Planting In A Pandemic
An update from Michael Granger, Sovereign Grace Church Planter in Ethiopia…
April was supposed to be a big month out here. I guess it still was, just not in the way we had imagined. We had planned to start a church! Back in March, we were going full speed ahead. Together with Abenezer and Nega, we traveled to Dubai to purchase sound equipment as it is not easily accessible and very overpriced here in Ethiopia. Upon returning we were constantly meeting with individuals as we gathered our launch team.
Then heading into April, Trinity Fellowship (that's the name of our church) was to have its soft launch followed by a hard launch in June. We were all geared up to have our first service on April 12th. Worship songs were selected, we were going to take communion, and we were going to do a 4-week series entitled Why We’re Gospel-Centered. But on April 11th, the government put out a new policy prohibiting gatherings larger than 4 people. So at 11 pm, the night before our first service, an email was sent out to our team informing them that the service scheduled for the following day was officially canceled.
We are now several months into isolation and we do not leave the house for much more than groceries. But I think the most pronounced attitude in our hearts is that of thanksgiving and gratefulness. We have seen first hand how difficult those living in abject poverty are faring and feel overwhelmed by the kindness of the Lord that we have a home, food, health, and Christ above all things. Nevertheless, there have been a number of dark days, and I can feel tempted to think 2020 has been stolen from us.
Looking forward, we're not sure when the government will allow churches to meet again. Unlike the West, quarantine timetables and varying levels of caution are not published here. But, the church is not a building nor is it a service. It's the people. And so, I think you could say in one sense Trinity Fellowship has already been planted. Even though we cannot have a service we are trying to have 1 or 2 individuals from the church over for lunch every Tuesday and Thursday to pray, read the Word, minister to them, create community, and establish fellowship. So while we’re feeling, more or less, like we are under house arrest - there is work to be done!
We might be under quarantine but as Bart Lipscomb from Redemption Hill in Texas recently encouraged me, “You can’t quarantine the gospel! You just can’t!" So, in an effort to make the most of and redeem these evil days (Eph. 5:16), Trinity Fellowship is undertaking a new project. I am writing a book contextualized for Ethiopia about sin and the gospel. It is essentially a very-easy-to-understand biblical theology about sin and how God deals with it. Its purpose is to confront legalism and also the prosperity gospel so as to defend the cross. As of today, the first draft has 9ish of 11 chapters completed. And Abenezer, my ministry partner, is producing an album in which the content of the songs match the chapters of the book. It will consist of 8 songs, each with three criteria:1) Songs that correlate with the themes of the chapters in the book; 2) Songs that are gospel-centered; & 3) Songs written for congregational church singing.
One of the sweet aspects of this project is the opportunity to have a little songwriting workshop each week. We read a chapter of the book, pray for filling of the Holy Spirit, and write! Upon completing this project we will market and sell the album + book as a joint project in Addis Ababa with the hope that this serves both our church and the churches of Ethiopia. Please pray that the Lord would breath on our endeavors. Please pray for souls to be won.
