model

A praying woman’s vision for Africa

/ Ari Rocklin

http://globalopps.org/tmbriefs/business.jpg

The All Africa TI Tentmakers Congress brought together people from many African nations. Some traveled for days, by air, road, bus and sometimes walking great distances. 

We heard encouraging if not surprising reports of how tentmakers trained in Africa have gone to neighbouring countries and beyond, bringing the Gospel with them while looking for work or starting small businesses.

What is a small business?

How about a shoe shine stand or a crate full of Coke, mobile phone service or vegetable stand. God’s merchants in the marketplace.

What is different about this kind of mission?

No foreign money, no expectation of remuneration or assistance from the so called “West”. Could this be the start of a new wave of missions not dependent on the western church?

I see the church of Africa taking a leadership role for world evangelism, and proclaiming a simple but not watered down version of the Gospel. It is my personal hope to see African style worship coming to the west, and perhaps calling it “Africa Song”.

Why would this work?

A story was told of a shoe shine man, in front of a very large church building, shining the shoes of business people. As he started building his clientele and building relationships while serving them, the conversation always led to Jesus. One businessman asked, what is different about your religion compared to the large church behind me? The shoe shine man responded, I have come here from another country to work for a living and share the message of Jesus while working. You see Apostle Paul integrated his work and faith by making tents, I am only following in his footsteps but as a shoeshine man.

In a matter of months the shoe shine man had started a bible study in a nearby park with people who had never considered attending the large church.

Back to the congress.

At the rear of the main meeting room hung some paintings. The story behind one of them was told to me through an interpreter. An elderly woman had been praying for the congress for a long time and during those prayers she had seen a vision. It was so powerful that she thought it should become a panting. Not being an artist herself, she went to a local painter who then proceeded to paint her vision from her words and instructions.

The vision is of a woman symbolized as Africa, who is in distress, without hope for the future. On the right hand are two African tentmaker wheat merchants heading her way with the hope of the Gospel. She saw hundreds of these tentmakers from Africa going across Africa spreading the good news of Jesus as a result of this congress and the work of the All Africa Tentmaking Movement.

It is the conviction of this editor that Africa will train and send more tentmakers who will disciple more new believers and plant more house churches than any other continent in the next decade!

Move In – Can It Get Any Simpler Than This?  

/ Ari Rocklin

http://globalopps.org/tmbriefs/MoveIn3.jpg

John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.”

We met the leaders of MoveIn at our Florida course earlier this year. They had found out about the GO Equipped TENTmaking courses online and quickly realized this training was what they needed in order to expand their ministry globally.

After the course, they invited the GO team to teach at their leadership retreat this past month near Toronto Ontario.

Who are “Move-inners”?

George Verwer founder of Operation Mobilization has said this about them:

“I believe this is cutting edge and strategic. I hope you will get involved in what is happening.”

Move-inners, in a nutshell are people who decide to move into neighbourhoodsdeemed a “no go zone” for 99.9% of Christians. Even the police dread to enter these areas of our major cities. Calling 911 may be futile as too often no one will come.

Move-inners are mostly young “Generation Y” couplesand singles, deliberately moving into low income, crime ridden neighbourhoods, to integrate themselves with the people who have little choice on where to live. These areas are made up largely of recent immigrants from the so called unreached areas of the world.

Please take some time to view professional quality wedding video featuring Nigel and Jessie Paul and their brilliantly planned and executed celebration for their neighbours.

“I am becoming more and more convinced that this approach is the future of how God is going to reach people in the unreached areas of our cities. It … will be costly in many terms for people participating.” 
– Charles Price, Senior Pastor, The Peoples Church – Toronto

“It is brilliant what God is doing through MoveIn. This concept of downsizing and moving right into some of the more unreached communities among us and, through prayer and action, to reach them for Christ – all in the context of the needs of the whole world – I praise God that this is happening, and I would challenge you to consider doing this yourself.” 
– K.P. Yohannan, Founder, Gospel for Asia

Does the Self Supported Tentmaking Model Work in Africa?

/ Ari Rocklin

http://globalopps.org/tmbriefs/tanz_small.jpg

Can African believers follow in Apostle Paul’s footsteps by taking their profession and business with them to other regions of Africa? Is it possible to have Africans being trained by Africans to go to other Africans with the Gospel without any financial support from elsewhere?

It is the conviction of this editor that Africa will train and send more tentmakers who will disciple more new believers and plant more house churches than any other continent in the next decade!

Steinar Opheim of TENT Norway has been going to Africa for many years to teach and encourage the tentmaking movement there. Together with an increasing number of local teachers, the movement has taken off in ways not imagined.

The 6th All African TI Congress in Tanzania took place last month with 157 delegates and attendees from many African nations. We heard encouraging and exciting reports on how God is moving through tentmakers and how quickly this movement is spreading.

There was an intensive training for trainers course at the end of the congress which had 53 pastors and leaders in attendance. From the interaction and questions it became evident that this model for evangelism and mission is here to stay.

Here are some reports on the impact tentmakers are having:

  • 2011-2012: 1,000+ tentmakers in 7 African countries
  • 2,105 tentmakers trained.
  • 239 House churches/prayer cells started.

Thanks to Tentmakers International and the All Africa TI leaders for putting on such a wonderful event.

Conclusion: The tentmaking movement in Africa, by Africans for Africa is about to explode!       “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”