And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
- Matthew 28:18-20
What's new this week
The life of a cross-cultural missionary is full of challenges. At AfriGO we want to encourage you in your ministry and in your spiritual life.
Visit our Missionary Resources page to help with some practical issues, as well as give you food for thought.
new for you
Missionary Profile - Keriya Mohammed(opens in new tab)
I grew up in northern Ethiopia in a Muslim family as the third of four children. As a child, I regularly attended the mosque to learn how to read the Quran. When I was eight years old, I joined a child development programme run by Compassion International. It was there that I first began hearing Bible stories and learning about Jesus.
Those stories stayed with me. I became curious and started reading the Bible privately. When I was 12 years old, while walking to a tutorial class one day, I experienced a deep inner conviction that Jesus was calling me to follow him. It wasn’t anything dramatic, just a deep inner conviction. That moment marked the beginning of my personal journey of faith.
As I grew in my faith, the church community played an important role in my life. I began serving as a Sunday school teacher, sharing Bible stories with younger children.
Later, I pursued theological studies and had the opportunity to study Christian–Muslim relations
From SIM: "they look like Ethiopians"(opens in new tab)
Ethiopian couple Iaka and Liya offer a wonderful example of how God has used SIM’s Faithful Witness initiative in amazing ways.
They are part of the Faithful Witness team serving the Fulani people in Nigeria. The Fulani are the largest nomadic people group in the world and have had a very complicated and adversarial relationship with Christians historically.
Iaka, Liya, and their family have been serving in this community for three years. They were sent by the East Africa Sending Office in Ethiopia and have since developed trusting relationships with local Fulani village leaders, established a women’s ministry through Ethiopian coffee ceremonies, and have even distributed audio Bibles.
SIM’s East Africa Sending Office Director, Seble, recently shared how unexpected cultural and ethnic ties between Ethiopian and Fulani people have created new opportunities for relationships.
Missionary profile – Ezekiel Jako(opens in new tab)
While on a trip to the USA, a church in Canada invited me to go over and speak. I applied for a five-day visa – and instead, I got a 10-year visa! A friend and fellow missionary quipped, “Ezekiel, you have a Canadian 10-year visa; go serve the Lord!”
But I didn’t feel called to be a missionary in Canada. Besides, I didn’t know anyone who’d host me. So I took my pre-planned five-day trip and returned home. But the Lord worked in my heart and confirmed my calling through other brethren. Two years later, I embarked on my journey as a missionary in Canada. I have been serving as the City Director with International Students Ministry for three years now.
But my journey as a missionary started many years ago as a teenager when I accepted the Lord as my Saviour during a Christian Union weekend rally. I knew I wanted to serve God,but I didn’t know how or where.
Missionary profile – Georgina Takundwa(opens in new tab)
My heart is for the unreached nation of the Somalis. I have lived among least reached communities in many places. My focus has been on Somali communities, wherever they are—from Zambia to Djibouti to communities in Cape Town and Jo-burg, SA.
On one of my mission trips, we travelled by bus from Harare in Zimbabwe to Mombasa, Nairobi and then further north. It took us a week on this trip on the road. The mission seed had been planted in my heart a few years earlier, and I reached Somali communities wherever they were.
I’m now working with Operation Mobilization (OM) as a People Care Officer in Zimbabwe. I take care of all the details needed for a missionary to go and thrive in the mission field. I focus on the spiritual, mental and physical well-being of the missionaries. I also train pastors on how to care for missionaries.
From GMNI: "the temptation to pursue the spectacular"(opens in new tab)
Are there certain temptations in ministry in general, and in mobilization ministry in particular, that leaders need to recognize and guard against? The answer, as we all know, is a resounding, YES!
Professor of leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary, Dr. Bobby Clinton, who also happened to be one of my mentors, suggested that relatively few ministry leaders finish well. Through his extensive research, he identified six common barriers that often derail leaders:
- Finances—their use and abuse
- Abuse of power
- Pride
- Illicit sexual relationships
- Family issues
- Spiritual plateauing
Every ministry leader should take deliberate precautions against these dangers. Yet there is another temptation that is often overlooked and sometimes even excused. Though far more subtle, it can be equally damaging to our effectiveness in ministry.
Missionary profile – Kassum and Assita Balbone(opens in new tab)
Growing up in one of Abidjan’s most difficult and dangerous areas, we were young, obstinate, insolent, and Muslim. That once young stubborn boy is now a missionary and a mobilizer in Burkina Faso doing research awareness, mobilization, church planting, discipleship, and training.
Life was tough in a foreign country on a meager watchman’s salary. One afternoon, a young man met us and started talking about Jesus. The Lord captured my brother, who was the worst among us, and changed his life. He no longer argued with our parents, didn’t beat me like before, and even stopped climbing over our neighbour’s wall to steal things.
