A Miracle from Nowhere

A Miracle from Nowhere

An unlikely candidate becomes a successful soul winner.

Nobody in Israel would have agreed with Jesus’ decision to recruit fishermen from the middle of nowhere to establish a worldwide movement. Likewise, nobody considered Jean Claude Ngandu, a young man from Kinshasa, Congo, as a candidate for God’s work. As a youth, Ngandu had made some mistakes, and many people no longer trusted him.

Still, Ngandu heard God calling and in 2016, he asked permission from his pastor to attend the 6-week Bible Worker’s training program offered by Train Them 2 Fish. Going back to his local church, he offered his help as a Bible worker—but still nobody would trust him except his pastor, who encouraged him not to give up.

In April 2018, Ngandu visited the free medical clinic operated by Train Them 2 Fish in Kinshasa. “I have a strong feeling that God is calling me to go somewhere and plant a church,” he told us. “Would you give me a chance?”

Knowing of his reputation, we told Ngandu we would consider the request. When he insisted, we called his local pastor for a recommendation. The pastor encouraged us to give Ngandu the chance.

At the end of April, Ngandu was assigned as a church planter to Tshela, a small town 600 kilometers west of Kinshasa, far from the interference of suspicious acquaintances. Taking his six months’ seed fund, Ngandu set off, excited to begin his work. As soon he arrived at Tshela, however, Ngandu faced two major challenges: His wife got sick, and thieves pickpocketed his money. Even so, Ngandu did not give up. Instead, he started building relationships in the community and soon began Bible studies with four young people. To his surprise, he was quickly invited to sign an agreement with the owner of a local radio station to preach the Adventist message every morning and evening. Accepting the offer, Ngandu sent us an appeal for books and sermons to help him create content for the radio program.

As the radio aired Ngandu’s messages, a Pentecostal preacher was touched and decided to look up Ngandu to learn more about the Adventist message. The two became friends, and for one month they studied the Bible every day at the Pentecostal pastor’s home. At the end of their studies, the pastor accepted the Three Angels’ Messages and asked to be baptized along with his wife and 14 people from his church!

After their baptism, the new believers decided they would no longer send their children to non-Adventist schools, which require Sabbath attendance. Praying over the matter, they asked permission from the chief of the community to start a school where their children would be free to keep the Sabbath. The chief granted permission. Praising God, the Tshela believers began collecting funds to rent a building. Ngandu spoke about the project on the air, and soon 12 young adults presented themselves at the school. They said they had been listening to the radio sermons and that they wanted to join the new church and serve as volunteer teachers at the school.

On Monday, September 12, 2018, the school opened its doors with 450 students. In just four months, God had used Ngandu to establish a congregation with 16 baptized members, 19 people awaiting baptism, and a large primary and secondary school. Pastor Anderson Ilundu, president of the SDA mission for that region, said, “It is nothing else but a miracle from nowhere.” Soon Pastor Ilundu will visit Tshela to conduct a baptism and welcome the new church and school into the worldwide family of the Seventh-day Adventist Church!  


Location

Democratic Republic of Congo

Author

Pastor Thomas Ongasa, formerly a conference president in the Congo, founded Train Them 2 Fish in answer to God’s call to equip young people to spread the gospel in his country.

How You Can Help

Pray for the Tshela congregation as they look for property to build a school and a church.

Donate. Funds are needed to train more workers and to provide Bibles and Spirit of Prophecy books for new believers. If you are impressed to help with the work in this disadvantaged country, mark your donation “Congo” and send it to:

Mission Projects International
PO Box 151
Inchelium, WA 99138

For online options, visit:

www.missionspro.org/donate

Thank You. In the first three quarters of 2018, your donations to MPI’s programs in the Congo totaled just over $15,000. These funds supported workers and evangelism, built churches, and provided literature to needy souls!