The bush house swayed a little more with every group that came in. I looked around the room and could not believe so many people had turned up for the Bible study. I am pretty sure I had a goofy smile on my face the whole time, but I couldn’t help it. I was so happy to see everyone there.
I had recently led a morning-long workshop at the training center, where participants practiced creating and sharing their testimonies and learned to give a short gospel presentation. We spent much of the time practicing on each other and getting more confident using these new tools. As we concluded, we set a time to meet weekly to study the Bible and refocus on our mission as followers of Jesus . . . to fish for men. As everyone left, I prayed that despite my inexperience and limited understanding of the Gogodala culture, God might use this small beginning to move the work forward.
We gathered in the swaying bush house the following Sunday for our first follow-up study. Unlike the traditional Bible studies we have done before, which require the leader to either have handouts or sizeable Bible knowledge, these studies are designed to be simple, using just a few well-chosen questions and a Bible story. The series we began is Christ-centered and based on the characteristics of the New Testament Church described in Acts 2:36-47. Through these studies, we hope to demonstrate how to lead a Bible discussion and ground the believers in the basics of their faith.
The first question of the meeting was, How did it go last week fishing for men? I did not know what to expect. I hoped at least one person would share his or her testimony, and I was prepared to encourage them to do it next week. Instead, I was inspired! A church elder told how a group of eight young men in the village approached him with a Bible question that week. After answering their question, he took the opportunity to share the gospel presentation he learned at the workshop. Someone else had reconnected with an old friend and shared his testimony and a gospel presentation which opened up a spiritual conversation. Another man, not part of our church, shared that as he sat in the village mana genama (literally “sit house”) listening to a discussion about local political issues, he stood up and shared with them his gospel presentation, telling them that politics is not the answer to their problems, but Jesus is!
One last blessing awaited as I got ready to leave the study. I asked my friend what he planned to do for the rest of the day. “I’m going fishing,” he said. I nodded and said I understood he needed to take care of his family. “No,” he laughed. “Not that kind. I’m going fishing in the village—for men!”
I don’t know what will happen next week, but we pray this small spark will spread through our village and beyond. May the Holy Spirit fan the flame until the entire Gogodala tribe is full of friends telling each other what God has done for them.
