Our main objective in Zambia was Love Africa Conference. But before reaching Kabwe, where the conference annually is taking place, we spent few days in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, building relationships and sharing Daybreak vision and tools with different pastors and ministry leaders. We had a vision casting session and some churches decided to develop the Caring & Linking ministry together to ensure that every church member will know their specific function within the Body of Christ to fulfill the Great Commission and will be doing something about it.
The Love Africa Missions Conference is an annual gathering of people from all over the world to worship God together, to hear challenging messages and inspiring testimonies from missionaries in the field, and to see the glory of the Lord rise and shine in and from Africa. All these well reflect Operation Mobilization (OM) movement and its mission: “we want to see vibrant communities of Jesus followers among the least reached.”
We had an opportunity to celebrate and share how God is transforming African lives and communities through the work of OM by hearing ministry reports from: Malawi, Angola, Chad, Ghana, Madagascar, Namibia, Lake Tanganyika, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Tanzania. Knowing more about their needs, challenges and the work being done there, now we can better share information and thus encourage others to pray, give or go (responding to God’s call to care for the lost and share what we have).
Tools & Ministries
Being exposed to different ministry visions and opportunities, we are looking into how we can connect people with the same callings and facilitate some of OM ministries in and from the Body of Christ of Mauritius. We discovered:
- Discipleship program with 3 months mission exposure via trek in few southern part of Africa countries.
- Business trainings for transformation of lives and communities by empowering people to become more economically sustainable as the 2nd problem in Africa (after the need for the Gospel) is poverty.
- Tools to mobilize believers for reaching out to the most vulnerable, poor, HIV&AIDS affected, marginalized and exploited people in Africa; raising awareness and funds for rescuing /rehabilitation projects.
- Ministries to mobilize and equip the church to be a good family to the unreached children and youth who are on the streets without hope. As 50% of the Africa continent population is under 15 years old and majority of them are fatherless.
- Information service which aims to be the voice of truth, changing perspectives and showing that any world situation or crisis can become an opportunity for the church to extend God’s kingdom.
- Platforms which facilitate, encourage, equip and mentor Christians to choose their profession prayerfully and strategically, and people with professions to use their degrees and skills to work among unreached nations, carrying the light of the gospel with them.
We were challenged to hear that so many still need to experience the saving grace of the gospel.
– Least reached by the Gospel are increasing in number. Every day 65,000 people are added to unreached and about same number of people die every day without ever hearing the good news.
– In 1960: 65% Church population was located in the Global North (North America, Europe) and 35% in the Global South (South America, Africa, Asia).
– But by 2018 it reversed completely: 30% Global church members are located in the Global North and 70% in the Global South! Which means that the Church of the Global South (and Africa in particular) needs to take an ownership and the lead so that the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus will be fulfilled.
We have got the opportunity to brainstorm with Africa area leaders on: How to mobilize and inspire people to go to the least reached people groups? How the church and mission organizations/ tools can equip, prepare people, and afterwards deploy and send workers with proper established support services and member care?