Leo's Ministry
“To reach, mobilize, and equip West Africans for a life of missional service to their neighbors and the nations.”
According to a recent study, nine out of ten churches in the world are led by men and women who have little or no training for ministry. This is true in Senegal and West Africa as well. I (Leo) am part of a team that desires to see this statistic drastically changed throughout the region. In partnership with the local church, our team facilitates the equipping of West African Christian leaders, including church planters, evangelists, pastors, and lay leaders. We work in a national scope hosting trainings, workshops, and schools for Christian leaders at our training campus in Dakar, Senegal. We also work in a regional scope connecting training needs with providers throughout Francophone Africa.
Michele's Ministry
""'So All Can Serve’ - Partnering in the advancement of the Kingdom of God by providing educational services for the children of Christian ministry workers.”
I (Michele) began working at Dakar Academy (DA) in Dakar, Senegal in 2019 as the head librarian. DA was established in 1961 with UWM being one of three founding mission organizations. One of the main reasons missionaries have to leave the field is for the education of their children. DA’s mission is to serve the educational needs of the children of Christian ministry workers in West Africa…so that all can serve. There is also a percentage of the student body who are not Christ followers. Many of them are hearing about Jesus for the first time. The Lord has given me a passion for connecting with these young people to share the love of Christ and encourage them as they face many difficult challenges of cross-cultural life and simply being a teenager in today’s world.
As the librarian I have the opportunity to interact with students of every grade and age as well as parents and staff. Student ministry is vital to the spiritual growth of the next generation. I am able to speak into the lives of these kids in several different ways such as being a class sponsor, interacting with my teaching assistants, leading a snack ’n chat group, participating in outreach ministry, reading to elementary students during their weekly library special, and simply being available for conversations in the library throughout the day. The Lord has used my love of reading and books in combination with my passion for interacting with teens and youth and has created my ‘sweet spot’ of ministry at Dakar Academy.
"We first felt called to Senegal during a global missions dinner at our church in 2007. Despite not even being able to initially locate Senegal on a map, we felt drawn to serve there. I made my first short-term trip to Senegal in 2010 and has returned with six additional teams.
Since 2010, we have witnessed the incredible growth of the Senegalese Christian church. We have seen this growth in our own church’s partner village of Ndjemane, where the church has grown from two Christians in 2008 to presently over 100. The birth of Ndjemane’s church was due in part to the Christians in their neighboring village sharing the Gospel with them. This spreading of the Gospel in Senegal, from one village to its neighboring village continues. As more Senegalese come to know Christ, there is a greater need for training and equipping pastors, church leaders, and church planters.
- There is a great need for more ministry workers in West Africa. Please
pray that God will raise more laborers up for the work that lies ahead. - Please pray that the 9 out of 10 gaps will continue to be closed with more
equipping of national Christian leaders throughout West Africa. - That the library would be a place of safety and peace for the students
and their families.
