Partnering With Church Planters

“Go and make disciples of all nations” is the familiar commission of Christ to His followers. It’s also the core focus of our ministry partners throughout Africa and Asia. On the front lines of this effort are the evangelists, church planters, and pastors that God has called to the daily task of making disciples. 

In Romans 10, Paul identifies sending as the first spet in the sharing of the Gospel and making disciples. 

…”14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?…” 

God chooses, equips, and sends the workers. And, God uses His people to send them by means of their prayers and giving. 

Supporting indigenous ministry workers – evangelists, church planters, and pastors – who are from the areas they are serving is an effective and efficient means of outreach and ministry. They are already equipped with the language and cultural knowledge needed to do their work. 

Our goal is for all those working in these evangelistic roles to become, whenever possible, self-supporting through the giving of those they serve. Often, as they begin new works, evangelize various groups, or find themselves in other challenging circumstances, financial assistance is needed to provide for themselves and their families. Your giving allows them to more fully dedicate themselves to the ministry work to which they’ve been called and progress toward being taken care of financially by the local congregation. 

Harvesters now offers you the opportunity to participate in the “sending” of evangelists, church planters, and pastors. The cost to fully support a pastor is $100 a month. You may also choose a partial support level that fits your budget. As a regular monthly donor, you will receive quarterly updates about how God is working through the ministry and pastors you support. 

Below, you will read the stories of two pastors that are representative of those that need support. To partner with pastors like these, click here.

Pastor O.T. – Fellowship Bible Church, Myanmar 

The Lord has allowed me to be involved in His ministry since 1994. I was born into a Buddhist home and accepted Christ as a young man. I was fortunate to attend Pastor Training College and Evangelism Training College to prepare me for ministry. 

I currently serve in a remote village and have started a church there. We also began an orphan care ministry in 2014. Our church regularly goes door-to-door sharing our personal testimonies and distributing Gospel tracts. We have discipleship training for new believers so that they have a firm foundation in Christ. 

In order to support my children’s education and their health care, I run a family business. Sponsorship would permit me to focus on spreading the Gospel. 

Pastor A.I. – Closed Country 

I was dying from cancer when a pastor from the ministry I now serve came to visit and pray over me. The Lord miraculously healed my body and changed my heart. 

I have been a pastor for 22 years and currently travel between 10 preaching points. None have a permanent church structure. It is my desire to have meeting places that provide protection from the weather. I hold bi-monthly discipleship sessions that are open to all believers and also go door-to-door in the community sharing the Gospel. 

My wife and I have three daughters and one son. They do chores in other’s homes to help provide for our family. I long to be able to provide them with an education. 

 

From the Field

Grace and peace be with all of you. We thank God for your prayers and the support you faithfully offer to us all the time. God has been faithful for the gift of open doors to our message and ministry, especially to newer communities. 

Ministry Update: 

Our grand plan of ministry is to establish mission hubs in strategic centers of influence within our focus area. A mission hub is led by a local leader, whose main purpose is to raise up other missional leaders focusing on a particular area with regard to church planting and other holistic ministries. 

What motivates us is the sense of urgency that the Gospel message is needed to get out to the unreached. With the uncertainty in our country, we never know how long the windows of opportunities will exist before any twist to the political instability here. We, therefore, surrender our will and timing to God’s timing. Sometimes it may appear to us to be too early, but we praise God for showing us how to go about and are convinced that it is His will for us to extend our ministry. 

To heed God’s call, we are extending our ministry to the Diding’a tribe, the second largest tribe in the Kapoeta area. Our long-term plan has always been to reach the immediate tribes bordering our focus tribe – the Toposa. I thought that it was going to take many years before we started to reach any of the other tribes. God has challenged us to think of our church planting movement as a multiplication process rather than addition. Our focus now is to start self-reproducing ministries among the other tribes, thus helping us to reach out to the lost on multiple fronts. 

Nachilagur Ministry: 

Nachilagur is the village that merited our extra attention this year. The vision we had for this village was to plant a church and help revive a closed down school. We are glad that these two goals have been achieved! The impact has been tremendous despite the challenges that we have had to contend with. Being a nomadic community, there are a number of factors that influence the population and school attendance. Migration during dry and wet seasons affects the proximity of homes to the school. During the dry season, which results in times of hunger, more kids may come to school in order to get lunch. Other economic activities such as farming and gold mining have also influenced this as children go out to help. All in all, our goal is to continue raising the awareness of the importance of education. 

Due to the crisis in the country, most government schools are affected and struggling, and some are closing down. So when kids hear of a functioning school, they grab the opportunity. Most of our school support has been directed for school feeding. Lunch for pupils has been the single most important motivating factor for kids to go to school. Our next plan is to make uniforms for the pupils while engaging the community to pay at least half of the cost. The main goal is to help the community own the school and strive to play their part. We are hoping that the community will, after a few years, support their own kids by paying for their education. This will give us a chance to also focus on another school. 

One exciting result of this school program is that every Sunday, the community gathers to pray together and listen from the word of God. Some of the young men who know how to read and write, help run the services. Our evangelists, led by Nichodemus, also help run the Sunday services at times. I was privileged recently to attend a Sunday service, which was so meaningful to my life. 

Church Planting Training: 

Late last year, we sent one of our lead evangelists and a youth leader to encourage the church at Chukudum and to assess the area for church planting. In June, a team of six led a 6-day mission that included open air preaching, hospital visits, home-to-home and water well evangelism. Over 100 people received Jesus and about 600 heard the Gospel. The team shared testimonies with their colleagues on their current training with the Timothy Initiative and how God was moving in Kapoeta. The result was the formation of an evangelism team for the Chukudum church. This team is boiling to the brim for the lost! It will be led by Joseph Lopeyo (pictured here). He is a young man whose spirit of determination, courage, and faithful pursuit of God’s purposes resonates with mine. 

