Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”
1 Samuel 7:12
We have passed the year 2022 with its joys and its comforts with the help of the Lord. This past year was marked by the establishment of the new church, which God has greatly blessed us with already.
We had special activities to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s. The ladies had a special celebration and a great time of fellowship.
The children presented special hymns and this Christmas celebration included Christmas dinner. All the families contributed by preparing meals and bringing them to church.
We made visits to most of the families of the church and focused on the new families and those in the immediate neighborhood of the church.
We also had a great opportunity as brothers and sisters to watch the football World Cup finals in the activities meeting room. It was a very special time of fellowship.
- Pray for a new year characterized by an abundant harvest for our church and the Christian church in our country.
- Pray for the discipleship groups.
- Pray for our desire and idea to start a monthly men’s meeting.
- Pray for the meeting of the ladies.
- Pray for new volunteers burdened with the service of discipleship.
Previous Report:
I thank God for the new location for the church, this site has allowed us to meet new families neighboring the church. We visited them and encouraged them to attend church services and activities.
The discipleship groups are progressing and gradually growing in numbers. They are very fruitful spiritually. We observe the spiritual growth in the life of the members of the discipleship groups.
We recently did an activity for youth during the World Cup, we broadcasted most of the matches of the tournament and gathered the youth in the youth hall. During the matches and between the halves of the match, we talked and preached to them about the work of Christ, the importance of daily communion with Christ, and the importance of spiritual maturity. This event encouraged the youth to attend the church meetings and we are now in the process of starting discipleship groups for them.
- Pray for growth and spiritual revival in the lives of the church members.
- Pray for ministers and discipleship groups.
- Pray for arrangements and preparations for upcoming events.
- Pray for the youth.
Pastor I’s Story
(Editors Note: Names and places have been changed or redacted for safety.)
I was born into a committed Christian family and attended church almost every Sunday. I was the only Christian student amongst 37 of my classmates at school. My classmates asked me questions continually about Christianity, such as, how do you believe in three Gods? How could God be crucified and be buried? I was upset and shocked because I could not answer them, especially since I thought I was a real Christian. As a result, they started telling me about the great things they have in their religion, such as giving women their rights, etc.
At this point, although I consider myself a Christian, I started thinking that I couldn’t answer these questions because “Christianity must be twisted.” Then one day, God sent my cousin who came to visit us. He was a believer, and he noticed from my questions regarding Christianity that I had some doubts.
He invited me to his evangelical church, and during the meeting, I felt the pastor was preaching and talking straight to me. He said, “You need to repent and receive Christ as your Savior.” Then he asked a question, “What would you do to Christ after he gave his life for you.” My answer was, “I want to leave and deny Him.” That answer made me feel so bad I started to cry, and I prayed to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior on the 24th of April 1984. Soon after that, I began training to do evangelism and discipleship; I joined the ministry at a young age and loved the Lord with all my heart.