Currently, Harvesters is planting 100 new churches every day! An amazing feat made possible thanks to supporters like you.
Our church-planting methodology teaches local pastors to search for unreached neighbourhoods and start evangelising there. For every church planted through evangelism, Harvesters trains a pastor to lead and disciple the congregation.
Each church plant has a unique story and unique challenges to overcome, and below we highlight two of the churches that have been planted this year. One of them is located in a persecuted nation that is hostile to the Gospel, while the other serves a remote and isolated community high up in the hills of Kenya.
Church Planted in a Bar
In one region where Harvesters is working, a church was recently planted in a bar. This nation, which will not be named for security reasons, has a 97% Muslim population and is hostile towards the Christian faith.
In fact, the pastor who planted the church explained, “if a day goes by without being persecuted, we praise God. For us it’s an everyday occurrence. People here don’t understand being Christians without persecution.”
So, planting the church in a public place was a big risk.
At first, he was hesitant to plant a church in a bar. But his father, also a church planter who has sadly passed away recently, was excited by the opportunity to preach to the sinners there. “I call this my father’s last assignment of church planting,” the pastor says.
The first Sunday service was a miracle from God, as around ten villagers joined the meeting to learn about Jesus. However, not everyone was welcoming of the new church. Angry locals threatened to burn down the bar and harm the people inside.
The owner of the bar, who had generously offered the location for the new church, phoned the pastor, worried that his bar was going to be destroyed.
So, the pastor and his family began to pray, and God scattered the angry crowd. “No one came close to that bar,” says the pastor.
The church was able to continue meeting and is still thriving today. This story is a testament to the power of the gospel in the face of persecution. Despite the risks, the pastor had faith in God’s protection and was able to plant a church in an unlikely location.
Church Planted in a Field
In Kiandege, a remote village in Kenya, a new church has been planted in a field. One of the first members generously offered a corner of his hillside farmland for the church gatherings.
Bishop Paul Oyagi, the Stream Leader in the region, explained the process. “This [church] is a result [of] our teachings. We started praying for God to direct us and we came and surveyed the area. We [met with the owner of the land], the indigenous people and we did some evangelism and house meetings.”
Kiandege Church will be led by a pastor that has been trained and equipped by Harvesters.
Ps Dylan Agoye, Harvesters’ Country Leader for Kenya, visited the church within the first two weeks of it being planted. “We’ve come so many kilometres to be able to get to this place,” he said of its remote location. “Praise be to God that a church has been planted here and many souls are going to come to Christ. We praise God and we glorify Him in Jesus’ name.”
These stories provide a glimpse into what is happening around the world every day. Thanks to your support, the Kingdom is expanding.
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