|
What God is doing at All Nations Church?
I remain thankful to God for being our Protector, Provider and for his many blessings received last year. The Lord has caused the church members to grow in faith and to love Him and the ministry at All Nations Church. This was observed when we had problems finding a place of worship. We had to relocate in the city of Philadelphia three times. During that period of instability, some of our members got discouraged and left the church. However, a core group of 18 adults, 11 teenagers and eight children are dedicated to All Nations Church. They give themselves to prayers, Bible study and Sunday school programs. This core group has developed a strong fellowship relation and become as one Family. They encourage each other with frequent home visits for payers or when one member undergoes hardship.
The diversity of ethnic groups within the church is encouraging. At the beginning about seven different ethnic groups and nationalities from Africa composed the members of the church. Despite the decrease in membership, six different nationalities are meeting on a regular basis at All Nations Church for worship and other activities. This reflects the reality of the kingdom of God where all nations will be gathered around his throne.
The ministry among women of the church makes a difference in terms of providing assistance to those in need. For instance, they were able to assist spiritually and materially one member who was robbed and others who had lost loved ones in the family.
The Lord has been doing great things among our children. Many African immigrants are having problems raising their children in the Lord in this country. Some children finish by becoming street children or develop wrong behaviors or are taken away from their parents by the American government. We have seen our children growing in a positive direction. Some of them are helping All Nations Church in many ways. They play instruments during the worship services. They are not professional but are learning by themselves to play some musical instruments. This has been very helpful. Some of our teenagers lead worship and Sunday programs. They compose Christian plays around special seasons such as Christmas and Easter. They are involved in decision making about some aspect of ministries in various meetings. They take the initiative to offer their services to some members of the church such as house cleaning during the weekend, not for money but as ministry.
Four of the children within All Nations Church have gone to Colleges and are performing well. Two more will be going to College next year. Those who are away from their parents are involved in Choir groups or youth activities. One of them at his University went on mission trip to some four states in eastern part of the country, singing and preaching. "About 40 people made decisions to believe in Jesus during that mission trip," said the student.
The church helped to sponsor another member's mission trip with a group of Christians for summer ministry in Ecuador. The result of the ministry there was great in terms of people who came to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The ministry at All Nations Church is having fruit beyond Philadelphia.
Bible study, Sunday school and the preaching ministries remain strong within All Nations Church. Christ remains the center of our preaching and teaching. We were able to receive many visitors who had heard about the ministry at All Nations Church and who wanted to taste the flavor of worship in an African context. All Nations Church has been considered by some American friends as a place where people who are trans-culturally oriented can go for mission training.
The leadership team members at All Nations Church have offered considerable support to the ministry. They were able to lead church and other aspects of the ministry when I had to be on a mission trip to Africa for the company where I work to support my family.
The church members decided to do fund-raising to purchase a building for worship. Despite their busy schedules they decided to visit some churches around the city. During a visit the hosting church gave time for a short presentation of All Nations Ministry and members sang a song. This helped the church to raise about 15% of the money needed to buy a small building for All Nations Church ministry.
Lessons learned as the result
God is the one who extends calls. And when He calls He blesses and empowers for ministry. God is Sovereign in whatever He does. He has his own time to respond to our prayers. Because He is Sovereign He can accomplish great things through a small group. I have learned to see the ministry in term of spiritual growth rather than just in size. Ministry to African immigrants can be difficult in its nature as we consider the complexity of the social-economic context in which the targeted people live. I have learned here to serve the Lord and be happy about the slow and small fruit of the ministry the Lord has called me to do at this time.
I have learned to serve the Lord as a tent maker and as a servant. I have also learned to serve Him in a very painful situation. In short, I have learned to humble myself before the Lord in whatever I do.
I have learned through my past mistakes in terms of the approaches needed to perform ministry among African immigrants. My humble experience in doing urban ministry among other ethnic groups in Philadelphia has equipped me to assist or advise other new church planters.
How the church is being impacted
The church as an entity is being impacted in many aspects. The results of ministry as we said in the previous paragraphs, attest how the ministry at All Nations Church is having its impact on the church members. All Nations Church has potentiality to grow both numerically and spiritually. It has also an opportunity to extend its impact to other parts of the city, country and around the world.
Vision for the ministry at All Nations Church 5 years from now
Multiply cell groups in the city as way of evangelism
Train church members to be involved in active evangelism in the city
Develop projects that address the needs of the African immigrants in the city
Collaborate with churches that have a vision for the ministry among other ethnic groups in the city to help in developing other aspects of ministries that can serve as a means of evangelism and to enhance the growth of the church. This will require seeking to have some Americans being involved directly in ministry at All Nations Church as missionaries for some specific projects.
Prepare candidates for church planting among African immigrants in other parts of the state and country.
|
|
