Sherbo (January 2012)

In only four months of implementing the JESUS Film Church Planting Strategy in Sherbroland, six new churches have been planted in the villages of Moyeama, Sembehun Nes Tucker, Moyibo, Manodu, Benkeh-Kamasunu, and Bengeh in partnership with local churches. “I am happy to receive you (the Sherbro JESUS Film team) and to learn about this church planting strategy. I have been looking for this kind of discipleship strategy that could help us to reach the Sherbro people.” This was the reaction of Pastor Augustine J. Rogers of the United Methodist Church of Mandu Village when the strategy was first presented to him.

The team, composed of Joseph Lebbie and Jonathan K. Koroma, challenged other local pastors who similarly gave very positive feedback on the church planting strategy. Rev. J. M. Johnson said, “I am the founder and general overseer of Life of Light Ministries Sierra Leone. I am a church planter and I have my own ways of doing things. This JESUS Film Church Planting Strategy, however, is a wonderful blessing for me. It will help me surface teachers and even pastors as a result of the action group training. It will enable me to plant churches not only in our community but in many other places as well.”

Pastor Tommy Bassie of Light of Light Church in Moyeama Village, Kargboro Chiefdom was very excited. “I believe your action group training is going to create spiritual awakening in our community and the chiefdom as a whole. Thank you for bringing your church planting strategy here. May God richly bless you,” he told the team.

A total of 37 people from different local churches and villages participated in action group trainings to be equipped to become church planters. One of them was Mariama Lavalie. “I want to thank God for your action group training,” she told the Sherbro team. “It opened my eyes to many biblical truths that I never knew before. Apart from the follow-up training that I will be doing with new believers, I plan to use these materials to teach my Sunday School class. Most of our members, if not all, also lack the basic foundation of the Christian faith. I am prepared to do more for the Lord now that I’ve got this basic foundation of the Christian faith.”

Moses Will, a member of the Mopaileh Evangelical Church was similarly enthused. Moses remarked, “I am fully committed to this training. I wanted to get a greater knowledge of God and your action group training has enabled me to do that. When I first heard from my pastor that I had been selected to participate in this training, I wondered what it was all about. Now that I have gone through it, I realize what a benefit it has been for me. Your teaching about God’s love and mercy so clearly explained man’s spiritual need and God’s gracious provision. I am truly grateful to have gained a better understanding of God and His Word that will help me talk to others about life’s important spiritual matters."