Gumuz Led Weekend

It's been two years. Two years of building relationships with Gumuz church leadership and staff. Two years of serving the community in physical ways. Two years for Gumuz to know and trust us and understand that we didn't come to lead the church but discipleGumuz into biblical leadership.

Gumuz in leadership. This has not come easily. This has come because through great hardship, past missionaries persevered and then passed on the baton. This has come because of the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

This month, Gumuz men were called to attend the first weekend of (hopefully) many weekends that will train more Gumuz to lead fellowships in their villages. These weekends are meant to disciple these men in the Word, in character and in servant leadership. These monthly training times are meant to teach Gumuz how to use their culture of song to bring the gospel. (These training times will also include training women.)

And as the weekend came to a close, Rolf knew that the leadership team got it. They looked around and said, “We, Gumuz, are leading this. We can train our own people!” 

Volleyball was played. Gumuz Scriptural songs were used to teach the stories, to teach the Word and they were powerful. The drum beat was heard into the wee hours of the night as these Gumuz men continued to worship the Lord around the fire.

Sessions were shared between Rolf and the leadership team and they taught in unity. The hours of sharing testimonies, discussing how to tie Scripture teaching and song together, praying together, encouraging each other and dividing the responsibilities had paid off. Gumuz teaching. Gumuz discipling others.

This was just the beginning. The goal: to disciple men into leadership within villages that have responded to the gospel. Train more Gumuz to go to more villages. To train women to bring the gospel back to their home villages. Teach through word and in song so that God's word might be understood by many and pierce their hearts (stomachs). 

Teach love so that leaders bring love to the village. To their homes. To their spouses and their children. Love that comes from God. God Almighty willing to send His son to love and to die so that we might be saved. Forgiven. Free.

Pray with us. The Gumuz actively practice animism. Spiritual warfare is guaranteed. Our hope is that these men and women discipled into leadership will be clothed with the armor of God. That they might be protected from the evil one. That they might grow in their knowledge of God. That there might be godly leaders in many Gumuz villages and that they might take the gospel beyond their own people.