See Where You’ve Helped Plant Churches
See Where You've Helped Plant Churches
Through your support, you’ve opened the way for millions to come to Christ and over 80,000 churches to be planted through Harvesters Ministries! And that number is growing all the time. In fact, Harvesters plants 100 churches every day around the world.
Please pray for the work happening in these regions and for potentially more than 33,000 new churches that will be planted in the coming 12 months.
1. North America
2. Central & South America
3. West Europe
4. East Europe
5. North Africa & Middle East
6. East Africa
7. West and Central Africa
8. Southern Africa
9. Asia
10. Southeast Asia
Harvesters Ministries Global Footprint
*some countries cannot be shown for security reasons.
Good News is Spreading Fast!
Generous friends like you have helped plant more than 117,000 churches in over 90 countries by supporting Harvesters Ministries — and around 100 new churches are being planted everyday!
The growth has been amazing since Harvesters began in 1998 with a vision to plant churches through evangelism, discipling new believers, training pastors, and distributing Bibles. Just two years later, 27 new churches were planted in Malawi and Zambia. By 2006, the need for Bibles was so great that Harvesters started Bibles for Believers as a project to equip the newly planted churches.
Pastor Journal and his congregation received copies of God’s Word through Bibles for Believers, thanks to friends like you. That opened the way for more than 50 new churches to be planted in his area in Africa, and many of these church leaders are now training with Harvesters.
In addition, millions of people have come to Christ through Harvesters’ evangelistic church-planting model! In any given week, as many as 6 million people who have been won through evangelism efforts are being discipled using the Harvesters materials and Bibles you have helped provide.
Your support also makes it possible to continue joining hands with Pastor Journal –and many other church leaders – to distribute Bibles for believers. It’s crucial because in many countries worldwide, many Christians are still without a copy of God’s Word.
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Pastor Charles from Uganda with his wife
In fact, during a recent visit to Uganda, the Harvesters team was amazed at how Student Pastors were doing their best to grow their churches, even before receiving their own Bible.
Thanks to faithful supporters like you, the team distributed 1,100 Bibles to believers in Uganda who were overjoyed and deeply grateful. But there’s still a pressing need for Bibles, as was revealed at a recent pastors training event…
“We had a great number of pastors from different regions,” says Pastor Charles from northern Uganda. “They were really blessed because they’d never had something like that before. Pastors rode bicycles 75 km – and many of them were old men! They were very tired, but they came to get knowledge.
“People were empowered to go forward in the north and plant churches. We’re going to have thousands and thousands of churches opening up in this land.”
But one of the biggest issues raised was the need for more Bibles. “They want to reach the people in the field, but they don’t have Bibles,” explains Pastor Charles. “If you can reach them with the Gospel, it will be a beautiful achievement.”
Please pray for believers like Pastor Journal and Pastor Charles who have a love for their people and a strong desire to plant churches.
Thank you for helping sow God’s Word and plant new churches!
The Fisherman Barber
The Light must shine in the darkness
Imagine living in a country where someone dies every four seconds without knowing Jesus Christ. Imagine living in a country where more than 22,000 people die daily without spending eternity in heaven. Imagine living in a country where you there are more than 400,000 “dark” villages with no church and not even a single Christian witness.
This is the harsh reality that every one of our Christian brothers and sisters in India experience.
Brother Ramesh is an instrument of God
Brother Ramesh is a Barber in a small village just off the coast of India. He is also an active Church Planter. He owns his own boat and his “boat” is the local Barbershop where he cuts hair and shaves beards, just down the road from a huge Hindu temple. Many men get into his boat weekly and some of them leave completely changed.
I guess you have nowhere to escape to when the blade of the Barber is against your throat. You have to listen when he turns your head in his preferred direction. You also listen when he tells you about Jesus Christ. This semi-literate barber and Church Planter evangelises lost souls this way. His clients sit down. He shaves them. They listen. He tells them about Christ. It’s that simple!
He shares the Gospel from a picture-poster-set, called the Heart of Man chart. Christ’s redemption for all sinners from their hideous sins are central in his presentation. They listen attentively. They ponder. It confronts them directly and convicts them of their sin. The most wonderful part of all of this: some accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour. This is exactly why there is already a church in this village in India.
Brother Ramesh is shining His light
There is a small fishermen’s village approximately 15 km from the Barbershop. The entrance to the village is guarded by a Hindu temple. A Hindu priest chants his mantras over a PA system three times per day. Darkness, yes spiritual darkness, is strewn over these poor, precious people, as he repeatedly chants.
Some of these people have heard the Gospel of Christ before, but it confused them. Then, one day, Brother (Pastor) Ramesh came to the village. That day, light broke through their darkness. Ramesh shared from the Gospel and for the first time a certain Brother Ramu understood the message.
