By a Team Expansion worker in “Valor”
January 2023 [Read the follow-up update from March 2023]
When we relaunched our ministry over four years ago, our local partner Abe challenged us to consider expanding our vision. We moved to Valor with a desire to focus our church planting endeavors within one targeted people group living in two of the eight regions of Valor. Early on, even before the official re-launch of our ministry, Abe and I met together almost daily to pray and talk about the vision the Lord was laying on our hearts and the next steps that needed to be taken. It was at this time that Abe really challenged us to enlarge our goals, and together we cast a vision to see a disciple-making movement established in every region of Valor by the end of 2025.
We praise God that currently, we have established churches in 6 out of the 8 regions of our country, and in 3 of those regions we have seen growth to the 4th generation and beyond. These churches are comprised of individuals from all four of the largest people groups in our country and we are working to gain access to the other regions of our country as well as to other people groups.
Expanding Again
The Lord is now leading us to expand that vision again and to not only reach those that live in Valor, but to start reaching the unreached among those that live in the countries that border us. The Lord is already moving and has provided us with 7 contacts from 3 different countries who are eager to serve the Lord, plant churches, and make disciples. Abe was able to gather these 7 men together to pray, vision-cast, and to train them in the early steps of Disciple-Making Movements. And the Lord is already at work and moving in these 3 new countries. In one country we have seen 4 house churches planted and 37 people baptized. In another, 2 house churches and 16 people baptized. And in the third, one house church and 3 people baptized.
The Lord is going before us and reminding us of his love for the nations. He is reminding us that His Spirit is the one guiding us, and we are praising him for continuing to grow our faith because with Him, nothing is impossible or too big to accomplish.
As we expand our reach, we would be remiss if we didn’t tell you how incredible Team Expansion has been and continues to be. They have trained, encouraged, supported, and guided us in every step. We are so incredibly thankful and grateful that they time and again partner with us in such mighty ways. They got behind this effort right away, and we can’t thank them enough for their vision and support to help all of us reach the nations for Jesus!
