19 leaders from Ethiopia, Tanzania and Norway were together at the tentmaking leader forum in Kenya in November.
60 new tentmakers mobilized within six months. This is the aim as the world’s two largest Lutheran churches are gearing up to equip and send professionals, workers, businesspeople, and students to new places as ambassadors for God’s kingdom.
“I have never read news like this with any interest before. Our days together here have made me see things with new eyes,” says one of the participants at the leader forum that was held in Nairobi, Kenya in November. He holds up his phone showing an article from a national newspaper in Tanzania. The Tanzanian government has signed a contract with the authorities in one of the nations in the Middle East about recruitment of workers for one of their industries. 400 young men from Tanzania are to be hired to make the business in the Middle Eastern nation run well.
“We have these men in our churches. Now we can train them to go as ambassadors for Jesus as soon as opportunities like this one are offered again, says the pastor.
Enhances the work
He is one of 19 participants taking part in the East African Tentmaking Leader Forum that was held in Nairobi in November. The event was organized by Norwegian Lutheran Mission and gathered leaders from Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Norway. Tent Nigeria’s director, Victor Agbonkpolor, and director for Tent International, Steinar Opheim, were two of the main facilitators at the event.
With its 11 million members the Mekane Yesus church in Ethiopia is regarded as the world’s largest Lutheran church. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) is also among the largest with its six million members.
“We have already sent some professionals from our church to other nations. This forum will help us to enhance the work and send more,” comments Tilaye Daba who serves as the International Mission Society Director in the Mekane Yesus church. He took over this position five years ago. Before that he was leading the church’s mission work within Ethiopia.
Growing numbers
“There are still unreached people groups in Ethiopia that we must reach out to. At the same time, we must also lift the challenge of bringing the gospel beyond Ethiopia’s borders. Our international work has been growing the past years, and we currently have 42 missionaries sent internationally. By sending more tentmakers, we hope to increase the numbers quickly. We aim at deploying 35 new tentmakers in the first half of this year,”
Tilaye Daba
He thinks that Ethiopians naturally have many skills that will make them good tentmakers.
“Ethiopians are people oriented. Our culture trains us to be good colleagues and good neighbors. Christian Ethiopians are also eager to share about Jesus. From experience we say that wherever there is an Ethiopian, there is a possibility of planting a church,” smiles the mission director.
The Lutheran church in Tanzania aims at mobilizing 25 new tentmakers by June this year. In addition to sharing visions about tentmaking widely, the churches in both Tanzania and Ethiopia will reach out to and try to mobilize Christians already living and working abroad. Current migrations streams from the two nations are bringing lots of Christian workers into areas where there are few Christians.
By Steinar Opheim