Ramu is the first convert of this newly planted village church, which is also a very short distance from the seashore. Ramu’s wife also accepted Christ. They are fishermen. They know how to cast nets and catch fish, but now they have been caught in a net and brought to the heavenly shore for the first time. Hallelujah! They are mending their nets and expecting a great catch for our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Church is Growing
And then there is Brother Suri. He heard about Ramesh and how his friend Ramu had accepted Christ. “Is all of this real? Is Jesus the only true God? Is Jesus all powerful?” These are some of the thoughts Suri was struggling with. His father was seriously ill and in the jaws of death. Suri started thinking again, “Can this Jesus really do the impossible?” Indeed, He did! Suri’s father was healed in front of his very eyes.
Ramesh prayed with them and the whole family got saved through witnessing the healing miracle. This new church is no longer defined as “two or three gathered in His name”. They have grown to about ten people as Suri and his family joined the church too. And, oh yes! God still saves fishermen and yes! He still turns fishermen into Fishers of men.
Ramesh has started training a student pastor in this fisherman’s village. When he attends the Harvesters’ training, he records the sessions on his mobile phone, so that he would be able “to train faithful men (and women), who would be able to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2). All praise to our Lord Jesus Christ for what He is doing in India!
Vietnamese Pastors face Persecution
The pastors have a great sense of urgency regarding evangelism. Recently, more than 1200 people came to Christ and 48 new churches were planted in the northern, central and southern parts of Vietnam.
Christians in Vietnam are in the minority of the population. Some of the strategic conversations we had with our pastors were focused on how to reach the majority of the Viet Kinh people (over 75 million people). There are only 500,000 believers among this people group.
New believers and churches in Vietnam
Pastor Thanh*, who had been partially paralyzed for the last couple of years has not only experienced the power of God at work in his own life; but has also seen it in the lives of those who in the past never wanted to hear anything about Jesus.
He spent so much money on various treatments that produced no improvement, and as a result, fell into terrible debt. Unable to repay those he had borrowed money from, he desperately fell on his knees and cried out to God. A few days later someone prayed over him and he was completely healed. We praise God for this miracle!
The news of his miraculous healing soon reached neighbouring villages. Those who were previously opposed to the Gospel were amazed and became open to hearing about the God who healed him.
Pastors persevering amidst persecution
Pastor Trâng* experienced what it means to be excommunicated from a village for being a true follower of Christ. He has planted seven new churches in only six months. During one of his last evangelism outreaches, a terrible thing happened: The people from his own community did not want this foreign religion to indoctrinate their people after hearing that many people from surrounding villages have accepted Christ. As a result, they burnt down pastor Trâng’s family home. His entire home burnt to the ground.
The police said that they could not get involved in arresting the perpetrators as his family brought this upon themselves for being Christians.
This is the sort of price that a Christian has to pay in Vietnam for following Jesus faithfully. Imagine living in a country where the police do not even want to help you because you believe in Jesus Christ.
*names changed.
Mali: A Broken Nation
Tens of thousands of people are currently displaced in central Mali. Many of them fled their homes due to violent attacks on their villages. Hundreds of people have been killed in violent massacres on unsuspecting villages in central Mali over the last few months.
The villages closest to the Burkina Faso border are facing the highest risk of being attacked. The government have implemented a plan to ensure the safety of these villages. The plan is however not fool-proof yet.
The Gospel has never been so desperately needed at any other time in history as it is today! Innocent people are losing their lives – many of these people are lost forever, because they did not know Jesus Christ. You see, Mali is a Muslim nation with more than 90% followers of Islam. Today is the best time to change these broken communities in Mali.
You are changing the world!
Thanks to loyal donors like you it was possible for Harvesters to train pastors in this unstable nation. We visited the city of Bamako for three days and trained 42 pastors in evangelism, discipleship and church planting. These pastors travelled from various regions in Mali. They all completed their Phase A training and are truly on fire for God. They have committed to attend all the training over the next three years.
These pastors evangelise the lost and plant churches under very difficult circumstances. Persecution is a daily reality for Christians in Mali. Pray that God will continue to strengthen them as they face this harsh reality.
Praise God for the group of pastors who went out and planted eight churches already. This was made possible by you, our loyal donors. We are so thankful that you are building this ministry with us.
You not only provided enough funds for study material for each pastor – you also provided each pastor and student pastor with a Bible. The Living Word of God is entering communities and changing the lives of lost souls. Thanks to your generous heart and contribution people are coming to Christ.
A Country Once Torn by Genocide – Restored by Jesus!
Bible spree in Rwanda despite destroyed churches!
Loyal Harvesters partners like you made it possible for us to pay a visit to Kigali, Rwanda and surroundings recently.
You have made it possible for us to purchase 200 Bibles by supporting our Harvesters Bible for Believers program.
We believe that every new believer, student pastor and pastor at a church should have access to God’s Word. We intend to provide this need, but cannot do it alone.
Joy is tangible as Bibles are handed out
The unspeakable joy can be seen on the Hub-leaders’ faces as they receive Bibles for their “hidden churches”.
