The Women of Destiny conference was held March 1-3, 2006, in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. It was a special moment for this former communist nation, where women have suffered so much abuse. I’m guessing that we had about 2,500 women there for the three days. I preached three times, along with my dear friend Naomi Dowdy, who founded the 5,000-member Trinity Christian Center in Singapore. I also shared the pulpit with Russian church planter Natasha Shredrevaya. It was really great to meet Natasha—I have corresponded with her for six years but this was the first time we have met. She and her Gospel Village Harvest team have planted more than 300 churches in Siberia and other parts of the Soviet Union. She was a great example for the women of Ukraine. We are discussing plans to do a training conference in either Moscow or Siberia.

I preached three times in the Kiev conference. On the last night I preached about how Mary of Bethany “crossed the line” of tradition and fear by leaving the confines of the kitchen and sitting at Jesus feet—taking the place of a disciple. The Lord brought great liberty into the women’s hearts.

At one point that night I asked some Ukrainian men to kneel at the stage and repent for the way women have been treated. There is much domestic abuse, molestation and cruelty against women there. And alcoholic men have brought much pain into women’s lives. (Vodka is such a curse in this culture.) I don’t know for sure but this was probably the first time these women have heard such a public apology. After that, the 50-member American prayer team formed a “prayer tunnel” in the center aisle and I asked the women to march through the tunnel and cross the line at the end of it. It took almost an hour for all the women to march through the tunnel. Some of the women were falling under the Holy Spirit’s power when they reached the line. Others were weeping as the Lord broke fear off of them. Then they gathered at the stage and danced for quite a while. It was a powerful time of deliverance and healing for everyone.

On Saturday I spoke at two churches in Kiev. Most people in these churches have been saved since 1992 and there are so many young people. (This is what we need in America!) At the first church I preached about the river of God from Ezekiel 47—and how God is calling us to the deepest part of His river...where it is over our heads and we cannot put our feet on the bottom! The church came unglued and we rejoiced around the altar for a long time. (In Ukraine, people do not seem in a hurry to leave church. Most services last three hours minimum and they expect to have long periods of altar ministry. And they don’t seem too concerned about being “seeker sensitive.”) Also, in every service I was in, a minimum of 6 people made first-time commitments to Jesus.

On Sunday I spoke at two services for Victory Christian Church, a 6,500-member congregation pastored by an African man named Henry Madava, from Zimbabwe. He is a genuine, humble servant of God who is respected as a leader in Ukraine. I preached on “Six Mistakes the American Church Made,” urging the people to avoid the same errors we have made in the U.S.: 1) Denying God’s miracle power; 2) racism and division; 3) the superstar syndrome; 4) Restricting women in ministry; 5) a religious spirit; and 6) an escapist mentality. At the end I challenged the Ukrainian believers to have the same courage and apostolic boldness that I saw in the Christians in China. In both services hundreds of people ran to the altar to receive a new impartation of boldness. It seemed that some of them were baptized in the Spirit as they were standing there. Also more than 35 people made first-time commitments to Jesus in that church that day when Pastor Henry gave a challenge.

It was great to have my young friend from New York, Brandon Duck, with me on this trip. He helped me pray for people at the altar and was a real support. I don’t like to go on these long trips alone and Brandon is developing a real heart to carry this message to the nations.