Author: Brian Spicer

Mark Savior is a church planter who attended the trainings by Multiplication Network Ministries (MNM) in Aflao Central, Ghana. Mark has a degree in theology and has attended other theological schools. Mark is impressed with the program and resources that MNM uses to equip church planters with the practical tools needed to plant a healthy church.

“The training program and material that MNM is using is outstanding,” says Mark. After completing only the second module of training, Mark was able to put the tools and skills he learned through the classes into use immediately.

Mark is eager to share what he’s already learned with small groups in his community. As a result of his efforts and the work of the Holy Spirit, hundreds of people have heard the gospel and have wonderful testimonies of how Jesus touched their lives.

The training Mark received from MNM’s program will be something he can directly apply to whatever situation comes his way and to fulfill his calling to plant churches.

Mark is so grateful for what MNM offers and prays that God will continue to bless the ministry and those who make it possible. Through generous donors, this program has been brought to his community and he trusts that God will open more doors for churches to be planted in even the most remote parts of Ghana.

Kandame Marthe was born in Karongi, Rwanda. Her life was miserable before she came to know Christ. She was the third of her husband’s wives. In 15 years of marriage, Kandame never experienced joy or happiness. There were quarrels and fights in her marriage all the time.
In 1994, thousands of people were killed in genocide. Kandame was forced to leave Rwanda and flee to Congo DRC as a refugee. As she was running for her life, Kandame says she heard an audible voice telling her, “Do not fear, for you will not die. I will protect you. But I want you to serve me in your country where you ran from.”

When she heard this voice speaking to her, Kandame was walking over corpses of other refugees in the forests of Congo DRC. She was completely terrified because she had no idea where the voice came from or who was talking to her. At the time, she did not recognize that it was the Lord calling her to ministry.

Years later, she left her husband because there was no peace in their marriage. She returned to Rwanda to serve God just like the voice told her. Some time later, the Lord told her to plant a church. She did exactly that and pastored a church for five years.
“The church went through a lot during those five years. I faced ups and downs and eventually, the church was divided. Those with whom I started the ministry left me and I was alone,” shares Kandame.

In the midst of these trials, the Lord made it possible for her to meet Rifain Safari, a church planter and trainer through Multiplication Network Ministries (MNM). Rifain told her about MNM’s ministry and how it could help her stagnant church finally become healthy and represent God’s Kingdom in her community.

Kandame was grateful to the Lord for sending help and she joined a church planter class. She has seen tremendous changes in her church and ministry.

“The training came at the right time. We needed something like this because the church was not stable at all. I have learned through the training I have received to never give up no matter what I might be facing in the ministry. More importantly, I was ignorant about so many things but now I am more knowledgeable after receiving the training,” says Kandame.

Carlos Ríos is an associate pastor for the Assemblies of God in Costa Rica. For several years, he had been involved with the church and serving God but had been searching for God’s direction for some time. Carlos was introduced to church planting and started to take an interest in it. He soon saw God opening many doors for him.

One such door was the opportunity to receive church planter training provided by you through Multiplication Network Ministries (MNM). Carlos began to learn the first steps in church planting. One of the first obstacles he had to overcome was to break certain traditional paradigms regarding planting churches such as making a change from the way church planting had been done for the last 30-40 years.

Carlos says that the key part of planting churches is people. “We need passionate leaders who live the gospel in every second of their lives, not just when they are in an evangelical activity or in a meeting but also at work, with their family, in the neighborhood.”

For him, church planting opened a range of possibilities because he is no longer limited to one way of doing things. Rather, he says, the strategy is planting churches in every corner, in every place, and with a specific strategy for that place. “MNM’s church planting approach begins with an analysis of the location and the community itself tells us how to reach them,” Carlos adds.

Carlos shares that one mistake many people make is to think that the people of the local church do not want to plant more churches. He assures that there are many passionate people like him, waiting to be invited to impact their communities and families with the gospel through the planting of churches.

Kennedy Paulo was born in Bukumbi, Mwanza, Tanzania. As a child, Kennedy did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. In their family’s religious tradition, they regarded certain trees as holy or gods. He and his entire family worshipped them despite also reading the Bible. Kennedy’s father frequently visited witch doctors.

Kennedy felt a disquiet in his heart because of these traditions. “I really wanted to choose a different life from what my parents had,” he remembers.

One day, Kennedy was thinking of where he would spend his eternity if he were to die in sin. Then, all of a sudden, he remembered that he had read in the Bible in Mark 8:36 –  “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Through this thought-provoking question, Kennedy decided to completely surrender his life to Jesus and to live only for Him.

Because of what he had lived through, Kennedy had a strong burden for people lost in darkness, specifically his family. He realized God was calling him to be a church planter but didn’t want to go plant a church before he received proper training to help him succeed in his work.

God led him to meet Cretus Ishengoma, a church planter and trainer through Multiplication Network Ministries (MNM). Cretus shared about the ministry and how it works. Kennedy was excited to see how MNM’s vision aligned with the vision the Lord laid upon his heart. He joined a church planter class in Sengerema and successfully completed his training program.

“I have learned a lot through the training I received,” Kennedy says. “God is calling people so he can prepare them and make them ready to go into His vineyard. People with a true call from God will not be driven away from the ultimate goal, which is to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus even if they face challenges.”

Kennedy plans to plant a church to bring hope to the hopeless and transform the lives of many.