In his nearly ten years as youth pastor at Mekanisa Kale Heywet Church, in Addis Ababa, Pastor Misgana has seen a thing or two about the power of God’s Word to transform.
When he first started working with the youth, their knowledge of the Bible was not strong. So he started a Bible study with them. ‘It changed their lives,’ he says. ‘Today, some of them go to Bible college, or work in evangelism, and follow Christ.’
But in a country where false teaching is rampant, and the vast majority of pastors lack any sort of formal biblical training, what prepared Misgana to influence these young lives?
In part, it was his attendance at Evangelical Theological College, one of the largest in Addis Ababa, where he was mentored by Dr Frew Tamrat who coordinates Langham’s pastor training seminars for Ethiopia.
300 people baptised
And there’s another transformation. Though Misgana was born and has been ministering in the capital, God is drawing his heart into the rural parts of his country.
He says he has since witnessed 300 people getting baptised. ‘It was a good privilege for me to proclaim the Word to them,’ he says. ‘Nowadays, their hearts are open to the gospel. The people are thirsty, and they want to know the truth.’ For example, during a leadership training in an ethnic village where people speak Oromiffa, Misgana says 150 people came to Christ. Misgana explains the challenges: ‘There are a lot of needs in rural areas. They need discipleship training, youth training, children training.’
Thankful for Langham
He emphasises that most pastors in the rural areas don’t have good chances to go to a Bible school. That’s why Misgana is thankful to Langham for the training he received and the opportunity to pass on the same training to rural pastors.
‘You know the goal of preaching is life change,’ says Misgana, ‘so when people say ‘God spoke to me, and I changed my life,’ when I hear this, it is joyful for me.’
