The Battle for Ethiopia

Ethiopia has a population of about 80 million. Of that, roughly 40% is Muslim and only about 15% is Evangelical Christian. Not only that, but Ethiopia is surrounded on three sides by Muslim nations; there’s Somalia and Djibouti to the east, Eritrea to the north, and Sudan to the west. It’s my sense that, if left unchecked, it’s just a matter of time before Ethiopia becomes a Muslim nation like her neighbors.

To stem the tide of this Muslim pressure on Ethiopia, I believe a two-fold strategy is necessary. First, we need to be working on making more followers of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God seems to be working in Ethiopia and many many people are coming to Christ. However, evangelism by itself is not the answer. While we need more followers of Jesus Christ, we also need better followers. We need Christians in Ethiopia that understand God’s word and are able to apply it to their daily lives.

Go into any Christian bookstore in the U.S. and you will be overwhelmed by the number of Bible study materials available, not so in Ethiopia. Chances are your pastor has some kind of seminary training, again, not always the case in Ethiopia. Most of our churches have Sunday school or small group ministries to help people grow in their faith, once again not always the case in Ethiopia. The result is that most Christians in Ethiopia have a rudimentary understanding of God’s Word and are susceptible to all kinds of false teaching. Yet, I run in to man and women all the time who understand the importance and need for discipleship in their churches yet are struggling to find sound affordable materials to disciple their members.

That’s why I love what Source of Light East Africa is doing in Ethiopia. We are currently printing Bible study materials in three major languages in Ethiopia for people of all ages and all levels of spiritual maturity. And because we print all our materials in Ethiopia, we are able to print them for pennies.

Just this past week, I had an opportunity to speak to a group of associate pastors in Ethiopia. The response is always the same, “We love your materials! How can we get them for our church?” So, while our ministry is relatively young, we are introducing our materials to church leaders all over Ethiopia. This gives me great hope that not only will we win the battle for Ethiopia, but that Ethiopia will become a stronghold for Christianity in the region.