Monthly Archives: January 2017

Although I’m a born and bred Cockney (someone from the East End of London, born in an area where the sound of the bells from the church in Bow can be heard!), I spent a lot of my life living in East Sussex, initially not by choice, as I was only 6 years old when my parents decided to move to East Dean, a little village just outside Eastbourne! – and while never wanting to lose my Cockney heritage, I’m a product of much more rural Sussex. Just a few miles up the road from Eastbourne is a village most famous for The Royal Observatory, Herstmonceux, second most famous is Herstmonceux Free Church (!).

When I started out doing ministry stuff, in my spare time from my job in a bank, I was with Wealden Youth for Christ (named because we covered the Weald of Sussex, and, in truth, pretty much all of the county), in its formative years (part of national British Youth for Christ). One of my jobs was to raise the profile of YFC in East Sussex, and I visited churches, many very rural, to talk about our vision for young people, and preach (I’m not sure how dreadful my preaching was in those days, but Youth for Christ grew exponentially from it’s inception in 1975).

One of the churches I visited from time to time was Herstmonceux Free Church, and although I went full-time with YFC in 1979, by 1980 we’d grown so much that we’d taken on another guy, who then did the church deputation visits. So 1978 or 79 could have been the last time I’d have gone to Herstmonceux Free Church: and I’m back there the weekend after next. It will be so good to be back. I’m praying that God will do there what he’s been doing for the last 8 months in Londonderry, and in Cali, Colombia….

If you’re within reasonable distance of Herstmonceux, it would be so lovely to see you. I don’t want to encourage you way from your church on Sunday, but if you’re ill, or have family or friends who are, I’d love the opportunity to pray with you. I can’t heal anyone: but after 30 or more years of seeing God do increasingly amazing miracles, I know that God has given me ever-increasing faith to see His power bring healing in people’s lives. If you read these blog posts regularly, you’ll know some of the testimonies….

Hope to see you in Observatory city on 4 and 5 February!

Just a brief, awed, and humble post to thank God for his promises, and, as Paul assures us in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that every one of them (there are disagreements as to how many, but generally reckoned to be around 6,000) is ‘YES’ because of Jesus.

From 1975, I felt – KNEW if I’m honest – that God wanted me to resign my job in a bank to go into full-time Christian ministry, but I liked the security of a monthly salary, a subsidised mortgage (2.5% in an era when mortgages were 13-14% – remember those days?), and – much as i hated the job – a career for life, non-contributory pension scheme, and relatively early retirement. In my mind was the thought (lie?!) that I could get involved in Christian ministry then… how many of us who hear God like I did, waste our lives on a hope of something 40 years ahead?

By 1978, God had proved his relentlessness in nagging (!), and I gave in. His promise was threefold: TRUST ME for your home, your security, and your income. A tough shout – certainly where the first and third were concerned. An Englishman’s home is his castle: and the security of a monthly salary (for me, on the 18th of the month), is far more significant than we might think it is, once we’re called to give it up….

So, January 1, 1979 was my first day out of the ‘rat race’ – my final half-month’s salary due in the 18th. The peace God gave was undeniable: even though my salary went to £0 a year, and my mortgage went from 2½% interest to 15% (an addition 1% as it was a re-mortgage). That first house cost £9250, in 1975 – similar houses are currently for sale at £250,000… that would come in a wee bit useful right now!

I know, too, that God wasn’t allowing me to ‘charge’ to go anywhere, preach anywhere – just to trust him, and his people. He’s been faithful: some of you reading this have been faithful. Thank you, so, so much.

38 years later, I still have a home: I still have security (now it’s in God, and not in a bank, which, post 2008 and the bank collapse worldwide, is a good thing!), and God provides enough (sometimes JUST enough, sometimes much later than I’d prefer!) to take me wherever he wants me to go (just occasionally a little bit stressful!), for rent, and, as I often joke, I’m not exactly anorexic….

As for ‘postponing’ the call that I KNOW God had put on me, in 1975, until I retired, well – I’m so, so glad that I didn’t waste my life on a career that at best I really disliked, and I would never have seen all that God can do – and use the ‘reluctant’ full-time worker, 7 years later to be equally reluctant to travel to ‘the four corners of the earth’ to pray for the sick. I wouldn’t have missed any of the last 38 years!

110 countries visited to minister, many of them multiple times – Romania 131, USA probably more than that(!), Colombia 74, Ghana 22, Mexico 35, France over 100, Zimbabwe 15… I could go on! Countless people healed – well into 5 figures – people ‘snatched’ from the jaws of death, two raised from the dead, and I’m in awe as much now – and amazed – as I was when it all began. My feeling is that if that awe goes away, that’ll be the day I stop doing what I’m doing.

