In East Africa, South Pacific Division Resources Help to Grow Disciple-making

Hundreds of pastors, church leaders, church planters and members have been trained for disciple-making in the Adventist Church’s East-Central Africa Division (ECD) using resources from the South Pacific Division (SPD).

The training was led by Peter Roennfeldt, author of the Following Jesus book series, Calvary to Pentecost, and the disciple-making series of Conversation Guides, among other books and resources. Participants were trained in the Discovery Bible Reading method and equipped to train others for faith sharing and disciple-making.

“With more than five million members across [ECD] countries, the vision is to equip all to transition ‘from spectators to disciple-makers,’ ” Roennfeldt said. “Leaders and participants in all the countries — Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda — were excited about the simplicity of Discovery Bible Reading, the process underlying the multiplication of disciples and church plants across Papua New Guinea in recent years.”

Hosted in five cities across almost four weeks in March, the training programs were coordinated by Paul Muasya, field secretary and assistant to the president for Adventist Mission and church planting for the ECD. “The equipping of disciple-makers using Jesus’ methods is exactly what we needed, and we really appreciate the process of Discovery Bible Reading,” Muasya said. “It is something all our members and pastors can use!”

Already available in Arabic, Amharic (Ethiopian), French, and English, the Discovery Bible Reading bookmark is currently being translated into the other languages spoken across the ECD. “These bookmarks are shared with all in the groups, they explain the process and effectively provide training each time they are used,” Roennfeldt said. “They prompt discussion on the Bible passage being read and equip each participant to share with others, therefore multiplying disciples. Research is pointing to Discovery Bible Reading groups as foundational to disciple-making movements and church-planting movements around the world.”

Work is ongoing to translate more of Roennfeldt’s books and resources into a number of languages around world, including projects in French and the launch of the Japanese edition of Following the Apostle’s Vision earlier this year. So far this year, Roennfeldt has also led training programs for pastors in the South Bahamas Conference, Japan Union Conference, and South New Zealand Conference.

The original version of this story was posted by Adventist Record.