More than 8,000 churches were destroyed by the government in 2018. Since then the Church was forced to meet in secret. The Church in Rwanda is growing from strength to strength despite the persecution they face.
Everyone who received Bibles planted their required churches, as per the Harvesters curriculum. They accomplished this despite the fact that the government destroyed their churches by sending bulldozers. Many pastors are now using home churches and are even moving around to various locations to have church meetings with their congregations.
Great joy reigned in Kigali, Rwanda
A special thank you to every single donor that believes in the Missio Dei of God and spreading the Good News unashamedly!
All our Hub-leaders successfully completed Phase F of their training and planted a minimum of three churches each. Praise God for these obedient disciples!
Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Guatemala: Gangsters are Turning to Christ
Guatemala, a Central American country south of Mexico is not just home to 17 million people but is surrounded by volcanoes, rain forests and other ancient sites. 59.3% of the population lives below the poverty line, of which 23% of the nation lives in extreme poverty.
We find ourselves in Guatemala City where 5,5 million people stay. Planting new churches and making disciples here would always be a huge undertaking due to the challenges. These challenges include: a high crime rate, gangs, drug trade, alarming poverty, natural disasters (volcanoes), orphans, poor education and malnutrition.
A typical Guatemalan Day
On a typical day in Guatemala you will see an active volcano in the background.
It is on such a day where we meet our gracious hosts and country leaders: pastors Luissi and Eleazar. They have gathered more than 40 fearless church planters. The stories that emerged from their own transformation through the Harvesters training were phenomenal!
It was the story of pastor Hugo that touched our hearts and gave hope to many struggling pastors. His story is so transformational that many shed tears as he was sharing it!
A Guatemalan pastor’s testimony
Pastor Hugo is short of stature but his heart is bigger than a lion’s. He is a structural engineer and grew up in rural Guatemala. He felt God’s calling from an early age and when he got the opportunity he started a church. His whole life he pastored a church of 15 members. They never grew and even in his own church making disciples was unheard of.
After being introduced to the Harvesters model through evangelism and discipleship everything changed!
Pastor Hugo decided to immediately practice what he was taught. He went back to his church and taught them everything he was taught in evangelism and discipleship. He packed his bags and started a journey to the rural mountains of Guatemala. With his 15 members they started to evangelise the unreached people. Within a few weeks they planted more than 10 churches in these mountains.
Pastor Hugo quickly realised that God was using him, his small church and the Harvesters model. It was time for a drastic change. He felt called by God to quit his job as an engineer and become a full time pastor. After he spoke to his wife and prayed about it, they answered to God’s call on his life.
The results were amazing! Pastor Hugo planted 26 churches in only 12 months. His little church of 15 members will never be the same again. Through evangelism and making true disciples they grew their influence from 15 church members to a network of more than 750 disciples who all know Jesus Christ.
Needless to say when we had an interview with him he had more than a sparkle in his eye. He was on fire. “Why did you come so late? We had few disciples – we had no plan – we had little hope! Now the Good News is spreading through the city like a wild fire. Gangs are listening, drug lords are losing their footing and strongholds. God has opened the heavens over Guatemala. Let those who have ears hear the voice of God – the rich and the poor.”
Guatemala is ready for a revival
Pastors in Guatemala were fired up and ready to infiltrate the devil’s stronghold in Guatemala. Everyone received their church planting structure sheets and administration tools to plan and plant new churches effectively. They went out immediately and shared the Gospel with people walking in the streets.
Television station opens up to Harvesters
Pastor Eleazar was so touched through Phase B training he couldn’t wait to show us how he was preparing pastors for ministry. So we all got in his car. He drove us through the hustle and bustle of Guatemala City to a corner street.
The building didn’t look like much, but inside was an active hidden television station!
They call themselves “Guatemala’s Media Missionaries”. They are all between the ages of 18 and 23 and they are using National Satellite television to share the Good News of Jesus all across Guatemala!
Harvesters will have the opportunity to use small segments and 1-minute discipleship slots in Spanish to share the Good News in Guatemala! We give God all the praise for people like pastor Eleazar who shared his vision and heart for the lost in Guatemala.
God is Always in Control
God is always in control. We experienced this again recently in a country where the Gospel is not welcomed by the government. Strict new laws have sought to control the official church and ban unregistered churches. Christians are being severely persecuted. Church buildings are being torn down and house churches are being closed down.
Despite this, believers continue to serve the Lord. At a training session recently a pastoral couple (Sue and Wang*) begged us to come to their church and help them transition. They had grown to 150 members during a short period when it seemed that the pressure on the church was being eased. They had begun to worship openly and had hired a venue for their services. Suddenly anew crackdown meant everything had to change. They had to split the church up into several smaller churches to survive the crackdown. They had already planned to break up the church into five churches of 30 members each, but this is still too big for the churches to meet safely.
