Joas directs a discipleship-mission training program in Ethiopia. After one training session, he sent out 17 new disciple-makers and church planters. They had come from nine different regions, including some least-reached communities, and after the training they each went back to their home areas to plant churches.

One disciple-maker returned to his tribe, an unreached people group which lives—as Joas put it—“as in the old, old days, with no change, and there is conflict between tribes with fighting.”

But, he said, “The Lord helped us plant churches in this community. Fifteen people came to the Lord, and all were baptized. These were people who came out of deep darkness; there you cannot preach freely. Without God moving, it is impossible to reach them.”

Another student returned to his home to find everything was burned down; he had nothing but the clothes on his back! He was determined to go on, but it’s a matter of prayer and concern as he seeks to continue preaching the Gospel.

Joas and his team were committed to reaching a primarily Muslim region as well, so they invested in equipping church planters to go with the Gospel. Four years earlier, 40 churches in that region had been burned to the ground.

After their training and outreach, Joas reported, “In six months, we planted 14 churches. These churches will impact others. In these churches, 158 people worship the Lord; 67 were baptized, and took discipleship training.”

Where it once seemed impossible, God is making all things possible!