As we came to the close of the Acts church formation story set, the churches had established their own identity and, while far from being mastered, were working diligently towards becoming healthy churches. Our weekly trips to the bush began to focus on the leadership of each church. We would disciple, encourage, and train-up these leaders who would then, in turn, do the same with their church throughout the week. We began working through an Epistles story set in order to help the leaders and churches grow in their own personal walks with the Lord.

 

As we mentored these leaders, we were able to identify strengths and weaknesses in each. Where one leader excelled, another struggled. We all celebrated when one of the churches planted its first second-generation church, but the other leaders struggled with the reality of reproduction. Knowing cross-pollination of leaders would not only encourage, but also challenge them to grow as individuals and in their leadership roles, we began hosting quarterly leadership meetings for these church leaders. The goals were encouragement, accountability, fellowship, and deeper theological training.

 

The effects were immediate and pivotal not only for the leaders, but the work as a whole. As leaders heard, encouraged and counseled one another we saw a new vision and passion birth within them. With each meeting we watched as their testimonies challenged and spurred the others. The vision for seeing all Mahafaly reached for Christ was no longer the missionaries’ dream, but their own. With this new vision, these first generation churches began working diligently to get the gospel to nearby villages. New groups of believers formed and reproduced throughout the northern region of the Mahafaly, until the point where there was no place without a gospel presence. In the course of 3 years, nearly 150 new churches and groups of believers were meeting!

 

As the churches reproduced, we knew we needed to focus on training up the leaders in healthy church formation, reproduction, and accountability. These topics became a theme during our leadership, with plenty of opportunities for real life cases to work through. We mentored them in church discipline, healthy church evaluations, and how to cooperate and function together as churches. During this time, the leaders began taking more and more responsibility for leadership among the work. These leaders began preparing and carrying out the quarterly leadership meetings on their own. They also selected several men from among them who they wanted to receive deeper theological and missional training in order to carry on the work once we left. The team developed a church history story set, which would walk these “apprentices” through church history, teaching them to stand firm in the doctrines of our faith by studying those who have walked before us.

 

While we are humbled by all God has done among the Mahafaly, we know this people group is just at the beginning of their faith journey. We continue to pray for wisdom and His leading as we walk alongside them through the victories and struggles. But, mostly, we praise God that one day these Mahafaly brothers and sisters will stand beside us as we worship the King of Kings.