God’s promises are all YES in Jesus: the last 38 years stand testimony to that. And the next 38 will do the same. With no pension to ‘look forward to’ (I’m not looking forward to it, because I don’t have one, except maybe the very basic state pension!), I just long to keep going until I ‘drop’, which I pray will be well into my hundredth years…..

Because of major issues for other people, mostly medical, who I’ve tried to raise urgent finance for, I’ve not fund-raised for myself. I don’t plan to do that here, just to lay out how you can partner with me in seeing God’s Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven. Maybe if you have time, read through what’s below, and, if you can help, I’d be eternally grateful. I have lost a few supporters due to the uncertainty of Brexit, redundancy, in a couple of cases supporters passing away. Thank you so much for your consideration, your love, your care, support, and encouragement.

If you have been blessed by my ministry and are in a place to give, then it’d be wonderful to have you partnering with me financially. You can do this either with a one-off gift or becoming a partner by giving on a monthly basis. Thanks for your consideration in supporting all that Jesus is doing through me in the nations.

Why Consider Partnering?

Here are some of the things your partnership enables me to do.

• Travel to churches around the world, preaching, encouraging people to move into all that God has for them, praying for the sick, teaching on healing, seminars – teaching and practical, releasing people into ministry, encouraging and releasing faith in many people.
• Report, through blogs, social media, newsletters – news of the ‘current’ testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy for others to claim (Rev 19:10)
• Travel to many nations, to love the poor and needy, to resource them: to assist amazing ministries like Ana Beiba Lasso, Ana Bustos, Enrique Leal, helping the poor and the addicted
• Minister personally to hundreds of people a month both in person and over email/Skype/Facebook, to see them walking in freedom and equipped in truth.
• Pay the bills and feed myself. I don’t have any other source of income, I do this 60-80hrs a week. Your support pays the bills.

What’s in it for you?

You become part of what God is doing through this little Cockney in nations you might never go to. I don’t have resources – books, cds, videos, etc., to give away to you if you support me, and all of what I do I provide free anyway!: but one resource you could benefit from is to be on a ministry trip with me, as part of a team, which, as has happened for many people, is life-changing.

If you partner with the ministry God has called me to, I can’t really give you something that other people won’t get – Actually, it’s the exact opposite.

If you partner with the ministry you are ensuring that less fortunate people can receive what they would never be able to if I charged for it. You ensure that I can continue to go and resource people with faith, and healing: that I can travel to churches and countries who couldn’t afford to have someone come if that person didn’t pay their own way.

You can give through:

• Stewardship, especially beneficial if you pay UK tax, and and are happy to gift aid your support, be it regular or one-off: www.stewardship.org.uk, or if you prefer snail mail, 1 Lamb’s Passage, London EC1Y 8AB. My account is Paul Bennison, Healing Ministries Worldwide: number 20028331
• To my bank: I’ll provide you details if you email me at paul@paulbennison.com
• Via Paypal: paul@paulbennison.com
• Or by cheque (do many people use cheques these days?) to my home address, again, email me and I’ll send it to you.

Back in November, I had the privilege of doing some meetings in wetsern France, the Vendee region. Apart from endless baguette and wine, there were even greater things to enjoy!! Lots of people were healed (see blogs for 22 November to 6 December). Among the many people prayed for is a lady, Jeannette: I met her in Nantes, and it was one of those occasions when I heard a prophetic word concerning her breast cancer, that there would be nothing left of it when she saw her Oncologist in January…. one of those times when you think, ‘Oh my goodness, did I say that out loud…?’!!

Three weeks later, I had a message from Philip, the leader of the wonderful Charismatic Catholic group there, which was a message that, if you allowed it to, could pile doubt on you as the person who prayed, and steal away the belief in the healing promises of God, and the conviction of the prophetic word that followed the prayer. Here’s what Philip said:

• Hi Paul, a woman called Jeannette called me yesterday after a medical condition check up and she still has a breast cancer on the way. She told me you had a word of knowledge on that saying there was nothing left. She will be operated at hospital on in the 4th of January. I hope it is just symptoms. Please pray with me for her. Be blessed

I responded –

• I remember this lady, and my feeling is that the cancer will be gone before the need for surgery. Maybe I didn’t make very clear at the time, perhaps my English was ‘too’ English to translate well… 🙂 I’ll be praying for her: I believe that you’re right, as is often the case, that it is symptoms, the enemy wanting to leave fear and doubt in her mind. If you are going to be speaking to her again soon, perhaps suggest that she thnaks God as often as she can for her healing, and not to dwell on the medical diagnosis and the ‘possible’ surgery…..
• Philip: Amen ! I told her that !thanks

and then, yesterday:

• Philip:  She’s healed!! The surgeon didn’t find anything except 1mm of cancer. Be blessed!

GOD IS SO, SO AMAZING!! AND SO, SO FAITHFUL!! I’m still so in awe every time there’s a miracle, even after more than 30 years of seeing God doing some of the most wonderful things to transform people’s lives.