I wanted to know what happened to my brother, so I started following him. I noticed he was speaking to others about Jesus, and within no time, I, too, was converted. It was shameful for my dad—it looked like he couldn’t control his children.
Missionary profile – Lindani and Nombuso Mazibuko(opens in new tab)
I was a new believer on a short-term mission trip to Switzerland when I felt the Lord asking me to serve Him fully in missions. I was scared of the financial aspect after learning that I’d not be getting a salary for this work. Therefore, I made a decision not to get married. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I didn’t want someone else’s child to suffer because of my choices. One year later, I met a Zulu girl who was also ready to suffer for the Lord, and we were okay to suffer together.
My wife, Nombuso, and I are now mobilizers and trainers with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. We travel, recruit, and mobilize people for our regions and the world. We also recruit for YWAM, and we are not suffering.
I grew up in a Christian home, but none of us was born again. I dropped out of university due to financial constraints, and soon, I got a job.
Missionary profile – Thabang and Tshenolo Selemala(opens in new tab)
When I was two years old, my parents separated. I spent my childhood oscillating between relatives. I took odd jobs after school and became a master of many. Then Christ found me and gave me the best job ever —a missionary and a mobilizer. I’m now serving with my wife as a missionary in Southern Africa.
While living with my grandma, a man visited to share the gospel with her. I raised my hands when he made an altar call—but I didn’t understand salvation. In middle school, I got saved for the final time, but I was always under the conviction that I couldn’t go to heaven because of the sins I had committed.
Years later, while working as a Geologist Assistant in a Mining Exploration project, a man who used to sell Bibles from his red car trunk talked to me about the assurance of salvation. He gave me a Bible; that was the last time I talked myself out of salvation again.
Missionary profile – Peter and Irene Kapinga(opens in new tab)
My first demonstration of Christian service was my dad – he was and still is an evangelist. I didn’t want to be a preacher like him; I wanted to be an army officer. Dad said that wasn’t my career. I disagreed with him, but time has vindicated him. God’s plan for me was to be a missionary and mobilizer.
My wife, Irene and I now work with Africa Inland Mission (AIM), mobilizing and training the Church in Zambia. We have a supporting team.
Before becoming a missionary, I was a casual labourer at Copper Belt. I worked in the mines for a year before realizing that mining copper wasn’t my calling either. I enrolled to do social work at the university. My dream was to become a lecturer in a Bible school, so I applied to do theology.
When we studied Church history, the stories of the early fathers of faith and their passion and dedication inspired me a lot. I wanted to change the world as they did.
When I was done with Theology school, I went back to Kitwe with a desire to serve the Lord in
From The Lausanne Movement: From ‘What Do You Have?’ to ‘What Will You Leave Behind?’(opens in new tab)
For decades, if we’re honest, for centuries, Africa has been considered a continent waiting to receive what wealthy countries have to give: the good news of Jesus, financial resources, discipleship materials, leadership training, imported solutions to its problems.
Open the glossy ministry brochures. Read the email campaigns. Watch the donor videos. And you will see a remarkably consistent narrative: Africa receives. The Global North sends. Africa learns. The Global North teaches. Africa needs. The Global North provides.
Sadly, this pattern extends beyond fundraising appeals into the resources created to help churches grow in stewardship and generosity. Ministries based in the Global North develop generosity curricula then they invite African
Missionary profile – Rev. Faith Mugera(opens in new tab)
Immediately after graduating college as a twenty-three-year-old girl, I was asked to consider interning at the Nairobi Chapel, and I accepted. When I completed my internship, I didn’t want anything else to do with ‘full-time ministry.’ I was done and dusted.
Later, I packed my bags and went to the United States to do a master’s degree in Non-Profit Management, my other passion. When I returned home, God found me again; it was the right time. I couldn’t run.
I’m now working as a pastor at Nairobi Chapel. I initially started in the social justice space. Nairobi Chapel seeks to see spiritual transformation happening alongside social transformation. We have communities around us that are broken, underserved and poor. I’ve been mobilizing the Church to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I’m also in charge of our church’s Global Partnerships.
Missionary profile – Manoa and Vola Ratovona(opens in new tab)
As an introverted, quiet, easy-to-forget middle child, I was the least likely candidate to be a missions mobilizer. I was much more focused on education. I studied Economics, became a school teacher, and later, a university lecturer. But now, I’m working with Africa Inland Mission (AIM), mobilizing the Church in Madagascar and encouraging them to be more involved in missions. I’m the Director for AIM in Madagascar.
I grew up in church—my parents were students’ ministry workers with Union des Groupes Bibliques de Madagascar (UGBM). (This is the French equivalent of Fellowship of Christian Unions [FOCUS] and [IFES]).
I was conscious of the idea of salvation, but it dawned on me that I wasn’t saved. I knew I needed to surrender to Christ fully. After high school, I was sad that I had not shared the gospel with any of my classmates, and now they had gone out to the world without hearing about salvation—at least not from me.