Prayer Needs: 

  • Pray for continued peace and stability in the country 
  • Pray for funds to complete the building of the main church 
  • Pray for our vision to the Diding’a tribe, especially the upcoming evangelist training 
  • Pray for the provision of two new motorbikes for Chukudum and Mogos mission

Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

Pastor Reuben

 

Threads of a New Life

Every person has a purpose and is valued by God. In many cultures, women are not as highly valued as they should be. Our partners are committed to empowering women to reach their full potential and to be confident in their value to God and in society. 

To this end, several of our ministry partners offer education and training programs for women. In many of the countries where they operate, circumstances such as the HIV/AIDs epidemic, civil war, or abandonment have left a number of women alone and, thus, the sole providers for their families. In Uganda, Kerith Ministry offers agricultural training, computer classes, and sewing classes. Sewing classes are offered by Sion Assembly in India. And in DR Congo, women may receive training in English, sewing, and basket weaving. 

Below, you will read two testimonies of how this training has transformed the lives of women. As these women begin to learn new skills, provide for their families, and train others, the impact of your support is exponential! 

Sion Assembly Church, India 

Sailaja Nandeti 

My name is Sailaja Nandeti. My husband, Prem Kumar, and I have two children, Joe and Joice, I studied up to high school and then had to leave my studies to marry my husband. I was just a teenager when I got married. I was a housewife and was working in my house, preparing meals for my family, cleaning dishes, and washing clothes – the basic work as a housewife. My husband was the only earning member of the family. With two children and my mother-in-law, it was very difficult to run and provide for the family. 

When I heard about the sewing training center at SAC Ministries, I applied for training classes. Once I began my studies, I learned how to stitch uniforms for the school children, learned making frocks, tops, and long skirts, as well as ghagras, punjabi, and sari dress making (traditional Indian women’s outfits). 

Now, I am able to stand on my own feet and earn some money for my family. I am looking for more opportunities to get my own work shop. I want to train more women like me who are housewives and completely dependent on their husband’s income. 

I thank SAC Ministries and Pastor Rajendra for giving me the opportunity to learn tailoring skills through this training program. It gives me strength and courage to stand on my own feet, be self sustaining, and help others who are in financial need by teaching them tailoring.

Union of Baptist Churches, DR Congo 

Kavira Kasumba Nathaly 

My name is Kavira Kasumba Nathaly, and I am from Goma. I was born into in a pagan family, but at the age of 17, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I currently live with my family of seven people. 

In February 2016, I joined the sewing center at UBC and earned my certificate after six months of training. Just two months later, I was able to open my own shop and begin working on my own and earning money to help provide for my family. I operate my business from a small tent sheet house (pictured right). I have purchased two sewing machines, and now, I am training other ladies to sew! 

I am so grateful to the staff of the sewing center for the free training that I received. I am trusting that God will continue to grow my business so that I can help other young women.

Women of Pokot

The Women of Pokot ministry is focused on encouraging and discipling women in the harsh world of western Kenya. Partnering with People on Mission, its goal is to train up women who are committed to reaching other women in the community and sharing God’s love with them. The ministry also supports the National Zero Tolerance Day, which speaks out against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). 

Pokot culture places little value on women. They are treated more as possessions, and are not allowed to own or inherit anything. Young girls will bring a dowry of up to 45 cows to struggling families, contributing to early marriages, often to men much older than them. Because of FGM, many endure monthly physical pain and complications in childbirth. Each day, they carry the burden of finding water, food, and shelter in a land stricken by constant drought. They work hard to pay school fees, knowing education will provide a better life for their children. While their society treats them as having little value, we know that God values each precious Pokot woman and her children. 

For the last few years, I have had the privilege to be a part of the Women of Pokot team from Kensington Church in Michigan. Each February, our team spends about two weeks traveling to encourage, educate, and empower the Pokot women. In Kapenguria, we hold a training day with leaders from the local women’s groups. Transitioning away from a focus on basic training in job skills, as the women have excelled in that area, training is now focused on discipleship. We share our stories and listen to theirs, pray together, lead Bible training, and encourage the women to be Godly leaders in their communities. After experiencing the power of “listening prayer” during our team training, we were excited to share this spiritual tool with the leaders and women’s groups. Just as we had experienced, the

women let go of the lies they had believed about their worth and value, and heard God speak clearly His true names for them, hearing words like “Ambassador,” “Rock,” “Strong Tower”, and “Child of God.” God truly has great plans for each one of them as they continue to grow as Christ’s ambassadors in their families, villages, and communities. 

We also support efforts to end FGM among the Pokot. Partnering with Becky Chebet, a local Kenyan and United Nations-trained anti-FGM presenter, the team attends and speaks at the local National Zero Tolerance Day rally, typically attended by more than a thousand Pokot men and women. The team also travels with Becky as she speaks at local high schools, standing with her to share with young girls that they “are fearfully and wonderfully made” by God and offering hope to those who have already undergone this horrific practice. We also use every opportunity to encourage the young women to finish their education and be leaders among their peers. 

Each year, the Pokot women say how amazed they are to have women come from the other side of the world to meet with them. As one Pokot woman shared, “It is a miracle that I would share a meal with a you!” And while they tell us that meeting together refreshes and encourages them, our team members leave forever changed and challenged by the strength and courage of the Pokot women, who truly become our sisters in Christ.

By:  Stacy Mallard, Guest Contributor