Stories

God called Jo-Marrie at the lowest point of her life

May 12th, 2013 | Discussion (0)

Called.

Jo-Marrie Fortuin became a Christian when she was 17 years old. “I will always remember that year because it was the most difficult time of my life. God met me at the lowest point of my life. I became very ill. I was in and out of the hospital, seeing many different doctors, but none of them could identify the problem. Hospital bills were piling up.” Thankfully, she says, she grew up in a Christian home, so she and her family prayed earnestly for a breakthrough from the Lord. “I was getting worse by the day, and doctors had lost hope. I started doubting God and questioning Him. Finally in His goodness, He enabled a doctor to make the right diagnosis. The problem was connected to my inner organs. I had to undergo a major operation which really scared me as a young person, but it was very successful.”

Following her operation, Jo-Marrie’s church had a visitor from South Africa. As the woman preached, Jo-Marrie was very touched by her message. “It made me think of the time I was in the hospital. I realized that our lives are so short on earth, and God wants to use us to do His work while we are here. If it wasn’t for God’s grace, I would not have had a successful operation.” That evening, she decided to give her life completely to the Lord, follow Him and do what He wants her to do.

She credits her Christian parents for her faith and how they raised her. “My parents always encouraged me and taught me the Word of God. The fact that they always put God first and trusted Him for everything in their lives had such a big impact on me. After my conversion, they continued to share the Word of God with me, and that made me grow even stronger in the Lord.”

Trained.
With a great passion to serve God, Jo-Marrie decided to study theology. “I love sharing the Gospel with young people and would really love to see more young people giving their lives to the Lord.” She has already earned a Certificate in Evangelism and Christian Counseling. She is now in her final year at the Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary (NETS).

“Being at a Bible school is the most wonderful experience one could ask for, to study God’s Word in depth and be equipped for ministry. But being at a Bible school is not all about information but also transformation. Being part of the NETS community helps me to grow in my character and in my Christian walk with the Lord.”

“One of the subjects I love is ‘Contextual Theology.’ It helps me grow in the knowledge of African cultures and contexts which is of utmost importance for African leaders. It shows me whether I hold to or challenge traditional African religions and beliefs. I believe in the inspired and infallible Word of God and don’t want to compromise it in order to fit the context.”

Multiplied.
Equipped to serve, Jo-Marrie is a member of the Evangelical Mission Church. She serves as a deaconess on the church council and will be inducted as an elder soon. She teaches confirmation classes and recently started a youth group. She also has a great passion for music, so she’s a member of the worship team. “Since being at NETS, my ministry has become much more effective because I have been given a good foundation for teaching the Bible.”

After graduating, Jo-Marrie’s church will appoint her to be involved with youth work and other pastoral and leadership roles. She wants to use her Christian Counseling certificate to serve the Lord with her counseling gifts. “Many of our young people contract HIV/AIDS. Others drink too much alcohol, and the suicide rate among teenagers is very high. They need good role models and Bible teaching. Challenges, trials and hardships will always be there while we are on this earth, but I always remind myself that ‘the joy of the Lord is my strength.’ We are always to seek the Lord’s face in whatever we are facing. And when everything is going well with us, we should give glory to God, for He is good all the time.”

Dr. Seble trains hundreds of Ethiopian ministry leaders to face contextual challenges biblically

May 12th, 2013 | Discussion (0)

Called.

Raised under Communist rule in Ethiopia, Seblewengel Daniel had the blessing of growing up in a Christian family and accepted Christ at an early age. Evangelical churches were scarce, and it proved difficult for Christians to find a church with a pastor who had a Bible and preached from it. The churches that fit this description were packed. Seble recalls arriving at church by 7:30 am every Sunday and waiting outside the church doors with her family, so that when the doors opened at 10 am, the family could find seats together.

Seble served in child and youth Sunday school programs and led the choir. She says she “longed and prayed to serve the Lord on a full-time basis.” The church leadership observed her teaching skills, and knowing the great need for biblically-educated ministry leaders, they asked her to consider an education in biblical studies to serve the church.

