We know with God all things are possible, right? God can do anything with anybody as long as they’re available.
I don’t consider myself a minister in the most widely recognized sense of the word. I’m not called to preach. I don’t speak to crowds from the pulpit. I do the behind-the-scenes things. That’s my strength, and really, that’s my passion: supporting those who are sharing the gospel — pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and more.
Imagine my surprise when during my early years of serving evangelist R.W. Schambach as his crusade director, the Lord spoke to me during my prayer time and said, “Eric, I want you to win 100 million souls.” I couldn’t believe it! I was not the frontline man. I just lined up crusades for Brother Schambach. I thought, Well, maybe through Brother Schambach we can win 1,000 here and 5,000 there? I thought about the verse “According to Your faith, let it be done unto you,” and I wasn’t sure my faith was there. But as the Lord began to expand my understanding and expand what I was doing, I started to see His plan unfold.
We launched Smith Media Group in 2003. Now, we have hundreds of ministries preaching the gospel on television, through Zoom meetings, and in churches and event centers all across America and other nations. To date – we’ve tried to keep track of this, but it’s a constantly moving target – we have seen approximately 34.6 million people come to know Christ over the 28 years since I received that word from the Lord. I’m only 1/3 of the way there, but I’m excited!
That’s one of the reasons I’m excited to partner with Pastor Jim and the Significant Church Network, because over the last 23 months or so, we have seen over 772 new pastors connected with the network! We are impacting 30 nations of the world right now, and these pastors are being encouraged and empowered. They are saying, “You know what? If Brother Schambach and T.L Osborne could do it back in those days, we can do it today!” It’s a blessing to be a part of this network. It’s a blessing to be alive today. I think the best days of ministry are right ahead of us, and I’m believing God that over the next 20 years we will get a lot closer to 100 million souls. Through God’s help and God’s grace, we are going to do our best.
When I served Brother Schambach, I remember that almost every time we would go to a church, he would be asked the same question: “Brother Schambach, what was the greatest miracle you ever saw?” Without any hesitation, he would say it was the miracle of a boy who had 26 major diseases healed. I would like to share that story with you today. I believe it’s going to bless you and help you understand that God can do anything through anybody. We just have to choose to be the willing vessel.
This story takes place in the late ‘50s, well before my time! Brother Schamach worked for a man of God by the name of A.A. Allen. For those of you who don’t know who A. A. Allen was, he was a tent evangelist. Back in the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s and even ‘60s, tents were a big thing because auditoriums weren’t developed to where you could hold 8,000 to 10,000 people in one place. Now, think about this: Brother Allen’s tent could hold over 10,000 people. It was bigger than a football field. Wow! It’s just amazing to think about how many people would come out to these tent meetings, which would last for 30 days, 3 services a day, in all seasons. Sometimes school was going on; sometimes sporting events. Back then, a tent coming to town was the biggest thing happening. People came out every night, and the tent just kept growing and growing and growing.
In between tent meetings, Brother Schambach and Brother Allen would go to an auditorium to hold services. They would hold a 30-day tent crusade, then take down the tent and set it up somewhere else. During that process, the auditorium served as their service location.
Brother Schambach was with Brother Allen when he was holding a meeting at the Birmingham Fairgrounds. They were there for 7 days. Back then, Brother Schambach was the afternoon speaker and the praise and worship leader. You can image what that must have looked like in a Holy Ghost service! Brother Schambach said, “Every day I saw this woman in the services, and she came to me. I saw she came with somebody, and she had a child that she was always carrying.” This was now Brother Schambach’s last day, and Brother Allen was going to be having his last session that night. She came to Brother Schambach after he ministered in the day session. She said, “Brother Schambach, I have been here this entire week. I came from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Birmingham, Alabama, because I’m believing God for a miracle. My boy was born with 26 major diseases.”
The boy’s tongue hung out to his chin, he was blind, had milky color eyes, was deaf, his arms were matted to his chest, his knees were pushing into his belly button. The boy was born without feet and had no male organs and just about every organ in his body had deformities – liver, kidneys, heart. She said, “The doctors told me this boy would not live to see his 1st birthday. He’s here today, four years old right now. I have to go back to Knoxville after tonight’s service. I have $20 dollars left in my pocket, and I’ve been giving in every service. Will Brother Allen please pray for my child?”
Brother Schambach said, “Ma’am your story really touches my heart. I can’t apologize for the way the Holy Spirit uses Brother Allen. However,” he said, “if he doesn’t call your boy out tonight or doesn’t call to pray for him tonight, I will personally take the boy to Brother Allen’s trailer house.” That’s what they traveled in back in those days, small 20’ by 30’ trailers. “So I promise you I’ll pray for that child.”
She said, “Brother Schambach, you would do that?”
He said, “I’d be happy to.”
