The Alliance Baptiste de France, a fellowship of Independent Baptist Churches and Pastors, has been working with a group of churches in Southern Cameroon for about 10 years on a project to develop a training program and enhance the development and planting of churches. The results have illustrated the challenges of this kind of cross cultural work. At times, they have been encouraging and at times they have been frustrating. The ultimate vision for the biblical and practical training of pastors has been constant.
In September 2009 Yann Jouan, who has been working for several years with this project, and Mark Gostlin traveled through three regions of the South offering a one week training course for pastors and holding evangelistic meetings in village churches and homes. It was an intense period of ministry that tested the resolve and biblical commitment of village pastors and pastoral prospects. Two very positive results were seen.
1. The response to the preaching of the gospel in a very clear way with careful counseling was very strong. Not only were people usually outside of active church involvement saved, but long time church members and even church leaders freely responded admitting that they had never had any assurance of salvation and that they wanted to reconcile with God. Time after time, those who responded during a public invitation remained afterward for counseling and prayer.
2. The pastors training course had the effect of bringing the cream to the top. It became clear that before any further infrastructure would be built, a cadre of men from this Bulu culture would need to be developed who were able to train other preachers and christian workers. Three men were identified as worthy of a scholarship at the Institute Biblique de Yaounde, Cameroon and two of them traveled with Yann and Mark to visit the Institute, meet with the leadership, and sit in on some classes and a chapel service. It is our desire to see them begin their studies in January 2010.
This Bible Institute provides housing, a small parcel of land for a vegetable garden, and classes for the prospective pastor and his wife in theology and christian work as well as practical training. The stand of the school is theologically sound and separated from worldliness. It is just what these men need in order to rise to the task of piercing the darkness of biblical ignorance and cultural sin rampant in even the church culture of Southern Cameroon. A young farmer and dedicated believer with a track record of faithfulness has agreed to gather food from the villages and bring it to these families that are training for ministry. This commitment from the churches to help is important for a number of reasons, but especially because it gives them an opportunity to make an investment in their own future welfare.
We need to fund these scholarships. The tuition and board per family for one year (this includes medical care at the Health Center operated by the Institute) is about $1125 US. Obviously, it is subsidized by the generous gifts that already support the Bible Institute and Staff. Gifts to establish a scholarship for up to three students over the next four years can be sent to Beacon International Baptist Mission (click here for address) and marked “Cameroon Scholarship”.
Please pray for this effort. If you would like further information about this work or how you can help, please call or write.
Tags: Operation Cameroon