Trained.
Seble and her church leaders explored training opportunities, though there were few private schools due to Communist laws. The public schools were extremely competitive because there were so many students and no private universities to help bear the burden of educating Ethiopian youth. Throughout this time of research and exploration, the Evangelical Theological College (ETC) sent brochures to Seble’s church, and the following year in 1993, she started her course work.

Seble earned her Bachelor’s degree in Theology and then returned to serve in her church. She utilized her skills and ministry gifts with another church as well as Serving In Mission (SIM) which helped establish the denomination in which her church is associated. She also taught at an Amharic Bible school that offered two-year certificates. In 2002, she earned her Master’s degree in Systematic Theology from the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST).

While working on her Master’s thesis on the view of women and women’s ministry, she returned to ETC to serve as Registrar and faculty member. She also taught in her church’s higher-level Bible school. The ETC leadership continued to see her natural skillset for mentoring students and training staff, so they sent Seble to Ghana to complete her PhD in Theology.

Multiplied.
In January 2012, Dr. Seble returned to teach Systematic Theology courses at ETC full-time, including the Doctrine of Christ and Salvation, the Church and the End Times, Ethics, Theological Matters in Africa and the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. This semester, she teaches 83 students in three of these courses. The students are focusing on theological truths and applying them to their region and context.

One of her students recently presented on “The Church and Divorce in Ethiopia.” The student shared, “45% of Ethiopian marriages end in divorce. Some contextual challenges to marriage specific to various people groups in Ethiopia include, for example, women who are married against their will or who are kidnapped and forced into marriage.” Discussing these Ethiopian contextual challenges to marriage, the student approached the topic and its challenges using the biblical approaches and Christian moral ethics Dr. Seble taught.

Dr. Seble plans to serve at ETC for at least another six years, training hundreds of Ethiopian ministry leaders to approach Ethiopian challenges theologically as they study the Bible and apply it to their contexts. Her students love her classes and the challenging conversations she encourages.

She also teaches part-time at her other Ethiopian alma mater, EGST. Dr. Desta Heliso, EGST Director, identifies a critical aspect of Dr. Seble’s multiplication. “She has made significant strides in the area of campaigning against female genital mutilation in our country. She was the major voice behind the development of a declaration against it for the Evangelical Fellowship of Ethiopia, which has since disseminated the declaration and even took time to read it aloud at their General Assembly. This is important work. It is making a difference.”

Agnes’ counseling centers serve more than 1,000 people

May 12th, 2013 | Discussion (0)

Called.
Born in a church-going family, Agnes Odero says being mentored by a female missionary led to her faith becoming her own at the age of 12. “I gave my life to the Lord by myself when I saw a book that had pictures of Jesus’ crucifixion. It reminded me of [the missionary’s] teachings, that I was a sinner and Jesus died in my place. I cried and asked Jesus to come into my heart.”

As an adult, Agnes’ ministry began after she lost her husband to a random act of violence in 2000. She had left to go work in another town and was to return the following day. While away, she received a call from her brother-in-law, explaining that her husband had been attacked and was in critical condition in a Nairobi hospital. She drove two hours straight there, but he passed before she arrived. This traumatizing event reshaped the focus of her life. Her pastor and his wife were the only pastors nearby who had experience in counseling. They walked her through the stages of grief. As she processed this event and experienced healing through the counseling they provided, Agnes became interested in helping others in the same way and decided to take up the mission of multiplying counseling services throughout Nairobi. “After the tragedy, I purposed to serve the Lord in counseling [in order to help] people who go through [traumatic events] like I went through. I joined the counseling ministry at church, but I really needed training.”

