Chad (MNN)–An insurrectionist strike in Chad was squashed this week.
Rebels attacked two military camps early Monday, but the skirmish ended quickly. The government has been quick to announce they have the situation under control.
As it is in times of uncertainty, mission agencies are closely atttuned to what is going on around them for safety reasons as well as for the future contingency plans should the instability continue.
It is likely that this attack was a symptom of a brewing rebellion. However, for now, Africa Inland Mission’s Peter Maclure says that it hasn’t proven to be an obstacle. “We monitor the security situation carefully, and as right of now, it has not actually stopped our missionaries living where they stay, we’re just more cautious in our travel. We have communication between us. There have been some security issues within the country, and we’re just praying that peace will remain.”
Maclure explains of their Bible translation work, their team has experienced remarkable freedom. However, if instability becomes cause for concern, the work will be continued by the indigenous team. “It’s very, very hard, and transport is very, very difficult. We do struggle, and we have to have things to support us in our ministry, whereas many of our Chadian Christian friends are amazingly resilient. They’re used to Chad and they can go into villages in a way that we can’t.”
It is critical that the structure be in place should expatriate team members need to leave. According to the research done by AIM, while the country has strong churches in the southwest, there are still large areas that remain unreached by the Gospel.
In many of these areas, teams found that fully two-thirds of the people groups had no viable church within them, and many were without a single Christian.
Since launching work in 1988, AIM has seen their outreach grow to include the training of Chadian missionaries, medical outreach, and linguistics and church planting.
