By YERNATHEN, A3 LEADER IN THE MENA REGION
We’ve been sharing the Gospel, and it’s been going great! The Lord has blessed our efforts so much that thousands have come to faith in a short time.
A deeper need...
However, when many have received the Gospel and been saved, they haven’t fully grasped the Kerygma. This has led to believers with shallow roots and a state of infancy.
Romans 16:25 emphasizes the importance of being established and strengthened in the faith. In earlier verses, Paul addressed the church in Corinth, highlighting that receiving the good news is just the beginning; we need to be solidly rooted in it.
The church requires ongoing care
We’ve learned from our own and our predecessors’ past errors, so we know the church is a living entity that requires care and attention. The leaders who founded them should approach their role with the same dedication as Paul, ensuring that those who have received the Gospel fully understand its meaning and live according to its teachings.
Because of this, we’ve been steadily growing our network of churches and planting new ones.
The secret to such an enterprise is actually crystal clear from the New Testament—why didn’t we see it? Hidden in plain sight! Spontaneous expansion, like the one I grew up with and saw firsthand, is a truly unique experience, and we can’t afford to let it fade away. It’s the leaders’ responsibility to keep its flames burning bright.
Leaders aren’t born leaders; they’re made leaders! Jesus made his disciples, and they grew into leaders who led the Christian movement that’s still thriving today. Paul, Barnabas, and Peter made leaders too.
Formed by Christ
The apostles’ acumen really set the stage for Christ’s mission to be a fresh revolution, a trend that’s going to define the next era of Christianity! The Pharisees noticed the apostles’ savviness when they shared the Gospel in the temple in chapter three of the book of Acts. The apostles’ questioning in chapter four showed how powerful they were, having been changed by Christ’s teachings.
How Christlike leaders spur multiplication
Great leaders are those who build strong churches. I remember leading one person to faith, baptizing him, and spending a year teaching him through Zoom. He was shy and didn’t like to pray in front of others. But I encouraged him to learn, and after a year, I asked him to start teaching some of his friends.
Now, he’s leading a thriving church, and he’s even teaching two men who couldn’t read or write. He’s equipped them and helped them practice what they’ve learned. These two men then went to cities and started teaching many people quickly. They were so effective that the people they were teaching were amazed.
Mastering Christ’s teaching and implementing them in life provides confidence to the ministers of the Gospels, not only that but it encourages others to step up and do the same.
Overcoming the barrier of fear
From what I’ve seen, the people we’ve trained often hesitate to share their faith or speak out for Christian beliefs. It seems they haven’t quite built up the skills they need in ministry, and they’re worried about facing negativity or feeling low self-esteem. This mindset is common among those who really want to help others but feel they don’t have what it takes to connect with them.
That’s why leaders are so important—they’re the ones who help their followers come together and work as a team, just like Paul and Timothy did. Paul was the master craftsman, and Timothy was the apprentice.
The gap we can’t ignore
I’ve noticed some of our leaders mentioning that they wish they’d picked up these skills sooner, especially when they first became believers and learning about the Gospel. It feels like in our region, we often see many people who have been saved, but they aren’t getting the guidance they need to grow in their faith and really understand Christ and his apostles’ teachings, as well as how to apply them in everyday life.
Right now, we’re trying to reach out to everyone who has accepted Christ. Over the years, we’ve gathered quite a few, but we don’t have enough leaders to get them all in a short time. This will take at least five to ten years to reach a major scale.
A wide open door
This is an unprecedented opportunity, and Paul called it “a wide open door.” That’s why I’m asking my Christian brothers and sisters to think about getting involved. There are thousands of Muslims moving to Europe and the Americas, and from the Arabic Peninsula to the Canary Islands. There’s a lot of work to be done!
Yernathen
A3 Leader in the MENA Region
Scripture photo of tree with roots courtesy of Antoine Demare on Unsplash
