Discipling Our Nations Effectively

STATEMENT OF THE RELIGOUS LIBERTY COMMISSION OF THE WORLD EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE

For Immediate Release

July 7, 2011

WEA-RLC has learnt that at least six churches were attacked during the recent protests over constitutional amendments in Senegal in West Africa. These attacks in the national capital of Dakar are worrisome and puzzling, as this Muslim-majority country is seen as a model of tolerance and religious co-existence.

Protests erupted on June 23 after President Abdoulaye Wade made an attempt at what the civil society and political opposition called a “constitutional coup.” His government introduced a bill seeking constitutional amendment reducing the requirement of at least 50 percent votes to become President to 25 percent so that Wade, in power for 11 years, could remain in office.

“The protests had nothing to do with the churches that were attacked,” Executive Director Godfrey Yogarajah said. “It is also clear,” Godfrey added, “that the attacks were not spontaneous; they were planned and organized taking advantage of the protests. How else do you make sense of mobs launching attacks on six churches when there was absolutely no immediate provocation?”

Local sources have told WEA-RLC that the mobs targeted new churches including Pentecostal and Baptist, which are growing in the country. The Roman Catholic Church is seen as a traditional organization in Senegal, but some Protestant congregations are accused of having links with foreign groups and are therefore seen with suspicion.

While churches have been attacked in the country in the past, violence of this scale is a new development. Sufi Islam, to which the majority of Senegal’s Muslims belong, is widely believed to be tolerant. Over 90 percent of the 12.5 million people in the country are Muslim.

Abdoul Aziz Kebe, an Imam at a Dakar mosque and Professor of Islamology at Cheikh anta Diop University, condemned the violence, stressing that Islam calls for peaceful relations between Muslims and members of other religions, according to West Africa Democracy Radio.

“It is worrisome that no one, not even the government, has a clue who the attackers were although the attacks raise many questions. Does that mean a section of the Sufi Muslims have become extremist? If so, is a foreign group behind it or some insiders are promoting radical Islam? Who is their leader? What is the strength of this new grouping and what are their plans?” Godfrey said.

WEA-RLC urges the government to ensure religious freedom for all Christian and other groups, to investigate all aspects of the violence to nip in the bud the efforts to radicalise sections of the local Muslims, and to abstain from violently repressing the protests which will only lead to a state of anarchy in the country.

For further information please contact Godfrey Yogarajah, Executive Director, at wearlc@sltnet.lk, or visit http://www.worldevangelicals.org/commissions/rlc/.

The Religious Liberty Commission is monitoring the religious liberty situation in more than 100 nations, defending persecuted Christians, informing the global church, challenging the Church to pray (www.idop.org) and giving all possible assistance to those who are suffering. The Commission also makes fact-finding trips and meets with governments and ambassadors speaking up for the suffering brothers and sisters. At the United Nations, the Commission reports about the situation and arranges special hearings with Christians from countries under pressure.

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Dakar, Senegal – June 30, 2011

Note: Original article is in French and has been machine translated into English.

The leaders of the ransacked and/or set on fire churches call their faithful to remain calm and be tolerant, and ask the Sénégalaises authorities to protect the places of worship.

The religious leaders activate themselves to calm the spirits and to alleviate the tensions. L’ Association of the Churches and Ministères Pentecôtistes of Senegal (AEMPS) called the faithful Christians to calm and forgiveness.
It invited those which attack the places of worships to cease the attacks. This association whose all the 5 attacked churches are members also invited the faithful Moslems, Christians and all the population to observe the religious tolerance of which Senegal always been evident.

” We exhorted everyone, religious authorities but also our faithful to not to replicate” affirmed Pasteur Louis Louhaya, general secretary of l’ AEMPS. ”

It is necessary to forgive, that is the message of our Jesus Lord, we have that in our heart and we will live with that” he added.

The leaders Pentecotists finally asked the Sénégalaises authorities to dissuade the authors from these attacks and to take care of the protection of the places of worships. ”

I exhort them to do everything to take care of the safety of the people and property” said Bishop Abdoulaye Ba, president of l’ AEMPS. ”

With my Senegalese brothers (…), Senegal does not deserve that, we know only peace and the téranga, let us exert what our ancestors have us bequeathed” it has concludes.

Read original article published in French by WADR here…

Les leaders Chrétiens appellent au calme et invitent au pardon et à la tolérance au Sénégal by WADR. Uploaded with Newscoop

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Mission Trip to Sierra Leone and Liberia. Rev. Patrick R. Novak D/Min, P.H.D., Senior Pastor of Church of the Valley in Santa Clara, California discusses the church’s mission trip.