Turning setbacks into victories
On a Saturday afternoon, as I stood before the church at their final service as a unified church, I saw the tears flowing freely as the sadness of their situation became a reality. These people love one another, they want to be together, but knew that it would be impossible for now.
I used the opportunity to share how this could be a great chance to expand the Kingdom. Now there would be five churches and Harvesters would help train pastors for each of them. I could see interest developing on their faces as we mapped out how this would eventually bring glory to God. One area that has been lacking in many of the churches has been to openly witness to strangers. Evangelism normally takes place only with those they trust. However, people need the Lord. The Gospel must be preached.
We taught a session on evangelism and challenged the church to share Jesus with others; giving them practical tools and ideas of how to lead more people to Christ. We left the meeting knowing that God had spoken to many of those present. The next morning the five new churches would meet apart for the first time.
Obedience brings about amazing results
We needed to move on to a new training session on the Monday morning. Anew set of pastors arrived and I was surprised to see Sue and Wang in the meeting as their training had been completed. They had turned up again wanting to meet with us. “We need help!” they exclaimed. “We need to split even further. Even the children who were at the training on Saturday are sharing their faith. People are coming to Jesus.” At dinner we sat down and strategised, splitting the church into ten new churches! They had gone from one to ten churches and had immediately started adding new believers.
Overcomers in Christ
The church was desperate for the Harvesters discipleship material and we arranged for someone to come from the Capital to do the training a month later. This is what our trainer shared: “I am here now and will have three days training with 40 disciples (the maximum number of leaders from the new churches that could gather safely).” Three days later he wrote: “Trained 40 students(church leaders and members) this week. They shared (went out witnessing) and over 400 people came to Christ.”
Things happen when we do what God tells us to do – especially when our circumstances would normally be an excuse not to. People are going out in the most dangerous of circumstances, being faithful witnesses and not fearing death. They are overcomers.
The government thought they were shutting down a church, now there are fifty. God is in control. Each will grow and they in turn will start new churches. Harvesters will help train pastors and leaders for each of them and the churches that will follow. God is unstoppable. Whatever your circumstances recognise that God authorises everything. Seek His plan in your suffering. Be faithful. Don’t fear.
Persecution brings out the best in believers and these churches will grow. At the end of our training session with pastors, this was the challenge: “You realise that if you apply these principles of evangelism and multiplication church planting, if you witness and lead people to Christ, you will be persecuted. You might even be put to death.” Their response was astounding. They all stood up and applauded and cheered!
*Sue and *Wang – not their real names.
Togo – Not Even Ebola Could Stop the Gospel
At the time of the promotion ceremony that took place recently, the numbers for Lomé, Togo, tell a story for which we do not have words.
There are:
48 Hub-leaders
94 student pastors
127 new churches planted
A programme, interrupted by Ebola, completed.
The Work in Togo is not Done
While I was visiting Togo, local pastor Timothy took me on a road trip through the rural areas around Lomé. Timothy explained as we were driving,“Down there we have planted a church. Here we still have to plant one.” The vacant places outnumber those where followers of Christ meet. There is so much to do. And the rest of Togo is waiting…
We drove by the biggest and most modern structure for miles. A walled in mosque, boarding school, and orphanage. Parents from all 
over bring their children for free education. They only see them during certain school holidays. I visualise the young adults released into society from behind these walls a decade from now. A cold shiver goes down my spine. Timothy shares my sentiment, though from another, more basic and human perspective. “The things we Africans do to our children,” says Timothy. And I remember how he lovingly picked up a toddler in the street the day before. Getting the boy to smile at this unknown adult, little arms around the assured neck; photo bombing my photo of the promotion-banner they put up at the church; looking around for the mother to lovingly encourage her for the important work she is doing.
It is a clash of approaches. A culture enforced but lured into with candy opposed to a new life where a reborn spirit sprouts from living Word-seed. In a moment of faltering faith, I am scared the candy might be too sweet to resist. Until the Spirit whispers in my heart, “You know better than to underestimate Me.”
“What next?” Timothy asked when he came to drop me off at the airport. I was caught in my own thoughts before answering him, “I think you have to naturalize this church planting strategy into your church culture. It should no longer be the one that we bring from South Africa, but the one you teach us about next time we visit.”
And so, I willingly climb in the belly of the travel-world where there is no personal space, little meaningful conversation, long overlay enforced me-time in airports.
As I boarded I prayed, “Lord, You changed me again these past few days. You reminded me of how You first called me to the ministry. And I understand deeper than ever before. The harvest is plenty, the workers few…”
Your Generosity made a Difference
Thank you to each and every one of our partners who faithfully support us. You made it possible for us to give each student pastor and each Hub-leader a Bible to bless someone with.
An African Kingdom On Fire for Jesus!
A family on a mission
As I left the certainty for the uncertainty – about five years ago – I knew one thing: God is in control and He will provide. My family and I packed up our entire life and moved to the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho. We arrived in the small village of Semonkong, as missionaries.
