This summer thousands tuned into an 'outpouring' of televised faith healing in Florida. We went to find out what happened when the Evangelicals brought claims of curing cancer, healing broken bones and even resurrecting the dead to Westminster.
Joanna McCullagh is still giddy an hour after her encounter with God.
Struggling to stand, the 32-year-old mother from Ealing says a 'judder' of electricity coursed through her body the moment her condition (ME - chronic fatigue) was called out by Pentacostal Canadian faith healer, Jerame Nelson.
"It's impossible to describe... it's like a vibrating, shaking heat all over you. I can promise you this is not a placebo. I was a sceptic of healing, but now I feel much better, I feel set free."
As do hundreds of others it seems as they queue to be anointed by Nelson, the star attraction at a three-night meeting earlier this summer at the Emmanuel Evangelical Church in Marsham Street, Westminster.
Nelson, 26, made the journey in place of his spiritual leader Todd Bentley, who since April has been causing a stir in Lakeland, Florida with claims of a spontaneous outpouring of miraculous healings. Apparently no illness or wound can not be salved by Jesus; with cancers cured, sight restored, bones re-assembled and even the dead brought back to life.
The Lakeland Fresh Fires Revival in which Bentley - a pierced and tattooed ex-con who was born again a decade ago - banishes sickness with a sweep of his hand and a bellowed 'Bam!', has caught fire in the UK via the very earthly vessels of God TV, and internet streaming.
Within days of going on sale, the thousands of £5 tickets to the Emmanuel Church event were gone as believers of all races, ages and denominations signed up in hope the apparent signs, miracles and wonders of Lakeland would occur in London.
To those who swear by science, faith healing is hokum; at very best a placebo, using the power of occasion, rhetoric and repetition of music and song to influence suggestible, and often desperate, people into believing they are healed.
Critics also say there is scant, verifiable evidence of the healing claims and scoff at the 30 or so reported resurrections none of which have taken place in front of the ever-present TV cameras.
"The sceptics should come and see for themselves," says Pastor Wee Hian Chau, the soft spoken leader of Emmanuel Church which runs weekly healing meetings. "Something is happening here. This is God's hour and to prove it he gives us signs and wonders, such as faith healing. It does work and can be used hand in hand with conventional medicine."
It is a message which appears to chime with many. But for some there are sadder motives for making the journey to Westminster.
To the right of the stage, a bank of people in wheelchairs wait for their turn to be anointed. It is an almost biblical sight side as disabled, limbless or deformed people are pushed to the front to be touched by Nelson and his wife.
"My daughter is in a wheelchair and suffers from severe epilepsy. She just keeps getting worse and the doctors won't do anything," explains Janice from High Wycombe. "I've brought her with me for a miracle, she needs one," she says as Nelson steps up to the stage wearing a very un-ministerial pair of canvas trainers, trousers and a black shirt.
He begins to pace up and down, one hand slung into his trouser pocket the other gripping the microphone. "Are you hungry for the anointment?" he urges in a Canadian accent tinged with the cadence of a black gospel pastor. "You are? Ok well show me."
The crowd need no further prompting; those who can, get to their feet and arms aloft, palms open, start to cheer, cry or mutter prayers. They are in ecstasy and as Nelson gets into his stride some whirl their arms around, others genuflect, weep or shake as the experience overwhelms them.
Nelson is remarkably skilled for his years, deploying the sure-footedness of ringmaster as he whips the crowd into a frenzy.He doesn't deliver a classic sermon. Instead at the end of a compelling ramble about the glory and fire of God, he bursts into song in a rich, soulful voice. He stops suddenly to fire a barrage of ailments into the room: Cerebral palsy, breast cancer, stomach cancer, deafness, cataracts, mental illness, schizophrenia, epilepsy and hernias are all "gonna get healed".
The initiated among the congregation emit a haunting howl at what is about to come.A dozen people, young and old, file to the front of the stage and face Nelson. None are in wheelchairs, or have sticks. There'll be no crutch-throwing today. Taking the hand of a large black lady in a leopard print top, Nelson asks what her complaint is. "I have cysts in my stomach."
"So you're the person with the stomach cancer," he confirms, slightly altering his divine diagnosis. Placing a hand on her stomach, he blows hard down the microphone and shouts "By the power of Jesus, I command that cancer loose... Loose!", she falls back into the arms of a waiting catcher and lies quivering on the floor for a few moments.
The healing ritual is repeated several times but it doesn't always go to plan. A man with hearing difficulties remains deaf despite the minister's repeated efforts. Next up, a woman who entered the church with growths on her flat feet. To whispers of "yes Lord" she declares herself bunion-free and fully arched. No-one asks her to take her shoes off to prove it.
The healed are ushered to a corner where they give a written testimony. It will be used later as evidence of the apparent miracles, as the ministry seeks to lay roots across the world drawing on the revenue raised from similar events and the historical precedent of Revival, which since the turn of the 20th century, has seen hundreds of thousands of conversions across the US and Canada. It now has the powerful tool of TV and the internet to draw on, with the ability to reach lives in far-off places.
After three and a half hours the whole congregation is anointed. There is a buzz in the air as everyone files out. Some lay hands on each other outside in prayer, while others jostle for position at the merchandise stall.
Todd Bentley and Jerame Nelson DVDs, CDs and posters are for sale Ð the proceeds going to Fresh Fires Ministry. Pastor Chau says more than £20,000 was offered in the first two nights of the London revival alone.
They are also following a historical precedent of Revival, which since the turn of the 20th century, has seen hundreds of thousands of conversions across the US and Canada. It now has the powerful tool of TV and the internet to draw on, with the ability to reach lives in far-off places. After three and a half hours the whole congregation is anointed.
There is a buzz in the air as everyone files out. Some lay hands on each other outside in prayer, while others jostle for position at the merchandise stall. Todd Bentley and Jerame Nelson DVDs, CDs and posters are for sale - the proceeds going to Fresh Fires Ministry. Pastor Chau says more than £20,000 was offered in the first two nights of the London revival alone.
The success of the Westminster Revival was due to be repeated in September when Todd Bentley arrived in the UK, but his tour has been cancelled amid reports he entered an 'improper relationship' with a volunteer in Florida. But that doesn't seem to bother the Fresh Fires faithful.
In the foyer Donna, 40, a larger-than-life character with jazzy orange curls, says faith healing is the antidote to our troubled times."Everywhere you look there is bad news; stabbings, credit crunch, house prices and all that," she says. "Some people like drinking and taking drugs, this is how we get our pleasure. You can say it doesn't work, but the people who come here are desperate for help and have nowhere else to go. If this gives them hope, how can that be a bad thing?"
