Bringing God to church

Why do we need more churches?
Here in South Africa, we have lots and lots of churches. But we have so many leaders who are not teaching people from the Word of God—some churches even worship their leaders! That is not Christianity. So, we need to plant the churches that proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior.

The difference for us is in the teaching. We teach about God! We must tell others about Jesus and His love. Then, we continue teaching about how we must live to please God, to have good fruits, to have good relationships with people, to be a light to others. The church must change a person's life in the community.

Love is cheap
Before my work with the Bible League, I felt the call of God. But the only way I knew to do evangelism was to hold tent meetings—that was all. But through the Bible League, I learned something new, easy, and inexpensive. We talk to people, and show them the love of God. We create a relationship with a person that leads them to Christ. I have to confess that I was changed.

Getting real
One struggle I had was dealing with people's poverty. There is a lot of unemployment and hunger, and when you share the love of God with them, they are focused on their situation. They ask, "If Jesus loves me, why I am like this?" So I had to explain that God loves us—even in our poverty. But He can change our lives.

The breakthrough comes with being real to a hungry person. We have to share our love. And follow-up is very important. We need to form discipleship groups, teaching the people along the way.

I've encountered some people who think they are serving God, but are worshipping through ancestors and other methods. We must sit down with them and study the Word of God together. There are some areas with people who can't read or write. Or, there are others who can only read or write one language. But we are patient, and we help them with this.

Now is the time
This is the time to act. The principles of our country are no longer based on Christianity. Crime is so high. There is a big problem with morals that was not there before. So Christians are wondering, "What is the future for our children?" The solution is the Gospel! It gives us direction and hope.

-Timothy, Church Planting Coordinator, South Africa-