Ministry in Africa really was a two-way street!
From 2003–14 I had the privilege of helping to run a PTC in South East Africa Program – a joint initiative between African Enterprise and the Moore College External Studies Department (as it was then known). The aim was to provide high-quality, low-cost, short-term theological education to untrained African church leaders – of whom there are many.
Sub-Saharan Africa is full of fine Christian men and women who, for reasons of lack of money and opportunity, have not been able to receive much (if any) formal theological training. The idea of the program was to use Moore College’s very good Preliminary Theological Certificate materials (appropriately adapted to the cultural context) to better equip these leaders. It was the “teach the teacher” principle.
We put on a regular program two week Australian-taught intensive courses, with a view to putting the students through six or more PTC subjects over a one to three year period. I travelled to Africa on eight occasions, teaching in Kenya, Uganda and Malawi … and LOVED it.
Local African leaders were very enthusiastic about the initiative. I recall one prominent Kenyan pastor describing the church in Africa as being ‘a mile wide and an inch deep’. This training we offered was a strategic and greatly valued way of addressing that.
But … the benefits were not one-way! In terms of Christian learning and encouragement, it
really was a two-way street. The African believers I met and became friends with had a LOT to teach me, too!
In my very humble opinion, we in Australia had something to contribute to the growth of the church in Africa in terms of theological training, organisation, finances and prayer. But I found that I learned so much from my African friends in the areas of evangelism, prayer, a concern for the spiritual and social needs of people, and hospitality.
Many Africans I met felt at ease in sharing their faith evangelistically almost anywhere. A lot of African churches seemed to prioritise prayer and prayer meetings – often overnight. Christians were flat out evangelising and pastoring AND helping with development and aid work. And African hospitality was a pleasure to experience. In each of these areas I was greatly encouraged and inspired!
It’s been about six years since my last trip to Africa, but I am still in contact with a number of former African students and co-workers. I am sure that the capacity for Australian Christians to help African Christians, and African Christians to help Australian Christians is just as great as ever.
It has been truly great to be part of God’s transnational purposes on this planet
Written by Stephen Liggins
Stephen Liggins is a minister at Anglican Churches Springwood, and guest lecture at the Sydney Missionary and Bible College.
Home Based Evangelism.
The year 2020 started with all our teams prayerfully preparing for their upcoming missions. As COVID-19 was spreading throughout the world, the African Enterprise Evangelistic Teams realised that a major shift needed to be made. We had to reconsider the way we have been running our missions and evangelism for the past 59 years. Home Based Evangelism came as an answer to our call.
Our International CEO Rev. Dr. Stephen Mbogo communicated in the midst of this crisis:
“The gospel of Jesus Christ is more needed than ever before. AE will not stop proclaiming the hope we have in Jesus Christ in Word and Deed. Rather, we are very committed to continue reaching homes using the digital space through a new model that we have developed known as Home Based Evangelism (HBE).”
In partnership with local churches, we will endeavor to continue with our main calling, to evangelise and disciple the cities of Africa in Word and Deed
Home Based Evangelism will be implemented through the following steps:
- Pray – In preparation for HBE, AE Team leaders will be steadfast in prayer. Getting together a HBE prayer team, producing a bulletin for the HBE outreach and organising a 24/7 prayer chain.
- Prepare – The mission field needs to be mapped and media platforms available needs to be identified. Engaging different partners and senior church leaders.
- Engage – HBE home facilitators and homes will need to be identified and equipped to host HBE outreach. This step will also involve mobilizing support for the needy, training beneficiaries on sanitation and COVID-19 and sharing HBE promotion clips and flyers.
- Broadcast – Our team leaders will be preparing and recording messages for HBE Outreach Day. The messages will then be shared with the HBE home facilitators. A live TV or radio broadcast will be recorded and then first shared with a small number of homes. If everything is in order, the message will be broadcasted on the specific HBE Outreach day.
