Francis Chan says he didn't believe in healing, miracles until recently
Bestselling author Francis Chan said he was previously cynical of healing ministries until God illuminated the Scriptures to him.
Speaking during the virtual International Association of Healing Ministries conference this week, Chan said, "What I do know is for many years I didn't believe in healing, I didn't believe in miracles, it was pretty much what I was taught in seminary.
“Humbly, I have to say, I used to ridicule people who spoke in tongues or prophesied or believed they could heal, even though when I personally read the Scriptures, I saw this available.”
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Despite being in ministry for some time, Chan revealed that it would take years for him to finally delve into the spiritual side of his faith.
"It took me years, to be honest, with what I saw in Scripture and start pursuing these gifts of the Spirit and I'm still somewhat on that journey. That's why when you first asked me to speak for this healing conference, I go, 'You've got the wrong guy.' I've been praying for gifts of healing for years and it was only like a few months ago that I saw healing for the first time.”
Earlier this year, Chan shared that he and a team of other Christians supernaturally healed several people at a rural village in Myanmar, including a little boy and girl who were deaf.
"Every person I touched was healed," the Crazy Love author said in a sermon delivered at Moody Bible Institute’s Founders Week Conference.
“OK, this is craziness to me. I have never experienced this in 52 years," he testified then. "I’m talking like a little boy and a little girl who were deaf. We laid hands, she starts crying and smiling. These are not Christians who have even heard about Jesus, and she’s freaking out. We lay hands on her little brother, we lay hands on him, and he starts hearing for the first time.”
IAHM International Director Jean-Luc Trachsel commended Chan for his humility, something he said is rare in ministers who operate in the move of the Spirit.
Chan formerly led Cornerstone Community Church, a popular megachurch in California, before he made the shocking decision to step down in 2010. He explained that as he grew as a "celebrity" pastor, he felt he became everything that he believed God hated. He also expressed his frustrations with the megachurch model.
In his appearance at this week's International Healing Conference, Chan, who recently moved to Hong Kong to plant churches among the poor, noted, “The only way I know how to describe myself is, I'm a guy who has made so many mistakes in life. Yet the by the grace of God, He just keeps blessing me and my family, and my life and I sense His presence with me and just constantly shocked at what I get to do while I'm still on this earth for however much longer that is.
“I try to teach in such a way that I think to myself, 'If this is it and I'm about to see the face of God, what would I say? Did I make much of Him or did I bring glory to myself?
"So all I want people to know is that we have such a holy, all-powerful God that is so far beyond us. And the thought that He is a merciful God and a loving God and desires us, that He revealed that to me, that is the greatest truth about my life. That's the greatest thing you could know about me is that somehow God has revealed His love to me and caused this human being who has made so many mistakes and rejected by so many, including my own father, to just be so secure in the love of Christ.”
See his full sit-down interview with Trachsel below.
The May 20-23 International Healing Conference was initially scheduled to take place in Porto, Portugal, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was organized as a virtual conference bringing together some 70 healing ministries from around the world. Along with a healing rally, the event is also featuring such speakers as Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, televangelist Benny Hinn and Ben Fitzgerald of Awakening Europe, among many others.
