Source: WorldVenture, June 1, 2020
On Saturday, May 30, 2020, we broke ground for a permanent place of worship. The story behind the ceremony for a new church building began years ago. After decades of missionary work, there are only about 100 Wolof believers [known Wolof believers in Dakar]. Out of those 100 believers, less than a third attend church on a regular basis. This breaks our hearts. When we spoke to some of them, they shared several reasons for not attending.
- “It doesn’t feel sacred.” They desire a formal place of worship.
- “It doesn’t feel Senegalese.” The worship style of most churches is imported.
- “They can’t understand it.” It is in French instead of Wolof, their heart language.
- “They can’t find it.” Many Dakar churches rent houses. The rented houses do not feel like a sacred place to worship. The rented houses are in obscure neighborhoods and are often forced to move every few years.
Because of this, we felt it was important to start a church, but we wanted it to be Senegalese. We desired to plant a church in partnership with our church association. After talking and praying with them for a long time, they finally came to us and said, “We need a church in Dakar for our young people. They are full of faith when they leave the villages for work or school in the city and they come back lost.”
We had a prayer of dedication for the land and the building on Saturday, May 30. On June 2, we [began] laying the foundations of the building. As we reflect on what God has done in the past, we see how God has paved our way.
» Full story explores obstacles they had to overcome. Let’s pray for the Wolof church to grow and draw more people to Jesus.
» Maybe you heard that a company in Dakar has developed a US$1, 10-minute COVID-19 test (Fast Company). Some at the lab have gotten sick, though, and one has died (The New York Times).
» More from West Africa: read a roundup of news and analysis of three violent attacks in Burkina Faso (Sahel blog) and read about children left behind in West Africa’s conflict-torn regions.