Pastor Patrick Novak introduces Marilyn Kibambe and Paige Takemoto, who offer testimony on the D.O.N.E. (“Discipling Our Nations Effectively”) mission trip to Africa.

From Church of the Valley in Santa Clara CA, Paige Takemoto shares the details of her church mission trip to Africa and how it has changed her life and outlook on the world, as well as her relationship with the Lord.

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February 07, 2009
Bishop Dr. Pat Novak visits Freetown and Liberia
The Team’s Arrival and Activities in Freetown

On Wednesday January 21, 2009 Bishop Patrick Novak arrived in Freetown along with Marilyn,

Claudia and Paige to begin a two-day intensive seminar for leaders of the ministry using the First Principles Series. The following day the seminar got on the way with about 35 people in attendance. 25 came from the Leadership of  DONE and 10 came from the leadership of the Word of Faith Ministries. The Seminar began at 10am and ended by 4:30pm.
The Team Visit Word Of Faith Ministries

At about 5pm the team, accompany by five members of DONE Sierra Leone Leadership took off to visit Meshack, the Pastor and Overseer of the Word of Faith Ministries. Upon our arrival we were received by the Leadership of The Word of Faith Ministries Pastor Meshack and taken on a tour of the facilities. At the end of the tour an evening service was started with about 300 people in attendance.

We were welcome by the Pastor and General Overseer of the Ministry who spoke highly of looking forward to networking with DONE Ministries. Rev. Browne thanked the Pastor for the warm reception and stressed the need for churches to network in areas of common interest. Rev. Browne indicated that DONE Ministries was open and looks forward to work with the Word of Faith Ministries. Rev. Browne than introduced the member of the team including the local leadership that had accompanied him. During the Service Bishop Novak received word for a lady in the congregation who was suffering from severe pain in her abdomen. The lady showed up immediately. Bishop Novak prayed her for her and she was healed instantly.

The second day of the seminar did not hold as scheduled. Rev. Browne canceled it in consultation with Bishop Novak. There were too many activities to cover with less time. Since it was agreed that Rev. Browne would remain in Freetown for an additional month to continue the training he suggested that the team traveled to Kono and Bo waterside to see and get a first hand account of the work started by Pastor Michael Arona and Pastor George Cole. This was accepted but due to time the team could not visit Bo and Kono at the same time. Therefore it was agreed that the team visit Kono. When the team disembarked from their Monrovia flight, immediately they began their journey to Kono in a four wheel runner jeep. The journey took the team 16 hours to and fro Kono on a rocky and dusty road. In Kono the team spend the night at the Methodist Guest House. The next morning the team was led to the center where a service was held in honor of the team. Gifts produced by the center were presented to the team. Later the team was taken on a tour of the center by its Director who is  the assistant pastor to Michael Arona. The team departed Kona at 12noon, arrived at the airport at 9:30pm just on time to checked in and departed Freetown.

More tomorrow on the trip to Liberia with Bishop Dr. Novak…..

http://obispo.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/02/bishop-dr-pat-novak-visits-freetown-and-liberia.html

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Sept. 20, 2002

Summer offers faculty special opportunities

Doug Gross listens to the heartbeat of a young patient from the Ivory Coast’s Fulu Tribe, Many in the tribe had never seen metal before, much less a stethoscope. Courtesy photo

When Doug Gross got back from a three-week trip abroad earlier this summer, his family took him camping. It wasn’t the anatomy lecturer and medical center pediatrician’s dream vacation.

After all, he had just spent three weeks in the West African bush, providing medical care to residents in the primitive, isolated villages there.

The conditions were crude, but the experience worth it, Gross said.

He returned from his third West African trip with more knowledge about treating tropical diseases, confidence in his ability to make diagnoses without sophisticated lab work, and a renewed understanding of why he’s a doctor. “People are amazingly appreciative. It’s medicine at its purest,” Gross said. “I don’t write charts. I don’t deal with insurance. I treat patients.”

Across campus, many faculty members spent their summer traveling, but like Gross, most weren’t relaxing in luxurious accommodations. They were spending summers of research and service in venues as diverse as south central Los Angeles and southeastern China.

They added to their own expertise and brought back valuable knowledge and experiences for their students to draw on, said Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw.

