January 2017 - Mojo, Dukem, Meky, Seway

What An Amazing First Trip in 2017!

Just a few hours ago I returned from Ethiopia, but I couldn't wait to tell you what God is doing! We were in four cities, Dukem, Mojo, Ziway and Meke.

312 Pastors/Church Leaders/Evangelists Trained

39 Churches Leadership Trained

9 Different Denominations Represented

To God Be the Glory!

I wanted to share with you what I am learning as we teach equip these Pastor/Leaders to equip followers of Jesus:

The majority of these Pastor/Leaders are not in rebellion in their preaching/teaching. It isn't that they will not preach God's Word ... it is they have no idea how to understand and convey practical application to what the Scriptures say. They have never been taught - it is foreign to their cultural and religious experience.

This is based in the Ethiopian Culture. The culture of Ethiopia is primarily an Orality based culture - meaning, rather than information being shared through writing, it has been shared through the telling of stories. There is very little written that helps Ethiopian Evangelical Churches learn new information.

The Ethiopian Culture is rapidly changing. It is moving very quickly to an information driven culture rather than an emotionally driven culture. It is still an emotional culture, but now people are wanting more than just emotion - they want information.

Pastors/Leaders are searching for information to teach. The Pastors/Leaders know that something is missing in their Worship/Churches, but didn't know what. So many times during/after training, we see Pastor/Leaders understanding that a practical understanding/preaching/teaching of what God's Word says is what has been missing. They are hungry to learn. They are open to what God is saying to their hearts and minds.

When God's Word is Unleashed, Powerful Changes take Place.

We are seeing Churches and even communities begin to change when the Pastor/Leaders unleash the power of God's Word. It isn't instant. Some churches go through transitions - even seeing their numbers temporarily diminish, but the their church becomes more healthy/balanced and their numbers return and exceed what they were before.