Ministry with the Church as Part of the Church
A Planned Move
Not long ago, we featured Chandler and Jamie Sharpe as they ventured to Tanzania to begin their ministry. They have been there over nine months and are beginning to see how they can engage with the church in Dar es Salaam in order to expand the edges of the church.. This is an important time for them. They have come to the point in culture and language learning “that we are ready to make our first big move.”
Meeting the Hosts
There are two things that begin the next stage of their preparation to go into an unreached people group: a host church and a host family. Jamie wrote, “A few weeks ago, a decision was made … to place us in Mbezi Chapel, a local church body here in Dar es Salaam. We were officially introduced to the church and what a precious time that was. … After our pastor prayed for us he asked us to stay up at the front so that everyone could greet us after the service. Never did the sound of ‘Karibu,’ which means ‘Welcome,’ sound so sweet. What an honor to be welcomed into a body of Tanzanian believers from whom we have so much to learn as we continue preparing to be a part of taking the gospel to those who are unreached.”
The host family is also from that church: Imani and Nela have agreed to be the host family for the remainder of the Sharpes’ culture and language study. They are looking forward to getting to know this family and sharing life together. Please pray that these two families would meld well together and would learn and grow together.
Readying to Push the Edge
And the move? The Sharpes are going to move closer to their host family in order to develop friendships, or as Jamie put it, to be “able to share life together with a bit more ease.” As Chandler and Jamie become more and more immersed in Swahili and the culture, the step into the unreached people group is that much closer, and they will be ready to push the edge farther out. Pray that this move will be an encouragement to them and to their host family and church.