20 Nov Muslims and Christians in Peaceful Co-existence

At a Sierra Leone Muslim conference in 2013.

The mosque in Kono

Freetown Central Mosque, built by former Libyan dictator Muamar Gaddafi.

Steve Dennie (right), Communications Director

We don’t think of Sierra Leone as a Muslim country—not with its background as a British colony and the long history of Christian missionary work. Yet 60% of Sierra Leoneans are Muslim. Only 20-30% of the people are Christians. The remaining 10-20% follow tribal religions.

Despite the predominance of Islam, Bishop John Pessima says Christians don’t encounter opposition from Muslims in Sierra Leone. At least not like in some other countries.

The lives of Christians and Muslims are intertwined in many ways, says Bishop Pessima. These intertwined relationships breed mutual respect and understanding.

“Even though I’m a Christian bishop, I have relatives who are Muslims. We sit and talk together. We live together, talk together, move together. We give them things during Ramadan season. Some Muslim clerics who are my friends.”

He also gives a lot of credit to the country’s Inter-Religious Council, which consists of Christian and Muslim leaders. John is a member.

“Whenever some national issue arises, we come together,” he says. “It was that group that went into the bush and spoke with the rebels about peace. Last year during the election some problems created a stalemate. The group met with the president and the opposition and said, ‘We want peace. Let’s talk it over.’”

The Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone formed in 1997, partly to avoid opening a religious dimension to the rebel war. Founding members included the Council of Churches of Sierra Leone, which represents 18 Protestant denominations (including the United Brethren), the Pentecostal Churches Council, the country’s three Roman Catholic dioceses, and various Sierra Leone Muslim groups—the Supreme Islamic Council, the Muslim Congress, the Council of Imans, the Federation of Muslim Women Associations, and the Islamic Missionary Union.

Soon after the IRCSL formed, a coup put a military junta in charge. Though the junta began targeting religious leaders, the IRCSL’s role is credited with preventing much worse conditions from prevailing. Later, as Bishop Pessima indicated, the IRCSL played a major role in peace talks with the rebel forces.

In July 2013, a United Nations human rights expert, Heiner Bielefeldt, visited Sierra Leone. He reported that the high degree of religious tolerance in Sierra Leone far exceeded his expectations. Everyone he talked to “agreed that religious communities, in particular Muslims and Christians, live peacefully and harmoniously side-by-side.”

He continued, “The unusual degree of interreligious tolerance and cooperation remains a great asset for rebuilding and developing the nation….People generally do not encounter problems when bearing witness to their faith in private or in public, and they can also invite others freely to join their community.”

He recalled that a Christian person remarked that when the church is overcrowded he might well decide to go to a mosque to pray. “Such a statement, which in many countries would be fairly unusual or even unthinkable, seems rather indicative of the tolerant situation in Sierra Leone,” he stated. “Likewise, Muslims told me they have no difficulty to pray in a Christian church.”

920 Muslims from Sierra Leone participated in the October 2013 pilgrimage to Mecca.

Sierra Leone Conference has pushed into the southern district of Pujehun to evangelize the Vai people. But even though Pujehun is predominantly Muslim, Bishop Pessima says, “There is no opposition.”

But are Muslims open to the Gospel?

“Oh yes,” he says emphatically.

He has heard Muslims refer to Islamic fanaticism in other countries, like Nigeria, where much bloodshed occurs. They tell him, “We are not hearing about Christians doing these things—it’s just Muslims. So I don’t think I’ll continue being Muslim.”

Also, the generosity of Christians makes an impact. “When it gets close to Easter, we encourage our churches to give out used clothing. That is something we’re doing for Pujehun. Christians are known for giving handouts. Even during the war, a number of people were led to Christianity because churches were giving things to people, like food and clothing.”

However, he is concerned about the Muslims clerics who come to Sierra Leone from other countries. They don’t share the mindset of native-born Muslims and Christians, and have the potential of injecting animosity into the relationship. But for now, Sierra Leone’s Muslims and Christians live together in healthy and peaceful coexistence.

19 Nov Over 500 Nurses in Training at Mattru

Nursing students and leaders around the school’s sign at Mattru.

Some of the nursing students at Mattru. (click to enlarge)

A nursing class.

Ten years ago, Mattru Hospital started a nursing school. It has grown rapidly.

Currently, says Bishop John Pessima, we have 526 students in training. They live in rented houses around the community.

Bishop Pessima says, “We are praying for a dormitory to be built, which would also generate income for us.”

18 Nov Honduras Continues to Expand Ministry

Juanita Chavez (second from left) with church planters in the remote community of Hatos del Santo.

