 pastors, anointing them with oil and speaking God’s Word into their lives. One minister said, “It has been such a great honor having Richard Roberts come to the Ivory Coast. His visit will have a great impact on this city and this nation.”

Signs, Wonders & Miracles

There was a tremendous spirit of expectation each night of the Healing Crusade. Each night the crowds nearly doubled, and as word of the miracles spread, an estimated 30,000 people flooded the crusade grounds on the last night.
Sponsoring pastors had specifically asked Richard to preach on Seed-Faith, and God gave Richard a special message on prospering a nation through sowing and reaping.
“Do you want to see the economy of this nation grow and change?” Richard asked the huge crowd through his interpreter. “Do you want to be an example to other nations? Then begin to sow unto the Lord. And believe that when you give, the Lord will open you the windows of heaven.”
He also spoke to them of healing. “I am expecting people to be healed in this place! Not because of me, but because of God, because He is a good God. I have never healed anyone, but I have seen God heal thousands.”
Each night as the crowd soaked up God’s Word, a wonderful thing began to happen. Miracles came forth by the hundreds.
One woman who had never walked before got up out of a wheelchair and walked, completely healed. Another woman had been deaf in one ear since birth, but she came up to testify that she now could hear perfectly out of that ear!
One man had medical papers declaring that he could never bend over again, but as Richard held the papers, he bent over double and moved his back every possible way before the delighted crowd.
Another woman came to the crusade wearing glasses in order to see, but after Richard prayed, she could see perfectly without them!
One of the most moving healing testimonies was that of a four-year-old boy who had never spoken a word in his life. On the platform, held by his mother, he clearly spoke his first words into the microphone: “Mama” and “Papa,” which caused the crusade grounds to erupt with shouting, weeping, and rejoicing.

Thousands Come to Jesus

Each night as the healing services came to a close, Richard gave an invitation for people to come forward and receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
And each night the area in front of the platform was filled to overflowing. It was estimated that more than 20,000 people came forward over the four nights to give their hearts to Jesus!
Richard called local pastors down to surround the new converts, get their names, and invite them to their churches to receive the free French Bibles provided by Partners of Oral Roberts Ministries.

The Largest Church Building in the World

After the final night of the Healing Crusade, Richard and some members of the team left the Ivory Coast for Lagos, Nigeria, to minister at the invitation of Bishop David Oyedepo. He is the founder of Faith Tabernacle and Covenant University, located on the grounds of a large campus and ministry complex called Canaan Land.
It has grown to 3,000 students in just three years. The 50,000-seat Faith Tabernacle auditorium is the largest church building in the world.
Miracles abounded during the Sunday morning service in the huge auditorium. Richard said, “It was as powerful as any healing crusade I’ve ever seen. There was a tremendous atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to move in—I’ve never experienced anything quite like it in my life.”
That evening Richard also preached to the university students in their chapel service.

Never the Same

The trip to West Africa was wrapped up with visits to the countries of Benin and Ghana, where Richard met with government leaders, national media, and local pastors in preparation to conduct future crusades in those nations.
“It was a tremendous team effort,” Richard said of the trip. “Not only were thousands healed by the miracle-working power of God, but we were able to touch the nation as well through medical science, business and education, and ministry to the pastors. I believe the Ivory Coast will never be the same!”