Semonkong is a tiny village, with a population of 8,000 people, situated in the Maseru region. It once served as a hideout for outlaws and to this day has an untamed, remote atmosphere. Semonkong means “Place of Smoke” which derives from the Maletsunyane Falls which create “smoke” – it is the highest single-drop waterfall in Southern Africa.
Building the community
One thing that stood out to us was the poverty in this country. Lesotho’s government has a feeding scheme where they provide all primary school learners with soft porridge (maize meal) and beans for breakfast and lunch. My family immediately started a vegetable garden at the school – teaching the children the necessary skills to grow their own crops. It is amazing to see how eager they are to learn. This is not merely a little school project for them; this has become a food source to them. They can now supplement their meals with their own grown crops and even take some home for the rest of the family.
We are still farming here today, mainly with spinach, cabbage, cauliflower and potatoes, and this serves as an income for us to help the local churches reach out to the needy and the destitute, create jobs and it also provides an opportunity to educate farmers in more efficient farming practices. God can use you too in many different ways. We are excited about all the different areas where He is using us to glorify His name, of which agriculture is only one.
Harvesters Ministries is opening the way in Lesotho
When we arrived here, there were no active church streams and the local pastors have never heard of the concept “church planting”. They were so excited when I first introduced the Harvesters Ministries Church Planting model to them. However, it took almost three years to build relationships and translate the training materials from English to Sesotho.
Finally, the day arrived and we had our very first training in March 2017. Since that very first day,there are now three active church streams in Semonkong, Maseru and Maputsoe. A total of 120 pastors from the various regions are enrolled in our program and a total of 43 churches have been planted here in the mountains.
Pastors on a mission
As I explain the evangelism tool to these pastors, it is very important for them to go out and practice evangelism themselves and leading their congregation by example. One day during one of our evangelism training sessions, a group of pastors arrived at a house where six men were busy smoking marijuana. At that moment they had a choice: share the Gospel with these men and show them the love and mercy of God or leave them to continue in their sinful ways.
They started sharing the Word of God with these lost souls. Being convicted by the good news of the Gospel and the amazing grace of God, the men shared with the pastors how they were planning to get revenge on a group of men who wronged them. Instead, all six of them surrendered their lives to Jesus on the spot and no one has touched marijuana since.
Practical Bible school
The Harvesters Church Planting Model includes a very practical Bible school that gives local pastors the opportunity to really take up their calling as Evangelists and Shepherds. Pastors rediscover their first love for the Gospel and this helps restore their self-worth when they go out and train student pastors. Their calling as pastors get new life as they lead their own congregations with renewed passion and mobilising their people to become real disciple makers. The pastors start to understand that they have a big role to play in God’s plan.
“The content of the Harvesters Church Planting Bible School is very challenging and at times hard to hear, but when you hear the Word of God you cannot fight against it,” a Lesotho pastor said.
Sense of community
Lesotho has a very strong sense of community. People look out for one another, help and protect each other. The local churches in the small villages live together during the week, studying the Word of God, worshiping, praying and attending to the needs of each other and it reminds me of the church in Acts 2.
Acts 2:44 “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common.”
Our partners in Lesotho
Francois Snyman and his family have been serving alongside Harvesters Ministries in Lesotho since 2014. It is amazing to have such passionate and committed Christians in partnership with us. They are winning souls for God’s Kingdom and setting an exceptional example of how a family can truly make a difference in the mission field.
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”
Opening the Way to Restore Hope: An Update From Mozambique
Mainstream media has largely stopped reporting on the catastrophe that hit our brothers and sisters in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, but they are still in a battle for survival at the moment. As the preliminary reports flow in, it is clear that the devastation brought on by Cyclone Idai is far from over and dealing with the aftermath will bring many more challenges for the victims of this disaster.
It is with great sadness that we have learnt that Harvesters lost 18 church planting pastors, along with some of their family members, who lost their lives in Beira, Mozambique.
Pray for the congregations who have lost their leaders. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones. Pray with us for our distressed brothers and sisters. Pray that they will find their hope and refuge in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Thank you for your continued prayers during this difficult time. When God’s children go down on their knees – the fight does not end, it begins!
Philippians 4: 6 – 7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Our Brothers and Sisters Need the Word of God!
During Cyclone Idai many Bibles and study material were destroyed. Many of the thousands of Bibles that were destroyed were only handed out last June to pastors in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Furthermore, most of the study material that were delivered to our storehouse in Beira was severely damaged.
Our pastors and student pastors are praying with all of us for a way to replace these Bibles and study material.
Please pray with us that through the generosity of our faithful partners we will be able to not only replace the Bibles and study material that were destroyed and damaged, but will be able to do exceedingly and abundantly more for our brothers and sisters who are in distress.
Keep standing with us in prayer believing that God will provide everything and more than we need to be able to replace these precious Bibles and study material.
