By Melissa Nordell —
There has been great success for some missionaries in difficult places, facing intense danger as God brings large numbers of souls into His kingdom. These new converts are facilitating exponential growth — and discipleship is the key to the multiplication.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, missionaries Don and Jenya Foster, of Love Your Neighbor Africa, manage an orphanage with Mbuti Pygmy people who have been displaced by rebels from their homeland. The orphans experience severe mistreatment and ostracism by the people they encounter in surrounding villages and towns. Many of these are children whose parents were killed by rebels, as well as by Muslim terrorists striving for a jihad state in the Congo.
Apart from the orphans they are caring for, Don said that Muslims recently cut off the heads of five Christians “in full worship in a church in a city near us last week. These Muslims are on a jihad of killing Christians in order to form a Muslim state within eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. They massacre innocent men, women, and children somewhere every week or so.
Reports understate the number of victims because these murderers are paid $250 by their Muslim supporters for every kill that is reported. They also kidnaped 30 people who they aimed to convert and/or kill or enslave. Girls and women are raped and made to cook. Boys are made to kill and become child soldiers or be killed. That is Islam.”
The United Nations reports that nearly 6.9 million people have been displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Jenya risked her life coming to the Congo as a missionary from Russia, then met and married Don. She often ministers in a prison for women where she has led many to Christ, then those new saints minister to one another.
One convert was a witch who was hated and greatly feared even by the prison guards. There has been such a transformation in the former witch’s life with many witnessing her dramatic change. Those who have seen the difference in her have asked to know more about the Christ who changed her life, so this former witch has readily led them to Him; and those converts have exponentially brought many, many others to the saving grace of Jesus Christ as well.
Don, Jenya and Confiance (the former witch) are working in adverse circumstances with
violent conflict all around them in many areas of the Congo, as well as starvation, poverty, political upheaval, stealing and terrorism.
The former witch was sent to Uganda (which has its own political upheaval) by Don and Jenya to the Discipleship Making Movement (DMM) School but now has returned to the dangerous Democratic Republic of the Congo to convert and disciple many, including those in the prison where she was once held.
Confiance has brought thousands of people to Christ in the prisons and elsewhere!
Amazingly, The Discipleship Making Movement itself has recorded 100 million people coming to Christ throughout the world since its beginning, an amazing milestone. To reach 100 million relatively new disciples is very encouraging and helps balance the atrocious world news which we hear all the time.
DMM worldwide has over 1,850 movements within 6.8 million churches. Fifteen regular disciples in a congregation means these DMM groups, which are usually house groups, are counted as churches.
The Discipleship Making Movement (DMM) is patterned after the early Church as recorded in the Book of Acts just as they promoted the good news of Jesus and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit during adverse circumstances and political upheaval. It is the same radical counter cultural kingdom taught by Jesus and his original disciples which DMM espouses. The original church communities were marked by their sacrificial love and miracles which drew many, and the church subsequently multiplied greatly.
Don Foster says that since he and Jenya started a DMM group in August 2022, they have more than 1197 disciples (900 were newly saved + 297 were already believers) in 135 groups with 76 leaders and four coaches. He reports that 800 have been baptized in water and 80 baptized in the Holy Spirit.
The DMM school in Uganda which started around 2015, from which Don and Jenya also sprouted, has roughly 46,000 graduated students. They have disciples in 5,100 groups, with 31,000 salvations and 14,000 baptisms. They have miraculously reached the Karamajong who were an unreached tribe of cattle rustlers and killers.
When we spoke, Don said “we baptized 17 today in the men’s prison where we have 55 discipleship groups which include 17 former Muslims and 20 former Jehovah witnesses. Disciples are making and baptizing even more disciples as we had 20 baptized in November, 43 baptized in December and 50 baptized in January. Many of our new disciples were in court today. Hopefully we will baptize 60 or so more disciples this month (February). We may just leave a baptismal unit in the prison so disciples can baptize (new) disciples at any time instead of waiting for us to come each week.
“We had to bring 600 liters of water with us because water is so rare. We are trying to fix their diesel generator so it can pump water from their bore hole to (a) storage tank. A prison for 1293 men without water is torture. No one should suffer scabies due to lack of water. Pipes, tanks, and systems are in place. Just the money for repairs and diesel fuel is lacking.”
Don and Jenya also feed the prisoners who are not given food but only eat if family brings food to them.
So of course, amid success in bringing souls into the kingdom of God, the enemies of God want to counter-threat by forcefully bringing converts to their abhorrent religion. However, Christ’s kingdom is one of bringing souls to a saving eternal life by demonstrating God’s love and miracles, demonstrating that He is alive today. What a contrast. But that is what brings Don, Jenya and others joy. This keeps them going with tragedy all around them – to witness souls being saved. Since Christ was tortured, ridiculed, and died on a cross for us, what a privilege it is for us to have slight adversity as compared to what our Savior endured for us.
“…but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom 5:20).
To learn more about Love Your Neighbor Africa, go here
