Ghana (MNN) — Missionaries Kirk and Nicole Sims are doing a
little bit more than just evangelizing the natives of Ghana: they are
challenging the Christian Ghanaians to fulfill the Great Commission as well and
become missionaries themselves.
Before coming to Ghana, the Sims were pastors in the U.S. and
were constantly asking their congregation, "When are you going to get
involved in mission? And when are you going to be a part of this?" Kirk said. "And
God turned it back on us and said, ‘Well, when are you going to be a part of
this movement?'"
Thus, they headed to Ghana through The Mission Society and are now equipping the people
there to minister to the unreached around them from different countries or
people groups.
"We're just excited to be a part of what God is doing in
Africa. Some statistics say anywhere between 20,000 to 25,000 souls a day are being
added to the Kingdom through different ways of growth, evangelism and
discipleship. And you can really see that it's almost like a brush fire burning
across Africa," Kirk said. He went on to say their host church in Ghana plants around
200 churches each year.
Now as they challenge the Ghanaians to step out and become
missionaries, the Sims said it is a paradigm shift to go from the one being
evangelized to the one doing the evangelizing.
However, "we're finding many Ghanaians rising to that burden
and saying, 'Yes, I want to be sent out. I care about my neighbors in Burkina
Faso and Mali who need to hear about the love of Jesus,'" Nicole said.
With the willing participation of so many Ghanaians, the
Sims now face the questions of what a congregation planted by Ghanaians would
look like, how they will raise money, how to care for the missionaries sent, and
how do the Ghanaians adapt to the new cultures and languages they will enter.
The Sims said these questions are not unlike the ones
missionaries from the U.S. ask as they set off to bring God's love to another
country. These questions must be answered taking both cultures into
consideration, and ultimately, following God's direction.
Kirk said it is also important to enter "those cultures with
great humility and love, knowing that God has been trying to get their
attention for many years and generations and that God is at work. [The
Ghanaians] can learn so much from those people and those cultures."
The Sims ask for prayer as these individuals are
sent out. Pray for the Ghanaians' hearts to be softened towards people of
different ethnicities and cultures and for them to view these people just as
God sees them. Also, pray for the church leaders there as they seek God's
direction.
To learn more about The Mission Society and their work in
Ghana, visit their Web site.
