Dr. Joel Hitchcock is an evangelistt, conference speaker and author. His anointed preaching on Faith, the Holy Spirit and Committed Living have been a blessing all over the world. He operates strongly in the prophetical and healing ministry. Everyone is given the opportunity to accept Christ or be restored unto Him in almost each meeting. In addition to his ministry in the United States, he also hold international mass crusades that are marked with healing miracles that lead thousands into making a decision for Christ.
Evangelist Joel Hitchcock is celebrating 20 years of full time ministry. Joel is primarily a revivalist, gifted with his anointed preaching of the Word of God, the ability to lead people into the Shekinah Presence of God and powerful manifestations of the anointing, such as dramatic healing miracles, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and ministering in various gifts of the Holy Spirit. Although most of his ministry is in the USA, he also holds international outreaches where multitudes have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. His ministry transcends denominational barriers and has been received well by a wide range of Christian backgrounds.
THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF REVIVALIST JOEL HITCHCOCK Brief history: 1968: Joel Hitchcock born in England of South African Parents The Revivalist My name is Joel Hitchcock. I am a revivalist. I am really an evangelist—who reaches the lost for Christ, but being a revivalist includes being an evangelist. As a revivalist I carry a Spirit of Revival on me. I hold revival meetings in churches, tents, conferences and in international mass crusades. My ministry revolves around evangelism and revival and the operation of signs and wonders, notable miracles and healing, individual baptisms and corporate outpourings of the Holy Spirit, and operating in the different gifts of the Spirit. I preach the pure and uncompromised Word of God, and God confirms His Word with signs following. I am a friend of pastors. I want to stand alongside their vision, and allow my gift to under gird and compliment the vision and labors of my pastor friends. Together we are laborers with and for God. Come with me on a short journey through my life. As you read my testimony, you will see how I have applied experiences and encounters with God in the past to my life and ministry today. My Testimony When I look back onto my life, I can truly see the involvement of God. I guess if any of us really take notice, we all will see God's hand at work in each and every one of our lives. I trust that my testimony will bless you and encourage you to look for clues and indications of God's involvement in your own life. If you are a pastor or a fellow minister, perhaps this booklet will serve as an instrument to bring you and me together so that we can be a blessing to each other. Background I was born in England on December 5, 1968 of South African parents. I was a tenth generation South African. On my father's side, a one Thomas Joel Hitchcock came from England to South Africa in 1828 and married into a family which had come from Holland to the tip of Africa in 1656. The legendary revivalist Andrew Murray performed the wedding ceremony for my grandmother's father Oupa Koen. He fought against the British during the Boer War. He was banished to the island of St. Helena as a Prisoner of War. My great grandmother Esterhuizen was only eight years old when she was forced into a British concentration camp. 27,000 Boer women and children died in these horrible conditions, but she survived. My mother's family—the Venters, were German descendants who settled in Namibia . Both my grandfathers fought on the side of the Allied forces in the 2 nd World War. My dad was a South African policeman, and later worked for the South African Embassy in London . When I was only a year old, my Grandparents visited us in England . Years later my grandfather, Oupa Dys told me that he walked up and down the banks of the Thames River , pushing me in my stroller and praying for me. We returned to South Africa . When visiting him on his farm, he would pray at night. I would lay in my bed listening to him. His voice was so sincere as he called out to God in the quiet of the night. Spiritual heritage When I was five years old, we visited my Uncle John in Fort Victoria , Rhodesia (Now Masvingo, Zimbabwe .) He pastored a church there. He had been born again years before under the radio preaching of Dr. Billy Graham. Later he was influenced by the ministries Dr. TL Osborn and Rassie Erasmus. He had been a stutterer all his life, but upon being baptized in the Holy Spirit, he could preach fluently. This miracle brought our family into Pentecost, and he and my dad would preach on the streets of Johannesburg . Healed! In Rhodesia I became very ill. I can still remember it and referred to it later in my life as “the time I died,” for whatever reason. Uncle John prayed for me and I was instantly and miraculously healed by the power of God. Uncle John told me that it was since this time that he could see that God's hand was upon my life for ministry. Revelation of God Back in South Africa , I had a revelation about the omniscience of God when I was only eight years old. My mother had explained to me that “God sees everything.” For some reason this truth really hit home. It activated a kind of Godly fear in me, and though I serve God today because I love Him, not because I'm scared of Him, I still carry a deep sense of Godly fear in me. I live my life conscious of the fact that I one day will stand before the Great Throne of the Almighty God and give an account of my life to Him. This terrifying experience caused me to determine that I would become a pastor one day. Salvation When I was ten years old that I picked up a Gospel tract at a restaurant called “Saved without Fig Leaves.” When I read the end of the tract, it asked if I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt if I would go to heaven if I died right then. If not, I had to pray the prayer of salvation outlined there. I went into my room, closed the door and knelt down—all alone, just me and God. I asked Jesus to come into my heart, wash me with His blood and be my Lord and Savior. Upon the completion of my prayer, I had no doubt that I was saved! At about the same time, my Sunday School teacher led me into the same prayer. I don't know who the author of that Gospel tract was, but I have often wondered if he had any idea when he wrote that tract that a little boy would find Christ through it, and reach untold others with the Gospel. Today, as a preacher of the Gospel I make it a point to give people an opportunity to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. Sometimes, even in a meeting which is predominantly filled with believers, I ask people if (1) they want to accept Jesus for the first time, or (2) if they are like the prodigal son, to come back to the Father, or (3) if they have sin in their life that they receive forgiveness and repent from it and (4) that they receive the power of the Holy Spirit to live for God. Then I move on to minister in the Spirit. Being 12 is not too young to preach! I was raised in the outback of Africa , close to my grandfather's farm. The Waterberg was a mountainous paradise. There were many hot water springs in the area and because of that several resorts were in operation. There were not too many people there during off peak seasons. But when the holidays came, thousands of vacationers came there from Johannesburg and beyond. My dad was the manager of one of these resorts, and always had an entertainment program going on every day. One of the favorite activities was “Boeresport,” complete with tugs-of-war, three-legged-races and other fun games. And on Sundays he would let a visiting preacher hold a service. One Sunday, there was no preacher available. He knew I wanted to become a preacher, so he asked me if I would preach that next day. Absolutely not! I said. I was only 12 years old and very timid. Our elementary school teacher had asked us students to stand before the class and give a short speech about what we would be when we grew up. I went up there but I was scared stiff and it rendered me speechless. Now dad wants me to preach on Sunday! Of course I couldn't do that. But my dad graciously encouraged me, and helped me outline my message. The next day I preached to about 100 people in attendance and they all seemed to be blessed. Ah, I tasted preaching. Where has this been all my life?! I became the new preacher on the holiday resort on Sundays. Off season, I would go off into the bush on my little 50 cylinder motorcycle with my Bible and a tape recorder. Then I would practice preaching by preaching to the trees. Today the pure and clear preaching of the Word is still one of the loves of my life. I heard His Voice I have no idea how I got it, but when I was 13 years old, I received a newsletter from Nicky van der Westhuizen—a leading South African evangelist. I was fascinated when I read about the miracles that God was doing in his ministry. He said that we should set aside a day for fasting and prayer. I fasted for 24 hours, drinking water only. It was the longest day of my life! But I was even more hungry for God! At the end of the day, I asked God if I really should become a preacher. And for the first time in my life, I heard the voice of God. It was not an audible voice heard with my natural ears. But even if it had been, I don't think it could have been any more real than the voice that filled my mind and flooded my being. In the Afrikaans language the Lord said “Yes my son, I want you to become an evangelist!” God is my witness. I heard His voice and those clear words have stuck with me till this day. There was no turning back. God had called me to the ministry! I started spending more time in prayer and asked God to talk to me. One day I saw a vision of a wheelbarrow, and God used this symbolism to teach me something. Even today, when I pray for people, I see visions, which I interpret and prophesy its meaning to the people. I have found that the less I know about the people, the more accurate I am. Pastors who are aware of the fact that I have no idea about the lives and details about their people have told me over and over again that I hit it spot on. When they tell