The Good News for Tanzania & Nigeria
Developing Workers exists to mobilize ministry for discipleship – both locally and globally. This month, we’ve sent teams to actively serve abroad with Mobilize Medical and Foundations Training. Hear more about the impact Mobilize had in Tanzania, and pray with us for the Foundations Training in Nigeria. Pray as Nigeria is Engaged for Discipleship Trainers Matt Swartz and Greg Jones are on the field in Nigeria, ready to train pastors in the Foundations discipleship workshops from January 23-27. During their time there, our team will have 2 days with the leaders who DW trained last year, working through the Story of God workshop with them, also coaching them in their faith and development as leaders. Additionally, our trainers will be working through the first 3 Foundations workshops with a new group of pastors. Pray with us for great fruit from this time – that ministry leaders would walk away encouraged and empowered for discipleship; that our team would be strengthened and effective for their days of ministry in training sessions and ministry with national leadership. Returning from Tanzania Thank you for praying for our team headed to Tanzania! God has done great things. As the team traveled overseas, we sought your prayers for a safe arrival to where the team needed to be in the midst of many potential flight delays and complications. Praise the Lord – the team all arrived with every piece of luggage they set out with! The results are astounding: of the 723 patients this short-term team saw and met with, 165 came to faith in Jesus as their Savior! Dozens were treated for pneumonia, and some were treated for malnutrition. Through the Community Safety Initiative, 17 Tanzanians who were identified as at-risk for abuse or trafficking are now able to connect with a trained local HERO that will walk closely with them. While the days of medical clinics are complete, our Mobilize team is still on-the-ground, continuing their connections with our ministry partners there and preparing to leave. Pray for their last couple days in nation and for a safe departure and arrival home. Thank you for joining us in prayer! Mobilize Medical is the medical outreach component of Developing Workers. We partner with churches around the world providing much needed medical care in impoverished areas. As we host medical clinics, we are drawing in the community so the church can connect with people in the area and share the gospel. Read more about opportunities with upcoming trips or donate to Mobilize Medical today!
Overwhelmed in Nigeria
Overwhelming. That may be the perfect word to describe the launch of Foundations Discipleship training in Nigeria this January. In order to understand the reason for this, it is important to understand the journey to Developing Workers launching in Nigeria. In late 2021, Michael Parker and Kelly Ramsland connected Matt Swartz with Victor Jakpor – the founder of a non-profit in Nigeria called “Mission Africa.” Victor is a native Nigerian who has been living in the United States. God began working in Victor’s heart about how he could respond to needs facing the community he grew up in Nigeria. This lead to the founding of Mission Africa with an initial focus on developing education programs in Delta State, Nigeria. But Victor began to realize that there was another concern that needed addressing: training for pastors. These leaders in communities where Mission Africa was working needed help to see their role in the community as one of a community leader and not only a Sunday preacher. In late Spring of 2021, Matt Swartz met with Victor Jakpor and Kim Steele of Mission Africa to see if a partnership could take place to help equip Nigerian pastors on utilizing a disciple making model to impact the communities Mission Africa is working in. The amazing fact about Nigeria is that English is a national language, making such work all the more simple for our team. There was no translation of material required to launch in Nigeria! After much prayer and preparation, 45 pastors were trained in how to multiply disciple making in their communities, how to care for their souls while leading, and how to study the Bible. In addition to the training, they were introduced to the free Foundations Discipleship material Developing Workers offers to help them launch a discipleship movement in their churches. What’s more, pastors have already begun creating trainings for other local pastors in their communities all over Delta State in how to multiply disciple making in their own communities! We account for something like this to happen over time, but to see it happenimmediately after launch is a testament to the Holy Spirit at work in this partnership! Your generosity continues to expand this movement to End Discipleship Poverty! When you pray and give you are a part of this global effort to help pastors and church leaders become a prevailing movement of change in their communities. Thank you! As you pray for these pastors, please pray specifically that they will implement what they learned and also invest their energy into helping other pastors join them in this journey of multiplying discipleship as a result!
