Many churches live in a state of defeat. We mumble and grumble about our size about what we can and cannot do. Sadly we miss out on opportunities to make an impact for the kingdom. We have believed the lie that we can do effective ministry when we get to a certain point or size. Yet God calls us to simply be faithful where we are at with what we have. So with that said let me share with you how God is moving in an incredible way in our missions program.
Last year myself along with several other members from our church went to Liberia Africa. At the time this was my third trip to Liberia. On this trip we visited with Danny Buegar who was the pastor of the United Christian Church of Monrovia. This is a church of 200 members. Their church building was simply made of some bamboo and thatched roof. During the rainy season the members would get wet during the service. But really to know more about this church you need to know more about Liberia.
Liberia ended a 14 year civil war just a few years ago. The war devastated the country. Unemployment is a staggering 85%. And even those who work do not make much. A doctor makes about 5 dollars a day. To say there is a health crisis would be an understatement. Nearly the whole population struggles with Malaria. Children under 5 have a 50/50 chance of survival. To compound health issues most Liberians do not have access to clean drinking water. Could things be worse? The answer is yes. Besides all the health problems, Liberia is a society of uneducated people. Nearly 3/4 of the children do not attend school. Spiritually Liberia has great needs. In a country where brutality has been the norm there is a great need for the peace that can only come from Christ. So that is some of the bad, but let me share some good.
For several years our church has helped out with some teaching and training teams and also have sent some supplies to Liberia to help the Liberian people. A year ago God was calling us to do more. And so we went to prayer and asked God to use us. And this is how He used us.
Our children had a VBS program in which they raised $8,000 to purchase three water systems to help clean water for Liberians. Shortly after this event we decided that we wanted to send a team to Liberia that would be more than a few teachers. We had been told by the Liberians that churches would send money to help them but very rarely would they send people. And of those people who came they only sent a few men. So we put together a team of 26 people. Half of that group was women. Knowing that the needs were great we decided first that we wanted to make sure that the Monrovia church would have a place where they could worship without getting wet. We also wanted to build a building that could be used as a school for children and we wanted this building to be a place where training could take place for other churches throughout Liberia. Besides the building we wanted to do more to help the people of Liberia. We wanted to get more water systems that could go to different places around Liberia and bring a medical team to this desperate country.
So that is a little of what we wanted to do. Let me share in just a nutshell what God provided and what He continues to do. Over this last year God provided over $150,000 in money and supplies. 5 water systems were purchased. Over $15,000 worth of tools were donated to help in the construction part of the church. Literally thousands of dollars of medical supplies were given to help towards a medical clinic. $30,000 was donated by individuals and churches to help towards the building project. Thousands of dollars worth of clothing, food, school books, VBS supplies, Bibles and Christian materials were donated and shipped to Liberia. A shipping container was purchased to send all these supplies.
Besides all of these funds and supplies going to Liberia the team of 26 people had to raise $3,000 each to make this trip. The team raised all their funds(some time when I have a chance I need to share how God provided in amazing ways.) But let me share with you what the team was able to accomplish. First we set up a medical clinic and saw in just 4 days over 600 Liberian people. We held a VBS which had 400 children attend. We held a woman’s conference that had over 100 women in attendance. During our visit we set up 5 water systems plus trained those who would be providing the water. Let me say that God was incredible. And we thank and praise him for all he has done.
So where does this leave us? Well we are still trying to finish the church/school building. We believe that with $45,000 more we will have this building up and serving the people of Monrovia. Right now all the foundation work is done. Our trip has also left us with a hunger to do more for the kingdom of God. We plan to send more medical teams in the future. We also want to help with the local churches to plant more churches and to provide more water systems. We believe that God has called us to be faithful and so we plan to dream big and see what God does. We would love for others to team up with us and do something incredible for the Lord. We would love to hear from you. Maybe God has you reading this post for the very reason of going to Liberia with us or helping us financially finish the building. Who knows but God has His plans. All we have to do is be faithful and He will do the rest.
A Pastor's Prayer Journey 
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