posted on January 1, 2024
aXcess: Church Planter with a Vision for the Unreached in West Africa
Ten years of relationship building and aXcess ministry in close partnership with local believers have opened unprecedented opportunities to reach a 99.9 percent unreached population with the gospel. The medical and business projects have resulted in many relationships that are in need of intentional and faithful follow-up so the gospel can be understood and embraced. You will be part of an international aXcess team of both medical and CP-profiled people. We use our medical skills to create gospel access to fuel a CP movement among this unreached people group.
Position Type
- International worker (IW)–aXcess–Clergy Track
- Church planting, community development (rural), discipleship, evangelism
- Partially funded
- Single or couple
Responsibilities:
- Build relationships with non-believers, share the gospel with them, and be prepared to disciple those who respond positively
- Help organize new believers into fellowships and equip leaders for those groups
- Teach individuals and small groups of local believers church planting methodology and walk with them through implementation
- Develop church planting vision and strategies in collaboration with the team and local leaders
- Learn the national language (French) and the language of the target people
Required Qualifications:
- A recognized bachelor’s degree
- Completion of at least 30 hours of Bible/theology/ministry and 15 hours of intercultural studies
- Spouse must hold a recognized bachelor’s degree and have completed at least 18 hours of Bible/theology, 12 hours of missions/ministry studies (with a minimum of 6 hours in cross-cultural or missions studies)
- Completion of Alliance Polity course
- Completion of Alliance ordination/consecration
- Minimum of two years successful Alliance Licensed Ministry Experience
- A minimum Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) score of 55
- Some understanding of and a desire to work among the majority religion people groups
- Willingness to work collaboratively on a team
- Appreciation of medical work as part of CP
Preferred Qualifications:
- Familiarity with current church planting strategies such as T4T, Discovery Bible Studies, or oral Bible storying
- Experience in community health
- Experience in discipling believers in spiritual growth and ministry
- Willingness to travel by car in remote areas and appreciate rural hospitality
- Specific training or experience in working with those of the majority religion
Biblical Characteristics Desired:
- Kingdom-minded
- Biblically grounded
- Spirit-dependent
- Competently skilled
- Self-aware
- Self-disciplined
Timeline for Deployment:
Summer/fall 2025. All appointees are required to attend a cross-cultural and language acquisition program and pre-field course/experience prior to deploying.
General Information:
The ministry location is semi-urban, about one hour from the capital. The town is an important regional center. It is one of the first locations impacted with the gospel, and it has become a central place for the evangelical church. Important theological and Christian medical institutions are found here. The town is inhabited by several people groups, including the one our team targets. The team will support one other during the process of cultural learning and facilitate new relationships and ministry encounters.
World Factbook – Senegal
Joshua Project – Senegal
Language Expectations:
Language is an essential part of ministry. Those who do not know the language will attend a language study program. The goal will be to speak, read, and write the language at a functional level in order to mentor, teach, and train others.
The worker will spend a school year in French language study in France in a formal language school. This is necessary for general communication. Upon arrival in the country, the worker will study the language and culture of the target people group for a year; this will be the main ministry language. The team will guide and help new workers develop a participant-driven local language program with local language partners.
Health Considerations:
The ministry location has high temperatures (80–115ºF) and occasional dust storms. There are high levels of air pollution at times, which can affect those with respiratory issues. There are currently not many expats/IWs in town, but our vision is for this to grow. High quality health-care institutions are present in the capital.
Expectations for Spouse:
Spousal roles vary based on the spouse’s gifts, training, and abilities as well as the needs of the team. It is expected that both spouses will be meaningfully involved in meeting ministry objectives depending on the nature of family roles, children, etc.
This ministry is a part of a larger team with other work in church planting, reaching professionals through business and leadership training, and medical ministry. A spouse could also serve in any of these areas.
Children’s Educational Plan and Options:
There is a Christian international pre-K–12 school following the American system with all courses in English and taught mostly by Americans about 30 minutes from town. Parents are known to carpool their kids to school. There are also French schools in town. There are boarding possibilities for secondary school children at a Christian school in the capital (one hour drive).
Compensation Package
The successful applicant(s) will receive a full compensation package with the expectation that, once appointed, efforts will be made to raise a portion of support costs through the applicant’s network of friends, family, local church, or other resources. Information on support costs will be made available upon application. Training and/or coaching in fundraising is available.
Whole-Life Health
As part of an evangelical denomination, we are committed to biblical holism, which is modeled and reflected through our work. Due to this commitment, part of the required qualifications includes optimal emotional, spiritual, and physical health. These will be assessed during the application process.
Importance Clarification
Applicant(s) should be aware that serving in the international world often requires a higher degree of grace and flexibility. For example, overseas teams can be suddenly and unexpectedly impacted by illness, government decisions, financial realities, team changes, or other factors beyond the team’s control. The challenge for applicants is that these factors can sometimes necessitate the sudden redefining of a position, which may take place before, during, or after the application/interview process has begun or is completed.
Questions?
Please email the IPO office at [email protected].