Opening the Way to Restore Hope
As you know a catastrophe has hit not only Mozambique, but Zimbabwe and Malawi was also drastically affected by Cyclone Idai. At this stage, 215 deaths have been recorded. The death toll is expected to rise as authorities continue to assess the situation.
Hundreds of people are still missing. Tens of thousands are stranded. Furthermore, people are cut off from roads and telephones in rural and poor areas. More than 1,5 million people’s lives were impacted in the three southern African countries. The magnitude and the scale of destruction has never been witnessed in these three southern African nations before!
Despite what has been done, the amount that has been spent, the prayers prayed and the sacrifice of missionaries and believers – we seem to be losing ground, not gaining.
Beira, Mozambique’s central port city, was hit the hardest with winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph). From there the storm moved westward into Zimbabwe and Malawi, affecting thousands more.
A Call to Action!
We received a report from one of our regional leaders in Mozambique. He shared the devastation that cyclone Idai left behind.
He visited some of the churches and found that many of our student pastors have lost all of their training materials, including their Bibles which they received last year June during the Harvesters Ministries Bible placement.
Twelve churches are completely destroyed, including the houses of pastors. There are hundreds of villages in and around Chimoio, Manica, Beira and Tete that have been affected by this severe storm.
Harvesters sent a consignment of training materials to our storehouse in Chimoio last year to train hundreds of student pastors – these books were also damaged. We are still waiting to hear from all of our people on the ground to determine the extent of the damage suffered.
We need to replace these books and Bibles urgently to ensure that, even in the midst of this catastrophe, new churches will be planted as many will seek refuge in the Lord. This is the best time for the Church to step up and make a significant difference.
Your contribution will make an immense difference in the lives of many of our brothers and sisters in Mozambique. Help us to restore people’s hope!
The Harvest is Ready in the Amazon
After 27 hours of traveling I arrived in Manaus meeting up with Harvesters staff. The hot humid air couldn’t stop the excitement as we headed out early morning on a private flight to Santa Antonio de Iça – an important indigenous community which will launch all church planting in the Amazon.
The trip itself in a small 8-seater was adventurous enough and gave us yet again a bird’s eye view of how huge and lush the Amazon really is. Some parts of the Amazon are so vast and wide you can’t even capture it from above.
Safely on the Ground
We were greeted at the airport by an eagerly awaiting crowd from the church.
Due to our short three days on this remote outpost in the Amazon we rushed into our training to meet all our goals and objectives.
This was against protocol as the way of the Amazon people would prevail! We had to eat first and like every day after that – fish was on the menu! Well fish – and a very awkward drink that tasted like 12 volt battery water with a strong acidity. We ate and swallowed fast!
With no time to play we headed into evangelism, discipleship and multiplication. Many pastors, elders and church members attended our first training in scorching heat.
Amazon: 3 Degrees from the Planet Mercury
The ten fans that ran in the church didn’t cool us down at all but brought a sense of comfort knowing that our hosts felt sorry for us as we overheated during presentations. The enthusiastic gasps echoed through the small church as pastors got the Harvesters strategy and way of thinking. We pushed through the evangelism model until we noticed that there might be people that needed Christ and didn’t know Him personally – even though they were pastors. We made an invitation after explaining ‘regeneration’. People were on their knees praying – seven beautiful souls gave their lives to Jesus Christ.
The Next Step
It was great to see them engage in learning and going out to evangelise their own community. “Is this even possible?”, a pastor echoed as many souls were won for Christ.
It was the mapping methodology that continued to wow the local people as we helped them to reach difficult areas to plant churches by boat. Four thousand villages in the area are without any church. We spent an hour on mapping their part of the 6,400km Amazon River.
Deep conversations continued as everyone in Santa Antonio village realised the importance of what we were trying to teach and facilitate. There was a seriousness about our task as we were the first church planters to ever visit the area.
Training Bears Fruit
A lively pastor, Sadia, was full of fire. She made sure she understood the ‘mechanics’ of how to plant a church and off she went …and planted a church – before we even left.
Our dedication service was a special event on our last evening as we trained until late night. Would the pastors buy into the church planting plan we shared? Would they become our Hub-Leaders? Our ultimate aim after every training is to find dedicated pastors that will commit for 3 to 5 years to be trained and ready to train others that will plant churches.
Twenty three pastors dedicated their lives and ministries to plant churches with Harvesters.
Accept One Another
The whole church was ready to celebrate a new vision in their village and community.
The celebration ended as it begun – by eating fish! This was ‘badhu’ a type of mud eating, hard-headed, blackish, thick-lipped, skew-eyed, slippery catfish! We were served fish soup, fish eggs and fish meat to end off the ceremony. They watched us carefully as we ate the fish as brave, culturally-sensitive missionaries do. They proudly announced: “Now you are part of us – truly Amazonian”. We faked a smile as one last fish egg found its way down our throats.
To culturally submerge in a new setting where you plant churches ALWAYS ensure you connect on a personal level. People need to see you care, love and accept them – although we are different.
