One of our church planting mobilizers, Lucas*, recently led a short-term trip to East Africa. From the beginning, the team experienced spiritual resistance and attacks, but “the Lord’s faithfulness was more than sufficient” to see them through, Lucas said.
“We had a wonderfully unified team, and I feel like we hit the ground running,” Lucas said. “After four days of travel, our bus pulled up to a local pastor’s church, where we received the warmest welcome you could imagine – singing, dancing, cheering, hugs, and a hot lunch. We worshiped and prayed together, had a wonderful time of fellowship, and commissioned the team and the work to the Lord.”
The next four days, the team traveled to four different villages to train believers in sharing the Gospel and discipleship. They answered questions such as: What is the Gospel? Why should we share the Gospel? What are some ways we can share the Gospel? What is a disciple, and why is discipleship important? How do we make disciples? How can we study, learn from, and apply God’s Word?
“The trainings went so well,” Lucas said. “I can’t tell you how many times I heard our translators – many of whom are pastors – say, ‘This training is so good. Most people here have never heard this.’”
The last two days in the field, Lucas and the team went back out into the villages with the people they’d trained, visiting homes and sharing the Gospel.
“It was such a joy watching the people we’d trained turn around and put what they’d learned into practice – and even start teaching others,” Lucas said. “Over and over, we saw the Lord draw lost souls to Himself and prompt them to act upon their new faith.”
After their two days of evangelizing, the team had so many people wanting to be baptized that they had to pack their bus to over double its intended capacity to get everyone to the river. Lucas even had the honor of baptizing two of the pastor’s children.
Overall, the trip resulted in 123 people trained in sharing the Gospel and making disciples, 255 Gospel shares, 43 professions of faith, 22 people baptized, and 4 new Bible study groups.
“While we don’t measure success in numbers, we certainly celebrate every person these numbers represent,” Lucas said. “We thank the Lord for allowing us to be a part of what He’s doing!”
*Names have been changed to ensure safety and anonymity.