North Africa
In 2015, I found myself driving our little Polaris Ranger about 45 minutes down a dusty dirt road in North Africa to a refugee camp three days a week to meet with the Naas people. Three young Muslim Naas men had sought us out. They said that for years they had been searching for someone who could show them the way of the Messiah but with no success. Their friend met us during a linguistic workshop, and suggested we could help.
So, I gathered with seven men and women in a small grass and mud hut where we sat on rope beds and plastic mats. We prayed simple prayers, read the Bible, wrestled together to understand the meaning, and searched our hearts for how we would obey what we had read. It was thrilling to witness God at work among people who were experiencing the Bible for the first time in their lives. The energy was palpable!
After the first week, the group suggested we meet at a nearby UN community center. They said there were dozens of others who would want to hear these stories of faith. I couldn’t believe it when over 40 Muslims gathered to hear the story of creation from the Bible! But, the goal was to make and grow disciples, not simply to preach. So, instead of large gatherings, I met with the group of seven again and we made a plan. I would meet on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with this group (they insisted on at least 3 days a week). Then, they would pair off and start 3 other groups, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. What we learned together on Monday, they would lead others to learn on Tuesday. What we learned on Wednesday, they would lead others to learn on Thursday. You get the idea.
Soon there were 4 groups, roughly 40 people, praying, reading the Bible, and wrestling with how to understand and obey it. Multiplication had begun, and we were still in the book of Genesis!
Within a few months there were churches in each of the three Naas refugee camps in the county, and roughly 400 people were gathering for Bible study, prayer and worship. God was multiplying his church and multiplying his workforce!
Fast forward to nine years later and you'll see that our day-to-day lives look pretty different. We're no longer driving an ATV across refugee camps in war-torn North Africa and making disciples in grass huts. But, we are still witnessing God multiplying his church and his workforce! Today, the ministry we are doing together with Broadway has expanded to include a team of 160 full-time servants of Christ working in 10 countries across Africa among 52 language communities.
52 language communities! And each one teeming with stories just like those of the Naas – people encountering scripture for the very first time, wrestling with what to do with it and finding life in the Messiah. The stories in these communities are terrible and beautiful – both for those hearing the Gospel for the first time and those who have left everything behind to share it. We walk with those who have lost children and homes and status because of the Kingdom, and with those who have gained deeper community and fuller life and richer blessings than they could have ever dreamed of. From countless Zoom meetings and Whatsapp calls to many weeks-worth of journeys to be in people's homes, we laugh and cry and pray with these brothers and sisters, pouring into leaders and teams who are bringing God's Word to life across the continent of Africa.
Broadway, we are moving toward the day - in our lifetime, God-willing - when there will be scripture in every viable language on earth. We are praying to see the day when the prophesy of Isaiah will be fulfilled and "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9).
Multiplication has always been the dream, and it has been the strategy we have been working on together for nearly 15 years now. God continues to grow and multiply his people, his work, his abundant life! From hut to hut, from refugee camp to refugee camp, from tribe to tribe, from nation to nation. Broadway, God is expanding your influence. The work we are doing together is impacting tens of millions of people today. Thank you, and may God be praised!