A while back, Francois started to teach the 2nd phase Bible lessons in the small groups of believers in three locations. However, this week he added a Monday teaching in a more public setting where even more people who participated during the evangelism phase can now participate also. This is more like a “celebration” meeting where the wider community have an opportunity to participate and hear the message. It was done in the same location as the previous evangelism teaching (closer to our partners house) and is in a way the “official” continuation of the teaching that started in 2011. We are so excited to see the work here under the Mwinika people move another step closer to a mature church!
Francois’s weeks are very full at the moment, but he really loves the variety and especially being involved with the discipling of the new believers.
The small groups of believers in the other two locations also still continue. It is here where individuals have the opportunity to give feed-back, participate and internalise what they are learning. Francois is really excited about the teaching in the group the farthest away (closer to the ocean). There is at least two men who are already acting in the role of elders. The group in our area is still small, since few were able to go to the evangelism teaching that started last year because of distance. Please pray as we prepare to start this teaching in our area in February 2013.
With all this going on, Francois also started a discipleship group with potential Mwinika Bible teachers on Wednesday afternoons. These are the men who might be go-teaching with Francois in February 2013. Five men have come forward, but Mr. Vrydag is still busy with participating in the Literacy classes. He will join the group after the classes end the end of this year. Still another man didn’t arrive for the first class and we are concerned about him. He has been a key figure in the ministry in the area where our partners live. (They are on home assignment until mid-2013). His testimony is good, but he hasn’t been coming to the small group teachings either. Please pray for him as he has a lot of standing and respect in the community and we would love to see him continue on the right Way. Please pray for all five men as this is a very certain and brave step forward towards being church.
Please pray for the Mwinika believers and the growth of a strong church!