me that, it has a humbling effect on me. I cannot be arrogant and proud, because it is not me, but the Lord who is ministering to the people. When I was younger, I might have been accurate in my prophetic utterance, but I did not always use the gift wisely. Sometimes sin would be revealed and I would just blurted it out. God still used it, not because of me, but in spite of my immaturity. I have since learned that some things God shows me just for my private information—not to tell the whole world about. I have also learnt that in some instances it is best to move the microphone away from my mouth, and then lean closer to the person I am praying for. Then I would whisper into their ear what the Lord would say, such as “He is delivering you from smoking” or alcohol, etc. People are much more receptive to this gift when we operate in love and wisdom. Nobody wants to be embarrassed. God loves people, and the servant of the Lord should reflect this when ministering to people. This makes the pastor relax, knowing that his people are being ministered to and he rejoices with me when a life is touched and changed. I have learnt that if we allow the Lord to humble and mature us, that the spiritual gifts become a powerful blessing to people. The Holy Spirit The baptism in the Holy Spirit is key in my ministry. But it is not just a one time experience so we can say we've been there, done that, and got the tee-shirt. The work of the Holy Spirit in us is a progressive work. When I was initially baptized in the Holy Spirit, it wasn't that dramatic in the beginning. At first it happened during a regular church meeting. The kid next to me started to speak in other tongues. I thought if he could do it, I could too. With child like faith I opened my mouth and started speaking in other tongues. There was not much emotion involved or sensationalism. That followed some years later. A preacher at a camp meeting laid hands on me, and I fell to the floor under the power of God. This has happened to me several times since then. For example one morning early while I was praying outside, I fell backwards into the grass—wet with dew. At any time I could resist this experience and remain on my feet, but I see no sense in resisting. I am always hungry for more. In addition to speaking in other tongues when the Spirit comes, I have had other very powerful experiences. A deep joyful weeping comes over me, which happens to me ever so often even until today. It's hard to explain, but the love and power of the Holy Spirit on me is very real. Sometimes I weep and laugh in the Spirit simultaneously. When I hold revival services, the Shekinah Glory —that “Presence of God that can be felt by man” is very important to me. When the atmosphere is as it were charged with His Presence, miracles happen. Souls are set free from satan's power. The sick are dramatically healed. People are drawn to the Lord. In our ministry I like to lead people into a personal baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in other tongues and other manifestations. I also pray earnestly that a corporate outpouring of the Holy Spirit would come upon the congregation. Very few things are as awe inspiring as when the Spirit swoops upon people simultaneously, and God has His way among the people. And whether I preach or minister in the Spirit, I must have the anointing on me. Without His anointing we operate in the flesh and are very ineffective. It is the anointing that breaks the yoke and changes you into another man. There are those who make a big ado about angels visiting their meetings. In no way do I doubt it, and perhaps they have a greater sensitivity than I do regarding the presence of angels. Of course I know the angels of God are present, but I cherish the Presence of the Holy Spirit much more. He is God! If the president is in town, I will not give too much attention to the mayors. I read through the Bible Still only 13 years old, I wanted a Bible with a zipper on it. So I bought it with my own money—R32.00 (32 Rands—South African Dollars.) Upon buying it, I realized that I better read it to get my money's worth. I read ten chapters a day, and before the year was over, I had read it through completely—from Genesis to Revelation. And I have read through the Bible several times since. I listened to hundreds of preaching tapes and watched many videos—building my faith and my knowledge of the Word. That is why the preaching of the Word takes a central place in my meetings today. Outreaches On one of the videos I saw the little benches that the Africans sat on when they listened to Reinhard Bonnke. I made benches like that and started preaching to the black workers on the resort. They soon nick named me “Moruti,” i.e. Preacher. I preached by candlelight many a time in their little abodes. Once, a visiting kid was being mean towards one of my black friends. I told him not to be like that. We should be kind to them I said, because we rule them now, and one day they would rule us . He asked his dad if that would happen, and he emphatically assured him that it would never happen. Little did any of us realize how prophetical my words would prove to be. When I reached out to