Can you help us train African pastors to teach the Bible faithfully?
Across Africa, the Gospel is advancing rapidly. Daily, thousands of people start their new lives in Christ, often in areas of poverty and religious persecution. The African continent (with a population of more than 1.5 billion people) is home to nearly 30% of the world’s Christians, and the number is growing. As a result of the Gospel’s spread, many new churches are being established to shepherd new believers. But here’s the challenge:
80-90% of pastors in Africa have never received any formal training in how to preach God’s Word.
Frew Tamrat, Principal of the Evangelical Theological College in Ethiopia says: “Our people are starved spiritually. They are not fed properly from the Word of God because of a lack of expository preaching. In Ethiopia, there are more than 60,000 local churches and only 10% of the pastors in these churches have formal theological training. It means that 90% of pastors have a challenge in [bringing] God’s Word to their congregations.”
Local pastors are the backbone of the global church.
This lack of training means that pastors do not have the grounding to strengthen their congregations with sound doctrine and lead new believers to genuine maturity. And when leaders are not equipped to reach their own cultures and countries with God’s truth, the church becomes vulnerable to divisions, corruption and false teachings – dishonouring the name of Christ in the community.
Biblical leaders are essential in the growth of new Christians. That is why we at Langham prioritise training to shepherd the people of God in places characterised by poverty, pressure and persecution. Through our African Preaching Program, we aim to equip preachers with the spiritual and biblical foundation to faithfully preach the Word and shepherd church communities throughout Africa.
Langham does this in three main ways:
- Pastors travel to annual week-long training seminars to learn how to study God’s Word. There are three levels of training seminars:
Level 1 – an overview of the Bible and how to preach it faithfully
Level 2 – how to preach from the New Testament
Level 3 – how to preach from the Old Testament - While the training seminars are the foundation of the program, local preaching clubs (or ushirika as they are called in Africa) is where the development occurs. Usually comprising 6-10 people, this is where pastors and lay leaders meet together to practice developing sermons, get each other’s feedback and encouragement and work together to implement what they’ve learned in the seminars.
- Langham provides resources to pastors and preachers who have attended the training and preaching clubs. We provide books and resources covering a range of preaching topics in local heart languages wherever possible. Our resources use accessible language and culturally appropriate examples, so preachers can deliver sermons that are relevant to their local congregations.
Each year, the generous support of our partners allows us to run Preaching programs across Africa. Last year in Africa we held 153 Preaching training seminars and supported 559 local ushirika, raising up 5,216 Pastors and lay leaders across 24 different African countries. But we need to do more!
Right now across Africa –a place where faith is flourishing but resources are scarce- thousands of pastors and church leaders stand at the frontlines of the Gospel’s advance. They are shepherding congregations, comforting the broken and proclaiming hope to communities longing for truth. Yet so many of them are doing so without the biblical training they need.
Will you help us come alongside these pastors and leaders?
Will you help to equip them to rightly handle the Word of God so that their preaching builds strong, mature churches that are beacons of light and truth in their communities? Together we can equip leaders who will faithfully preach Christ, disciple new believers and bring hope so that lives are changed and communities transformed by God’s Word.
What can you give to our June 2025 Appeal for the African Preaching program?
May God bless you as you give to the building of His Kingdom in Africa!
In warm fellowship,
Gillean Smiley
Chief Executive Officer
Langham Partnership Australia