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A MAN ACCEPTS Christ after viewing a movie shown by the team. He had never been to a church or had heard the Gospel. |
Captains Fred and Chris Kim of the Santa Clara Korean Ministry recently returned from a missionary trip to the Moslem countries of Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania.
In 1998 the Kims led a team to the East African countries of Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Congo. Last year they traveled to Burundi, where 5,000 people came to the spiritual revival seminar and were empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Here is Captain Fred Kim’s report on their mission team’s evangelistic outreach.
In Ziguinchor, Casamance, located in southern Senegal, I led a spiritual revival seminar hosted by the native pastor. My focus was discipleship with commitment and sacrifice. The first day about 50 people showed up, including two Moslems whom we had met on the street and invited. The next day, 100 people came and the church was filled to capacity with not only believers, but also the non-believers we had invited.
The Holy Spirit convicted and empowered everyone. We prayed for Senegal’s revival – some prayed for others’ salvation, some for inner healing and some for unity and revival amid persecution from Muslims. I challenged the group, saying, “Indeed you are the light of Senegal!” Although they had been frustrated by their persecuted status, through the empowerment of the Spirit they accepted the challenge to build the church and heal the nation, bringing the knowledge of Jesus Christ through which salvation comes. When I gave the invitation for commitment, recommitment and acceptance of Christ, everyone responded. Truly the presence of the Lord was there and we were filled with joy and peace.
On Sunday all six of us on the mission team were invited to preach at nearby churches. I spoke at the largest church, which had about 80 in the congregation, on the identity of Christians, based on Ephesians 2:10, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I recalled them to their true identity as children of God. As their morale rose, there were enthusiastic responses from the congregation. Hallelujah!
After the Sunday service, the different congregations gathered for a united meeting where Captain Chris Kim taught practical evangelism using the Evangecube. This method was particularly effective since the literacy rate among Moslem women in Senegal is about 20%, and traditional spiritual law teachings would not work.
The response from the church leaders was overwhelming – they had never seen the Evangecube and after learning the technique they put it right to work; each leader teaching a group of 10-20 people. A large crowd was on hand, including Moslems, because we had movies to show about Jesus. About 400 evangelists were born from the Evangecube seminar! One pastor told us, “For the last 150 years, no one taught us to evangelize practically like you did. That’s why Christianity in Senegal was a failure. But with this, we can now bring thousands of people to Christ wherever we go, whomever we meet.” Confidence was restored that evangelism was possible.
We brought 100 Evangecubes with us and the pastors asked us to bring 1,000 next year. With these, we believe we can turn Senegal and Gambia upside down!
After the evangelism seminar, we showed the movies. The churchyard was packed with people. The pastor said, “A lot of Moslems, both inside the church and outside, are watching the movie. This is an historic event not only in Casamance but in the evangelism history of Senegal.” Although famous evangelists had organized previous meetings, they were one-time events and gathered little fruit. Now, pastors and lay persons alike could share the practical evangelism that we taught.
In Dakar, capitol of Senegal, we were the guests at a welcome reception. We encouraged the pastors there that someday they would see the fruits of their labors.
In Gambia, we led the pastors’ seminar at the YMCA. I preached about God’s blessing based on self-supportedness. This was a big challenge to the 20 pastors there, but they took the message seriously. Many African churches still want to rely upon foreign aid instead of being self-supportive. I gave my testimony on how the Korean Christians sacrificially gave to God and the church and how God in turn blessed them in a short time, materially and spiritually. The African pastors understood and made a commitment to rely only upon God with fervent prayer and hard labor in faith.
The next day Captain Chris again led the Evangecube seminar, and the response was once more tremendous. The pastors were excited to discover that it is easy to evangelize with the right tool and proper training.
On this trip to Senegal and Gambia – the Moslem Mission, our team realized that the Great Commission of our Lord is real and possible. As we responded to God’s call, he multiplied our efforts beyond our imagination. Preaching even to the uttermost parts of the world is possible. To God be the glory!
About Senegal
Senegal is 94% Muslim and 4% Christian – mostly Catholics blended with animism and tribal belief. Evangelical Christians are about 0.07% of the population. Senegal’s population is about 10 million and church-attending Christians are about 6,000-7,000.
The Christian leaders that the Kims met in Senegal and Gambia agreed that European missionary efforts in Senegal and Gambia yielded little fruit. The European mission in Senegal and Gambia began in 1860, and after 150 years of missionary work, the fruit is fewer that 10,000 Christians!
Strategically, though, Senegal is important. To the north are almost 100% Muslim countries including Mauritania, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. South of Senegal, there are more Christians. The Kims believed if they could make a few disciples in Senegal and Gambia, these could then be a seed to reach out to the other countries, the least Christianized region in the whole world.
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