MENA (MNN) — Did you know there are communities of people living in the Sahara Desert? In fact, 2.5 million nomads, shepherds, and desert dwellers call the Sahara Desert home — and most are unreached with the Gospel.
Crossover Global plants churches in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), including the Maghreb region of the Sahara Desert.
One community in the Sahara now has Christ-followers, but it started with three church planters who paved the way.
The three church planters set off to reach this desert community, but they got lost in a sandstorm. One church planter died, and the other two nearly did as well.
(Photo courtesy of Il Vagabiondo/Unsplash)
Later, however, Ken Katayama with Crossover Global says, “People were able to go back to that village. The imam of that village kind of served in the desert like a mayor in religion. He was kind of the leader there. He actually was able to get a hold of an electronic Bible [and] he ended up coming to Christ!
“Today, there’s house churches in that village, and out of that village now there’s people going even further in the desert into other villages.”
For new church plants in the Sahara, these are the start of a spiritual oasis in this vast desert. Katayama says, “One of the greatest needs that we have is people with more Bible training to go and help to develop those churches.”
Learn more and find your place in the story at Crossover Global’s website.
Also, Katayama emphasizes, “There [are] two people groups that have very limited or no access at all, but the Church is already there and slowly moving.
“So pray for them, even if it’s not as personal and you don’t know anything [about them]. Pray because the Lord is at work in that part of the Maghreb.”
Header photo courtesy of Y K/Unsplash.
