We recently went on something of a prayer walk around
Mpulungu. Christopher, one of the team
leaders, took us up to a 100-year-old church that was built just a few years
after David Livingstone died.
Livingstone was instrumental in opening up Africa for the cause of
missions, and it’s in his footsteps that we’re following now. Seeing the church where people gathered for
prayer and worship was a pretty powerful experience.
Chris told us a lot about the current state of missions in
Zambia and throughout Africa. There are
many efforts to evangelize unreached groups, but proportionally less effort in
discipleship. He described it as the
message going 20 miles wide but only 1inch deep. When you think about it, it’s a lot easier to
go tell something to someone once and leave than to invest so much of yourself
and your time into their lives. But which
method is more effective? I believe that
real transformation and life change happens when we dig into the trenches with
the lost and live life with them, being a constant example of the power of the
gospel. That’s what discipleship is all
about.
What we’re seeing among the missionaries here is real
discipleship, and it’s so encouraging to see the fruit of their labors! Rather than spending time preaching to
thousands of people, the team here is invested in the lives of a few families
and individuals. Though the numbers
might not be huge, the effect is incredible, and they are seeing yet again just
how awesome our God really is! We are so
blessed to be a small part of this ministry over the next three months.
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