In case you didn’t, you can click on over and read it here. Check it out!

Here’s what Steve had to tell us:

I learned today that most of these pastors have been taught (and have been doing it) to be “praying down Gods wrath on all pagans/poor/etc. NOW they have openly repented of this practice and have PLEDGED to pray the Lords prayer (i.e. the exact opposite), praying fervently instead that Gods will on earth (their part of it) will now be done as it is in heaven … through their radical acts of mercy & justice!

I’m so in awe and humbled by all this. Your prayers are being answered! Thanks again.

All three team leaders are doing well so far.  We’ve been eating a lot of rice and chicken.

The first day of training went GREAT!  The church we’re mtg in is not enclosed – just a metal roof totally open sides with wood poles.  So we’re exposed to the weather, which is extremely hot and very humid.  Also, we’re in the rainy season, and that and that means we get to do a lot of walking in mud.  We have electricity, but mainly through use of a gas generator because electricity often off in village. We made a makeshift PowerPoint screen using bedsheets and sticks the locals carved with their machetes for us.  It works great even when wind blows it!

The sessions haven’t been without distractions.  A goat bleated so loudly while I was teaching we had to stop and get rid of it.  Goats are everywhere!

A few prayer requests: Nathaniel tried to drive to Togo 2 times today-to prepare for the next conference.  Both cars broke down so he’s still here.  The roads here would break down a tank!  Please pray as well for several painful blows I’ve taken to my head since getting here due to short doorways.  I’m not used to ducking and it feels like someone periodically keeps hitting my head with a bat.  It would be funny if didn’t hurt so badly.  Finally, please pray that our team would be able to serve well despite our lack of sleep.

Thanks for your prayers, everyone!

Gracious and Powerful Lord,

We commit Steve, his travels, his teaching, his partners on the journey, and his family as they remain to you.

We ask for wisdom as he teaches, sensitivity to the workings of the Holy Spirit, insight into the gifts and challenges of his translators and images that teach in powerful pictures the lessons you would have the pastors who hear learn.

Allow the lessons to be woven into the hearts of all who participate. Open Steve’s heart to the messages with which you would have him bring home. Join hearts together in the Hope of your Kingdom Come and in the work that is here now.

Protect all the families who remain and lend your travel mercies to those who join together. Fill up the participants with a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit that they might be refreshed, encouraged and empowered.

Provide good soil for the seeds which are sown.  Send water and sun to nourish them.   Raise up harvesters to reap the Word in deed and in their thoughts.   Hold back the thorns that would choke your harvest.   Protect the footpaths of those who would work and not damage the fields.   Allow patience for your timing and what you will bring forth.  Let there be rejoicing in all that you provide.   We give you the Glory!

“O Taste and See that the Lord is Good!”

We lift all these things up in the name of Jesus,

Amen.

West Africa 2010 Dates:

• Depart USA: Sunday afternoon/evening, May 23, 2010
• Ghana, West Africa Summit: Monday, May 24, 2010 to Saturday, May 29, 2010.
• Togo, West Africa Summit: Saturday, May 29, 2010 to Wednesday, June 2, 2010.
• Return USA: Wednesday evening, June 2, 2010

Mission Team 2010 Leaders:

• Steve Childers
• Dick Brown
• Allen Hunter

Steve Childers’ Personal Prayer Requests:

• The health and safety of the African church leaders I’ll be training, as well as their families and churches while they’re away. Many of them will be traveling long distances in remote areas of Africa in order to receive the training.
• Wisdom for me to know what to teach: even though the training topics are already planned I often find that I need to change some topics, put down the prepared notes and address real needs that have surfaced during the training.
• The ability of my French translators in Togo to understand accurately the concepts I’m teaching and communicate them with great effectiveness—resulting in not only renewed minds but renewed hearts. I’ve learned the hard way that my translators can make or break the learning experience.
• My relationships with the African leaders would be deepened resulting in new levels of mutual trust, love and ministry partnership.
• God would be glorified and His invisible kingdom would be made visible through starting, growing and multiplying gospel-centered churches in West Africa (starting in Ghana, Togo, Benin & Senegal) that result in the spiritual, social and cultural renewal of all West Africa (15 countries) AND that West Africa would become a major sending sub-continent to ALL nations.

