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August 17, 2006
The Mission Continues… Part 2: the faithful servants
This is part 2 of a number of posts where I will share a bit about the vision for my continuing work in Burkina, and some thoughts about mission and the church today.
“Joseph” had a dream from God. He is a tailor from the Mossi people, and is a Christian. He used to come to Gorom-Gorom occasionally to work, and would then return his home town. One day he had a dream in which God showed him a pile of money and a Fulani New Testament. God told him to make his choice – would he work for money, or for the word of God among the Fulani? Based on that dream he moved to Gorom, learned the Fulani language, and is using his tailoring business to support himself and his family in sharing the gospel.
“Isaac” is also Mossi, a pastor working in the north of Burkina. There are no local church-goers in his town. Some missionaries helped him start a small grain bank. He buys grain when it is cheap, and when the price rises, he sells it at a slight profit, but below the commercial rate, and keeps some in reserve for people in particular need. Thus he supports himself, brings a little stability to the volatile grain market, and helps those in need. His wife also helps support him by making and selling soap. He has learned one of the local languages, and does evangelism and AIDS awareness seminars in local villages.
“Sambo” is another Mossi pastor who speaks Fulfulde, working in a remote town in the Burkina Sahel, with a handful of poor Christians, in his church, who are unable to support him financially. He works a field, but, as a “foreigner” the land he has been given is poor quality and unproductive. With a loan, he was able to buy some goats which he uses to try and support himself by fattening them up and selling. He barely makes enough to feed his family, and is frustrated that he doesn’t have the time or resources to do more in evangelism or to help the people in need around him.
Missionaries in their own land
As well as local Christians like Yero, there are increasingly some excellent Burkinabe workers in the north of Burkina, guys who are not local to the area, but who have vision, commitment, and ability. They have proved themselves in their faithful service accepting hardship to serve in this difficult area, and could do so much more if they had a little more resource and training. Many of them have learned local language, but their training as pastors has not really been shaped for the cross-cultural pioneering ministry in which they find themselves.
Serving the servers
What they do NOT need is
a) Dependence upon well-meaning but inappropriate western charity, or
b) Western-style ministry training that repeats the cultural compromise of our own failing churches.
However, with a little hand up, and some additional cross-cultural training, I believe they can become even more effective than they are now.
As outsiders to the region, they do sometimes face issues of cultural prejudice from the Fulani, but, as Isaac is discovering, the love that he is showing people is finding a response in people’s hearts and homes. It is probably more possible for these guys effectively to incarnate Christ to the Fulani than it is for us as white missionaries, because we come from – and are seen as being in - positions of influence and wealth, whereas they serve from a position of weakness and simplicity. The question is how can we most effectively work with them to combine our resources with their availability to bring a positive transformation in their communities.
So, the second area in which I want to be involved in the coming “season” is working with these guys to help them find ways to support themselves in their ministry, and to understand and work through the cross-cultural issues they face as Mossi servants among the Fulani, so that they can become more effective as agents of spiritual and social transformation in the places they live.
Part 1 was here. More soon.
Tags: burkina burkina faso church mission jesus christ missionary ministry africa fulani christianity
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Posted by Keith at August 17, 2006 10:41 AM
Comments
Keith- Can you talk about the ministry to women? Are there women ministering there, and to each other?
Posted by: wilsonian at August 18, 2006 07:00 PM
Hi. Thanks for your comment again.
I will try and write about this sometime - it is a really important area and is worth taking time to address.
However, I am very busy with the crisis in Gorom at the moment, so it won't be immediately. sorry
:O)
Posted by: Keith at August 18, 2006 09:53 PM