Leaving the Amazon
Leaving Santo Antonio was very difficult. Despite the drenching heat and the overweight mosquitoes – God was here too. God knows every tribe and every tongue in every village one very continent. God has allowed Harvesters to play an integral part in many parts of the world and we understand the seriousness of the task at hand.
The Malagasy Island Tribes Are on Fire for God
“Every time I fly over Madagascar I feel excited and I know that this is where God wants me to be,” says Mac Hayward, a church leader from Port Elizabeth who has been working in Madagascar for the past six years with Harvesters Ministries. Mac has more than 44 years’ experience as a church leader and has been involved in missions for many years. He believes that the Harvesters Ministries Hub-model is very effective – it teaches pastors how to evangelise the lost effectively, how to train student pastors and plant functioning churches. This is discipleship in action – and the Great Commission.
“I was a little like Jonah at first. I didn’t want to go back to Madagascar,” explains Mac. “We are constantly fighting a spiritual battle when we go on missions. It’s not always easy to go to the island and do God’s work, it’s hard, but it is extremely satisfying and rewarding.” This is why Mac (who is already in his 70’s) keeps on returning to this volcanic island.
Madagascar might look like a small island to you and me, but this island has a population of more than 26 million people. It is also rich in minerals and precious stones, but the Malagasy people will never allow an outsider to help them mine these stones. Too many people have come into this beautiful country and abused their power. The people of Madagascar are tired of being hurt. That is one of the reasons why the people of this country are extremely poor. They mainly farm with rice and have no specialist knowledge to mine the precious stones on their island.
Harvesters Ministries Opened the Way in Madagascar
Many years ago a group of pastors from Madagascar got together. They spent thousands of Malagasy Ariary on evangelists and bands. They then held a massive event that bore little fruit. This made them extremely negative and they welcomed Harvesters Ministries’ help with open arms.
Harvesters Ministries visited this country for the first time six years ago. In one morning we explained to a group of 103 pastors how to evangelise unreached people. That group of pastors was sent out on that same morning. They shared the Gospel with as many people as they could. After a few hours they returned with a group of 550 people who chose to follow Jesus on that day. And it does not stop here! Every pastor had to write down the names and contact numbers of the people that they led to Christ and they started churches with these new converts. Today all of these converts are still planted in churches and disciples for Jesus Christ.
Since Harvesters Ministries have been involved on the island more than 200 pastors and student pastors have received training. “There is a Muslim threat on the island, they are placing themselves in strategic places, but we are placing ourselves strategically too,” Mac explains. It is amazing to see God’s Kingdom growing in Madagascar.
Recently Harvesters Ministries hosted a very special event in Madagascar where a group of 22 pastors graduated from the Harvesters Ministries training program. They were all dressed in stunning caps and gowns. Ready to go out and change Madagascar one village at a time.
A Pastor’s Life in Madagascar
One remarkable pastor on the island is pastor Alain. He is the Chaplin to the Malagasy soccer team and one of the Hub-leaders in Madagascar. One-day pastor Alain felt that God was calling him to evangelise the unreached people of Sakalava. The name “Sakalava” means “people of the long valleys”. There are no roads to take to get to these people and their villages.
Pastor Alain took a Bush-taxi up to the last point where he could and had to travel farther by foot. He walked more than 10km and had to cross a river to reach the village. As pastor Alain reached the river his guide warned him about the crocodiles in the river. “How do we cross the river without being eaten?” pastor Alain asked nervously. His guide replied calmly,“We throw a big rock into river. All the crocodiles will jump onto the rock once it hits the water and then we can safely cross the river.” I wonder how many of us would still be obedient and spread the Gospel if we were threatened by crocodiles…
Pastor Alain was obedient. He crossed the river. He evangelised the people of Sakalava and continues to do so to this day!
Why does Madagascar Need Our Help?
Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world. Approximately 70% of its population are living below the poverty line and almost half of its children below five years old are malnourished.
Despite their poverty the people of Madagascar still have giving hearts. “Whenever we visit the country we receive gifts. They want to bless us. With our last visit we received Madagascar hats, baskets and straw mats which they made themselves,” Mac thinks of this day fondly.
Only 64% of the population are literate. Harvesters Ministries have really lifted the literacy level of pastors and broaden their understanding of the Bible. We must never underestimate the powerful impact that the Word of God has in someone’s life. “Some of these pastors are so poor and have never owned their own Bible. Harvesters Ministries provide these pastors with Malagasy Bibles. The pastors hold their Bibles close to their hearts once they receive it. Some of them even cry. This is a special moment that moves me every time,” says Mac.
Angola: My First Missions Experience
Leaving for my very first missions trip I kept wondering,“What can I do?” But God reminded me that it is not what I can do, but what He can do through me. This would be my very first time going into the mission field – I am both terrified and excited. I have no idea what is lying ahead.