“Our UC Davis faculty are passionate about learning and research, so summer research opportunities provide a great opportunity for them to pursue their scholarship and also engage with the broader community,” she said.

Today, in the first of a two-part series, Dateline presents the summer research stories of two campus faculty members.

Doug Gross

Four years ago medical school lecturer Doug Gross talked with new medical student Jennifer Bottomly about an African missionary organization her church supported. One focus of the group – providing health care to rural villages in the western part of the continent – intrigued him, but he couldn’t have predicted he’d soon end up a leader of the organization.

But in July, for the third summer in a row, the pediatric specialist spent three weeks in Africa holding clinics and offering many patients their first-ever doctor’s exam. And with the help of Gross’ recent fund-raising efforts, the group, Liberia-based Discipling Our Nations Effectively was able to purchase a medical clinic building in Senegal. There, Gross plans to train villagers from all over West Africa in primary care.

Before finding DONE, Gross said he’d tried to connect with other medical missionary groups visiting Africa, but their application processes seemed too bureaucratic. DONE, however, wanted to Gross to participate and quickly.

“DONE wanted someone with an interest in mission work, health care work and teaching,” Gross said. Within three months he was in Africa.

For the first three summers Gross volunteered for the organization, he was its only doctor or nurse. This year he was accompanied to villages in Sierra Leone, Gambia and Senegal by Cheryl Adams, a Sacramento nurse.

There was plenty of work for them in the tribal villages, which are usually at least a day’s trip away from the nearest government medical centers. Gross and Adams, working out of a tennis bag of supplies, tended to men, women and children well into the evening.

“Many of the conditions we see are similar to what I see in the U.S., but they are much more serious because of the total neglect of any simple treatments,” Gross said.

Despite mango groves nearby, many villagers eat little fruit – or vegetables or meat – and suffer malnutrition. Diarrhea is common, as are tropical diseases like malaria. And simple insect bites become ulcerated sores when treated with the traditional balm of goat dung.

“Their few health practices are often based on spiritual belief or the practices of maribouts (witch doctors) whose treatments…often make things worse,” he said.

Increasingly Gross’ work is focused on getting villagers regular health care. His visits help people who are sick at the time, he said. “But what they really need is education about prevention, nutrition and simple primary care treatments.”

Gross and other DONE leaders are now working on a curriculum and hiring staff for the Senegal clinic. After training there, students would return to their villages to treat patients in their community.

Ultimately, Gross would like UC Davis medical residents and students interested in a tropical medicine elective to help out with the program.

Dateline UC Davis is the faculty and staff newspaper for the University of California, Davis.

http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/092002/dl_summer.html

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Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks to those who lifted me up in prayers for the three days revival.  A three days revival was led by me at the Philadelphia International Church in PA who Pastor is Pastor Samuel Martin.  My testimony couple with the message God put in my heart for His people (LIFTING UP GOD’S GIFT TO THE CHURCH), was heart touching many experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them.  Many were transformed by the word.  Members testify that there are great changes now in the congregation towards the church and Pastor.  They have learned to honor, and appreciate their Pastor and also to be a blessing to the church in any way they can.

As usual Doris minister in songs for the three days.

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Greetings from our Ministry in West Africa
This newsletter will be focusing on Senegal written in the report to the DONE Board by Doris Ba.

Doris Ba is discussing the training that both Bishop Ba and Rev. Browne were able to take in Aims, Iowa in Nov.  2008.  As you will recall from May Newsletter Rev. Browne along with Dr. Rev. Pat Novak and his team from Santa Clara, Calif. has implemented it in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

As Doris shared in her report:
“Senegal:  The leadership training ended on Saturday 28, 2009 on the first series book 4 (Cultivating the habit of the heart) with Bishop Abdoulaye Ba.  He has made such an impact on us in our Dakar church. In this training we were taught how to strategically fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ in this nation Senegal which is about 95% Muslim.  95% of the leaders going through this training were able to find a man of peace and are now continuing study through the first principle (Becoming a Disciple).

The Pastor of our church in the Fissel, village is also going through the first principle with the church in the Fissel village with about forty members. Most of these people in the village are illiterate; therefore they do more practical than theory. They are excited because they are seeing how  this training is shaping their Christian lives and character. Since many of them are from animist and Muslim background, they were still holding on to certain practices, but this training helped them to realize that these practices are to be eradicated if they want to be more effective in evangelism. Many are now going to the near by villages to evangelize.”

