That the life of Jesus may be manifested: An interview with Dan Izzett
What would you do if you learned you had leprosy? Pastor John Lathrop interviews pastor and missionary Dan Izzett about his ministry and advocacy for those afflicted with the ancient, debilitating disease.
John Lathrop: Please tell us where you come from and how you began your walk with Jesus.
Dan Izzett: When I was born my parents were attending the Presbyterian Church. My father realized that he needed to be baptized in water and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but he discovered that he could not do this in the Presbyterian Church. So as a family we moved to a Pentecostal church, The Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe, a movement that was a result of John G. Lake’s ministry in South Africa.
I was born again at the age of five and a half years old and still remember the service the pastor preached when I went forward to the front of the church.
Soon after that I remember one Sunday my parents taking communion and seeing the emotion, joy and rapture they were enjoying during communion, I longed for it! I asked my father if I could join with them the next time and he said that he’d have to ask the pastor. After speaking to the pastor, he was told that the ruling of the church was that I’d need to be baptized first. Therefore, I wanted to get baptized right away. But I was told that I could not be because I was not 12 years old yet. This disappointed me deeply and made me feel that Christianity was only for older people.
My father passed away when I was eight years old and by the age of 14 I’d drifted into a bad relationship with God. An uncle of mine, not many years older than myself, encouraged me to do Hatha Yoga, Yoga for the physical body. But this was a demonic trap to get me into the occult. The end result was that for 11 years I lived in a desert of confused religious ideas.
In 1974 I returned to serving my heavenly Father and my wife got saved! We’d been married since 1970 and then in 1975 we were blessed with our first son. We now have two sons who are married and have blessed us with two wonderful daughters-in-law. That was an answer to at least 25 years of prayer. We are now grandparents to five very special grandchildren.
Lathrop: You have been involved in ministry in Africa for a number of years. Please tell our readers a little bit about that.
Izzett: Here is a brief overview of my involvement in ministry at various levels:
- Youth leader in my local church in 1975
- Served on the church board, first as a member, then as a deacon, then as an elder and finally as the treasurer.
- Full time church discipleship – internship 1981. Taught in 5 Bible Colleges in Harare. Local church bible studies and home groups.
- 1987 worked with CfAN, the ministry of Reinhard Bonnke, as a crusade director, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
- Planted a church in 1986 and pastored there until retiring in April 2012.
- Through the years I have also done numerous pastors’ seminars with Barnabas Ministries, led by Dr. David Wyns in Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Kenya and Botswana.
Category: Fall 2015, Living the Faith
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