I get into a small minivan. Costa, our driver, greets us with a smile. We travel on overcrowded roads, without a single working traffic light in sight and everything moves at a slow pace. How Costa manages to get us through the maze-like roads is beyond my logical understanding. Quite a daunting experience!
We turn off in an alley – squeezing through the cars,stalls, people and wandering dogs. We reach the church, after what felt like a lifetime of travelling – an oasis and a shining light in the community. We are greeted by smiling eyes, serving hearts and labouring hands.
As I walked into the church in Luanda, not knowing what to expect, I heard close to 200 pastors singing in perfect harmony – glorifying and worshiping God’s name. Even though I do not understand a word of Portuguese, the presence of the Holy Spirit was tangible and I realised that God has great things in store for each and every one of these pastors.
I joined in the worship and thanked God for sending me to Angola to meet my wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ.
Healing After the Wounds
Given South Africa’s history with Angola the pastors were reluctant at first to accept our help when Harvesters first started reaching out in Angola – since many of them fought in the war themselves or lost family and friends in the war. Since then God has opened the way in Angola and restored South Africa’s relationship with this beautiful country completely –we can now plant churches and win lost souls for Christ.
When you walk into a church in Angola you will see people wearing their “Sunday best”. This is not because they own so many fancy worldly things – they want to give Jesus the best that they have and honour Him in everything that they do. You will be surprised to hear about the hardships that these pastors face because they always greet with a smile and never complain.The only time they share their hardships is when you take the time to ask them,“Is there something in your life that I can pray for?”
At first the pastors will just smile at you, but one after the other they all share the same hardships – poverty, a lack of Bibles, new government laws regulating churches, cultural intolerance, persecution, no access to decent transport and stubborn unbelievers.
Pastor Frederico’s Passion is Contagious
One such pastor that crossed my path is Pastor Frederico. He has an open face, always smiling and he leads the 200 pastors in song every morning. The tones of perfect harmony will give you goose bumps!
As I spoke to Pastor Frederico he explained to me that he lives south of Luanda in a province called Benguela. It is an 8-hour drive from Luanda – by car. He had to take two buses just to get to Luanda and this equates to a whole day of travelling. “To travel by plane is unaffordable,” he explained still smiling.
Pastor Frederico was one of the first pastors to join the Harvesters Ministries program two years ago. Since then he has gone out and planted 27 churches. He is training student pastors for every church that he has planted and truly understands the discipleship program that Harvesters launched in this country. His passion for winning the lost for Christ is absolutely amazing!
The most remarkable – despite all these challenges the pastors face, is the fact that more than 600 churches have been planted in Angola. And this happened in only two years!
After all the pastors completed their training session and handed back all their administration – we had a surprise for each and every one of them. Our team came into the room with boxes and boxes filled with Portuguese and Kimbundu Bibles. The pastors started rejoicing, tears of joy were running freely down their cheeks. The Word of God does not simply go into a community, it changes the entire community.
What makes Harvesters so unique?
This is what sets Harvesters Ministries apart! We train pastors in evangelism and discipleship, we provide training materials as well as Bibles. It is not simply a hit and run evangelism trip – we return to the same Hub-church every six months to meet with the pastors and further their training and offer them support.
As I got back into the small minivan I realised what God had done through me. He gave hope to those who may have become hopeless, He gave comfort to those facing hardships and He gave His Living Word to those with a burning desire to serve Him and follow Him. What an honour to be an instrument of God.
Mission Impossible
Mission Impossible? When Jesus told us to, “Go, make disciples of all the nations,” did He mean it literally? Every ethnic group? How many from every people group? Did He mean everyone – all the people of the world at a certain time in history?
Great Commission Christians believe that everyone needs to hear the Gospel to be saved. This has driven missions for centuries, even since the early church. People need the Lord. People need to be saved from their sins. I hear you saying, “Amen!” Or, I hope I do.
Despite what has been done, the amount that has been spent, the prayers prayed and the sacrifice of missionaries and believers – we seem to be losing ground, not gaining.
The population growth rate of the world is exponential, but the growth of the faith is linear. This means the gap between people being born and people being born again is widening.
Despite the internet, satellite TV and Christian radio, the gap is even wider. The real issue is that Christians have passed the responsibility to leaders, missionaries and organisations rather than heeding Christ’s command to “Make disciples!” Note that the command (not suggestion) is plural, “Make disciples!” More than one. When they in turn “make disciples” we discover that Jesus added multiplication into the Great Commission.
The world birth rates are based on multiplication while church growth uses addition. Currently it takes about 100 Christians (pastors included) to win one new convert for Christ each year.
The answer is obedience to the command. Every Christian as well as missionary organizations need to apply multiplication methodology if we want to close the gap and win the world for Christ.
Harvesters uses multiplication both within each church (disciple making) and where church planting is concerned. Each new believer is trained to be a disciple maker and every church is a church-planting church.
Are you a disciple maker? Mission possible!