December 15, 2010
By Stan and Jaynee Walker
Serving in Senegal
A recent report from Oxford University and the United Nations states that sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest region in the world. This assessment is based on the numbers of people in that region who:
Live in poverty-or on less than $1.25 per day
Are deprived of adequate schooling, cooking fuel, electricity, drinking water, sanitation, or nutrition
“The average African lifespan is lower than it was in the United States and Europe 100 years ago,” the report said.
Some Good News
What the report didn’t mention are the numbers of people in sub-Saharan Africa who have come to Christ; though earthly poor, they share the same rich heritage we all have in Christ! And a good number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa are those in which the C&MA serves.
“Nations in which The Alliance has ministered for decades generally have fairly large Christian communities,” says Dr. Chris Braun, the Alliance regional director for Africa. “We praise God for the rich ways that He has used Alliance international workers and African church members to build His Church in these countries; however, a number of African nations are places where Jesus is hardly known.”
More Work to Do
Alliance field leaders, national church leaders, and leaders from the C&MA National Office in Colorado are meeting this month to review our ministry efforts in Africa. While rejoicing in what the Lord is doing in the countries where The Alliance has work, they are also looking at how the Lord would have us enter those most spiritually dark, least-reached regions in Africa.
“A huge responsibility before Africa’s Alliance Leadership is to step into the opportunities that God has for us,” Dr. Braun concludes. “[We] need to make Jesus known so that lost peoples do not continually perish without access to God’s good news.”
What You Can Do
Dr. Braun requests your prayers, specifically for “God’s direction for us to be more instrumental in bearing light to nations inundated by hopeless spiritual darkness.”
Donate to Alliance Great Commission Ministries. In doing so, you partner with Alliance workers to bring the light of the gospel to those in Africa, and around the world, who are spiritually blind and in need of eternal hope.