Church Planting in Senegal, North Africa | Interview w/David Witt | Episode #10

this is atrisk Radio welcome to atrisk radio at risk radio is a show where we talk about Christian leaders in the church that is in the highest risk areas my name is Mark Stafford and I'm here with David wit David wit is the CEO of s International David you've shared with me this statistic that only 3% of the money that's given towards missions is going to the 40% of the most unreached and persecuted places in the world it seems disproportionate um but the people who need the money the most don't often uh get those kind of resources and one of the greatest examples of that is North Africa what we're seeing with North Africa is that there's maybe only between one and maybe four and a half or so percent in any given area of Christians and yet there's very few workers who are willing to go there but so so has a worker and has a church planting school right there in the midst of all of these um heavily persecuted Villages tell me a little bit about what's happening with s Sagal yeah well Mark in northwest Africa has been incredibly exciting to us in the last few years what we see God doing it's just part of the global work that God has his eyes on the the children of Ishmael and there's so many prophetic promises in scripture of God bringing back back ishmael's uh children spiritually back into the fold of Isaac uh with the blood lineage of Christ and to one family and living in peace with God peace with others and so northwest Africa in the first time in history is beginning to experience Revival I want people to know that that God has not forgotten them and heard these prayers and this is an area that's 99% unreached Villages have or what we call zero reached they don't have any Christian witness um and they just have a lot of Witchcraft in this area I mean the Demonic oppression is normal when you talk about um people being possessed there I mean that's you know believer non-believer they they get exactly what that looks like um and they and they're tired of this spiritual warfare they I mean they they're oppressed they're they're sick on a regular basis they live in fear they live in fear of darkness they live in fear of animals and um you know and death it goes on and on and so any help is always so welcomed and um and so it's been just exciting to see what God is doing um one of the things I was so excited about this year was one of the villages had a Believer these two Believers got married and then they moved out of the area and they came to Christ uh recently and then they just had their first baby uh Mark and you know naming around the world a baby is you know very significant spiritually because you know around the world people really name their children after you know their religion after their God it's actually in the United States too I mean there's a lot of humanism so today people give very humanistic um names but you know most a lot of Christians give Christian names in the United States and and you know if you're a Muslim you get a Muslim name and so they were going have and and they when they name a child they have a big party it's a village event and the word got out that the these PE these these two were Christians and they and so they to have this event you go back to original Village so they were going to have the naming event at their Christian village I mean you can imagine what's happening even if they feel freedom to do that as a Christian um that they've gotten favor and they you know there's respect for their lives so they were allowed to do this and they were going to name their baby as Christian name so they they it got such curiosity of It Came 500 Believers I excuse me 500 nonbeliever Muslims of you know cynical East came to this naming um ceremony and he had a pastor in the area um the greater area come and share the gospel for the first time to his village for this naming contest now they were so enthralled listening to this never hearing the gospel before one of the elders afterwards came to the pastor he said it is your fault all these years we've been oppressed by demons and difficulties um in oppression of Darkness spiritually and today is the first day we've heard this when you've lived not that far away you've never come to our village and they said you must bring come back and teach us more about Jesus I mean that isn't that has just hasn't happened Mark and that's what's happening in northwest Africa and and uh a brother there is leading the work there and we assist him in as you mentioned these church planting schools that for the first time in history that we know of um African Le um in Muslim background lead Muslim um you know church plan is going out this last year they graduate 210 mostly mus Muslim background Believers now who are going to these unreached Villages and preaching the gospel and and so that's you know that's what God is doing and yeah then you brought up um most you know Joshua Project puts out 40% of the uh world is still unreached just like snagle just like Northwest Africa and they're reaching out to their their neighbors martinia Molly guinea basau guinea conre Gambia and and and they and there's all these Believers that going to these areas but that that represents the rest of the world 40% again I I hope people think about that and 10 people before would totally never heard the name of Jesus never heard the gospel not have access to a Bible in their own language um any Christian book I mean just go on and on um not know a Christian and um and yet the United States if look at less than 3% of all the resources which would include all the money given in that tithe all the buildings built um all the missionaries uh sent out so you know human resources are focused on the 40% of the greatest need and the greatest persecution I think there's a lot of people that are surprised by those kind of numbers um a lot of people are under the assumption that with the internet with the technology we have with television and radio and and uh really the the greatest spread of information we've ever known in the history of mankind that you know they can't couldn't possibly be 40% uh of people groups around the world have never heard the name of Jesus I think that would surprise a lot of Christians uh who are assuming that maybe there's a outlying tribe here and there but what we're hearing from the front lines is that it is alarming the number of people that don't know Jesus uh so talk to a little bit about church planting why is church planting such a critical strategy for uh reaching people and helping people grow in their discipleship as Christians man let's do that uh Mark let's do in the second half because I really want to get into what God is doing and the multiplication how lives are being changed and how this is a tool that's uh changing you know people and and homes and Villages and states and even countries I what we see happening is nothing short of historic uh so I so we'll get into that well we'll pick up right where we left off in the second half of the program as we come