- Reach Homes – Homes need to be equipped for HBE Outreach. Teams and HBE facilitators will have fellowship with our invitees and identify the social needs in their homes so that AE can respond to their need. The AE team will also make connect with local churches.
- Evangelise and Disciple – The AE team will be sharing an evangelistic message and then making an invitation to follow Jesus Christ. A decision card will be available to complete. New converts will be discipled by the sharing of follow up materials. The needy will be served through social action and the AE teams will ensure the new converts are connected to a local church where they can join small groups and fellowship.
Through HBE, we are planning to reach a total of 44,150 homes and 765,124 people across all our teams and their HBE mission activities.
Please pray with us:
- Pray for our Team Leaders and their teams as they prepare for HBE.
- Pray for the recording and broadcasting of the messages to go according as planned.
- Pray for our home facilitators who will play a vital role in the success of this mission.
- Pray for those that give their hearts to Jesus to be able to connect to a Church and continue and grow in their journey.
Ethiopia is a rugged, land-locked country, rich in ancient history.
Home to the powerful Aksumite trading empire for over 800 years, the region is littered with the ruins of rock-cut churches from the 12th and 13th centuries. Currently, nearly half of Ethiopia’s population are members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
In order to empower the Christian leaders of the future, African Enterprise once again hosted their Students Discipleship Program (SDP) in schools during 2019, offering young people a chance to gain a better understanding of the Bible and the Christian faith. Over the last two years, tens of thousands of students have taken part in the Program, and the results have been encouraging.
Dawit attended the program as an 18-year-old and described how “the SDP has helped me grow as a young Christian believer. In the consecutive years of my attendance, I learnt that God is the creator of the universe, that Jesus Christ died for me and I am saved through faith in Him… Because of this program I now am able to explain the Biblical worldview to my classmates.”
16-year-old attendee Eden said, “One of the most important lessons I have learnt through SDP is reading and understanding the Bible. Though I have the Bible I was not reading it. But now I have learnt the ‘keys’ of studying the Bible. Now I have started to read daily. I have also started to share what I have read to my friends in school. I have also become a youth fellowship leader in my church. I want to go deeper and higher.”
Not only does the course offer students confidence in their school years, it imparts life skills that serve them well into adulthood as well. Marine Engineer Anteneh Demissie was among thousands of attendees who took the course in 2003. Now spending most of his time on the high seas of Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean, Anteneh expressed that: “The training was a ‘turning point’ in my life. Though I was a young boy with Christian orientation I had many spiritual questions for which I was seeking convincing answers. In the SDP training, all my questions were sufficiently answered. I consider that moment as a ‘Reference Point’ in my life. For me, the training was like a city gate – a doorway to abundance. Because of it I have entered into an abundant life in Jesus that is full of joy and enthusiasm. I am so happy.
One of the many benefits of the program was helping me understand the worth of the Bible as the word of God and igniting the love of reading it. Since then I have developed the practice of reading the Bible on a daily basis. The program has also made me become passionate about Christian spiritual matters.
I am now a marine engineer travelling around the world staying in high seas for many days and weeks. But my inner-self stays cool and tranquil even when the outside is extremely violent. This is because of the Rock Jesus, the foundation of my faith, whom I came to know better through the SDP training.”
There is a desperate need to bring the Gospel of Jesus to French-speaking areas of West Africa, areas that have been influenced be secular history, and significantly impacted by the Muslim push down from the North of Africa. It is in these regions that religious extremism can take hold, with alternative and destructive ideologies taking root in areas such as Mali that build a base to impact sub-Saharan areas of Africa.
It is in the face of these challenges and threats to freedom, that the churches in neighbouring countries have embraced African Enterprise’s model to evangelise the cities of Africa in Word and Deed in partnership with the church.
Evangelism Training
Our latest push is into Togo, where the AE Team Leader Ben Sachie has been delighted with the enthusiasm of the 1,000 leaders from over 150 churches who attended evangelism training and vision casting over the past week. Even the most senior of church leaders participated for three days of training to equip the churches for effective evangelism and discipling of new believers.
