November 4, 2009
“He is the God of the impossible. He is going to use the children of the African diaspora to go back home and reach those in the ‘motherland’ with the gospel of Jesus Christ,” wrote Rev. Terrence Nichols, president of the C&MA Association of African-American Churches, in the February 2008 issue of alife.
Rev. Nichols connected deeply with the Senegalese during an Alliance missions trip to the West African nation two years ago. An emotional tour of Senegal’s Goree Island-“the island with the door of no return”-the last stop for most West Africans forced into the global slave trade, solidified his and his team’s resolve to return to Senegal with fellow African-American believers from the United States.
A Vision Fulfilled
Bridge Senegal 2009 is the fruition of that dream. Through a partnership between the C&MA’s African-American Association, Short-Term Missions Office, and 16 Alliance missionaries and Senegalese church leaders, Alliance African-American community members are taking Christ’s love to the people of Senegal, November 5-15.
Nichols, pastor of New Hope Church Community in Vallejo, California, and an Alliance board member, is co-leading the trip with Donna Baptiste, a former Alliance missionary to Mali, evangelist for the Alliance Metropolitan District, and president of Donna Baptiste Ministries.
“For more than 10 years,” she says, “I prayed that one day, as in the days of A. B. Simpson, there would be a groundswell of African-American missionaries serving in the C&MA.”
Trip Details
During the first portion of the trip, Bridge Senegal 2009 team members will learn the history of African Americans in C&MA missions. During the second phase of the 16-day outreach, team participants will minister side-by-side with Alliance international workers and Senegalese church leaders. Community ministry will include training seminars with the local church, evangelism, and outreach to the homeless, imprisoned, and infirm.
Pastor Nichols will share his reflections about Bridge Senegal 2009 in the February 2010 issue of alife.
Learn More
Read Pastor Nichols’ article “No Language But Love” in the February 2008 online issue of alife.
Check out the Short-Term Missions Office Web site.