Trained.
Agnes began her studies at the Nairobi International School of Theology (NIST), Kenya, to acquire the necessary training. In her studies, Agnes said God taught her to serve Him with her whole heart. She grew to love Him more and matured in her faith. “He also taught me that there are very few laborers and much work,” she says. In Kenya, Agnes says there is a growing need for counseling of both the young and the old. “The rate of suicide is increasing among the youth. The cause is unknown since suicide notes are not left, but most parents suspect it is either failed relationships or academic performance. Adolescence is a difficult developmental stage for some people. Due to the many changes taking place in their bodies, they can become depressed because they are overwhelmed. Some find it difficult to open up to anyone when struggling with a problem. I felt God calling me to minister to the youth. As I studied theology, I saw more clearly the problem of the fallen nature of man and how it is only God who can help. Psychology and counseling theories help me understand people better. What I studied has helped me sharpen my counseling skills and made me more proficient as I minister to God’s people.”

Agnes graduated with her Master’s degree in Counseling Studies in 2008. She benefited from an Overseas Council scholarship. “I believed that God would provide my school fees, and He did. Glory be to Him alone.” The long-term impact of scholarships is the multiplication of godly leaders like Agnes who are equipped with theological and responsive contextual knowledge in order to lead the Church and society through the issues and problems they face with vision, integrity and competence.

Multiplied.
While still studying at NIST and since graduating, Agnes established three counseling programs in churches throughout Nairobi. She manages the counselor training sessions and returns regularly for quality assessment and improvement at all three churches. Together these programs have served more than 1,000 individuals specializing in HIV/AIDS diagnosis, tribal/ethnic blending of families, peace and reconciliation, grief, addictions and pre-marital, marital and depression counseling services.

In addition, Agnes leads a ministry to single mothers and widows. Her ministry seeks to comfort the women and meet their needs through personal one-on-one visits, group prayer meetings, guest speakers and social outings.

She also still volunteers for the counseling ministry at her church in Nairobi. She hopes to teach counseling studies in institutions of higher education.

Overview 2013 | Overseas Council

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Called. 2013 | Overseas Council

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Trained. 2013 | Overseas Council

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Multiplied. 2013 | Overseas Council

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Faces 2013 | Overseas Council

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TEACH 2013 | Overseas Council

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Kennedy equips 12 Maasai pastors who impact over 1,000 church members in Kenya

May 9th, 2013 | Discussion (0)

Called.
Kennedy is a born again Christian. Ten years ago, he says he was called but refused. “I just didn’t see myself doing ministry. Someone told me, ‘I just couldn’t see you anywhere but the pulpit.’ I laughed inside. For seven years, I went to church and sat in the back, so I could get out quickly. Finally I was asked if I’d like to help at the church, so I said I’d usher. One morning in the early service, the pastor was late, and someone asked me to teach. Afterward, the church leaders asked me to get theological training in order to preach again in the future.”

Kennedy-2568_250 Trained.
Kennedy studied at Africa International University (AIU) in Kenya. He already had a degree in business management, so he inquired about a degree in theology.

Kennedy is thankful to God for His provision. He didn’t have the funds to get an education when he arrived but was able to complete his studies through various scholarships, including one from Overseas Council. He graduated in 2011 with his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Studies.

Multiplied.
Kennedy is passing on his theological training to other pastors who have none in order to help them have a deeper understanding of the Bible and Christianity as a whole. He trains pastors in the Kibera slums and Maasai churches (the Maasai are an ethnic group in Kenya). “The Maasai believe that men need to be very macho, so I had to help them see that Jesus was not weak on the cross but rather strong. He was also smart because He won in the end!” Kennedy says his training has helped in a number of ways in ministry, including showing other pastors how to teach the Bible in context and the power of forgiveness.

Kennedy says his story is an example of how investing in one leader impacts multitudes. The pastors he is training today will teach others in various churches tomorrow. By equipping a group of 12 pastors, he is reaching over 1,000 of their church members with the true Gospel message due to his training from AIU.

Kennedy also works at AIU as a project officer in fundraising. His wife passed away in December 2011; he is a single parent to their seven-year-old daughter and four-year-old son.

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