Location: Cameroon
Pastor Bertrand couldn’t even remember the last time he’d participated in an evangelistic outreach. Leading a congregation, even a small one, is a lot of work. You’re always asking for more volunteers, constantly inundated with needs.
So, Bertrand was initially hesitant when the Every Home Cameroon ministry team invited him to attend an outreach training seminar for church leaders. He was unsure whether Every Home could be trusted or if they would simply drain his already shallow volunteer pool with another program.
The Every Home Team assured Pastor Bertrand that they wished to partner with him, not take over.
“[Throughout the training] He became more and more impressed with the teachings on evangelism and mentoring new believers,” says our team. “At the end of the seminar he asked us if the methods we presented were really applicable. He was curious if what he had learned could be translated into concrete actions.”
Pastor Bertrand decided to put Every Home’s strategy to the test in his congregation. Initially, he was met with the same resistance he had felt before the training.
“Many members of his congregation were not enthusiastic about the idea of participating in the training or the outreach week,” says our team. “Nevertheless, the training dispelled many prejudices and created a sincere desire to experience what they had learned.”
On the morning of the first day of outreach, small teams of newly trained believers mapped out the routes they would take to share the gospel around their community. Energy filled the air—some nerves, some cautious excitement. They set a time to meet back at the church.
At the return time, however, the church stood empty. In fact, an hour passed before the outreach teams began to tickle back. The last team to arrive at the church returned an hour and a half late!
Formerly reluctant participants now didn’t want to stop sharing Jesus.
“They felt like they could go to all the villages in the area in one day,” our team says. “Pastor Bertrand told us that he was now convinced of the teachings received during the seminar. He had observed the joy of the volunteers and noted the increase in people going to church to hear the Word of God.”
Bertrand’s church grew dramatically as a result of outreaches, to the point that he had to borrow more chairs for services.
“Pastor Bertrand has been calling us regularly to share progress and the growing enthusiasm of the volunteers in his ministry,” says our team. “They have even formed evangelism and discipleship groups. All glory to Jesus Christ!”
Our team shares this story as one of many miracles witnessed during their recent outreach project. Everywhere the team goes, lives change, churches flourish, and joy overflows.
