WAAST and AGGST now depend more than ever before on a part-time faculty of teachers scattered across the region. Most of them are WAAST graduates and AGGST students or graduates. As they learn from people from diverse places, such as Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Mali, and the U.S., students gain a broader perspective of God's work and learn to appreciate other cultures and ideas. We thank God for this growing body of qualified teachers who teach on both the central campus and in the centers.
- that the Lord will strengthen those who leave their own duties to teach block sessions for WAAST and AGGST.
- for still more who can teach effectively in these programs.
The campus is filling up this week as students arrive for a 6-week session of classes. Many third-year students from the various extension centers are coming to Togo for the first time. They will stay for 13 weeks to take courses and write a 50-page research paper before they graduate in November.- for health and strength for the students during this long and intense session.
- for the professors and thesis mentors.
In homes and markets, from Lome into Ghana to the west and into Benin to the east, you can hear the music and messages of Radio Jesus Loves You. From the campus, RJLY broadcasts in French, English, and several tribal languages and reaches some 12 million people. Many “attend” the WAAST International Chapel through this medium. People have been healed and found the answer to their problems as they listen; only eternity will reveal the impact of “the frequency of hope.”
Please pray
Please pray
- for the director and staff and for those who preach on the radio.
- for the provision and placement of a relay antenna to reach northern Togo, home to many Muslims and unreached groups.
The WAAST International Chapel Under Construction
July 27, 2008
Each Sunday the WAAST International Chapel on campus welcomes more than 2,200 adults and 400 children from more than 20 nations. As many as 2 million people join the service by radio. People meet for prayer and Bible study through the week. Every Saturday the evangelism team ministers to people on the beaches, and the Chapel hopes to plant a new church this year as well.
Please pray
- for wisdom for Pastor Jean Bandé and the other pastors as the church grows. Influential government workers and businesspeople visit, and it is an opportunity to touch them.
- for the means to add a third assistant pastor.
- for plans to broadcast on the Internet, particularly to reach Africans living overseas.
PAThS, the first AG doctoral program in Africa for Africa, exists “to prepare servant leaders to equip the Church of Africa to fulfill God's mission in the power of the Holy Spirit.” The first cohort is now finishing their last set of classes and will be starting their dissertations, and the second cohort meets now and again in November.
Please pray
Please pray
- for the administration of PAThS as they continually strive to improve and adapt the program as needed.
- for finances for PAThS and for the students.
- for strength and health for all during this intense session.
- for Bernie as he continues work in this program.
Because its churches constantly mother new ones, the Assemblies of God of Togo now counts 1,025 churches—but only 580 pastors. Nine lay-training programs around the country provide Bible training so that laypeople can better serve. Every pastor must complete Bible school training. A new Bible school in the far north will open soon, to focus on the Muslims and unreached peoples there.
Please pray- for efforts to reach the northern population. Pioneer pastors struggle with both support and persecution; pray that the Lord will strengthen them and provide for them.
- for the new Bible school training pastors in the north.
- for the administration and pastors of the Togo AG, that they would continue to work in the unity of the Spirit.
We thank God for the expanded library and for improved Internet access to help students do more complete research. We also thank Boys and Girls Missionary Crusade and other sources that help us buy books and other study resources. We must constantly add and replace materials. The roof of the old library, now housing offices and classrooms, needs to be replaced. Other equipment needs include photocopiers and field mowers.
Please pray
Please pray
- for the addition of more scholarly resources needed for higher-level training, especially good materials in French.
- for funds for the renovation of the old library roof, and for needed office and maintenance equipment.
As the pool of qualified teachers grows, WAAST can consider opening new centers. Two new strategic centers are needed, in Senegal and in Niger. Both countries have a largely Muslim population. The national churches are free to work, but they need more highly-trained teachers for their schools. Discussions are underway to establish these centers.Please pray
- that God would give His wisdom and direction concerning the opening of these centers and coordinators for them.
- for more personnel at the central campus, so that professors will be free to travel to these centers as they are launched.
Although the long civil war ended several years ago, thousands of refugees still live in makeshift homes in Freetown, the capital city. Many are maimed and hurting. Witchcraft, secret societies, and Islam keep many in bondage. At the WAAST center, based at the Bible school in Freetown, students are being equipped with the Word of God to better reach these people and to train others. The superintendent and the director of the Bible school will graduate this year from AGGST.Please pray
- for our 6 missionaries and the pastors and churches as they work together to meet these challenges.
- for the students in this center and for their leaders who are completing their master's degrees.
- that the Lord will call still more into His harvest field in this needy, hurting land.
The first group of 8 students from our newest center, in Kigali, Rwanda, graduated last November. Most of the students in this center actually come from the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Both Rwanda and eastern DRC have known the pain of war and ethnic conflict. These graduates are a blessing to the growing churches in both countries as they take the healing Word to hurting people.Please pray
- that these graduates will find still more fruitful ministry as they serve the churches and the 5 Bible schools in this area.
