I received this email a few days ago from our dear friend Nathaniel Adawonu.
I have know Nathaniel for 16 years. He came to the states from Togo West Africa when the Lord gave him a vision. He desired to see the spread of the Gospel throughout West Africa, but also to provide indigenous Christian leaders with strong Biblical faith access to a sound theological education so they might be better equipped to shepherd these new believers. His life is an example of obedience and faith. Please take the time to read his letter. If you aren't able to give financially please pray that the Lord would provide the funds for this matching campaign.
Below is the email I received.
I didn't change any of the wording, but I did change the color of the text, spacing, and added a few pics to jazz it up a bit.
Dear Friend of New Harvest Missions,
I want to thank you for your interest in helping to grow and expand the church in
West Africa.
I want to thank you for your interest in helping to grow and expand the church in
West Africa.
This is a crucial time for the church in that
region, the region of the Sahel where two historic faiths, Islam in the
North and Christianity in the South, are competing for the hearts and
minds of our people.
It is very much like what happens when different
worlds collide and create discord and destruction within
long-established cultures. At a time like this the Christian Church
must show itself robust and vibrant and faith-filled, fully able to win
this battle against the forces of evil around us!
Our Board of Directors, made up of people just like you who have a compelling vision for equipping the church to reach its own people, also extends its gratitude for your support. It is only through your partnership with us that the battle can be won and the church victorious.
New Harvest Missions International (NHMI) is an indigenous mission with
a vision for church-planting in
West Africa,
that region where the
battle between the two historic faith traditions is being waged every
day, both in the open and in the dark of night.
Leadership of this work
is in the hands of national Christian leaders who know what is required
for the church to be victorious among their own people. Even now, this
work is well underway with the help of New Harvest, acting as a
catalyst to reach a new generation of true disciples and worshipers in
several countries of West Africa.
Our vision is to help establish
indigenous, healthy, growing Reformed congregations that will make a
significant gospel impact within the cultures, people groups, and
communities in the region of the Sahel. Ultimately, our prayer is that
these churches will be a force for church planting in other nations and
in the world.
One
of New Harvest’s most important partners is Mission to the World (MTW),
the overseas missions agency of the Presbyterian Church in America
(PCA). In fact, MTW and NHMI have a long-standing partnership that is
highly valued by both parties. And now this partnership has produced an
exciting opportunity that we would like to share with you. This
opportunity has grown out of the realization that equipping the West
African church and its leaders to be strong and self-supporting is a
crucial goal.
NHMI has just been offered a grant of $32,000 by MTW to
accomplish six needed projects, but only if this grant is matched 1:1 by
NHMI by December 31, 2012,
scarcely four months away.
Do you sense the
urgency in these words!
We have four months to raise funds that will
give us $64,000 for projects to strengthen the West African church in
its battle across the Sahel, and we need your help.
The six projects are these:
They have been prioritized by West African
indigenous church leaders as being the most important need of the hour
in their countries.
Expansion of ministry opportunities from four to six countries in keeping with a ten-year strategic vision for church growth, at a cost of $10,000.
Establishing a self-perpetuating system of economic/agricultural development, allowing local churches in three countries to support their own ministries, at a cost of $5,000.
Growth in theological education resources for the West Africa Theological Seminary (WATI) and recruitment of students in two countries. There are also matching funds available through MINTS to help produce French courses for the seminaries. $8600 total is needed.
Support for indigenous church planters doing evangelistic outreach in unreached areas of one country, at a cost of $6,000.
Seed money for property and construction of new church buildings in one country where the church has grown very rapidly, at a cost of $2,000.
Transportation costs for church leaders who must travel to teach and mentor young pastors in wide-ranging areas of one country, at a cost of $4,000.
Funding support may be sent to:
New Harvest Missions International,
9230
Ridge Road
New Port Richey, FL 34654.
You may also want to review the
ministry’s website at www.nhminternational.org for more information about our work.Please think seriously about being a part of this great work for the Kingdom in West Africa. And please consider going to one of these countries on a medical or construction project to see this work first hand. The church there is growing stronger and the church leaders are completely committed to reaching their own people with the gospel. As people are converted, West Africa will be converted. We have a vision for the Sahel region to be ablaze with the Spirit’s fire and for minds, hearts, and lives to be forever changed! Thank you for joining in the battle with us at this crucial time.
For the Sake of the Nations,
Nathaniel Adawonu
President, NHMI
(ketchit@hotmail.com)
and thank you for taking the time to read this post.
