West Africa team takes a giant leap forward in reaching Yalunka people!
FEC’s West Africa team has achieved a significant milestone in its outreach to the Yalunka people, an unreached people group living in the West African nation of Mali. During a recent training session, the team moved from teaching Bible stories in the oral tradition to training nationals in the Simply The Story (STS) method. It’s a significant moment, signifying a huge shift in methodology. The change is essential as the team is watching God establish reproducing communities of Christ-followers among the Yalunka people.
“Only when we have trained the Yalunka believers in the STS method will this ministry really take off,” says Steve Nelson, team leader, “spreading God’s word to far more people than our small team could ever hope to reach.” To that end, the team spent several days with a STS specialist from Burkina Faso, who coached the team in their training efforts.
“The results were remarkable,” says Steve. “Not only did our team gain valuable insight into the training methods; the people they were training were thrilled with the STS technique as well. “One of our participants is a director of children’s ministry for an Evangelical church (not among the Yalunka) here in Senegal,” says Steve. “At the end of the training, she shared how she was ready to quit her position for lack of direction and fresh material. Now, she has started using the STS training with her children, and the kids love it! They are learning stories that will always be with them.”
Another “trainee” is the director of the youth program at the same evangelical church in Senegal. He admitted to similar frustrations but now has a way to teach God’s word with practical implications—in ways youth will appreciate and enjoy. “STS is an amazing strategy for putting God’s word in your heart pocket,” says Steve.
According to Steve, the training wouldn’t have been possible without some help from “a very special team from Crossroads Evangelical Church in Wauseon, Ohio. They took care of logistics so we could all concentrate on the training,” says Steve. Please be praying for our West Africa Initiative as the team gears up for training national storytellers next month!
