A U.S. former Marine is on fire for Jesus Christ!

Otto Sumerall, trained with the elite U.S. Marine Forces, waited overseas for half a decade, ready to go into combat with America’s enemies. Nowadays, this former U.S. soldier is fighting a different type of war-a dicey war, to win souls for Christ-where his real enemies aren’t visible beings.

By James Kokulo Fasuekoi|Editor-Publisher

Each year, Minnesota based Spiritual Life Church (SLC) brings in famous evangelists from all over the world to share the Gospel of Christ with its congregation and Americans at large. German-South African born preacher, Sigi Oblander, together with husband David Oblander were the church’s latest speakers from overseas to preach at SLC in late July. 

Meanwhile, SLC also began opening its doors this year to emerging young preachers living in Minnesota’s Twin Cities area, among them, Bro. Thomas Mason and Bro. Adonai Walker. Less than two weeks ago, ex-US Marine Bro. Otto Sumerall became the third youngest speaker at the church which runs a bible college/seminary.

Evangelist Otto Sumrall once served with the Marines Corps’ Fox Co. #217 overseas as Military Police. During this period, he picked up duty multiple times at United States Military bases at Japan’s Okinawa and Yokuska. He informed this web magazine he also served on other island nations such as Cuba, Guam, Hawaii and the Philippines during his career as serviceman. 

Moments before he began preaching at the church’s Sunday 8: a.m. service, August 13th, Evangelist Sumrall told of an encounter he had with the Lord during a 40-day fast he had during which God, he said, “purged” him of many things.

The fast, according to him, was prompted by his desire to seek God’s attention for something and added he had already gone 23 days into his “40-day” when Dr. Judy Fornara, SLC’s founder & pastor, called and asked him to preach on that scheduled Sunday and he agreed.  

Bro. Sumerall who strolled into the church’s edifice accompanied by his wife and beautiful children, praised God for changing his life and the level He God has brought him to. He lost some 51 lbs. as a result of the fast and his physical look, compared to previous ones, seemed dramatically altered due to the fasting.

Also, the fast allowed him to receive a “Word” from the Lord thereby forming the basis for his theme; it focused on disobedience, or sins as a whole, he told the audience. 

Titled “Sin not only affects you, but also affects those close to you,” he spent ample time shedding light on Moses’ plea to the Israelites to observe God’s established Covenant with them as they moved closer to the land God had promised to give their ancestors as inheritance.

He took much of his text from Deut. 4:23-29, telling of how this Book speaks about idolatry and its consequences and thereby pointed out God’s warning that He would “scattered” the Hebrews onto other “nations”, leaving only a handful left among the “heathen” (verse 27) if they violated the Covenant and worship “man-made gods.” 

Apparently, the Hebrews did not only violate God’s Laws but that many, with the help of Korah, staged “revolt” against Moses (by disrespecting a Man of God you disobey God), and it provoked God’s anger against Korah and his followers, Sumrall said.  

The consequences for their disobedience seemed unimaginable, as Sumerall explained. God killed 250 of them and their entire families, including Korah too and associates. Some died by Heavenly fire while God opened up the ground and it swallowed the rest (Num. 16:1-40).

Sumrall warned Christians to remain mindful in their relationship with God, urging them to always meditate on the Word of God and stay focused, lest they provoke God’s anger and suffer His judgment. 

His message couldn’t have come at a better time than now when rebellion has become the order of day, amid increasing immorality everywhere in the world.  

Sumrall is presently studying for a BSc degree in Biblical Theology and has preached at several churches in the Minneapolis area in the last few years.

Giving testimony before his class during last winter quarter, the former serviceman maintained that his yearning to know Christ led him to pursue further studies at SLC. ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY GLOBAL EKKLESIA

Author: James Kokulo Fasuekoi is a national award-winning journalist, author, documentary writer and news photographer. He previously covered civil wars in West Africa for several news media including the Associated Press. He became a Bush Foundation Scholar twice in 2017. His work as a civil war journalist has brought him face-to-face with the law in his native Liberia, and in the US, where the Fed had him subpoenaed twice to stand as states witness in two major Liberian ‘war crimes trials’ of 2017 & 2018 in Philadelphia. Once an African national ballet dancer, he now writes, photographs and dances for Christ. Read profile @ https://globalekklesia.com/profile/; or write editor@globalekklesia.com