Langham Preaching initiatives continue to gather pace in Francophone Africa, despite substantial political, economic and practical difficulties. For these developments we thank God and the local leaders in each country, who are serving the preaching movement so faithfully.
Democratic Republic of Congo: a country-wide impact
The DRC has been much in the news because of recent elections and the potential fragility of the new government. In reporting on the second programme of Langham Preaching in the DRC, held this past September, Gordon Woolard, Langham Preaching facilitator, suggested that Christian leaders ‘face a huge uphill battle’ as they confront political and economic challenges, a huge AIDS epidemic, and considerable poverty.
Nevertheless, the churches continue to grow, and Langham Preaching is pleased to work in fellowship with national leaders in the development of a nationwide preaching movement. Pastors and lay preachers came from all across the DRC for the second programme of Langham Preaching, organised in mid-September. Forty five delegates came from 8 of the 10 national dioceses, and only a few were unable to make it because of flight cancellations. This was a substantial step forward on the launch of the Langham Preaching programme in September 2005, with not only greater numbers, but the emergence of preachers clubs in different parts of the DRC, as well as the possibility of diocesan training events in the future.
The national leader who coordinates the Langham Preaching programme, Muhindo Isesomo, wrote: ‘Last month there was a meeting of the house of bishops in our province and I was invited there to give a report about the last LPS in Goma. All the 10 bishops were very happy with the work of LPI in our country and also for the future plans for next year. I am also receiving some messages from the delegates telling me that they have started to form their clubs of preachers in their dioceses and I praise God for that. Thank you once again and God bless you.’
Plans are already underway for the development of a three-level Preaching event in September 2007. Meanwhile, it is hoped that, wherever possible within the constraints of the economic and social context, pastors and lay preachers will form small preachers clubs and share the training within their own regions of the country.
Cote d’Ivoire: steady consolidation
Some thirty or more pastors and lay preachers met in Abidjan for the second seminar of Langham Preaching in Cote d’Ivoire, held in September. Twenty were new participants and ten entered a second level of training. Several potential participants were reluctant to enrol because of health concerns in the particular area of Abidjan where the meeting took place, and Christian leaders continue to live with uncertainty concerning the wider economic, political and religious context. The country has been in crisis for several years, and that influences much of what happens in society as well as within the Christian community. But the response to the ongoing preaching training has been extremely positive.
Gordon Woolard, the Langham Preaching facilitator, reported that ‘one brother in Abidjan said that his whole outlook on preaching had been transformed by textual preaching, with a view to honouring God’s grace in both the Old and New Testaments’. It was particularly encouraging to hear on the opening day of the seminar that several of the level 2 participants had specifically remembered key elements of the training in 2005, and had consciously prepared and taught on the basis of the principles of Biblical preaching.
Several delegates came from neighbouring countries, with a view to launching preaching movements within their own context. We are specially grateful to Daniel Bourdanne, the national leader who arranged the programme in Abidjan, and also welcomed participants from neighbouring countries, including leaders from the IFES movements. Plans are underway for a level 3 programme, which will hopefully include the opportunity for delegates to preach in local churches, with trainers present for follow-up discussion.
Burkina Faso: a new programme launched
The Langham Preaching programme was launched in Burkina Faso this September 25. A small group of delegates from Burkina Faso attended the Cote d’Ivoire Langham Preaching programme in 2005, and were keen to develop something similar in their own context. Some 25 pastors attended the seminar, along with some 30 from the GBU (the student movement). Over an 8-day period participants met in Ouagadougou, and for many this was the first opportunity to work hard at the basics of Biblical preaching.
The country is very stable, but extremely poor, with few natural resources and generally a lack of water. The partnership between the local churches (the majority of which are Assemblies of God in this part of Burkina Faso) and the GBU has resulted in a positive platform for the development of training initiatives of this kind, and it is hoped to build on the experience in 2007.