The vast majority of Developing Workers’ ministry is focused on building up the Church – the people of God here and around the world that make up the Body of Christ so they might serve as a light in the nations they live.
However, today, we have the privilege to share how a volunteer with DW caught a vision for building up the Church by helping Tanzanian brothers and sisters fashion an actual church building. Praise God with us!
The Church: Meeting Many Needs
While serving as a volunteer on Developing Workers Mobilize Medical trips, Dave Jackson met Pastor Peter Olosotu. Dave explains, “Pastor Peter is devoted to God and the people in Northern rural Tanzania. He preaches to several churches with almost nothing. They meet under trees or out in the open.”
Dave shared with us that even though his background is not in the medical field, he has become a seasoned volunteer of half-a-dozen trips who loves serving alongside our team and ministry partners in underserved parts of the world.
It was after a recent trip to Tanzania that Dave’s burden to take action outside of the short-term trips he knew well began to grow. Hear his thoughts:
“During my trip to Tanzania, I had made a decision to help out in some way when I left. I just wasn’t sure how that would look…
I did reach out to Peter, and he told me of the need in two villages that had no buildings for worship. So, we figured out what was needed in cost, and I asked for support. That support came from a number of people in my class at Grace Community Church (Tempe, Arizona).
These ‘church buildings’ are not exactly a long term permanent structure. They are built in a manner that the local people (Maasai) understand very well – Out of sticks and mud. This kind of structure fills a number of needs:
It is a place that is out of the weather and people can learn and worship God.
It is something that can be used NOW, versus waiting for all of the parts and pieces for a masonry permanent structure.
It is a very familiar type of building that a new Christian or a local person that wants to know more about God may not be intimidated with a foreign building type.
It is very fast to build [and] can be done in weeks versus a permanent building which may take months or longer to complete.
It is very cheap to build and very cheap to repair.”
Isn’t it beautiful to see the faithfulness of God’s people bring about good fruit?! Dave answered the call to join a Developing Workers medical trip years ago, and the fruit of that obedient response has continued to multiply. Now the people in the villages of these rural Tanzanian villages will have the blessing of clear and sheltered place to meet for worship.
Whether you go or send, you can transform the lives of people around the world. Developing Workers Mobilize teams go all over the globe, training church leaders and offering medical care to the places where help is needed most.
Join us! Or support a volunteer financially today.