So, since we’ll be talking about it, we should probably get you acquainted with what the Church Planting Institute is – namely, what are GCA’s goals and aspirations.  This is a pretty exciting time for us; and we want you to be excited too!  Because there is so much to share, this post will be longer than usual.  So, without further ado …

GCA West Africa 2010 Church Planting Institute (CPI) Goals

During the early GCA Leadership Training Summits in a nation, we intentionally do not focus primarily on church planting methods and programs for the indigenous leaders such as “practical steps to planting a church in Africa” or “how to develop and manage a church plant core group”.  Instead, the initial, primary focus is on laying a strong, biblical foundation among the indigenous national leaders and churches—from which these more practical church planting methods will emerge. The four foundational goals (pillars) of the initial training are:

I.  Uniting around a National Kingdom Vision for Church Planting

• A Vision for the Glory, Kingdom & Will of God to come with great power through the Church of God in all it’s various forms (denominations/agencies).
• A Vision not merely for individual church plants but for regional church planting networks that form kingdom alliances with other like-minded denominations that birth true gospel renewal movements and spiritual awakenings.
• A Vision for developing a common church planting training curriculum (“practical steps to planting a church in Africa, etc.”) through a Kingdom Partnership with GCA and other denominations that share this vision.

II. Renewing the Church Leaders through the Power of the Gospel

• Almost every great awakening in the history of the church has been started by a great awakening in the hearts of the church leaders. If we long for an awakening in our churches and nations, it must first begin in the hearts of the church leaders.
• So there is a strong focus on the need for the release of the transforming power of the gospel in the hearts of the leaders through their ongoing repentance (from heart idols) and faith in Christ—setting their heart affections on Christ in worship.

III. Renewing the Churches through the Power of the Gospel

• Like a spreading flame, the personal renewal of the leaders must spread to the churches. The leaders must return to their churches as agents of personal renewal that will lead to church renewal and reproduction of new churches.
• For a church to parent other churches (new church plants) it must first be strong and healthy itself. If not, it will birth sick babies—unhealthy church plants that have little or no true Kingdom impact. So we must have a strong, healthy base of leadership churches in these emerging movements or we will be reproducing unhealthy churches.
• During this training church leaders will study the “Vital Signs” of church health/growth and participate in practical exercises where they evaluate their present church plant or established church in order to help these churches become healthy (especially in evangelism, discipleship and mercy/justice ministries) so they will grow and reproduce new transformational churches.

IV. Raising Up Church Planting Movement Leaders

• For there to be true movements born in these nations, God must raise up movement leaders. So during this training we are asking the Lord of the Harvest to begin raising up church planting movement leaders from all the denominations represented.
• We need what we call “Movement Champions” in several critical areas: We need Vision Champions, Prayer Champions, Worship Champions, Preaching Champions, Discipleship Champions, Small Group Champions, Evangelism Champions, Mercy Champions and Leadership Development Champions. As we spend time studying these areas, we’re asking the Lord to begin raising up key movement leaders who will become champions for strengthening these areas in their own emerging regional and national movements.
• These movement champions will then begin to work in partnership with GCA to develop a common curriculum that will include contextualized church planting methods and programs that can be used effectively by all denominations and agencies in the movement.

GCA West Africa 2010 Church Planting Institute (CPI) Aims & Aspirations

This 2010 GCA West Africa Church Planting Leadership Summits (Ghana & Togo) are designed to equip key West African national leaders to strategically partner together to glorify God by advancing a movement in the West Africa that is multiplying churches and disciples through the transforming power of the gospel. Our purpose is to use this forum as a catalyst to help start strategic church planting movements in West Africa that will advance God’s kingdom in word and deed over every sphere of life by starting, growing and multiplying churches in West Africa that share a passion for the glory of God to be manifested in and through His Church for all nations.

Through these Summits, we aim to foster:

• Kingdom Vision: Helping to develop kingdom-minded church leaders throughout West African with a strong focus on transforming cities, towns and villages through deeds of mercy and justice as well as words of truth.
• Servant Leadership: Equipping leaders to better understand the capacity of the indigenous church to minister to and serve well their own people—leaders who will think and act strategically in spreading the gospel in West Africa.
• Church Planting Networks: Fostering a vision for leaders to develop cooperative Church Planting Networks that recruit, train, and mentor emerging their own indigenous church planters that will help multiply churches among their regions’ diverse groups of people. These networks will work in strategic partnerships with other ministries and NGOs to form alliances, create resources and facilitate more and better church planting movements in West Africa.
• Kingdom Collaboration: Creating platforms for dialogue with various regional leaders to explore new strategies and best practices for working together in their regions.
• Community Development: Fostering a vision of developing creative, entrepreneurial and passionate leaders who are constantly working to create a process of problem solving and improvement in the community that is sustainable through the leadership of different alliances and networks both at the regional level and abroad.

Through these Summits, we also aspire to:

• Explore and learn new strategies and best practices for working together in various West African regions
• Bring church leaders together to build alliances with various like-minded groups who are strategically involved in the same regions and are seeking partners to join them in their efforts.
• Share ideas and models with national leaders regarding how to foster church planting movements through establishing regional church planting networks and alliances.
• Examine holistic ministries and deliberate, proven models that foster social transformation by providing employment, encouraging social change (justice/mercy), influencing government and key national leaders, and helping church leaders provide a credible platform for demonstrating the love of Christ.
• Share proven business strategies that work well hand in hand with church planting, growth and multiplication movements.