“When I was younger,” Phillipe, recalls, “I asked our village elders repeatedly: ‘How can I be sure I will go to heaven?’ I received no assurances but was told, ‘Have faith and continue to worship the way you’ve been taught.’”
Phillipe, 19, was raised in a family devoted to West Africa’s predominant religion. His village, Dingasso, is located in Kenedougou, “. . . a region of Burkina Faso that has been neglected not only by the government but also by Christian witness,” wrote Steve Nehlsen in the July 2010 issue of Alliance Life magazine.
“[In 2005], this began to change. Two Alliance international worker couples took up the challenge to partner with the national C&MA church in order to push back the enemy’s hold on this region.”
Assurance
In 2009, they took an evangelism team to Dingasso. Curious, Phillipe went to meet the white men and hear what they had to say. “I heard the good news for the first time!” he exclaims. “I got the answer I had been seeking when they shared John 3:16—we can be assured of eternal salvation though faith in Jesus Christ.”
At the tender age of 13, Phillipe made the courageous decision to turn from his family’s faith and follow Christ. He began attending the newly established Dingasso church and was soon exposed to the persecution that often follows the gospel’s introduction in spiritually dark places.
Persecution, Joy
After the evangelistic meetings in Dingasso, Steve Nehlsen recalls visiting: “I met some of the most incredible brothers and sisters in the Lord. Their worship was full of joy as they danced and sang like nothing else mattered. . . . I soon discovered that all hell—whippings, beatings, mocking, insults, and death threats—had been unleashed on these people in the previous weeks.”
In spite of the persecution he encountered, Phillipe grew in his faith. In 2012 he was baptized in the Dingasso church, which is one of approximately 40 groups of believers now present in Kenedougou.
This year, Phillipe enrolled at Maranatha (Alliance) Bible Institute in Burkina Faso, where he is the youngest in his class. “How exciting to have someone enroll in our Bible school who came to faith as a result of the evangelism work in the Kenedougou region!” an Alliance worker exclaims.
The teen’s desire to enter ministry also is an answer to the urgent need for well-prepared national church leaders to shepherd Burkina Faso’s growing church.
Pray
The prayers of God’s people strengthen Alliance personnel to live and serve across the globe. Use the weekly Alliance Prayer Requests, joining our worldwide family in praying for them.
Learn More
For more about the exciting church growth in Kenedougou, read “No Other Name,” published in the July 15, 2014, issue of Alliance Life magazine.