News & Stories

Lightning Heralds Church Center’s Completion among Gospel-Resistant People

October 4, 2011

By Larry Wolters, serving in Burkina Faso

Gaoua is a village located in the smallest Alliance district in Burkina Faso. This region is inhabited by the Lobi, who have a reputation for being one of the most difficult people groups in Burkina to reach with the good news.

This summer, two short-term outreach teams from Alliance churches in the United States helped to build a worship center, an outdoor shelter, for a congregation in Gaoua. A team from South Hills Church Community in Henderson, Nevada, set the new structure’s posts; later, a team comprised of members from several Franklin, North Carolina, churches nailed on the roof to complete the project. Our interns took on a major project-management role with logistics.

Outreach with a Light Show

On the day we were finishing the roof’s installation, the skies grew dark—rain was on its way. The pastor asked to borrow our generator so the congregation could hold an evangelistic service.

As lightning flashed all around us and the rain began to fall, everyone ran for cover under the new shelter. The pastor, the only Alliance pastor in this district, then preached a bold message about new life in Christ in this corner of Burkina known for its opposition to the good news. Church members sang and danced with joy all night long.

When the service was over, the pastor sat under the new shelter the rest of the night, making himself available to anyone who wanted to know more about the joy and freedom found in Christ.

Worship Centers Needed

When I talked with the pastor, I learned that he had pleaded with the national Alliance church president for two shelters to be installed under which to hold church services. But only one was granted. When I met with the national church president the following week, I learned the reason: two such structures were desperately needed in the north for additional outreach to unreached people groups.

Please pray for the church in Burkina to be blessed with every means to reach all who are in desperate need of the Light.

What You Can Do

Give to the Great Commission Fund. In doing so, you partner with workers overseas, like the Wolterses, to ensure that the Light of the World is reflected in regions where steep challenges—spiritual and financial—hinder unreached people from receiving the good news.

Check out how your church can begin a Ministry Partnership with overseas Alliance workers.

Dig deeper—read more about our work in Burkina Faso.