The Lord allowed us to have a wonderful trip for the first of what we believe to be many Great Commission Mission Conferences in West Africa. In the midst of God’s goodness to us, there were many battles God helped us overcome… we were delayed for a full day in France due to a misunderstanding with Togo entry visas, my preaching voice was greatly affected by sickness, and the Togo heat was intensified by not having electricity during the day for six days straight! But every issue we faced, the Lord provided the necessary help, grace, and strength.
God certainly blessed as we traveled to different villages in and around Lome to teach on the Great Commission. At one of the evening services a teenage guy was visiting with some friends. After the service, he had a lot of questions and one of the national pastors was able to lead him to Christ! On Saturday we put the teaching into practice and about 30 of us went soulwinning. We saw six people put their faith in Christ as their only hope for heaven. One adult lady got assurance of salvation and was a first-time visitor in church the next day!
It was a joy to teach and preach in various villages and venues. On the first Sunday, my son, Derek taught the teen class while I taught the singles department. The next Sunday morning we got up extra early to drive to a village over an hour away. About 45 people from the village of Djove came to that morning church service. It was held in a shack with a dirt floor and a makeshift roof. Goats and chickens hung around the back and side entrance and a monkey watched from the back as the Lord blessed that morning. We held an afternoon service in a different village, about an hour in the other direction. We wound around through so many back roads and “almost roads” that I wondered if there would be any people at this service. It was surprising to see a large church building and over 200 people gathered for this afternoon service! These people were so joyful and thankful to have us come. Our hearts were stirred by the many children, young people, and young adults that were there and all the potential that these lives represented.
On Thursday morning we took the three-hour journey to the village of Wahala. A church was planted there about a year ago and the building was funded by Operation Light, our West Africa church planting ministry, which is part of the Great Commission Mission. About 40 local people from the village of Wahala attended the dedication service that morning. These people, like their newly ordained pastor, were very humble and showed much appreciation for their new church building. The message was on the compassion of the Great Commission. Two teen guys trusted Christ after the service and there was a sweet spirit as we had a joyful time together celebrating what God has done and continues to do in this village!
Let me state another great benefit that came from this trip. We are excited to report that by the end of this year Pastor Neal’s book, Greatly Commissioned should be completely translated into French! Togo is one of the 21 countries in Africa in which French is the official language. Please pray for this project and for the distribution of these materials throughout Africa in 2025.
We should be much in prayer for the national pastors and the church plants in Togo. While we know the devil is real and continues to fight, the Great Commission Mission desires to help accelerate the funding of more church plants. Young men are being trained, national pastors are being helped, and we have the opportunity before us to put fuel on their fire and see more churches built for the glory of God!
In His service, David Crews
God certainly blessed as we traveled to different villages in and around Lome to teach on the Great Commission. At one of the evening services a teenage guy was visiting with some friends. After the service, he had a lot of questions and one of the national pastors was able to lead him to Christ! On Saturday we put the teaching into practice and about 30 of us went soulwinning. We saw six people put their faith in Christ as their only hope for heaven. One adult lady got assurance of salvation and was a first-time visitor in church the next day!
It was a joy to teach and preach in various villages and venues. On the first Sunday, my son, Derek taught the teen class while I taught the singles department. The next Sunday morning we got up extra early to drive to a village over an hour away. About 45 people from the village of Djove came to that morning church service. It was held in a shack with a dirt floor and a makeshift roof. Goats and chickens hung around the back and side entrance and a monkey watched from the back as the Lord blessed that morning. We held an afternoon service in a different village, about an hour in the other direction. We wound around through so many back roads and “almost roads” that I wondered if there would be any people at this service. It was surprising to see a large church building and over 200 people gathered for this afternoon service! These people were so joyful and thankful to have us come. Our hearts were stirred by the many children, young people, and young adults that were there and all the potential that these lives represented.
On Thursday morning we took the three-hour journey to the village of Wahala. A church was planted there about a year ago and the building was funded by Operation Light, our West Africa church planting ministry, which is part of the Great Commission Mission. About 40 local people from the village of Wahala attended the dedication service that morning. These people, like their newly ordained pastor, were very humble and showed much appreciation for their new church building. The message was on the compassion of the Great Commission. Two teen guys trusted Christ after the service and there was a sweet spirit as we had a joyful time together celebrating what God has done and continues to do in this village!
Let me state another great benefit that came from this trip. We are excited to report that by the end of this year Pastor Neal’s book, Greatly Commissioned should be completely translated into French! Togo is one of the 21 countries in Africa in which French is the official language. Please pray for this project and for the distribution of these materials throughout Africa in 2025.
We should be much in prayer for the national pastors and the church plants in Togo. While we know the devil is real and continues to fight, the Great Commission Mission desires to help accelerate the funding of more church plants. Young men are being trained, national pastors are being helped, and we have the opportunity before us to put fuel on their fire and see more churches built for the glory of God!
In His service, David Crews
