Reaching out to those who have not yet received the Christian gospel is the simplest form of evangelism. Even though Christian denominations differ in how they approach evangelism, how much emphasis they place on it, and even how they interpret the gospel, they all agree that evangelism is an effort to convert non-Christians to Christianity.
Evangelicalism is a movement among Christians that places an emphasis on the Bible over tradition and believes that a person’s life should be built on the principles of the bible. Fundamental to evangelical beliefs is the idea that Jesus Christ departed to make amends for the sins and misdeeds of mankind.
The Pietism of German Lutheran pastor Philipp Jakob Spener gave rise to evangelicalism in the 1600s. It had reached England by the eighteenth century and the United States during the nineteenth century. Approximately 750 million people worldwide are members of evangelicalism today. Throughout the history of religion in Canada and the United States, evangelism has been an essential component in the propagation of Christianity and evangelists have made use of everything from the printing press to the Internet since colonial times to spread the word of God.
Evangelical work can be done locally as well as globally. Christians travel to other countries to evangelize as part of missionary work. However, preaching is not always used to accomplish this and Christians often demonstrate what it feels like to experience a godly Christian life by helping the needy and less fortunate as part of evangelism. The followers of Jesus were the ones who started missionary work, which is now carried out by Catholics who continue to promote Christianity to support the Church’s expansion today. One person who is famous for his evangelistic works is the Canadian evangelist Israel Gimba, who was born on September 17, 1991, in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, and was raised and influenced by his father and grandfather who were both pastors.
He is the leader and founder of Dunamis Revival, an evangelical organization, which is located in Ontario, Canada, and is popularly known for influencing and inspiring individuals who are part of Generation Z and Generation Y through his evangelistic efforts. He is also a motivational speaker and international businessman.
Gimba began his education at a boarding school when he was five years old, and by the time he was seven, his family had migrated to Brighton, England, where he was raised at the charismatic Pentecostal church by his parents, which piqued his interest in evangelism. After the completion of his primary education, his family moved to York, north of England, when he was 15 years old. There, he received his secondary education from Fulford School and his bachelor’s degree from the University of York.
Gimba quickly moved with his family to Canada to attend law school, but had what he describes as a “radical spiritual experience.” This experience would shift his focus from law to ministry work. He followed the path of his father and grandfather, who were pastors, and spent more than 50 hours per week on the streets of the city serving the homeless and those in need. After a year of street evangelism, he founded the Dunamis Army at the age of 24 and began organizing evangelical gatherings to spread the gospel. In 2016, he established the Dunamis Festival, now known as JON, a yearly Christian music festival that attracts A-list musicians and artists from across the globe. JON festival is a large-scale evangelistic music event attracting thousands of young adults to hear the “good news.”
Since his childhood, Gimba had a passion for music and singing. Therefore, he joined the Dunamis District band as a lead singer and has so far written more than 15 original songs which include Fix My Eyes which was released in 2021. Ever since he stepped into the music industry, he has been invited to various events in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Nigeria.
Throughout his career, he was inspired by numerous industry professionals such as Smith Wigglesworth, Kathryn Kuhlman, William Booth, and Charles Finney who had a positive impact on him, and for many years, he studied their work and lives to discover the key to success factors and applied many of their guiding principles to his life and work as a minister.
