Ghana (MNN) —
"Christianity is a million miles wide and one inch deep." When Michael Mozley first came onto the scene
in Ghana in 1999, he was struck by this impression.
Mozley had just joined The Mission Society for service in this
region after having a tug on his heart grow stronger as he finished his
education. "After our time of language
and culture acquisition, I began to do ministry with a Ghanaian evangelist
named Joseph Otsen. We helped to raise up in Ghana evangelists, pastors,
and church planters; we did church planting, leadership training and
leadership development."
The Mozleys invested themselves in the region where they
were serving and were thrilled to see results.
But again, the impression of shallow faith stayed with Michael. "The majority of people are Christian, by
name, but I would say the greatest need is taking those that are nominally
Christian into a deeper relationship."
Mozley began to come alongside other churches to share not
only the vision for evangelism but also discipleship. Careful cultivation in least-reached areas took ten years. With his
team, they trained and supported indigenous pastors and helped mobilize Ghanaians for mission.
"We saw the church explode in their church-planting efforts; we saw a new vision
and passion to do mission."
And then: God.
Mozley says one of the greatest gifts of his
service was seeing growth. "They planted a church up in Burkina Faso–a
French-speaking country just north of Ghana. It was exciting to see how that
church exploded and the Ghanaian church rallied around those missionaries and
the church that was being planted."
It seems that with the seasons of growth
there also comes a season of change. Just as God called the Mozleys to Ghana, after ten years, He was telling
them it was time to move on. "What
we did leave behind was a real passion and vision for international missions
and the people that we were called to work among. Fortunately, we have two missionary couples
that continue to carry on the work."
The Mission Society's work in Ghana also includes
the Ankaase Methodist Faith Healing Hospital, Community Health
Evangelism (CHE), literacy projects and water sanitation projects.
Mozley says he's left his heart in Ghana. His hope is that God will use the
strategically placed region to change lives in West Africa and beyond. "Pray for revival and for the mission vision
to be carried out so that the Great Commission will continue to go forth."
