Formula for Success: North Africa Trip Report #5

It’s a formula for ministry success in one of the least Christian areas of the world.  And it looks like this:

 A + B + C + D = New churches planted

 Let me explain:

A = Local Recording Studios. Creating both audio and video programming, these small, home-built studios are specifically targeting ways to communicate with the people of their regions. Of the six different ministry partners I had a chance to visit on my recent trip to North Africa, I was amazed to find that no less than four of them were operating such recording studios. Most of them were quietly squirreled away in a basement or backroom, out of sight and knowledge of the general public. But being home-built doesn’t mean they weren’t top notch and using cutting edge technology. From green screen video studios using new “cold” lighting to the latest Final Cut editing software and RAM memory video cameras, these small enterprises are able to produce professional-quality programming to be used later on satellite TV. Sometimes going out to remote villages to capture a live testimonial while other times taping talk shows in their studio, all of them are passionate about communicating how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is Good News to the Muslim people of North Africa.

B = Satellite TV.  I don’t think there is a house or apartment all across North Africa that doesn’t have a TV dish antennae sprouting from a rooftop or balcony. With literally hundreds of available channels, this has become THE communication medium of the region. But the channels most viewed are those broadcasting in the local language or dialect of the listeners. Which is why several significant Christian channels are among this popular group. The El Hayat or Life Channel, SAT 7, and the Holy God Channel from India are three in particular that are daily carrying the programming produced by the studios mentioned above.

C = Follow-up Teams. All of the broadcast programs present a telephone or email address that people can contact if they’re interested in learning more. I was shocked to hear of the number of responses our ministry partners are receiving on a monthly basis. In four different regions of North Africa I visited, I heard numbers ranging from 350 to 700 per month in each region! In one case, while I was talking with a ministry leader about a new radio broadcast method they were using, his cell phone beeped with yet another text message in Arabic from a curious listener, this one from Libya. In each case, follow-up teams sensitively handle each call, eventually trying to arrange for a face-to-face meeting at a public coffee shop. Repeated contact with an interested caller turns into witness opportunities and even the first steps of discipleship.

D = Home Cell Groups. As follow-up teams learn that there are several people from the same village or region, they begin to introduce them to each other and encourage the formation of a local cell group. If there is some kind of existing church in the vicinity, that church is notified and begins to take on a shepherding role with the cell group. One such church I visited now has seven outreach teams that are targeting 20 villages where cell groups have formed. Most of these folks try to attend a service at least once a month at the main church traveling as far as 120 kilometers on a Sunday to participate. In most cases, I was told that cell groups of six to nine people are fine, but anything larger can arouse the suspicions of the authorities.

Believe it or not, this formula is not only working in North Africa, it is amazingly successful. Even with open opposition to Christian expansion by the governments and societies of these countries, cell groups and proto-churches are popping up all over. One ministry leader was predicting that the true number of Christians in North Africa is much larger than anyone imagines and that 80% are not yet attending a church but are following Christ by means of a broadcast ministry. Without question, God is bringing together the technology plus the skills, passions, and personal testimonies of local believers to penetrate one of the least Christian regions of the world in order to build His Kingdom.

 Under His wings,

 Jon Lewis