Neosho church, IMB aim to reach West African people

Neosho church, IMB aim to reach West African people

By Staff

December 13, 2005

NEOSHO – Calvary Baptist Church, Neosho, and the International Mission Board (IMB) Dec. 3 signed a historic first Covenant Agreement that will enable the church to serve as a prototype congregation of the Engaging Church Strategy outlined by the IMB’s West Africa Regional Leadership.

Calvary will adopt an unreached people group in West Africa and stand in the gap for the IMB, which currently has no field personnel there. The church has accepted the assignment of reaching a people group of 225,000 spread out over three countries.

“Almighty God began the journey into West Africa in the heart of Calvary nearly six years ago, as we adopted an unreached people group to pray for and minister to,” said Calvary Pastor Rick Hedger. “That particular group was blessed with incredible IMB field personnel, whom we were privileged to work alongside and learn from. Those years of experience were not wasted in any way in the heart of Calvary. As tears have been shed in prayer by our people, hearts have been molded with a passion to see a church-planting movement across the West Africa region.”

In July, more than 40 Calvary team members traveled to Ghana for a key missions conference.

“Reaching a people group of 225,000 with the Gospel of Christ is a God-sized task for a congregation of our size, located in a town of 13,000,” Hedger said. “We are the first to admit we have no idea how or where to begin, or what this will look like. We are all, including the West African Regional Leadership, learning as we go.”