Doris is also a gifted seamstress and dress designer.  She has opened a tailoring shop as a micro-enterprise to help other women to learn this trade and be able to take it back to their communities and villages.  This business empowers women economically and spiritually and raises self-esteem and self-respect as well as providing an outreach for the church to allow women to minister to other women and bringing them and their families into the church. Recently she had them make new choir robes for our Parcelles Assainies Church.   They had a successful gowning ceremony for the choir .  It has been such a blessing to the church.

The church also purchased this new lighted sign board.  This Sign board helps direct many Muslims who have questions to ask about Christianity to our church and Mission office.  It also has brought into our church many who are looking for a place to worship.

The children’s department is growing numerically and spiritually. These photos show a recent program given by the children.  They sang, recited Bible verses and did drama.  Many of their Muslim friends attended.

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Our leadership, BishopAdoulaye Ba and Rev. Thomas Browne have a deep calling and anointing of God upon their lives as they lead our ministry of work among the Muslim and animist people.  God is blessing our work and we see the Holy Spirit’s movement among our workers.  This September 2008 God worked through a five person team from Pittsburgh, Penn.

They were Pastor Kelvonna Warner,  Apostle Lucrecia King, Sister Ethel Gardiner and Elder Petter Carngbe and his wife Bettie Carneby.   During their 14 day visit the team was involved in several activities, including Ministering the Word during worship services, teaching Bible studies, village Evangelism and praying for the people.  Peter Carngbe, a Liberian, and his wife used this time to visit his birth country and also visit our work in Liberia.

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Eglise Evangelique des Parcelles Assainies which is our head church in Dakar with weekly attendance now at two hundred.  This church is comprised of 14 Nationalities.  This church has fully taken the responsibility to support its Pastors and Missionaries (Church Planters) without dependence from the U.S. Because of the emphasis on prayers and teaching of the Word, especially through this leadership development training by our Bishop Abdoulaye Ba, many of our leaders are challenged. As the result of this training, six Men of Peace were found and were baptized.

Pastor A who went through the training will also start the 1st principle in Mbour, and Fissel.  The church in Dakar bought a Motorcycle for Pastor A to help accomplish this work.”

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Prayer Requests from our countries are first and foremost to remember us in prayer.  Next is the need for more funding.  We urgently need more funds to purchased training materials.  Although we can reproduce copies, in many villages that is not a possibility.  We urgently need funds to help our villagers finish their churches before the rainy season this year.  We urgently need funds for bicycles or motorbikes to our church planters.  We praise God for Church of the Valley, CA for providing funds for 10 bicycles for Liberia.  We pray for many of you to become participants in this ministry with us.  If you wish to specify an area of concern, note it on the memo line.

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Bishop Abdoulaye Ba and Rev. Thomas Browne were trained in Ames, Iowa to be a leaders in BILD INTERNATIONAL (Biblical International Leadership Development).  This program is based on accelerating Church-Planting Movements worldwide by training leaders in “the Way of Christ and His Apostles”.  Rev. Thomas Browne took the training to Sierra Leone and Liberia, our English speaking nations, and Bishop Ba did the training through our headquarters church in Dakar, Senegal and as funds allow he will go to the other French speaking countries.

DONE leadership training in Senegal started on the 20th of February through March with the first series ‘Becoming a Disciple’ a six-session Bible study, and the First Principles of the Faith by Jeff Reed.  Rev. Doris Ba in her report to the DONE Board writes, “The leadership of the churches of DONE Senegal is grateful to God for the leadership training under Bishop Ba.”  The training will be every Friday and Saturday for three weeks.  After the three weeks training, each leader will find a Man of Peace before starting the second book of the first series”.

Bishop Ba started the training by reviewing the Church Planting Movement  (CPM).  It was introduced by David Watson in his Church Planting Movement (CPM) and is being used extensively on the mission fields through out the world.  Our leaders and church planters have been trained over the last several years in this method.  In this method one goes out into a village or unchurched area as a friend and looks for a person who shows concern about spiritual matters.  They then work with this friendship and under the guidance and movement of the Holy Spirit and in time they can disciple and began a cell group.   Rev. Doris Ba continues, “We are convinced that at the end of our training we will be fully trained in “the way of Christ and His Apostles,” and we will be able to reproduce rapid and sustainable churches base on Biblical principles.

Bishop Abdoulaye Ba challenged us at the end of the first session that every leader should begin to find their man of peace.  Before the end of the six sessions many of the leaders had already found their Man of Peace, including our Bishop himself with whom he had now started teaching  Mamadou Ba and his whole family. Many of the Men of Peace found by the leadership in Dakar are now baptized and will start the First Principle training with the leader.

