JEFFERSON CITY—The training that Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Partnership Missions Specialist Rick Hedger received in Africa in early November is designed to take Missouri Baptist churches who are committed to the effort out of their Americanized ways of thinking.
He said that one of the foundational questions that must be asked is, “What’s a church?” Not, “What’s an American church?” What’s a church based on the very basis of the Bible? What stories do we need to tell from the Bible that are going to help us convey to them this is what your church looks like?”
In an oral society, where learning takes place through the absorbing of stories, learning how to ask the right questions is crucial.
“What’s a disciple look like? What stories from the Bible can you use to help them understand?”
Those stories need to produce believers, Hedger said.
“How do you get believers? Well, we’ve got to go through and figure out what’s our evangelistic set of stories that we’re going to use to get them to finally say yes to following Jesus.”
Finally, the believers need to learn how to see other believers come into a church relationship that can allow the Americans to leave.
“What stories do I need to tell, what are the character traits that need to be taught for there to be biblical leaders who will lead these churches?” Hedger said, explaining how the process works.
One example of success thus far is First Baptist Church, Arnold, working with an undisclosed people group in Senegal. Due to the work of a local believer who shared Christ before First Arnold even got there, a total of 36 believers became active in their faith in a village.
“They’ve got a jump-start for training,” Hedger said. “They’re not having to go from village to village. They’re training this group of believers to go from village to village, which is what you want.”
Hedger said he will return to Africa to lead another team in January. n
ALLEN PALMERI/associate editor
apalmeri@mobaptist.org