Team member finds spiritual openness among Muslims in Ghana
Mike* has been engaged in street evangelism in the United States for 25 years. But even with two decades of experience sharing the gospel, a recent trip to Ghana with the OneWay Africa team surprised and encouraged him as he saw true hunger for the gospel.
In January, Mike and his daughter joined OneWay BiblePlus ministry leaders Pete and Beth Beckman on a 10-day trip to Ghana. They visited churches in remote areas to record Bible stories, testimonies and more for future BiblePlus resources. Along the way, Mike also gave biblical trainings on evangelism, prayer and other topics to groups of local pastors and students.
A series of experiences on the trip made Mike realize that far from being closed or hostile to the gospel, people in northern Ghana deeply want to hear from God.
STREET EVANGELISM
As the team traveled from place to place, Mike was involved in one-on-one street evangelism. Mike found the people “very open to the gospel even though they were mostly Muslims that I talked to. And they had kind of a hunger to hear what you had to say.”
The JESUS FILM SHOWING
One night, the BiblePlus team joined OneWay Africa missionary Clement Quaicoe in showing The Jesus Film to nearly 100 people in a village. Due to a mistake discovered at the last minute, there was nearly an hour’s delay in starting the film. But Mike found that even though it was nighttime, no one left. Instead, as they waited, the crowd of both Muslims and Christians followed a local pastor in singing praise songs together.
BIBLEPLUS RECORDING
On one of several recording days, the BiblePlus team filmed and recorded a Christian choir in the shade between two buildings. Since it was out in the open, onlookers from the village gathered on the fringes, many of them Muslim. Many of them had phones in hand, also recording what was going on, and some even sang along!
Mike says that after the team was back in the U.S., Clement messaged them that when he went back to this village and showed The Jesus Film, more than 400 people came — and about 50 of them accepted Christ. It was amazing to Mike to see how recording the choir seemed to draw people toward Christ!
For Mike, it was priceless to be there to support his teenage daughter’s first mission trip and to see her excitement for what missionary work could be like in her own life. But this open hunger for the word of God was what struck him the most about the entire trip. Mike has been involved in evangelism ministry in the U.S. for many years, and he doesn’t usually see that same interest and receptivity to the gospel.
“The Word of God is still fresh to them, it’s exciting, and they want to hear it,” he said about the people he saw in northern Ghana.
Also striking to him was the commitment and sacrifice of the young men like Clement who take The Jesus Film to remote villages in the north.
“These guys are young, and they are giving their lives for something that is very exciting,” Mike says. “The roads that they’re driving on are horrible. It’s very dangerous what they do on a daily basis, but they don’t care. They want to get the gospel out.”
*last name withheld for security reasons
JOIN US IN PRAYER AND PARTNERSHIP:
Pray for the Lord to send more workers to northern Ghana to reach people who are hungry for God’s Word and open to the gospel.
Pray that God blesses the ongoing ministry of Clement Quaicoe and the other Jesus Film riders who bring the gospel to remote villages in northern Ghana.
Consider giving toward the support of the six Jesus Film Riders as they boldly take the gospel to villages in northern Ghana. Fuel and living costs for each rider come to just $16.50/day, or $500/month!
More photos from the BiblePlus recording trip: