Ethiopia Updates – February 2023

1. Disciple Making Movement /DMM/ Summit and Intensive Training with African Leaders.

God has been raising a Disciple Making Movement across Africa. In collaboration with our partner J-life Africa; we hosted 23 African leaders from 19 English speaking African countries to attend a Disciple Making Summit and Intensive Training here in Debrezeit/ Bishoftu/, Ethiopia in this past month January. The theme of this Summit and Intensive training was to mobilize Disciple Making Movement across Africa and learn the Jesus’s way of Disciple Making according to Scripture.

This gathering has helped us to share our experiences and challenges, to get know each other more and to share stories how God has been doing in each of our countries.

Teaching and group discussion time

I take this opportunity to thank John Abrahams from South Africa who is the ministry director of J-life Africa for choosing us and taught us a very important principles of Disciple Making from the life and ministry of Jesus. I believe that the fruits of this gathering will bear more fruits in each of our countries in the years to come.

2. Marriage & Family counselors Training and Graduation

Our Family Life department has been doing great things in various areas of marriage and family life. One of our key strategic directions in this ministry is to train, equip and send out and commission marriage and family counsellors in different regions of the country.

This is very important and will help our local churches and communities to have equipped, trained ministers and will be able to address marriage and family issues and enhance healthy family in every community.

Graduation ceremony and sending them out through blessings and prayer

This program is a one-year program and we teach the trainees 12 selective courses that are related with marriage, family, parenting, communication and finance etc. in collaboration with our Zonal office in the Southern region of the country; we have graduated 65 men and women by the end of last month.

We believe that those people who have graduated from this program will help our church to enhance its marriage and family ministry in a better way. I thank Pastor Dereje Girma and our zonal leader Pastor Behailu Berasa for their effort and contribution for this program.

3. Youth Development Training, Consultation and Festival in Awasa.

Equipping and Disciplining young generation is the need of the season. Our youth department has got this vision and has organized a youth festival in Awasa town that includes prayer, worship, training and consultation.

It has been really a life transformative event and many of them got empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit and got understanding of their purpose in their lives. We believe that this fire will go out like a wild fire and touch many lives for His Glory.

I thank Pastor Sintayehu and other local organizers for their commitment and leadership for this event.

4. Conclusion, Praise & Prayer Requests

The followings are praises and prayer request items to pray about with us: –

• Thank God for the African DMM Summit. Pray for the fruits of the summit and may God continue working through our leaders.
• Pray for our young leaders that God would continue to raise, equip and grow them to be the leaders of this young generation.
• Pray for the fruits of all our programs and projects in our ministries as Jesus Promised us to bear more fruits even lasting fruits.
• Pray for our Marriage and family department that may God would continue working through them to save marriages, to tackle divorce and to lead our youth in right path.

Samson Weldemariam /Pst/
Africa & Ethiopia director of U4A