Photo – Evangelism training for church leaders in Lomé.
Churches as so keen to implement what they have learnt, that many have already commenced local evangelism to help qualify them for participation in the capital Lome citywide mission in 2020. Each church involved will be reporting back to AE on their progress, so we can utilize the learnings for next year.
Our hope is that over the next three years, AE Ghana together with the Togo church are hoping to reach over 181,550 people in Lomé with the gospel over the next three years.
Ben Sachie also visited Benin, and engaged with the vice chairman of the Christian council and several church leaders. We are expecting an official invitation to run a vision casting session amongst church leaders next year!
A landmark bid by African Enterprise to spark a repeat of the great Lusaka Christian revival of 1980 gets under way in the Zambian capital on November 4.
Some 1500 leaders representing every facet of Zambian life, including politicians, lawyers, doctors, academics, police and the military, have been invited to a series of gospel gatherings designed to bring greater understanding of God’s word and the vital role it can play in giving new hope to the Zambian people.
More than 200 churches are also taking part.
The mission, running from November 7 to 11, has particular significance because it comes during a period of increased political tension in Zambia.
Some activists continue the question the legitimacy of the national government in the wake of last year’s general election, and more recently an opposition leader has been charged with treason.
African Enterprise international mission director Emmanuel Kwizera says: “This means we will need God’s guidance and favour as we seek to bring our leaders around the preaching of the gospel.
“Zambia truly needs a touch of the living God and the transforming power of His work among its leadership today”.
Bishop Joseph Imakando, head of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, which is organising the mission, has fond memories of the 1980 one.
“It transformed many lives and revitalised the church in this city”, he says.
Organisers seek prayer that day-to-day running of the mission will go as planned, that there will be a very strong and representative response from invited leaders, and that those who attend the meetings will put aside political differences as they listen to God’s word.
Story written by Mike Heard, AE Volunteer.
Head to our Missions page for more details.
Esnart lost both her parents at 13 and was devastated. After they died, she would constantly reflect on how she’d been unruly and not loved them properly. Thankfully, Esnart was taken in by a family who looked after her physical needs, but more importantly, told her about Jesus. They prayed for her and, after some time, she seriously committed her life to the Lord!
God has held on to Esnart. Today, at 38, Esnart is a matron at the AE Malawi Women’s Tailoring Project in Lilopngwe. At this vocational training centre, which she learned tailoring skills as a younger woman, she now trains others. Here’s how it happened.
In 2004/05, Esnart was a student in the AE tailoring course, enrolled there by her foster family. Because of her spirit of commitment, her teaching strengths and her counselling abilities, she was asked to join the AE staff as a matron.
Today, her job includes stocking provisions for each course, cooking meals for students, organising schedules and caring for the spiritual welfare of the women throughout their tailoring training.
At the beginning of each course she encourages those who are not yet Christians to receive Christ as their Saviour. Esnart becomes their mentor, mother-figure and friend.
“I do this at the beginning, so that we all walk together in the Lord. We study the Bible, learning from God’s word for spiritual growth. When a woman has a problem I help her through counselling and praying with her. If the issue is too big for me, I consult our AE Missions Director at AE to assist further.”
She loves her work, but it is not without challenges. Whenever a student gets sick, Esnart is the one who takes care of her.
“Sometimes there are disobedient women. Often women come from vulnerable backgrounds and arrive with very little, so we share, even down to small things like a tablet of soap!”
Though all the women are Malawian, they come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and it is Esnart’s task to unite them to be one family. She says,
“What matters most, is to teach them to be strong, to persevere and to be united, despite their cultural differences.”
African Enterprise has taught Esnart many things.
“AE has sharpened me. I have learnt patience, and grown spiritually. I have become better equipped to care and serve using Jesus as a model. While I serve these women through catering, prayer and teaching of God’s word, my spiritual life has grown also. Praise the Lord for the wisdom and grace He has given me.”
*Image from Malawi project, not Esnart.
