Ghana (MNN) — After months of planning, gathering, and packing, Christian Resources International embarked on a two-week venture to Ghana.
Ghana is a fairly Christianized nation. According to the Joshua Project, over 63% of the nation claims Christianity as their faith.
Still, only about 24% are evangelical, and even those who wish to seek out the Gospel may have a little trouble doing so.
"The average income of a Ghanaian is about $50 a month," explains CRI executive director Jason Woolford, who just returned from Ghana. "The cheapest Bible I could find there was about $11. So if you can imagine us here taking a fifth of our income to go and buy a Bible, it just wouldn't be feasible."
The nation is still in major need of Christian resources as well as ongoing outreach.
During a two-week visit to Ghana, CRI was able to provide both.
Ahead of them, CRI sent a crate filled with $365,000-worth of Bibles, Christian literature and pastoral tools. The first prerogative in Ghana was to get that crate to Ghana Bible College.
CRI happened to arrive right around the time of the College's graduation, and 7,000 people were able to attend the book presentation. "The superintendent that oversees 541 churches in Ghana said that, to his recollection, that this would be the biggest impact on the nation of Ghana that's ever happened due to what we presented," says Woolford.
The books and Bibles will serve as teaching tools to train thousands who come through the Bible College, but they will also become resources for many other Ghanaians as they make use of them,
CRI's journey didn't end there, though. During an open-air evangelistic outreach, CRI was able to speak the Truth to 1,700 eager listeners.
"We got to preach the salvation message. People would come forward to give their lives to the Lord Jesus, and people came forward for needs of prayer," reflects Woolford. "It was just a wonderful opportunity."
The Bible students at the college will be able to help with the follow-up of the outreach, to ensure that those who made commitments to the Lord aren't left to fend for themselves, especially without the proper resources.
CRI collects books and Bibles from Christians across North America to send to pastors, Christians leaders and ordinary believers across the globe. Currently, the CRI warehouse is stuffed full of resources, but funding is the key need to get those books and Bibles into the hands of individuals.
You can be a part of CRI's work–and more importantly, the work of the Lord through his Word. To learn more about getting involved, visit cribooks.org.
