The group huddled close in the center of Times Square, New York City. Their prayers flew heavenward; then, the Manhattan Missionaries spread across the square with flyers for Prophecy Odyssey in hand.
Avron set up his boombox and microphone while others sang familiar hymns. A few passersby stopped to listen; most rushed on. Isabelle, a New York native, approached a man lying on the street corner with a flyer. “Jesus loves you,” she smiled. “Can I pray with you?”
“My god is Gabriel,” the man slurred and turned away. “Your god is a pedophile!”
Then she noticed a man in yellow pants, a sports bra, and flowing purple hair. He stood transfixed by the music. “Jesus loves you!” she smiled, handing him a flyer. He sat down on a pole and listened as Avron, a young missionary from the Midwest, told how Jesus had set him free from marijuana.
The man with purple hair didn’t leave when the preaching stopped. Instead, he hung around, talking to the Manhattan Missionaries and leaning in for long hugs. That night, he joined hundreds of other people in the Manhattan Center to hear Pastor Doug Batchelor, president of Amazing Facts International, preach about the Bible’s longest time prophecy.
Evangelism Still Works
The missionaries in Times Square were part of a much larger effort to reach New York City and the world with the good news of the Three Angels’ Messages. About 100 missionaries came from as far away as England and New Zealand to participate in Prophecy Odyssey, a fifteen-part Bible prophecy seminar hosted by Amazing Facts International in collaboration with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the local Greater New York Conference (GNYC).
The evangelistic series was held from September 20 to October 5, 2024, in the heart of downtown New York and was broadcast live in English and Spanish on 3ABN, AFTV, and Hope Channel International. With an average in-person attendance of 800 per night (and 1400 on the weekends), the meetings have already amassed over 48 million views on Facebook and YouTube. In addition, artificial intelligence software translated each session into 17 additional languages. These translations are available at www.prophecyodyssey.com for use by churches and individuals.
Much prayer and hard work preceded this massive evangelistic effort in the world’s most recognizable city. A team of 18 local Bible workers, led by Pastor Bianel Lara, the personal ministries director for GNYC, labored on the streets of New York’s five boroughs, following up with interests and giving Bible studies. “I am praying for 250 baptisms, and I have no doubt that God will give them to us!” stated Lara.
God did even better. Three-hundred and seventy-seven New Yorkers joined the church through baptism or profession of faith. A Chinese church and a Spanish church were also planted. “We’re seeing results in parts of the city where we’ve never had growth before,” said Pastor Alanzo Smith, president of the GNYC.
The results in New York City show how effective evangelism can be when local church and media ministries collaborate. “Our church is here. Our contacts are here,” stated Wayne Jamel, pastor of the Bryant Park church plant near Times Square. “Many of our contacts said they had already been listening to Amazing Facts. We prepared the field for Amazing Facts. And they prepared the field for us.”
Many Bryant Park members took time off work to attend the free Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism classes and participate in outreach. “Many of them are new Adventists, so it was wonderful for them to see that they are part of something bigger than our little church plant and get this training for ministry,” adds Jamel.
New York to the World
“If you could choose anywhere in the world to host a series of meetings that would be broadcast around the world, where would it be?” Pastor Batchelor asked Elder Ted Wilson, General Conference president in 2022.
Elder Wilson never hesitated. “New York City.”
That conversation two years ago was the genesis of Prophecy Odyssey. But why NYC? Two reasons:
1. Because God told us to work there: “As I have considered the situation in New York, a great burden has come upon my soul. In the night season, matters have been presented to me in this light: New York will be worked; openings will be found in parts of the city in which there are no churches” (Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 54). “Those who bear the burden of the work in Greater New York should have the help of the best workers that can be secured. Here let a center for God’s work be made, and let all that is done be a symbol of the work the Lord desires to see done in the world” (Evangelism, p. 384-385). “You should feel a decided responsibility for the working of New York City. The men in the business houses of New York and other large cities, as verily as the heathen in foreign lands, must be reached with the message” (24 LtMs, Lt 168, 1909, par. 14).
2. Because New York is one of the world’s most recognizable cities, filled with people from every part of the world who need to hear about Jesus and who can take the message home to their families. “The harvest is ripe in NYC,” says Wayne Leman, the producer for Prophecy Odyssey.
A Long History with NYC
Both Wilson and Batchelor have long-standing ties to the city that never sleeps. Wilson started his ministry in New York City and wrote his dissertation on Ellen White’s counsel for reaching the city. Doug Batchelor grew up on the streets of New York as the unhappy son of millionaire parents. Both men have preached multiple evangelistic series in the Big Apple.
Batchelor preached the Millenium of Prophecy series from the Manhattan Center in 1999 as part of the church’s focus on satellite evangelism. Broadcast worldwide and used as part of Amazing Fact’s television programming for the past 25 years, “Millenium of Prophecy has yielded more baptisms than any other program we ever produced,” says Batchelor.
Batchelor also returned to New York for the Day to Remember series following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. In 2013, Wilson launched the worldwide “Mission to the Cities” initiative with multiple evangelistic series across New York City.
“I am delighted that Doug Batchelor and Amazing Facts accepted the burden of returning to NYC,” Wilson states. “Prophecy Odyssey has been an enormous spiritual blessing to the people of NYC. I am convinced that powerful evangelistic results will continue through the power of the Holy Spirit!”
