“I believe with Langham Seminars, pastors well trained in expository preaching will definitely change the narrative from the pulpit and enable the church to help transform our society in depth.”
Armand Dzadu is an Associate Coordinator and Facilitator for Langham Preaching in West Africa. He lives in French-speaking Togo, where the church has been increasingly growing in number since 1990. With more people coming to know Jesus, the need for well-equipped leaders to help them grow in spiritual maturity also increases!
Planted and growing
Armand was first introduced to Jesus when he began to go to church with his cousin while he was in college. At first, he went along without any big conviction, but in the last year of college, things changed.
Armand shares, “I had the opportunity to attend a missionary camp for the youth with Pioneers Togo. During this camp, I decided to surrender my life completely to Jesus.”
After this Armand finished his college level of education and went on to tertiary education. There he connected with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) ministry on campus and was able to grow in his own maturity through their programs.
A transformative method
The impact IFES had on Armand didn’t end when his university study did! Currently, he serves as the General Secretary of IFES in Togo, where their ministry is called ‘Groupes Bibliques Universitaires Scolaires du Togo’. Roughly translated this means University School Bible Groups in Togo.
On top of his involvement in sharing Christ and growing Christians through IFES, Armand is also involved in the Langham Preaching team in West Africa.
He first heard about Langham Partnership when he was invited to attend a Level 1 Preaching Seminar in 2013. Armand says, “It was with Mike McGowan, an Irish pastor, serving in France, who was very passionate about scripture exposition.”
After attending the seminar Armand quickly became passionate about the Langham Preaching approach. He reflects, “My IFES background in scripture engagement made me love the method. Early on I realised the potential for transformation this method can have in our churches.”
From participant to coordinator
After completing all three levels of the Langham Preaching seminars, Armand was ready to get involved in leading the new movement of Langham in Togo. In the following year he got the opportunity to attend facilitators team building meetings in Cotonou, Benin and Lusaka, Zambia.
There he met some instrumental members of the Langham Partnership team, including Jennifer Cuthbertson, Coordinator for Facilitator Development, Langham Preaching. Armand shares, “The encounter with Jennifer helped me with my commitment to develop myself as a facilitator. I became a local facilitator and then a facilitator for Francophone Africa. Now since 2022 I have been involved in the Africa Leadership Team as an Associate Coordinator for West Africa.”
Seeing change throughout West Africa
There is a reasonable amount of travel for Armand around Togo and also throughout West Africa. Most recently in February 2024 he facilitated a Level 1 Seminar in Atakpame, a town in the centre of Togo, where word-of-mouth has brought pastors together to be trained by Langham Preaching.
He shares, “Seven months ago some pastors who heard about Langham’s vision, through their colleagues called us to come and train them as new preaching club leaders. They have been very faithful to their commitment and work regularly in their club after the seminar. Now they are ready to be fully trained!”
It’s exciting to see how the movement of Langham Preaching is growing in Togo and other places in West Africa. In March 2024 Armand will travel to the western side of Côte d’Ivoire to a city called Man. There he will be one of three facilitators involved in a one-week seminar being given in a theological seminary.
Armand sees again and again how the work they are doing through Langham Preaching is changing church and ministry in West Africa. He shares, “Pastors attending our Langham Seminars and working in the preaching clubs testify that this vision is adding value to their ministry, month after month, no matter what their level of training is before they encounter the Langham method.”
Growth is continuing in West Africa and the need for Langham Preaching is growing with it. Armand shares, “The call for seminars is actually increasing, the thirst for getting involved and getting help sharpening their preaching skills is huge among pastors, once they see or hear about the impact of our seminars in other’s preaching ministry.”
Reflecting on what is exciting about working within Langham Preaching Armand shares, “I believe with Langham Seminars, pastors well trained in expository preaching will definitely change the narrative from the pulpit and enable the church to help transform our society in depth.”