that little 30-man strong crowd, I had dreams of holding huge evangelistic and healing crusades. God would honor that, as you shall read a little later. But I was still in school… Young Evangelist In High School I asked my pastor about evangelism. He gave me a book called “Evangelism Explosion,” by Dr. James Kennedy. I put it to work and within about ten days, my friends and I had led about 70 kids to Christ. We rejoiced, but not everyone was happy. I was summoned to the principal's office and set straight. But “His Word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones…” (Jeremiah 20:9.) I did not have much wisdom, but I did have a lot of zeal. Today I understand that zeal tempered by wisdom makes an effective witness. A Lot of Prayer and Preparation I studied the Word and prayed a lot. For a period, I prayed through the night each Friday. I really wanted to see Jesus with my physical eyes and prayed hard—sometimes right through the night. Although I never did see Him in the flesh, I have seen Him revealed in me. I was just a teen when I discovered that doing something “in the Name of Jesus” meant doing it as if Jesus was doing it. This became a strong principle in my life, and coupled with a supernatural experience I had when I was thirty years old, I have strived to operate in His Name, and become like Him, be filled with His Holy Spirit and allow Him to interact with others through me. I recently wrote an 80-some page book on the “Manifestation of the Indwelling Christ” which details the revelations the Lord gave me on this subject. Years later, when holding a revival under very strenuous circumstances, somebody literally saw Jesus standing next to me as I ministered to the sick. I will always remember that experience. Although I cannot see Him, I know He is right there by my side, and right there within me, working through me. The Ministry of Healing, Miracles, Signs and Wonders As a teenager I was particularly drawn to the ministry of healing, miracles, signs and wonders. Later on, when I was still in Bible School , a girl who had been deaf in her one ear came to one of my services. I put my fingers into her ears and prayed for her. After prayer she could hear! I was stunned with joy! Miracles and healing would become an integral part of our ministry and the healing anointing has continued to increase. There is no way that I can account the sheer numbers of testimonies of people who had been dramatically healed by the power of God during the many years of ministry since then. I remember so many. My mind races to instances like the little deaf and mute boy whose ears popped open after prayer. And the man who told me it was like two battleships colliding when his ears popped open. Or the boy who had been blind for two years in the eye which had been damaged by chemicals, who could see after prayer. Or the deaf, mute and almost lame boy who was cured by the power of God. One lady traveled about 80 miles to come to one of our miracle crusade meetings. She was so weak that her family had to carry her from the car to the grounds. While I was praying, she looked up and saw a light above the platform. At first she thought that it was one of the platform lights, but then it started moving and came towards her rapidly. When the light hit her, she was completely healed. In another crusade a man showed me his very thick reading glasses. I mean they were THICK! And he could see clearly without them. He told me that as I was praying, he saw a visible hand moving towards him. It touched his eyes and he was healed. I asked him whose hand he thought it had been. He told me emphatically that it had been the Hand of Jesus. I refuse to believe that God only does miracles in developing countries. He does them there, and He also does them in developed countries such as the USA —if only His people would believe and push their faith for miracles to a higher level. God is the Healer—it doesn't matter where we are or who we pray for. Those early seeds of desire for the healing ministry have since germinated and grown into a fruitful and effective healing ministry. Theological Training, Military Service and Ordination After High School, I attended the Berea Theological College full time for three years and then did an extra year through the correspondence University of South Africa . After Bible School I was drafted into the South African army as a chaplain. After that, I started traveling the world. I became an ordained bishop in the Church of God ( Cleveland TN ) and report monthly to its State and International offices. Some people rarely fellowship with believers outside their little denomination or group. Others think it is some terrible thing to be affiliated with an established, reputable, traditional organization. I think it is a wonderful thing to be formally licensed with a group of like minded believers, and still relate and fellowship with other groups within the body of Christ. I appreciate it that I am held accountable by spiritually sensitive leaders. I also think it is a wonderful thing to be blessed by and also be a blessing to the broader body of Christ. Joel Hitchcock Ministries is a non profit 501 (c) 3 corporation