Spiritual Hunger in the Concrete Jungle
Each night, local Adventists and their guests braved New York’s busy transit system to attend Prophecy Odyssey, many of them standing in line for up to an hour before the doors opened. “I haven’t missed a day,” said Ronald Benjamin, who grew up Adventist and recently returned to the faith. “Pastor Doug explains things clearly. It’s been eye-opening and reinforced what I already knew, but it’s helped me put more emphasis on it. I wish this could happen more regularly. People are hungry for it.”
Local church members eagerly joined forces with the visiting Manhattan Missionaries to share the gospel throughout the city. The missionaries received free evangelism training from the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism (AFCOE) on topics including motivation for mission work, reclaiming missing members, Daniel and Revelation, nurturing new believers, evangelism, and Christian growth.
After seasons of united prayer, the missionaries, and AFCOE students went out to pray with New Yorkers. Though many rejected it, “we were genuinely surprised by the spiritual hunger we found in the city,” says Carlos Munoz, AFCOE Director. “There were a lot of people who were very receptive.”
“Since being here, I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many people wanting prayer for themselves or some loved one, and some of them allowed me to pray with them right there on the streets of New York!” says Noah Nino from Texas. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be doing that in one of the busiest cities in the world!”
“Reaching out with prayer has made such a difference for me,” says Amanda Greeman, a retired nurse from Queens, New York. “I have given out literature for years, but offering prayer first opens the door for a real connection with people.”
Transformed New Yorkers
Space does not allow us to tell all the stories of transformation that God worked through Prophecy Odyssey, but these two brief stories give a glimpse into our Father’s loving ways:
Patricia started drinking and smoking at age seven. At 10, she felt attracted to other girls. By 13, she drank to black out. “I was so angry with God. Why would he make me like this?” she remembers.
Over the years, Patricia tried to overcome her problems, but nothing worked. Eventually, Alcoholics Anonymous pointed her towards a higher power. She began searching for information about God on YouTube. One day, a sermon with Pastor Doug popped up in her feed. Amazing Facts quickly became her go-to. “I listen to it all the time.”
Patricia was thrilled when she heard that Pastor Doug was coming to New York. She faithfully attended Prophecy Odyssey and was baptized into one of the local Adventist churches. Her excitement about God bubbles over. “I’m better than dry!” she smiles. “I’m seeking God! And He goes out of His way to show me that He loves me.” She hasn’t been in a relationship with another woman for three years. “It’s just me and God.”
James had been slowly growing closer to God, but he seemed unable to shake his addiction to tobacco. Then, he was hired to work as a security guard at the Manhattan Center during Prophecy Odyssey. He listened eagerly to Pastor Doug as he scanned the hall for potential threats. Tears frequently slid down his cheeks.
One night, an Amazing Facts staff member approached him and asked how she could pray for him. “Please pray that I can stop smoking,” James requested. She prayed for him and gave him copies of the free Bible studies and magazines.
The last night of the meetings, she spoke with him again and noticed that the smell of tobacco was gone. “I haven’t smoked since you prayed for me,” James smiled. “I tried a couple of times, but it burned my lungs, so I threw it all out.”
Today, James is studying the Bible with a local Bible worker. “I was so blessed to be paid to listen to these meetings!” he says.
Prophecy Odyssey’s Continuing Impact
Though only God knows all the people around the world who Prophecy Odyssey has touched, initial reports have been thrilling. One viewer wrote: “I was suicidal as this series started. Watching has completely turned things around for me and has given me hope and something to look forward to and believe in. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
The Adventist school and church in Chehalis, Washington, decided at the last minute to host Prophecy Odyssey. About 30 members and guests gathered each evening. “Pastor Doug is brilliant in dealing with difficult subjects in a disarming way,” says Pastor Matt Para, “Watching the series together helped our members rally around our common faith and be excited about evangelism again.” Three individuals made decisions for baptism.
Similar stories have been repeated in hundreds of churches around the globe that utilized the Prophecy Odyssey broadcasts to do local evangelism.
“What we are seeing now is just the beginning of all God is going to do through these meetings,” says Pastor Batchelor. “People can watch them for years to come online, and churches can use them for local evangelism.”
“The North American Division has launched a major initiative for next year called Pentecost 2025, challenging churches across the division to conduct 3000 evangelistic meetings,” adds Batchelor. “The Prophecy Odyssey series is an ideal resource for churches to use for Pentecost 2025.”
Share Prophecy Odyssey in Your Community
Would you like to share the three angels’ messages more effectively? Prophecy Odyssey is the perfect resource for churches of all sizes to participate in Pentecost 2025 and other evangelistic endeavors.
The fifteen seminar sessions deal with Bible topics vital for the last days. Topics include:
The Antichrist’s Agenda
Signs of the Second Coming
America in Bible Prophecy
The Seal of God
All meetings are available in 18 languages (and more coming). Companion Bible studies are available in English, Spanish, and many other languages.
Amazing Facts also offers a curated set of free marketing and planning resources that churches of any size can use to conduct a successful evangelist series with the Prophecy Odyssey recordings.
Learn more at www.prophecyodyssey.com
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Shenalyn Page is a homeschool mom and a writer for Amazing Facts International. She loves telling the stories of how God transforms people’s lives.