HEALING & TRANSFORMING LEADERS
Novo’s partnership with Healing and Transforming Leaders (HTL) in Nigeria began in 2012. With over 80% of Nigerians encountering trauma from firsthand experiences of violent crime, kidnapping, persecution, and poverty, HTL focuses on healing and reconciliation as a connection to individuals and communities ultimately leading to discipleship and gospel movements.
Ben and Lydia Akpera, HTL’s national leaders, began ministry where they live in northern Nigeria by starting healing trauma groups that quickly began to grow and multiply. These groups then opened the door to partnerships with other non-profit organizations and church denominations. Over the years, Ben and his team have been able to train individuals from these networks, coaching and empowering them to ignite the local churches and ministries to replicate leaders and start Discovery Bible Study (DBS) groups. There are currently 9,560 DBS groups in HTL’s network among the Boko Haram, the Fulani, rappers and gang members in over 150 slums, athletes, and many other communities.
Ministry Strategy
The philosophy of ministry pursued by HTL is known as Disciple Making Movements (DMM). The primary tool of DMM is the “Discovery Bible Study” or DBS group. A DBS group is an opportunity for people to discover first-hand what the Bible says about God, about people, and what it means to follow Jesus. DBS groups are “discovery focused” (initially no teachers, experts, or preachers), can be done verbally, and depend on two indispensable and powerful components working in tandem: the Bible and the manifest presence of God’s Spirit. Eventually, DBS groups evolve into sustainable communities of obedient followers of Jesus.
HTL’s unique form of ministry seeks movements of the gospel through:
Facilitating Healing and Reconciliation - Healing and reconciling wounded communities with God and one another to break cycles of hurt and division.
Transforming Leadership at All Levels - Empowering leaders to confront corruption and injustice while guiding their communities toward a deeper knowledge of God, His will, and His glory.
Making Disciples as a Movement - Engaging in the redemption of humanity and creation by reaching, saving, and transforming those far from God through biblical discovery, obedience, and discipleship replication.
Opportunity
With a network of hundreds trained and mobilized, HTL is prayerfully working on the following goals for 2025:
Exploring new places for trainings. In addition to 9,560 groups in Nigeria, HTL is expanding its footprint by finding and coaching Kingdom leaders who want to multiply in Mozambique, Zambia, Sierra Leone, and Niger.
Creation of an app that can consolidate outcomes of partners, be a resource center, and provide connectivity.
Holy Ghost Football Academy is dedicated to training young people in both football and discipleship. They’ve transformed a piece of land, once used by witch doctors, into a thriving training center and sports facility.
Coaching and mentoring leaders, denominations, and NGO’s in Nigeria for movement. This involves vision casting, training, site visits, and just in time resources to pour fuel on existing fires.
Financial Needs for 2025 - $26,000
Give today to continue this incredible growth!
Novo (formerly Church Resource Ministries /CRM) is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in California.
We are a member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability), which provides accreditation to leading Christian non-profit organizations that demonstrate compliance with established standards.
Subject to IRS rules regarding non-profit organizations, contributions are made with the understanding that Novo and its Board of Directors has complete control and administration over all donated funds
Novo Mission Inc.
1240 N. Lakeview Ave. Suite #120
Anaheim, California 92807, USA
