This report comes from a Novo CoNEXT team in Nigeria. CoNext means it is a Novo ministry led by nationals with mostly nationals serving as missionaries.
This team frequently visits the “jungles” of a major city—places of crime, drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, etc., that even the police avoid. They go into these rough places to serve the people, identify leaders, start and multiply Discovery Bible Study (DBS) groups, and then from those leaders and DBS groups, eventually see new churches form.
In April, they brought masks, sanitizer, and buckets in order to purify water in a particular urban jungle and trained very vulnerable people how to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Because of the trust and relationships that had already been developed, the team were welcomed and listened to by the local residents, many of whom are outcasts in the greater society.
The team has also had unique opportunities to relate positively with law enforcement, and through their DBS groups among soccer players, to reach into homes and among families.
Here’s the team leader’s report:
Meeting Physical and Spiritual Needs in the Ghettos
We are trusting the Lord to keep us safe in the face of COVID-19. He remains faithful in keeping his side of every promise.
Some of our movement leaders went in to serve and share the love of Christ in the jungles of [a major city] in response to the COVID-19 realities. We have trained over 2,000 vulnerable people in these ghettos in the following ways:
Provided hygiene education to minimize their vulnerability to COVID-19.
Educated on the importance of hand washing and provided 30 sanitized hand-washing stations.
Provided face masks and encouraged sustained usage to reduce risk of infection.
Started 40 new Discovery Bible Study (DBS) groups that are led by local residents and are multiplying.
Provided a Bible for each DBS group and followed up to ensure it was being used in a self-discovery way where people were freely sharing and making decisions to obey what they were learning.
Helped sensitize people to observe public health instructions: Center for Disease Control/WHO guidelines and government expectations for all citizens to remain safe.
Serving and engaging people in such a way has given us access to these urban “jungles” and people that have otherwise remained highly resistant and volatile to the things of God.
We saw God work in mighty ways. In one slum, many people witnessed a miracle of healing when [a team-mate] and I were able to lay hands on a young man who was deaf and mute. As we prayed, the man began to mutter words and hear for the first time. Everyone witnessed the power of God to heal and that word spread quickly. To God be the glory!
Please pray along with us as we serve these vulnerable communities and seek to achieve better health for all in this trying period. Pray for grace, discernment, protection, provision and movement impact from these times of serving and engaging with people’s desperate needs. Pray that these seeds planted will become a great harvest of faithful laborers who will reach out to their own people and multiply the good news about Jesus.
Influencing Law Enforcement in Kingdom Principles
In these environments are paramilitary, local vigilantes and neighborhood watch groups. Their leaders requested that we train and equip them on COVID-19, healing & reconciliation, and Disciple Making Movement processes (DMM) such as Discovery Bible Study.
These people are in charge of enforcing COVID-19 lock down regulations on the streets since there is a limited police presence in these urban “jungles.” Occasionally, they will arrest people. But what we saw happen was remarkable! Mindsets began to shift as they were exposed to principles from the Bible, and we began to see a more compassionate use of their power and a new sense of social responsibility. As a result of the training and the healing of their own hearts toward people, they are beginning to use corrective rather than coercive approaches in their work.
Please pray that these relationships and the change of heart in the commanders would be sustained. Ask the Lord to enable them to carry out their promise to pass on their learning to more than 500 group members that they are leading.
Salvation and Reconciliation in Families
We have also started meetings with the Holy Ghost Football Academy soccer players and their parents in order to teach them about COVID-19. We also work, from the Bible, to help youth reconcile with their parents, and encourage them to start a family DBS group in their homes. The first such meetings were awesome! One of the highlights was a player who was from another religion (common to the slum) who decided to follow Jesus and fasted and prayed and saw his mother and younger brother make the same commitment. We were in a meeting with the mother who, as a new follower of Jesus, led a prayer session. “In Jesus’s name” she requested that we pray for her husband, who is still resisting God’s offer of salvation through Jesus. They are trusting God with us to save the entire family from their historical religious backgrounds. Both parents and children were grateful for our relationship during this period. We provided them with hand washing facilities and face masks in addition to equipping them on how to lead and multiply DBS groups in their homes.
Please pray that our planned retreat with all parents of the Holy Ghost Football Academy soccer players for September 2020 will further cement this relationship and catalyze a DMM/DBS lifestyle in their families and communities. Pray that the gospel will continue to spread vigorously through these families through the use of sports.
May these reports encourage you to see the new opportunities that this pandemic is providing to show the love of Christ to so many who are crying out to God during these days.