back with David Whit to talk about what God is doing in North Africa within the church at risk we'll be right back can you imagine trying to disciple a church with only one Bible this is Mark Stafford from atrisk radio and our contacts in Venezuela are telling us incredible stories about people coming to know Jesus all the while pastors are missing Bibles for their people after receiving a Bible from our ministry one man said with tears in his eyes no one has ever given me such a beautiful gift at risk radio in our partnership with s International is working to bring 2 million Bibles into Venezuela for more information about how you can help go to atrisk radio.com welcome back to atrisk radio I'm online with David wit David wit is the CEO of s so International now David we went into our break with this pressing question what is the vision what's the strategy behind using Church Planters specifically as we're trying to reach into um unreached Villages and not only make converts but make disciples why is church planting so critical yeah until we empower the Nationals Mark there's these nations aren't going to change if if they're you know Hired Hands what some people use the term rice Christians they'll be Christian for rice and there's not a true Heart Change to clean cleanse their heart get the nature of Christ um you know we're not going to change the community the families and and so and God is the first one who wanted multiplication I mean Christ tells us uh that we're To Go Make Disciples of all Nations and when we look at these nations like just as synagog we're talking about today there's 26 unreached people groups totally 13 million people um you know we just can't send enough missionaries there the God needs to raise up a missionary Force within these nations and so that's why the tools of discipleship schools are so key because it's just giving them you know it's giving them the plow instead of the ear of corn kind of thing we're giving them the tools to transform and plow up their own Nation so that they get to a point of abundant provision abundant transformation righteousness peace love and all the fruit Joy um over the people instead of fear so that's that's why we just everything we do you know our tools and so also um in in snagle I want to mention the the sewing schools we started there uh we're engaging you know vulnerable women um you know single women um women who don't have an education ill literate and they were able to learn sewing along with discipleship to the word of God who they are in Christ and then how to share Christ with others and the power of the gospel and so we give this a micro business that they make in their home at the end of graduation they get a sewing machine by faith and then they start the sewing centers and they're able to serve a physical need of their Village and as villagers come and wait for their garments to be stitched and and to be you know uh mended because they've gotten you know holes or whatever they need help um they they share the gospel with their neighbors and with their clients so it's just incredible way to empower uh the you know vulnerable the women um the the lost the hurt um the broken and then build up their lives and that's multiplication because now other women are seeing what happened to those women and that's why we just love our sewing schools uh that's the same again picture with the the church planning schools these uh men have had no vision for leadership and now they hear that Christ makes them a leader because Christ is in them and Christ makes everybody a leader you know who turns to them because we begin to influence people to righteousness and so that's why we believe that we're a Ministry to empower leadership through tools they're willing to pay the price but they lack the tools and so we could come beside them and give them that yeah what you keep saying is that you're all about leaders you're about first of all with these ladies helping them be a a business leader in their in their Village and using that position of of leadership and a business and a Marketplace context to share the gospel uh specifically uh with the men you are training them up to be a leaders within the church and sending them out as Church Planters and the mission statement behind s so International is this is internationally serving leaders who risk much for Jesus so it sounds to me like leadership is really important to you it might even be the most important thing to S so International so talk a little bit about how you identify these leaders and why leadership is so critical when it comes to uh not just you know rice for Jesus as you as you put it but really bringing about life transformation within the local Village People yeah well Mark I think it's key that people understand what leadership is and Christian leadership is influencing people in the way of righteousness and we know the only true way of righteousness is a transformed life by the spirit being born in a person the spirit of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Jesus Christ so Jesus gave the ultimate leadership command go and make disciples of all Nations I mean that is the command of leadership for the global church for the the institutional church God is working the Muslim world and he's just inviting others to be involved with what he's already doing and and that's leadership transformation and production and and so we could just simply offer the tools to increase what God is already doing so some of our listeners are going to be hearing what you're saying and they're going to say look I this has to cost some money I I would love to be involved in getting a sewing machine to a lady who's starting a micro business others are church planting oriented and they would say man just let me know what is it going to take to get a guy a Bible and some bible study tools and maybe some classes on how to start a new church um if people wanted to get involved with what's happening right now in North Africa how could they get involved with this kind of ministry yeah so sign up uh aisk radio uh and they could get you know start that relationship with us because relationship starts with knowledge and we're not going relationship unless they sign up but then they could ask specifically today about um our update on the uh 40% unreached and persecuted world and we'd love to send some more information what we've been talking about and then the tools you're talking about how they could even buy sewing machine for as little as a $100 as a sewing machine it it transforms the life a woman for the rest of her life and so we have lots of tools like that that people can get involved in but we'd love to inform them Inspire them and then people could pray about how they could be involved well to be kept up to date about what God's doing within the church at risk all over the world go to atrisk radio.com and sign up for the newsletter I'm Mark Stafford and this has been atrisk radio you've been listening to atrisk radio for more go to atrisk radio.com atrisk radio is a production of s International [Music]