Jeff Bleijerveld (right), Director of Global Ministries

With more than 100 churches and numerous church plants, Honduras National Conference is not resting on its laurels but advances on every level.

Superintendent Juanita Chavez reports that they are setting up capital development accounts for each district and appointing leaders to oversee the needs of pastors and local churches. This let the national office focus more time on leadership development and training.

With regards to training leaders, the conference adopted the BILD program developed by the Antioch School of Ministry from Ames, Iowa. This non-formal, competency based program revolves around in-service training in the local church context. This low-cost, four-year program allows students to continue on to graduate and post-graduate studies.

After their upcoming national conference January 15-18, 2014, I will meet with other Central American conference leaders to discuss the development of a missions leadership team. We fully anticipate that our Central American conferences will engage in sending missionaries to serve overseas in the future. This makes formation of a missions leadership team essential.

You can also pray for Honduras as national elections take place November 24. This comes at a critical time, as drug cartels are running rampant over police and federal authorities. Pray that God would have his hand in providing effective leadership to the nation.

18 Nov The Jesus Film – Telling Christ’s Story in Sierra Leone

The conference uses an old two-reel projector to show the Jesus film.

Transporting the Jesus film equipment by canoe.

Steve Dennie (right), Communications Director

A major evangelistic tool for Sierra Leone Conference is the Jesus film, which tells the life of Christ. The conference owns copies in Mende and Krio, the two languages spoken predominantly in southern Sierra Leone.

Jesus, a two-hour film based on the book of Luke, is considered one of the greatest evangelistic tools of all time. The vision for the film came from Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, which provided most of the financing. It was filmed over a period of several months in the Middle East, sometimes using actual locations (like the Jordan River). Each day, new footage was sent to a team of biblical scholars, who reviewed it for biblical accuracy.

Warner Bros. released the film in the United States in 1979, but it got terrible reviews and lost money. Then, in 1981, Bill Bright created the Jesus Film Project with the vision of translating it into numerous languages and showing it around the world. In that way, the film has proven to be a huge success. New material was added in 2001 to show how Christ’s life fits into history—the creation story, Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden, Abraham, and prophecies from Isaiah.

Since 1979, over 200 million people have made decisions to follow Christ after watching the film. It has been translated into nearly 1200 languages.

The Jesus film has been a very effective evangelism tool in Sierra Leone. They began showing it in Pujehun, a predominantly Muslim area. They use a portable screen or, if available, the wall of a building. The film requires an old two-reel projector. The conference projector gets a regular workout, but is on its last legs. They’re looking for a replacement.

After showing the film, an evangelist gives a talk and, often, many people will give themselves to Christ. They then organize discipleship training for the new Christians to get them grounded in the faith. In one place, the town chief saw the film and became a Christian. His influence as a figurehead in the community has made a big impact.

Many of these people, says Bishop John Pessima of Sierra Leone Conference, are not literate and have had no formal education. So, they plan to organize classes to teach them how to read the Mende Bible.

Sierra Leone Conference obtained the Mende and Krio versions of the Jesus film many years ago through the Great Commission Movement. The films are showing their age, but continue showing the ageless message of Christ to people in search of a Savior.

16 Nov Bishop Pessima: Among the Vai People

A visit to Pujehun in February 2013. L-r: Jeff Bleijerveld, Bishop Phil Whipple, Bishop John Pessima with Sierra Leone leaders and workers in Pujehun. (click to enlarge)

Donna Hollopeter with people from the Vai church in Pujehun in February 2013.

Bishop John Pessima (right) of Sierra Leone Conference is currently in the United States, where he is spending a couple months visiting United Brethren churches. During a stop at the National Office in Huntington, Ind., he talked about the conference’s work among the Vai people.

The Vai, a predominantly Muslim group, live on the border with Liberia in Pujehun, one of the 12 districts (like states) of Sierra Leone. It is sparsely populated, with about 300,000 people living mostly in villages of less than 2000 people. We now have a church and school in Pujehun.

They were introduced to Pujehun by a man who grew up there as a Muslim. He moved to Freetown as a young man, became a Christian, and joined the Wellington United Brethren church. John Pessima personally baptized him.

The man later moved back to Pujehun, and died in April 2013. But before passing, he instructed that two plots of land he owned be given, free of charge, to the United Brethren church.

“We are now trying to document ownership,” says Bishop Pessima.

The church currently meets in that man’s home, and the school uses a small classroom. “For now, Rev. Peter Kainwo, the conference superintendent of evangelism, is leading the church and school,” says Bishop Pessima.

A few young men, UBs from Bo and Freetown, moved to Pujehun because of their jobs with non-government organizations. Bishop Pessima describes them as “strong UB youths who are assisting greatly.”