Children's Ministry Update!

In the January 2025 Encourager, I suggested you go to the WEO website to read about a family that was changed by a Good News Club, held in 2022. Thank-you for coming here!

When I first went to Sierra Leone (SL) in January of 2020, I noticed during the church conference that the children would sit in a group near the front of the facility, not just for one service a day but for three! Then once the singing was over, they were quite bored for the hour plus sermon that was to follow. I asked about why there was no Children's Church for these kidos; and the answer was an open invitation for me. Even though WEO's focus was to educate the young children about the gospel in our schools, there hadn't yet been anyone to focus or train Sunday school teachers and pastors to start children's ministry in the churches.

The next WEO church conference held in SL was 2022. Becky Arnold (Dr. Arnold's daughter) and I had over 100 children corralled under a palm branch lean-to. Together we taught six days of children's classes. Our focus was the Wordless Book, and on day six we taught the children who had accepted Christ how to evangelize and tell others about Jesus. Each evening, the conference held an Evangelism Crusade. During the service, opportunity was given to any of the children who had received Christ to publicly give their testimony. Below is a clip from one of the boys. This little guy was from a Muslim home and attended a Muslim school.

Fast forward now to November 2024. I was back in the same village teaching another children's class at one of our WEO churches. Upon finishing the service, I told the children that the next day at school their teachers would be distributing the Wordless Books to help them evangelize. A nine year old boy sitting near the front did a “happy” dance like you would expect an American boy to do if he had received an X-box. Who is this boy that is so excited about receiving a 2” felt book with nothing but colors on it? I asked the pastor later who the little boy in the red shirt was that did a happy dance when he heard he would receive the evangelism tool. The pastor replied, “Oh, his name is Yakubu and his father is Muslim. By the way, his older brother, Buari, is the boy who came to Christ in 2022 and he has led all five of his siblings to Christ! Indeed, the Muslim father sees such a difference in the children's behavior that he has permitted them all to attend non-Muslim schools and attend our WEO church.

That little boy in 2022 who attended our children's classes, was seemingly just a “random” child that someone invited to our children's classes. But God knew he wasn't “random” and had a plan. Even before the foundation of the world was made, God knew that in 2022, that little one would hear the Good News of the gospel and come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I thank God for the privilege to be part of that plan. And now all of his siblings have come to know Christ as well. We are praying for their father to be saved.

During two different trips to SL, Mike Makripodis (Vice President of WEO) has had the privilege of witnessing at length to the chief Muslim leader who is in charge of over 1500 Muslims in the Moyamba Junction district and also leader of these children's father. We are praying for a miraculous break-through, that these men would receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Mike Makripodis, Tony McConaghy and another man (Unknown) with Muslim Leader Mansaray (hat).

Please help us pray as we launch Good News clubs in every WEO church and school. We are starting with the seven churches and two schools in Liberia. Training begins in March and the cost is $120 per person. Our goal is to train 10 teaching staff members during this first session. Each church and school will then be able to hold children's meetings once a week after school or on Saturday.

Yakubu receiving his wordless book.

If you would like to support the Good News Club training, please contribute by clicking on the DONATE tab.