A preaching seminar was held in Northern Ethiopia, an area dominated by the Orthodox Church and under-reached by the gospel, earlier in 2017.
Right on the border of Eritrea, where a brutal government persecutes Christians, 100 to 150 Eritreans daily are risking their lives crossing the border. Many of these are evangelical Christians, who are now living in four camps in the area where the Langham Preaching seminar took place.
At the seminar were 16 Eritrean refugees, with the rest being Ethiopians. Some of the seminar participants had been imprisoned for their faith in Eritrea. One woman, who was 19 or 20, had been imprisoned three times, starting when she was 14 years old. When the refugees come to Ethiopia, they have to pay a lot of money for guides because they have to lead them through a secluded area and roads.
Four evangelical churches
From the four refugee camps, there are four evangelical churches. These refugees go back to the camps and minister to many of the believers in the camp.
Further training is planned for 2018. Preaching clubs have been planned where people are encouraged to get together, to encourage one another about their ministry and about their preaching especially.
The preparation of leaders is important for this church in exile. One day, when the Lord answers prayers and brings down the Eritrean regime, if the leaders go back they will be equipped. Otherwise, Christianity will be shallow. In Africa, there is a saying that Christianity is a ‘mile wide and an inch deep’ because there is little discipleship. The training is an attempt to stop this pattern of depth repeating itself in Eritrea.
