The Word of God is flowing powerfully through a growing number of churches across Ethiopia. And those churches are beginning to take the Word of God to the nations. By God’s grace, WordPartners gets to play a part in the spread of the gospel throughout eastern Africa.
During a recent trip to Ethiopia, WordPartners’ President David Sunday sat down with key leaders to discuss the spread of our training throughout Ethiopia. Eshete serves as WordPartners’ country leader and Tadesse serves as regional leader in Hawassa. Tashale serves as a regional team member in Hawassa, Ethiopia where the following conversation took place.
DS: Briefly describe the impact WordPartner’s workshops have had on you and on your country as it multiplies, and I’d like you to say something about how multiplication has become natural…”
Tedesse: “Thank you. We have benefited a lot from this training. When the pastors went through the training, they were challenged by the training. Their lives were changed. … their ministry was changed. . . . When they graduate from the training they start new groups in their local churches and outside the town also. Because of this, everybody who took the training has their own groups. Because of this, we have more than 35 groups in our town. So everybody leads a training. We support the trainers. We empower them…we meet them, sometimes we help with the training. Through mutual support, multiplication has become natural.
DS: “Yes, you don’t have to prod the pastors to get out there and train other people, and you don’t have to push them.”
Tedesse: “No, no one pushes them. Immediately after they are touched by the Holy Spirit, touched by the Word of the Lord, they go to start another group – a new group. So in our town there are workshops happening all around. Everybody knows about WordPartners workshops.
. . . they will risk their life getting to those regions to spread the gospel because they’re determined. It sets people free, and the peoples lives should be changed. If the gospel is preached, people’s lives will be transformed . . . if we preach clearly.
DS: “That’s great. Teshale, why do you want to take this training to places far away from here? 300 kilometers away? What moves you to do that?”
Teshale: “The WordPartners’ workshops are very beneficial for us. This thing is not to be kept in my church or in our church. It has to be addressed to others around so that the churches far away from our church know how to interpret the Word of God, and they have to teach their members of their church the Word of God. So that leads us to go far away from our church.”
Tedesse: “We have many opportunities to take the training beyond our country, because in our Ethiopian country, we have many borders. South Sudan is very near to us, Kenya is very near, Somalia is very near, then Djibouti, then Eritrea. So we have many opportunities to take the trainings there.
DS: “And there are Ethiopians living in all of those countries.”
Tedesse: “Yes, everywhere! Plus to that we have a common language – English. We can communicate with the English language so we can take the training. God willing, we are working on that.”
DS: “Eshete, tell us about a couple of these far away places, some of the dangers that these young men face as they take the training to these places.”
Eshete: “Yeah, there are some, a few places where they take the training there’s a danger of being caught by bandits looking for ransom. But they will risk their life getting to those regions to spread the gospel because they’re determined. It sets people free, and the peoples lives should be changed. If the gospel is preached, people’s lives will be transformed . . . if we preach clearly. So that’s why as soon as they catch it and they just are transformed by it, the pastors are willing to take it even to the places there is danger. They just want to risk their lives. So praise the Lord.
DS: “I wish everyone could be here to meet these precious trainers of WordPartners and to see their seriousness, earnestness in the Word of God, and their missional passion and vision for their nation, and not only for Ethiopia, but for the continent of Africa, for surrounding nations like Djibouti and Somalia. There’s a vision to take this training to Ethiopians who are living in those countries that are predominantly Muslim, and to see the Word of God flow powerfully there.”
We invite you to support the training that is making this vision a reality. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us today at $30.00 a month? Your monthly partnership will provide training for pastors like Tedesse who will take the Word of God into Muslim dominated regions in Africa. If you are a first time partner, your gift today will be matched dollar for dollar up to $300,000. Click on the link below to help further the preaching of the gospel in Eastern Africa.
David Sunday with Ethiopian Partners, Eshete and Tedesah