and files annually to the IRS—the Internal Revenue Service of the United States . Our ministry has six board members—Heidi and I and four pastors from different church backgrounds. It is my prayer that my ministry will continue to be a blessing to the whole body of Christ, regardless of denomination or stream. Marriage and move to America During my travels, I met my wife Heidi's pastor—Dr. Ray Chamberlain. He was from Salisbury , Maryland , but I met him in Dallas , Texas . As soon as I met him, the Holy Spirit reminded him of Heidi. He told her about me and long story made short, we became pen pals. Heidi and I only got to meet each other years later, but we exchanged letters between America , Europe and Africa , as I traveled the world for the Gospel. Heidi had graduated from Liberty University and worked for LeSea Broadcasting in Honolulu , Hawaii . After three years and three months we finally met and were married on June 3, 1995 . Our marriage has been wonderful. I think what makes it work is true and relentless love for each other, time with each other, conflict resolution and lots and lots of romance. It also helps to have the same convictions and interests in life. When we got married, we literally deleted the d-word from our dictionary, so that we would always know that it would never be an option. Heidi has been a very stabilizing factor in my life. “As iron sharpens iron,” the Bible says. . The Lord has blessed us with four beautiful children—Anthony, Rebekah, Timothy and Trey. Although I am a sold out traveling evangelist, I have placed a very high premium on my marriage and little family. Heidi and I are very dedicated to each other and always nurture our marriage. I also make sure that I am there for my kids. I teach them to love God and love the ministry. I totally refuse this nonsense about Preacher's Kids not serving God. Me and my house—we will serve the Lord. My children will be mighty in the land, and the generation of the upright shall be blessed! (Joshua 24:15; Psalms 112:2.) I cannot understand how a preacher can fall into immoral conduct. In my mind I cannot imagine hurting my precious wife or my dear children, never mind my Lord and Savior who loved me ere I loved Him. That is why we must remain vigilant and protect and nurture our relationships with spouse and children. And children are not stupid. They can tell if their dad's relationship with God is real or not. A healthy marriage is key to a healthy ministry. At the same time, we should have mercy on our fellow brothers and sisters who may have faltered, and do our best to restore our fallen soldiers. Mass Crusades Very early on in my life I was influenced by Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. Brother Reinhard has won more people to Christ in the history of Christiandom than any other person I know of. Like he does, I have also had a passion to win millions of souls to Jesus. I have held meetings with many thousands people attending a single meeting. This has happened several times over—in Venezuela , Pakistan , India and in several places in Africa . One of the highlights of my life was when once Brother Reinhard gave me an opportunity to preach a short message at his crusade in Nigeria . There were a half million people listening to me in person. Afterwards, Brother Reinhard preached a salvation message. By the end of the crusade more than 1.2 million people had made a decision for Christ and multitudes were filled and baptized with the Holy Spirit. Not all my goals in life have been fulfilled yet and I continue to endure a restlessness to hold yet more and greater crusades. I hope to lead at least 100 million souls into a positive decision for Christ in my lifetime, and I hope God will give me the ability to do it. A crusade is a financially costly affair, but we have somehow managed to scrape the funds together from somewhere to make them happen. When I preach in mass crusades I am aware that many in the multitude have no clear idea about who Christ is—about His eternal pre-existence, incarnation, virgin birth, sinless life, atoning death and resurrection etc and how this ties in to our individual salvation. That is why I preach the fundamentals of salvation during these crusades in addition to healing, etc, and also wrote a book on this subject, “The Wonder of Jesus…” Revivals I have held many revivals in these twenty years of full time ministry—mostly in the USA . The dictionary defines a revival as a “stirring up of religious faith by fervid evangelistic preaching at public meetings.” It is also called “renewal meetings,” or “extended meetings,” or “outpourings,” etc. The semantics are not important, but may these “revivals” lead us towards a real revival—which is not just a series of meetings, but an uncontrollable and sovereign move of God. I wrote a book on the subject called “The End Time Revival and Great Awakening.” In the mean time, we hold revivals around the country. When I hold these revivals, my greatest joy is to see people encounter God and experience Jesus. In our revivals I preach on salvation, holiness, the baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit, healing, faith and on other