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.
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