FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF PAUL

Paul, the church planter

Probably no one has surpassed the church planting efforts of the apostle Paul. As a result of his missionary journeys, churches were started and took root throughout Asia Minor. What led to the success of his efforts? Paul's vision, love of Christ and his passion to spread the gospel, raise new leaders and plant new churches everywhere.

He also encouraged other churches in Thessalonica, Corinth and Philipi to partner and share their resources, contribute money and undergird the vision with prayer.

The Importance of Supporting Indigenous Missions in the 21st Century

Why Indigenous Missions?

• The fact that indigenous pastors and missionaries know their people and culture, cause them to have a compassionate heart and perseverance to share the gospel with them in the midst of hardship. This is the powerful way for the indigenous church to reach the unreached to the Lord.
• The indigenous missionaries already know the language. They have fewer problems adapting to climate, culture and diet. Their financial needs are much less than that of foreign missionaries. They do not require passports, visas and have fewer political limitations.
• Indigenous missionaries take the name of Jesus to some of the most unreached people groups and remote places where Christ is not yet known, as a result, thousands upon thousands of churches have been planted and a great number of unreached are coming to worship the true God.

What makes indigenous missionaries so effective?

• In the eyes of the people among whom they work, indigenous missionaries don't represent a foreign country or a strange religion. They work in their own culture or a similar one. Indigenous missionaries are one of the fastest and most effective ways to take the gospel to many who are still waiting to be reached.
• With few or no cultural barriers to overcome, indigenous missionaries can readily preach the gospel to those who, unlike their western counterparts, have never heard . Although they face many difficulties, as they take the message from village to village, they still have an enormous advantage over their coworkers from western countries.
• An indigenous missionary can be sent out at a fraction of the cost of a western missionary. In fact, the average cost is only $1,200 to $2,400 per year compared to over $60,000 per year for a foreign missionary.

The Importance of Supporting Indigenous Missionaries in West Africa

Without support from Christians around the world, our brothers and sisters in West Africa simply would not be able to complete the task of sharing Christ with every village and people groups. It takes between $150 and $200 per month to support an indigenous missionary. Many of the indigenous missionaries are willing and eager to go to the field, but they are limited by the resources given to provide a small room to rent, food to put on the table for their families as well as ministry tools and materials to plant churches among each people group. The advantage is these churches are purely indigenous in character, self-governing and self-propagating. Their only challenge is becoming self-supporting. You can help today by supporting one or more indigenous missionaries in the field or indigenous missions activities in West Africa.

Some ways to get involved with indigenous missions in West Africa

Study Bible for pastors and leaders.

Many pastors and leader are desperately in need of the study Bible and that costs $25 each.

Bicycles for indigenous missionaries.

Most of our pastors and missionaries on the field in West Africa spend many hours walking from village to village sharing the gospel. With bicycles or motorcycles, they will be able to travel easily and quickly from one village to another. The cost of one bicycle is $120.

LCD Projector Kit

One of the ways we can share the gospel with the most unreached people in West Africa is through different films in their own languages. Many people have already given their lives to Christ as a result of seeing the films. For $1,600 you can help provide this projector for the field.

Church-Building

By God's grace and the hard work of indigenous pastors and church planters, many new churches have been planted across regions and villages. There is a crucial need for church buildings, which will provide shelter from the weather and from radical Muslims. A church can be built for $6,000.

Vans

A heavy- duty van can be a help for Evangelistic trips, for the national director to visit many stations. With $10,000, a van can be provided for leaders.

If you would like to contribute, click here: How to Help