related topics. When I sometimes preach among the Methodists I tone it down a little as I do with other groups like them J . When I preach among the black folk I pull out all the stops! I try to read what a certain congregation can handle at the time, and still be on the cutting edge and challenge them to receive more of God. A couple of weeks ago I preached in a little church in the country. After the morning service a man came to me in tears telling me that the message had been just for him. In the evening service the whole church experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As I muse on this all I can say is— this is my reward . When people are blessed and touched, and lives are changed in revivals like this one, I feel fulfilled and blessed. The same is true when I preach at larger churches. What a thrill it was when we came to a church for just a Sunday, and three weeks later, we were still there. God had continued to work among us with miracles of healing and delivering the addicts. And the weight of His glory was resting upon us every night… Financial Blessing Unless someone is brainwashed by defeatist theology, it is obvious that the Bible teaches both spiritual and material blessings. It's hard to explain away the scripture that says “Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servant” (Psalm 35:27.) Or what about “It is the Lord that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18 ,) and many other Scriptures. God has given me a special grace when it comes to teaching God's people on the financial blessing of the believer. When I hold revivals at churches, and if the pastor there would allow me to, I share on this topic for just a few minutes before the offering. People are always blessed by the message. When people learn that it is a joy to give unto the Lord, they love to give financially into the work of God. Nobody likes to be pressured or manipulated into giving. There are many pastors who think they cannot afford for an evangelist to come to their church. That is why I always emphasize that I do not need a certain amount of money before I come. Money is not my reward. Seeing a soul touched and changed by God is my reward! Yet I have been amazed at times at how the Lord provided for us financially. I typically pay my own traveling expenses (flight, gas, hotel, meals, etc,) unless that church insists on paying it. God has always met my needs. If you trust God, He will meet all your needs also. Seeing the involvement of God as He provides financially for His people is very exciting. Yet it is important that we keep our hearts fixed on what is important. We cannot serve both God and Mammon. And when we seek first the Kingdom of God , He also provides in everything else (Matthew 6:24 , 33.) I wish I could say I don't have any financial challenges. But the fact is that when trying to accomplish big things for the Kingdom of God , there are a lot of expenses involved. And oftentimes it is the minister of the Gospel—God's servant, that has to assume the personal responsibility for the financial risks involved in the work of the Lord. Yet the Scriptures tell us “Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense?” (1 Cor. 9:7.) Just like many other great servants and handmaidens of the Lord, we too have made many personal sacrifices and have to make every dollar stretch to stay ahead. But I believe it's just a matter of time before we will operate on a much higher level financially and do great things for God. The God who has provided for me big time in the past is the same God who will do so again. Conclusion As of this writing I am 41 years old. More than half my life is still ahead of me. In this booklet I have not spent much time musing about any of our challenges, because “…out of them all the Lord delivers him,” will suffice for now. God has blessed me richly and I dwell on the memories of His blessings and miracles. I know that the next stretch of my life will be blessed beyond measure. I hope that my testimony has been a blessing to you and that it has encouraged YOU to pursue YOUR destiny in God. I also hope that somehow you and I may partner together. Perhaps you could attend some or our meetings, or listen to us on the Internet. Perhaps you can stand with us financially as we attempt great things for God. If you are a pastor or fellow minister, why not approach me to preach at your church or event. I am sure that somehow we can be a reciprocal blessing to each other. Recommendations “I don't know of an evangelist with more integrity than Evangelist Joel Hitchcock…” Bishop Bill Reid, Salisbury MD “I trust him with my pulpit…” Bishop Darryl Morris, Bridgeville DE “A very capable and effective evangelist, Joel Hitchcock has an outstanding, dynamic ministry that has reached many people not only regionally, but hundreds of thousands throughout the world. He is an exceptional minister with tremendous ability and leadership. His ministry has reaped a great harvest in every area he has labored…” Bishop Martin Taylor, Tampa FL Some International Mass Crusade Pictures:
JOEL HITCHCOCK MINISTRIES, PO BOX 936, GEORGETOWN DE 19947, USA 302-856-6848 joel@joelhitchcock.com |