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JM, the person of Peace, and members of the town cell groups have decided to construction the town worship center. Not only have they decided to construct a place of worship, but are deeply involved and personally contributing in terms of materials and labor.

The group constructs a place of worship. The church building project will seat more than 400 persons when completed.  (See photo essay below)

PHOTO #1 Shows four members of the construction team cut sticks ( 305 ground poles and 82 for the roofing) to begin constructing the house of worship.

PHOTO #2 A group of women willingly carrying some of the poles on their head.

PHOTO #3 A group of men help cut ground pole to measuring height of the building. After carefully observing the seriousness of the building project an observer declares his willingness to form part of the Cell group as well as the working force. To God be the glory.

The men and women are 50 – 50 up to the task. The men leave early morning to go into the bushes to cut the poles and other materials, and later returned to the site to move on with construction. The women voluntarily assist in transporting the poles and materials on their heads to the construction site and provide meal and safe drinking water for the working men.
It is worth noting that these women walk for about 30 minutes in trying to get the poles to the construction site.  They enjoy being a part of the construction. They are excited about the construction and are always the first to arrive at the site.

It is raining season in Liberia. Most path ways in the villages have become dangerous and almost inaccessible as a result the heavy down pour of rain. This has limited and placed a temporary restricted on our movements between villages.

Second in a series of updates from a 2008 Liberia trip by Rev. Browne. All names and towns are changed or abbreviated because of security concerns in this region.

The community visited is 85 percent Muslim with a few thousand inhabitants.

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A five person Business Board for Senegal has been established. The committee was appointed by Bishop Abdoulaye Ba, at the request of the U.S. Board of Directors.

While in Africa Dr. Novak had the opportunity to meet with some members of the business board. He briefly shared with them the purpose for the establishment of this board and what was expected of them as members of the Senegal Business Board.
The construction of a septic tank as requested by the school that intends to lease the building has begun. Fruitful discussions between the Business Board and the school continue.

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A church has been planted in Kono, Sierra Leone. In starting this church, it was reported that MA left the capital Freetown and moved to Kono where he has succeeded in starting a church.
MA is one of the oldest and committed members of DONE, in Freetown. He was one of those trained in the New Church Planting Method conducted by Bishop Ba and Rev. Browne during their visit to that West African Country two years ago.

During my 2008 visit to Liberia, I received several calls from MA extending an invitation to visit Freetown and see for myself what God was doing through him and the ministry. I did not honor the invitation at the time due to insufficient funds. The church started by MA is an independent DONE church. If funds are availability, I will be glad to visit MA in 2009.

Fifth in a series of updates from a 2008 Liberia trip by Rev. Browne. All names and towns are changed or abbreviated because of security concerns in this region.

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First in a series of updates from a 2008 Liberia trip by Rev. Browne. All names and towns are changed or abbreviated because of security concerns in this region.

The community visited is 85 percent Muslim with a few thousand inhabitants.

I came in contact with B a former Christian whose bride price was paid by a Muslim and the Muslim village chief compelled her to convert. B informed me that her step daughter was missing for two weeks. During the period of search and comfort I observed that B was not interested in the effort made by her husband and family consulting a spiritualist to locate the girl.

As a result she was always contrary and not comfortable with suggestion given by the spiritual leaders. After consulting the oracle on one occasion, a group of spiritualist told the missing girl’s parents that a group of men had raped and killed the girl.

B refused to accept the result. On one occasion, she angrily told the rest of the family and the others who had gathered at their home, that she did not believe anything the spiritualists were saying, but rather the true God will deliver the girl in due time. She was severely slapped in the face by her husband.

After much tension I seize the opportunity like everyone else to comfort her. In the process I offered to pray with her for the first time. She accepted. I quietly and quickly prayed. We prayed quietly and with our eyes wide open to avoid being noticed by people who were standing around.

The next day while an Elder and I were in prayer meeting, B ushered in a woman and a gentleman who happen to the be uncle and mother of the missing girl. They requested for prayers concerning the missing child. We prayed. This continue for three days. On the beginning of the 4th day, B called my phone saying that God has done it. With a cry of joy she told me that the girl was found tied up in the home of a chief in a nearby town.

From that day B has been allowed to worship her God. With the assistance of her husband she has been provided a place at her parent’s home were a group of 17 people meet every Thursday to fellowship and study the Word of God. Praise the Name of God.

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