The Béoumi Project
One of our major objectives has been to instill within the leadership of the AECCI a greater vision for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout Ivory Coast and beyond. Their desire to see the church spread into new areas has continued to grow and plans were made to start in a neighboring region in a couple of years. They pray regularly for God to help them move beyond the region of Abengourou (especially to the north and west in Ivory Coast). God answered clearly this prayer, but like He often does, in ways we did not expect.
Our story reflects that of Paul in Acts 16 when he received the "Macedonian Call." Paul had a good vision and plan for his mission, but God's vision was bigger and better. God clearly communicated His plan for Paul. Likewise, we had good vision and plan for expanding in Ivory Coast, but God had other ideas. The end of last year, our leaders received a call pleading with them to send someone to plant churches in the Béoumi region (literally... from a man named N'Guessan on his cell phone). At the same time, there were many other small things that developed and messages received (too numerous to mention here) that confirmed what we believed: God was calling the church to Béoumi.
What's exciting about the project is that it is not just about planting a church in a new town or region, or even that we are going to plant four new churches in the region, but it is the start of a new church planting movement in a new region of Ivory Coast. And this is not just any region, but in the center and heart of Ivory Coast. It sits as a gateway to the northern and western regions and will facilitate expanding again in the future. It has become clear that God's strategy is better than ours (go figure).
The AECCI's Director of Evangelism has already made a preliminary scouting trip earlier this year, and the leadership will make a strategic planning visit next month. At the end of this year, we will send two church planters to the Béoumi region and they will live and minister there for all of 2011, planting four new churches in four towns in the region. The Béoumi Project is for four years, with TEE leadership training to continue following the first year. At the end of the four years, it is expected that the new young church will have also planted another new church as well in a neighboring village. Our model has three important keys: it's Simple, Reproducible and Affordable. We teach the power of multiplication and following the simple holistic gospel of Jesus Christ. Our prayer is that God will imprint His desire for the lost on our hearts and theirs as well as a mindset of multiplication.
So PLEASE be in prayer for the Béoumi Project. We are also looking for partners in this church planting ministry. The total 4 year budget is $12,500. If you are interested in learning more about the project or giving towards this ministry, contact me via email (gablecmf@hotmail.com) or Facebook (Andy Stephanie Gable). More than anything, we are seeking out people to be prayer partners for this project (individuals or churches). God is moving and we want to ride the wave of His active grace.
May we be so filled up with His love that it flows over into the lives of others. Be Blessed.
Andy
*Next edition will talk about the Djoula Outreach Ministry
