Dear Friends and Family,
I am leaving tonight, Saturday, for home. My scheduled touchdown in Portland is 11:17am Sunday. I thought I would send a final report with some final thoughts. The big picture right now is that we are slowing down just a bit to evaluate where we are in order to determine exact next steps. The goal remains the same. We are committed to working with pastors with the end being transformed believers and churches. We use a combination of seminars and mentoring to accomplish that goal. In each of my primary stops, in Nigeria and Madagascar, I met with our teams to restate and reaffirm our goal and strategy.
Now is the time to refocus.
The big picture right now is that we are slowing down just a bit to evaluate where we are in order to determine exact next steps. The goal remains the same. We are committed to working with pastors with the end being transformed believers and churches. We use a combination of seminars and mentoring to accomplish that goal.
In each of my primary stops, in Nigeria and Madagascar, I met with our teams to restate and reaffirm our goal and strategy.
NIGERIA: WHAT WE LEARNED
While in Nigeria we held a three-day conference with about 90 pastors from the ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All). It went very well and could well have opened doors to working with the denomination as a whole. I will be working with leadership there to formulate a two-year strategy whereby we’d have similar conferences in different districts around Nigeria.
Not to persuade but to prepare
The objective would not be persuasion (persuading them to accept a conservative, Scripture based theology) but preparation (preparing them to defend a conservative, Scripture based theology) and be able to answer questions about the rapidly expanding health, wealth, signs and wonders theology. They are to be watchmen over God’s flock. We what to help them be that watchman.
MADAGASCAR: WHAT WE LEARNED
In Madagascar, I met with evangelical leaders, including educators, and denominational and evangelical leaders from around the country to introduce ITEM and offer our assistance. The meeting went well.
Two things I came away with from the time in Madagascar:First, I should have had this meeting with these leaders a year or two ago. They hold the key to pastors under their watchful eye, attending any of our seminars. Second, we need to recruit men from other parts of Madagascar to be a part of ITEM’s team. This, also, should have been a priority a year or two ago. All of our team comes from around the capital city of Antananarivo but there are several other strategic cities. And it is unreasonable to expect these men to follow up and mentor pastors in the other regions.
This is all a part of slowing down for a time to survey and assess where we are and how to proceed. I have no more trips to Africa on the calendar until next January so now is the time to get the next two years planned.
Thanks for your prayers throughout the trip.
By His grace,
Steve
If you have missed any of the pictures, here is the link one last time.