Former street boys under Pastor Djadri’s care

Pastor Jacques Djadri Oba

Bible study with the boys led by Pastor Djadri (right)

The largest war in modern African history, the Second Congo War (1998-2003) has been called the deadliest worldwide since World War II. The war and its aftermath claimed the lives of 5.4 million people, mostly due to preventable diseases, famine and poverty aggravated by the ethnic conflict. Millions more were displaced afterward. Graduate Jacques Djadri Oba felt the need to evangelize to a group of street boys in Bunia, the capital city of the Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Most of the boys had been rejected by their families. A tough group, they used razor blades to extort money in the market, smoked drugs and slept in burlap sacks by the road each night. Pastor Djadri shared the Gospel with the boys and began teaching them to read and write. By August 2004, he had helped 24 boys start formal schooling and eventually found funding to send 50 boys to school.

The boys weren’t sleeping well on the street and had little food to eat, so Pastor Djadri began work on securing shelter and sustenance for the boys. The United Nations World Food Programme provided food for the boys for the first year post-war, and a local church built a temporary home for them. When the international aid stopped during their second year, the task of caring for the 50 boys and supplying food, shelter, clothing and school fees seemed daunting. But now - six years later - Pastor Djadri sees how the Lord continued to provide in various ways, including a brick home built for the boys. Through devotions, one-on-one time and getting them involved in church and Sunday school, Pastor Djadri reports that all 50 young men have shown a true conversion to Christ, and half have been baptized. Today, many are still part of Djadri’s “family,” while a few have gone back to their extended families.

Pastor Djadri is a graduate of Shalom University of Bunia (SUB). He says his training helped him tremendously in his current ministry by revealing the importance of one-on-one discipleship in order to have a lasting effect on the lives of others and allowing his teaching to be richer and deeper. Pastor Djadri is able to apply what he learned at SUB every day in his practical ministry. He is very thankful for the significant changes in the 50 boys. Through them, many others in the community have seen an effective Christian testimony. The major challenges now are to continue providing for their needs and praying for the Lord to help expand his ministry in the future to other children on the street, both boys and girls.

If you would like to support the training of future ministry leaders around the world like Pastor Djadri, please click here.

Stanlas and Judith Ndambuki and their four daughters

How two NEGST graduates are using their theological training to make a difference in the slums

Pastor Stanlas Ndambuki and his wife, Judith, have been serving in the Huruma slum in northeastern Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, since they were students at the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) in 2000. While discipling a small group of men, Stanlas felt called by God to plant a church there. Since then, the fellowship has grown to more than 200 attending weekly services, which necessitated the purchase of land in 2003 to build a church.

The African Inland Church - Huruma (AICH) has been through many struggles over the last seven years. The 2007 Kenyan presidential election was followed by ethnic violence between tribes. Church members in the Huruma slum were too fearful to cross boundaries in the slum to attend worship. Corruption and power struggles within the denomination have also impacted the church, but despite it all, God has restored it into a vibrant and growing congregation. Pastor Stanlas’ vision for planting churches has also resulted in two daughter churches starting in the area.

Judith’s passion is for women, especially widows in the slum who suffer from HIV/AIDS. She rallies volunteers to visit the widows and their children to encourage, pray and share God’s Word with them, as well as meet the families’ basic needs of food and clothing.

Stanlas and Judith are also involved in evangelism and Bible studies. They are grateful that their studies at NEGST prepared them so well for ministry. Stanlas says, “I thank God that the realities of urban ministry were emphasized [in my training because] it was apparent to me that I could serve among this group of people. NEGST trains servants, so I was made low to reach down to the lowly.” Besides pastoring the church, Stanlas is also teaching at NEGST, and Judith has returned for her Master’s in Christian Education. “Ministry work is very difficult and challenging, but God has been faithful,” he says.

If you would like to support the training of future ministry leaders around the world like Stanlas and Judith, please click here.

Written by Rev. Dr. Victor Nakah, OC Africa Regional Director

As we celebrate the unprecedented growth of the Church in Africa, we need to be careful not to lose sight of the immense challenges and opportunities that come with this growth. This growing Church needs leaders who are firmly grounded in the Scriptures, attune to the socio-cultural realities of Africa and have the faith and courage to serve as dynamic change agents for the glory of God. How to produce such leaders is the mandate of theological seminaries in partnership with the Church. Theological seminaries are carrying out this mandate at different academic levels, using various modes of delivery and through partnerships and collaborations. Overseas Council has the privilege to be in partnership with 30 of these seminaries representing 18 countries. Here are a few examples of innovative and transformational theological education amongst our partner schools.

New Modes of Delivery:

• 
  The South African Theological Seminary (SATSSA) in South Africa is a purely distance education institution with nearly 3,000 students in 73 countries and faculty in 21 countries. It offers Bible-based, Christ-centered, Spirit-led, fully accredited programs through three modes of delivery: print, downloads and e-learning. With print and download, students largely work independently but have access to a tutor when they need help. In the e-learning mode, students work in cohorts of eight to 15 and regularly interact online with each other and the tutor. This methodology results in learning through social networking and is very powerful. In all three methods, students work according to a three-month deadline for each subject taken, which keeps them focused and results in increased productivity.
  
• Africa Theological Seminary (ATSK) in Kenya has 300 students in their program. Although not all are full time, the campus is in use 50 out of 52 weeks a year. Students attend courses on short term block release, including school holidays and evening and weekend classes. The total duration of a given study program varies depending on the in-service setting in which a student is enrolled. For example, a student enrolled into the BA Christian Counselling program can be on campus for nine to 15 months during the course of their study, while a Diploma in Theology student averages six to nine months.

Click here to continue reading about new levels of degrees, community-oriented courses and cooperation.

If you would like to support the training of future ministry leaders at schools around the world, please click here.

The final three 2010 Institutes for Excellence in Christian Leadership Development took place in Accra, Ghana September 21-24; Kyiv, Ukraine October 5-8 and Jakarta, Indonesia November 9-12. During the four-day Institutes themed “Re-envisioning Seminary-Church Relationships,” 96 church and seminary leaders interacted with each other in order to build partnerships and be mutually beneficial in meeting each other’s needs. To read more about the Accra Institute, click here; the Kyiv Institute, click here; and the Jakarta Institute, click here. The 2011 Institutes for Excellence will begin in March, focusing on “Organizational Change and Financial Sustainability.” Please look for updates next year. Click here to read about past Institutes held around the world.

Please join Overseas Council in prayer and praise for Africa:

• For our partner institutions who are addressing significant social issues in their training, such as poverty, HIV/AIDS and other illnesses, malnutrition, Islam, corruption and other needs in Africa
• For the Lord’s continual provision at partner schools during the recession
• For His special protection for students, faculty and graduates as they minister in Africa
• Praise for Dr. Bill Houston’s five years of service to evangelical theological education in Africa
• For the ministry of Rev. Dr. Victor Nakah as our new Regional Director for Africa