AFRICA
Missions in
Decades By Eric Bohman
patient labor were required to see even the
first signs of spiritual fruit.

As a result of a perpetual missionary
presence for nearly five decades, there is
a strong, growing, and thriving national
church. A well-trained national leadership
exists with plans for another church nearly
30 miles away! Josh Mead and his family, the
current missionary there, have been blessed
to see the spiritual harvest of the Gospel
seeds that were planted decades earlier.

It has been said that Christianity is not
measured in years but in decades. How much
more is that statement true on the foreign
mission field where it can take many years
of prayer and labor to see God’s glorious
light break through the powers of darkness!
“Fruit” from the Gospel may be seen in a
short amount of time, but it typically takes
decades for the “fruit that remains” to be
seen. Obstacles abound because the evil one
will be sure of that, but it is only through
the grace of God and the perseverance of
His servants that long-lasting, effective
ministry can be produced. Today, the need
is not just for more laborers but for laborers
who will be committed for the long term so
that these obstacles can be overcome and a
firm Christian foundation laid for future
generations. In a day when short-term missions has
become popular and multiple mission trips
have, in some minds, replaced the more
“traditional” method of missions, there
is still a lot to be said for the long-term
approach to missionary work. Decades
of ministry on the field prove it! There are
many ministries that have demonstrated
that decades of missionary labor are not
only important but also necessary for the
perpetuity of the national church. Below are
just a few of many examples that reveal the
significance of missions in decades.

Senegal It was in the mid-seventies when BIMI
Missionaries Ron Bragg and JB Godfrey
with their families arrived in the country of
Senegal, West Africa, a country that was and
still to this day is 97 percent Islamic. Years of
4 Ivory Coast
As in Senegal, it was likewise in the
early seventies when the first BIMI
missionary began his ministry in
Abidjan, the capital city of the Ivory
Coast at that time. Through a series of
struggles, political unrest, and several
government coups (one of which was
successful), there have been five decades
of faithful missionaries in and around
Abidjan. From those early roots 35 churches
have now been established! The largest
is just ten miles outside the former
capital in the town of Bingerville where
Missionary Bob Mach has labored for



decades. The local church has
been instrumental in starting
two other churches and acquiring
land for a third. Each church has
a missions program supporting
national missionaries throughout
the country. Together with his
fellow missionary team members,
many additional ministries have
been started: a literacy center
with over 300 students, a Gospel-
centered sports center, and a
medical ministry that has opened
many doors for the Gospel in the
surrounding villages.

Bryan Stensaas circa 2001
Uganda Three decades ago, Bryan Stensaas
was BIMI’s first missionary to arrive
in Uganda. The next few years would
see an explosion of interest as multiple
missionaries volunteered for ministry
there. In a short time, BIMI had more
missionaries working in Uganda than in
any other country in Africa!
Since then, 101 churches have been started
in Uganda as well as five in neighboring
Rwanda through the efforts of our faithful
missionaries there! That averages out
to be a church started every three and a
half months since 1994! There are also
an additional 16 “preaching points” that,
Lord willing, will develop into churches in
the near future. Twelve Bible colleges and
institutes are training future leadership.

Radio stations, schools, clinics, and
printing ministries are spreading the
Gospel throughout the entire country
and into Rwanda, eastern Congo, and
Southern Sudan!
All this was possible because of those who
had a long-term commitment to missions.

May the missionaries of the past inspire
us today to remain faithful through the
decades! W
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