October 9, 2013
By Esther Schaeffer, serving in Burkina Faso
I knew I wanted to go. Sixteen Bolon were being baptized in a village where Burkina Alliance Women have shared the good news.
One of our student pastors serves in this village that is home to this unreached group. It is one of 17 Bolon villages in a small area of western Burkina Faso. Three of these villages have churches and just two have a pastor.
We set off on an early Sunday morning with a Burkinabé Alliance pastor who would perform the baptism, driving through some serious mud. We also dodged pot holes that were almost as big as our Toyota Land Cruiser.
After several hours, we came to a small bridge that spanned a stagnant pond. Seeing a group of people gathered, we knew that we’d arrived.
No Laughing Matter
Traditionally, the Bolon have kept to themselves, married within their people group, and have resisted the gospel. In Burkina Faso, they are the subject of an ethnic joke: “Don’t greet a Bolon in the morning or the rest of your day will be bad.” Just mention the Bolon, and the Burkinabé begin to laugh.
But here were 16 Bolon young people ready to be baptized. All were farmers with lots of children, and they were hungry to know more about Christ.
Workers Needed
Once the baptism was over, we went to the church to join the new believers in taking their first Communion. Because their village has no ordained pastor, these 16 young people had to wait almost two years to be baptized and partake in the Lord’s Supper after accepting Him as their Savior.
After the service, our Bible school student begged me to come back and teach these new believers “any day, any time!”
These 16 new disciples could be the key to reaching their people group for Christ. What could be more important than this? Pray that we would find an opportunity to return for a day to this village to teach His Word to these young believers.
There are still many lost people who have never heard the name of Jesus! We are responsible to reach them: “‘. . . go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you’” (Matthew 28:19–20a).
What You Can Do
Pray
- Pray for the Bolon people to be reached; pray especially for the 16 new believers—that the Holy Spirit would lead them into all truth and that they would grow in their knowledge of Christ.
- Join the Alliance family in praying for our international workers in Burkina Faso and worldwide, who are working to fulfill the Great Commission—taking the good news to those who have never heard Christ’s name. Use the Weekly Alliance Prayer Requests to assist you.
Give
- Give to the Great Commission Fund (GCF) and support Alliance workers, like Esther and her team, who are introducing lost people to the light of Jesus.
- Give now
Learn More
Watch a video (:46) of one of the baptisms.