Plant a Church in a Week? It'll Never Last.

Pr-Air Force,

No, I’m not getting lazy . . . it’s just that Mike Congrove keeps writing great reports so fast that I can’t keep up with him! So here’s the latest from here in Kigali.

Please keep praying for us. We started this afternoon with our planning meetings. Please pray that God will give us wisdom, and continue the sweet unity He has given us so far.

Thanks for standing in the gap for us.

Mike Jorgensen

From: mike congrove
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2005 3:34 PM
To: Mike Jorgensen
Subject: The Church

This morning, I gave a testimony in a local church here in Kigali, Rwanda. Rwanda is called "The Country of a Thousand Hills" (at night when you can just see the lights of the houses, it looks like California with its hills and deep valleys). We went up the side of one of those hills this morning to be a part of a church service--a service that ran from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. I couldn't help thinking of my fellow Baptists and if this was in the States. With their worship, however, time flew.

A pastor who attended our training invited us. Now, I want to share with you what I shared with the 200 Rwandans I stood in front of this morning, but first a brief detour.

There were 200 Rwandan adults at this church. We met in an open area under a tin roof. See pics, guess where? Yep, here.

If you won't click, imagine a very large carport.

Anyway, the pastor said they were running 200 adults and 140 children. And then the bombshell: This church was established by the Lord via GMF in June of THIS YEAR!

Can God plant a church in a week? Hellooooooooo.

So, my testimony time subject matter. This is good stuff, keep reading. This is what I shared, but I'll alter it a bit for you.

I surrendered to the ministry when I was 17, and at first I obeyed. But then I disobeyed and spent a few years in the wilderness, just like Israel. Even in the spiritual desert, God put Africa on my heart. And here, years later I stood in Africa fulfilling a dream.

After coming out of the wilderness, I prayed for God to show me what He wanted me to do.But someone else was praying for me too, Ali, my wife. For years, she prayed,

"that [I] would be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that [I would] walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience:" Colossians 1:9-11

So I attribute being here, seeing God work in more people, seeing a fulfillment in my life, and finding God's purpose for me, to a large extent, because of a wife who prays for me. And she's cute. What a deal!

I talked to the congregation about the power of praying scripture; it sure had a big impact on me. Several widows told me afterwards it touched their hearts as well.

We've begun our strategy and planning meetings. Please pray for wisdom, vision, and understanding.

I owe you the "Tomorrow you will die" story. I know, it's coming. I had an "I love my wife" moment that intervened. Also have a Sudan story for you. Our national leader from Sudan gave a heart wrenching report this afternoon.

Keep the faith,

Mike Congrove