Equatorial Guinea is a tiny country wedged between Cameroon and Gabon.
Equatorial Guinea (MNN) — Distributing Bibles in Equatorial Guinea is a challenge, according to Operation World. And yet, God’s Kingdom is growing in the tiny West African nation.
World Mission Executive Director Greg Kelley says one of their teams recently visited a pastor in remote Equatorial Guinea. As the team entered his village, the pastor pointed out the local witch doctor.
“This guy was 80 years old, has been casting spells and curses, making potions, his whole life,” Kelley recounts.
Saul becomes Paul
Obeying Christ’s command in Matthew 28 to “go and make disciples,” the team gave a Treasure to the local witch doctor. The Treasure is World Mission’s audio Scripture device.
(Photo by World Mission.)
“He listened to the Gospel that night, and the next morning, without any instruction, he came to the pastor’s doorstep and said, ‘I am giving all this up. I surrender all of this.’ And he handed him a bag full of all of his witchcraft paraphernalia,” shares Kelley.
Repenting of his sins wasn’t the only step this witch doctor took that day.
“When he’s saying, ‘I surrender, I surrender,’ and handing over his bag of stuff, that was him turning his life to Jesus,” Kelley explains.
“It was just an amazing demonstration of the Holy Spirit convicting a heart and someone responding to it.”
This type of Saul-Paul conversion isn’t common in Equatorial Guinea, even though Christianity is the country’s largest religion.
“Jesus is kind of a ‘menu selection,’ one of many things. But as far as someone being sold out, born again, ‘Jesus is the only way,’ not so much,” says Kelley.
“There might be knowledge of who Jesus is, but the old adage ‘Christianity is a mile wide and an inch deep’ is true [here].”
Changing Equatorial Guinea
Working with local partners, World Mission seeks to change this reality using the Treasure. Its three-fold application– evangelize, disciple, multiply–is helping local believers impact the country for Christ.
World Mission distributes Treasures to third world countries. (Photo by World Mission)
“Local church members will use the Treasure to reach out to their unsaved friends, [and] then in the evening, they might be using it for their own personal edification and growth and Scripture memorization,” Kelley explains.
When pastors bring Treasures to an unreached village, and people hear the Gospel for the first time in their heart language, the process starts all over again.
“The Bible says that ‘My Word will not return void,’ and that’s exactly what’s happening,” says Kelley.
“They’re not hearing a commentary, they’re not hearing an argument: they’re hearing the Word of God, and it’s just going into their heart.”
Creating change
(Photo courtesy of World Mission)
According to Kelley, $40 USD can send one Treasure anywhere in the world. You can connect with World Mission and help start the process here.
Or, if $40 is easier to collect over time, you can ask for a free “Change Your World” box.
Find more World Mission stories here.
