Loko (March 2012)
“The news about this new church planting strategy has really encouraged me because I believe it will help us fulfill our purpose as a church. I look forward to the action group training when the church planting team will work together with us to help us plant a new church. This is what we have been looking for and now it is coming to pass. Thank you very much, my brothers,” commented a very grateful Pastor Asumana Fornah of the Wesleyan Church in Matikea village.
As a result of this training, they were able to plant a church in Marcargo Njiehun where the JESUS Film was shown twice to some 750 people. Ninety people prayed to receive Christ at these film showings.
Seven other churches have been planted by action groups in Mokokoie, Alpha Modia, Mile 14, Mayoko, Magbalane, and Makikeh villages since October 2011(resulting in 14 new churches in total).
Pastor Fornah’s comment was echoed by the pastors from the Baptist and Wesleyan denominations from other villages who were eager to take the gospel to other places and start a church plant.
Among those who were trained was Joseph Kargbo. “Many lessons were presented during this action group training that have helped me understand more about the way God wants Christians to live,” he said. “I need to depend upon the Holy Spirit moment by moment in order to live the Christian life that honours and glorifies God. I should not be a carnal Christian but a spiritual Christian who obeys and serves God daily. Thank you for this training and also for providing us with materials that will help us as we move forward with the church planting strategy.”
Last November, one of the newly planted churches located in the Mainga village held a baptismal ceremony for its new believers. The event was well attended. The National Evangelist of the Baptist Convention, Evangelist Foday Koroma, came to officiate at this significant celebration. Pastor Moses A. J. Sesay led the baptismal service and Lord’s Supper.
Many people from the village and surrounding areas came to watch 58 people go through the waters of baptism. Even the town chief, who had been a Muslim, was among those to be baptized. One baptismal candidate shared that he found it very difficult to take this step of obedience to God due to his traditional upbringing and beliefs. He described how he struggled to turn away from the secret society that he had been associated with for many years in order to give his life completely to his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Many other new believers testified about turning away from their former occult practices in order to embrace the life that Jesus offered to them.
