Fueled by Prayer

I recently returned from a 17-day TUMI trip to Africa. Michael Bankston, a friend and professional photographer, traveled with me. Our time was spent in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. In the years to come it is estimated that 40% of all global believers will live in sub-Saharan Africa. The challenge with the population growth and rapid expansion of the Church is providing biblical training for the leaders.

In Uganda we partnered with International Bible Conferences. Jeff Anderson, the president, taught nearly one thousand pastors how to preach through the Bible, verse by verse. He was eager to share TUMI with the pastors as a means to train the leaders in years to come. Their eagerness was overwhelming! I shared Fight the Good Fight of Faith in several sessions. We gave all the copies we had brought by suitcase. Some of the pastors did not have a hard copy of the Bible, only having one on their phone. This book was a treasured gift. Many asked if TUMI could come to their village or town.

Our time in Nairobi, Kenya, was spent with our TUMI partners, where I spoke at a first graduation of one of the sites. Twenty-four students in cap and gown followed a marching band down the streets, finally gathering under tents for the graduation. Three hundred family members, pastors, and other leaders witnessed this significant event.

One of the students was a seminary graduate with a Ph.D. degree, who wanted to go through TUMI as a student to be prepared to take to other networks of pastors. His own contacts stretched across Kenya with hundreds of pastors waiting for TUMI in their city or village. He challenged all the pastors gathered to go through TUMI themselves and be part of this movement of training leaders.

We concluded our trip in Tanzania with Bishop Charles Sekelwa who is a TUMI Site Coordinator and an Evangel Dean. Bishop Charles oversees the Charismatic Episcopal Church movement in multiple countries. In his home city of Mwanza he established the TUMI seminary. He sends out trained leaders to the unreached villages and islands of Lake Victoria. Often these communities are filled with witchcraft. We visited many pastors, some with churches that could not afford a roof, yet each one said their vision was to plant more churches.

Over and over again we heard that the rapid growth of the Gospel was fueled by prayer. We stopped by a seven-day prayer gathering of hundreds. Other churches were concluding 21 days of fasting and prayer before Christmas. The Gospel is moving even as the population is exploding across these countries. We have the opportunity to partner with these great leaders in providing the training that is so needed for the stability and well being of this move of God.

Read more from Al Ewert.