- for direction for this center and a possible move to eastern DRC; the program is on hold for the time being.
This center opened in 1998 and is growing as a graduate directs it. The Ghana AG counts nearly 1.5 million, but half of its 2,500+ churches lack a trained pastor. WAAST and AGGST graduates are teaching in all 3 Assemblies of God Bible schools and in the extension center. The need for good Pentecostal training is great, as syncretism and the prosperity gospel are ongoing temptations. Please pray
- for the continued growth of this center and of the churches in Ghana.
- that more graduates will be able to give themselves to teaching full-time in the understaffed Bible schools.
- that Spirit-filled, trained workers will be examples to all, resisting the temptations to compromise the gospel.
This center, begun in 2000, continues to flourish under the able coordination of 2 WAAST graduates. Several have completed or are studying in the M.A. program, and the coordinators are in the PAThS doctoral program. More workers are needed in the east to bring hope and light to people plagued by war and poverty—but they aren't always welcomed. This past year 2 students were poisoned as they were planting a church. God preserved their lives; may this be a testimony!Please pray
- that God will use WAAST and AGGST graduates to plant churches and to provide good biblical teaching throughout the country and in the 4 Bible schools.
- that more will go to serve in the interior and eastern parts.
- for our coordinators as they add doctoral studies to pastoring and teaching.
WAAST’s first extension center was opened in Côte d’Ivoire in 1994. Several graduates now have their master’s degrees and some teach in the 3 Bible schools and for WAAST. The AG there has 1,000+ congregations, but 300 of these lack a credentialed pastor, so the job of training is far from finished. Please pray
- for the students and professors involved in this center.
- for this national church as it meets challenges of false doctrines and ethnic tensions.
- for the general superintendent and our extension coordinator as they study in the doctoral program, lead churches, and teach.
The Full Gospel Mission in Cameroon, with whom our 8 missionaries work, has only about 300 credentialed pastors to serve its 1,230 churches. Since the center opened in 1997 more than 50 have graduated from WAAST and several from AGGST. They are involved in Bible school training, university ministry, missions, evangelism, and other ministries, as well as pastoring. Please pray - that the Lord will call more to reach Cameroon's 500 people groups and to penetrate Muslim groups in the north.
- that the Lord would use these students and graduates to teach solid doctrine in the churches and the 3 Bible schools.
AGGST students—about 60 of them—are beginning 10 weeks of classes. Another 20+ are working on their thesis projects. Begun in 1994, AGGST offers a master of arts degree in missiology, which can be done in French or English. Classes are completed in 3 years, with another year given for thesis writing. Many graduates go on to teach in Bible schools and for WAAST in extension centers and on the central campus.
Please pray
Please pray
- for the AGGST students as they juggle studies and church and family responsibilities.
- for more qualified African professors to teach at this level.
- for French textbooks and for more English-speaking students so the Christian Education courses can be offered.
- for Brenda as she completes her courses.
The Assemblies of God in Burkina Faso is a dynamic church more than 1 million strong. Though the country is very poor, the churches have a strong missionary vision and send out scores of missionaries, both foreign and home. To serve more than 6,300 churches, there are only about 3,700 credentialed pastors! Four of the 7 Bible schools are directed by WAAST and AGGST graduates; one school has begun offering a bachelor's degree. Please pray
- that the Lord will call more into His harvest field here.
- for more workers in the east, where revival has come among the Gourmantche people and among the Fulani. Both groups need churches established to help them grow in their faith.
The WAAST extension center in Angola, launched in 1999, is the only Portuguese-speaking center. This past year 8 students, including the superintendent, received their bachelor's degrees. Several are ready to pursue their master's degree at AGGST; they will then be qualified to serve this center. Until then, the center will not operate, but the need remains. The AG in Angola counts about 1.3 million, and the leaders estimate that at least 10,000 men serve as pastors with little or no Bible training. Syncretism with traditional beliefs is a constant battle.Please pray
- that Angolans can begin the MA program.
- for the reopening of this center in God's time.
- for the establishment of a training center to give basic Bible training that pastors can then disseminate in their areas. Land has been purchased; now buildings are needed.
African Christian workers need materials that address the issues of their own culture, such as polygamy and spirit worship. WAAST and AGGST students are encouraged to write, and some are now publishing tracts, newsletters, magazines, and books that respond to the needs of the African churches. Others work in translating the Bible and other materials.
Please pray
Please pray
- that more will feel the burden to spread the gospel and teach through literature that addresses the needs of their people.
- for resources for publishing; funds are often a serious obstacle.
- for students as they produce papers for their classes, as well as thesis projects, that are relevant to their own context.
- for those working on translation projects.
Bernie and Brenda Smith - Missionaries to Togo
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