It was Pentecost weekend, 2019, when Pastor Daniel felt the Holy Spirit urging him to travel into a dangerous area of Cameroon to check on his denomination’s people in the conflict zone.
Half a million people were now displaced from the English-speaking communities in Cameroon. Sixty years of tension and inequality between the French and English-speaking populations of Cameroon had come to a head. Homes and churches in the English-speaking communities were abandoned or burned. Innocent people were gunned down in front of their homes. Whole villages were deserted as people fled for their lives into the rainforest, moved as refugees to Nigeria, or were displaced to French-speaking areas of Cameroon.
Pastor Daniel was the elected bishop (leader) of one of Cameroon’s most prominent denominations, overseeing 1800 churches in both the French and English-speaking areas. From their inception more than 50 years ago, their denomination had chosen to move in the opposite spirit of the French/English conflict, mandating that all churches be bilingual. While a native English speaker himself, Pastor Daniel lived in the French-speaking capital city, Yaoundé. It was a position of great influence—at times even warranting an audience with the Prime Minister of Cameroon.
Reports had reached Pastor Daniel that nearly 250 of their churches in the English-speaking area had been abandoned or burned. Many of the church members were hiding in the forest.
He shared his conviction to travel into the conflict zone with his executive team. “You can’t do that,” they told him. “It’s too dangerous.”
“No,” he said, “the Lord is telling me to go.” So setting aside his suit and tie, Pastor Daniel donned rain boots and embarked on the arduous journey across the country by car and then on foot into the rain forests.
“I trekked two hours to get to the first place, ‘Camp 1,’” Pastor Daniel shared. “But I changed the name of the place from ‘Camp 1’ to ‘Carmel’—the place of encounter with God.” Pastor Daniel discovered that something extraordinary was happening among the persecuted believers. They were encountering God like never before.
“Communities have started in the forest,” he later shared with his friend, Novo staff member Todd, “and the center of life is the community of faith! … [The] secret has been the discipleship process. ...This is what has kept these Christians bubbling, excited, and continuing to grow strong in their faith in the forest.”
Seven years prior to this, Pastor Daniel had attended a Novo training on the discipleship and discovery process for the first time. He caught the vision for discipleship and small groups connecting with God through the Bible and started encouraging his church leaders to implement it. Many had been trained, but it hadn’t really seemed to catch on. Not until now.
As Pastor Daniel visited the forest communities, he learned that certain church elders had started implementing what they’d learned about making disciples with their families, connecting to God through small groups actively engaging with Jesus through scripture. Soon they were inviting others. Word began going around throughout the forest communities that these leaders were sharing scripture in a new and special way. More and more people started dialoging with God through his word. People were baptized under rainforest waterfalls. And the leaders of other denominations started asking to be taught the discovery process so they could intentionally disciple their people as well.
“Some things start small and you don’t know the impact of it until situations arise,” Pastor Daniel later reflected. “When this crisis started, initially I said, ‘We have lost 250 churches! They’re gone!’ The concrete buildings were still there—though some had been burned or destroyed. But [the reality is that] the Church is human beings. As the war came, they were scattered, but they were going with God. The Church is continuing to thrive because of the word of God, because of their relationship with God. This small group disciple-making process ... is really bringing life in the forest! The Church is not lost. It’s not destroyed. The Church is going strong.”
This experience in the rain forest with his persecuted churches solidified Pastor Daniel’s belief in discipleship. “A disciple is one who knows his God and is interacting with him through his word, by the help of the Holy Spirit. If Christians are not disciples, developing and growing every day in the image of God, in relationship with God, then when a crisis like this strikes, forget it! … but [disciples] will survive everywhere, they will keep their faith, and they will reach out to others. Discipleship is what the Church needs now, so when we are scattered we can still survive; even though the outward man has been destroyed, the inner man is being strengthened because of the word of God. …Then the church will be unstoppable, no matter the crisis.”
ABOUT
Daniel Mbiwan is the bishop overseeing the Full Gospel Mission denomination in Cameroon, Africa. He lives in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, where he pastors a local church in addition to his responsibilities as the head of the denomination. Pastor Daniel has a passion for the Kingdom of God and making disciples.
Todd Dallanegra is a member of the ChurchNEXT Engage team led by Randy Knutson, which trains leaders in discipleship and developing “self-feeding” followers of Jesus. They work extensively with leaders in various countries in Africa. Todd, along with other members of the Engage team, have led many trainings for pastors in Cameroon since 2012—including the trainings that are producing so much fruit among the dispersed believers today. Todd had the opportunity to interview Pastor Mbiwan shortly after his trip to the rainforest. Todd lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife Evie. He has served with Novo since 1998.