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Hopeful Story, July 8, 2012

  Having had their lives transformed by accepting Christ themselves, members of the Christian Reformed Church of Sierra Leone (CRCSL) are now taking the gospel to others in southern Sierra Leone.
  Several months ago, a group of believers traveled to a village in hopes of sharing the gospel and starting a church in the community.
  The village chief, who was also the imam, the Muslim leader, initially welcomed their visit, but then sent them on their way. He told them everyone in his village was Muslim. He could not have two religions in his community.
  The group headed back home, returning through a village they had passed through on their way to the first village. Recognizing them, the village chief asked why they were returning so soon. They told him what had happened at the other village.
  Surprised, the village chief asked, “In this day and age?” Then he invited them to stay, saying, “I have people in my village who don’t go to the mosque. Maybe they will go to church when you start one here.”
  And indeed, several people in the village came to know Christ. A small church developed and soon people from the other village began sneaking over to attend the church.
  When the chief in the first village heard that some of his people were going to the Christian church, he called his people together to ask them why. They told him that he held sway over everything else in their life, but he had no control over what happened to their soul once they died.
  They needed to decide for themselves whether to put their trust in Christ. Realizing they were right, the chief let them open a church in their own community.
  In villages across southern Sierra Leone, people are hearing and accepting the gospel. Christian Reformed World Missions helps support Rev. John Phiri, a Zambian missionary, and Rev. Ezekiel Sudu, a missionary from the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria, as they mentor CRCSL leaders to guide the church to full maturity.
  Christian Reformed World Missions renewed and refocused its evangelism efforts in Sierra Leone after the country’s civil war. In 2006, World Missions chose Rev. Phiri to lead church-planting work in Sierra Leone. The CRCSL now has 62 churches and over 5,500 believers.

Christian Reformed World Missions Communications
www.crcna.org/news

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