BACKGROUND - ETHIOPIA
in the Horn of Africa surrounded by Islamic
states
Population: The second populous nation in Africa next to
Nigeria with 93 million followed by Egypt 83
million (2014)
Religious: Coptic Orthodox 43.5%, Islam 33.9% and
Evangelicals18.6%, Catholic 0.7% and Traditional
2.6% and others 0.7%
Located
The oldest Church outside the Middle East according to Acts 8:27
 Christianity officially adopted as state religion in the 4th century.
 Coptic Orthodox Church is still the dominating religion the nation
largely depended from the Agricultural export:
coffee, flora, skin & hides, gold
Economy –
VISION CONFERENCES
The wholistic Biblical Vision conference in Ethiopia
began:
1998 - FH
staff exposed to the wholistic Biblical teaching (in
Kenya Nairobi)
1999 - the
first Vision Conference is hosted by FH Ethiopia and
delivered by Bob and Darrow for 164 church and Parachurch leaders.
2001- the
second VC also delivered by Bob and Darrow, where
it was organized in partnership with FH and ECFE for
nearly 800 church leaders, pastors and Bible college
Instructors, Christian NGO and practitioners;
 ECFE - Evangelical Churches Fellowship of Ethiopia
PARTNERSHIP WITH ECFE
ECFE is umbrella organization that embraced over 45,000
congregations that account 18.6% of Ethiopian
population
Denominations – 36
denominations such as Lutherna, Baptist,
Pentecostal, Mennonites and independents etc
71 Christian NGOs – (World Vision, Compassion, FH
and many Local Christian NGOs) and more than 7
Seminaries and Bible colleges;
PHASE I (2002-2007)
The strategic opportunity partnering with ECFE facilitated
through its organized structure to the grass root level;
It has 8 regional, 61 Zonal and 514 local fellowship offices that
coordinates all evangelical churches in Ethiopia for training
and evangelism works.
Such strategic partnership (being seconded staff to ECFE from
2000-2010) has built trust and contributed for churches to
open their doors for the Biblical wholistic training.
As a result, over 300 Vision Conferences for over 12,000 leaders
were made possible (over 12 years)
Challenge:
 it was the first ever the freedom of religion is proclaimed in
the nation after Communist regime, and many churches were
engaged in an open conferences
 there were very little openness for VC and change in practice
due to Ethiopian conservative culture that resist changes. The
development work is given to NGO’s.
PHASE II (2008-2012)
These was the years of openness for more trainings:
 NGOs supported for the material to be translated and to be printed
into the official language
Other NGOs and Churches began to invite for the training
by organizing and supporting the cost.
Churches began practicing seed project that helped to get
connected with their local community for the first time ;
3 Seminaries incorporated the teaching into their
curriculum with the title “The Role of the Church in
Society”
2nd and 3rd generations are done to multiply trainers
both in regions and among denominations.
Challenges: More invitation for training and less in
follow up and experience sharing.
PHASE III (2012-2015)
The major focuses are: strategy to enable each nation or regions or denominations
to produce their own trainers;
 Training of Trainers
 Mentorship
 Sectorial trainings
 Assist to produce instructors for Bible college or Seminary to teach
 Focus on University Christian students – there are 30 university campus with over
30,000 students and such training enable equipping & mobilizing the next
professional and church leaders
Strategic Focus
Modeling local churches on sectorial basis
Produce more Incarnational Missionary trainers to enable them working
with the rural community
I. Training & progress status (2014)
Horn of Africa
VC
TOT
Mentorship
Sectors
Regional
Trainers
2nd & 3rd
Generations
40
15
3*
5
 Emmanuel united
church
2,480
80
24
12*
 University
Christian students
1,200
20
2 Eritrea
62
25
3 Djibouti
45
1 Ethiopia
 churches
2
4 Somalia
* Business, Education, Family
** Government & Law, Social, Agriculture & Environment, Engineering & Architecture,
Economy, Business, Finance (Acct, bankers), Health, Education, service sector (waiters,
drivers), Art & Music, science & technology). Life work seminar & bible study has been
done with gate keepers and core group formed.
*** Christian TV program on worldview & wholistic ministry for one year long.
II. Wholistic achievement in a Rural setting
Activities in the last 5 years
Numbers
1 Wholistic missionaries trained
475
2 Church planted
1,500
3 Leadership training
5,500
4 Functional Adult literacy (FAL)
program in selected communities
4 communities
with 160/HHs
5 Building Church in the local context by 5 local buildin
the local community participation.
IMPACTS AND LESSON LEARNED
The missionaries are identified and trained with biblical wholism from within the
community. That helped;
 Not to be seen as a foreign in the community’s regarding the culture, language and to
the environment
 Leading by example as Development Agents (DA) by being incarnation ally
 Less costly to support
 Exhibited appreciation and recognition is given to the church by local government and
open up their mind and heart to learn from more from the missionaries;
160 families are organized and saved small money then began investing in cash crops,
horticulture production, bee heaving, fattening animals etc., which enable to
provide quality product, balanced diet and earn profit by selling
Traditional Muslims are also open to learn
and received the Lord as their Lord and
savior
WHOLISTIC IMPACT
• Local toilet is constructed environment pollution reduced
and becomes attractive place to live and less to creating
sickness
• Hand washing becoming common and as a result the
exposure to deharia greatly reduced;
• Potable water constructed – the community labored in
digging the hole and placed the hand pump support from
outside. More healthier community and less dependent on
external sources
• Missionaries used church places for the children of the
community to teach writing and reading.
PIT LATRINE, HORTICULTURE, HAND
PUMP WATER
COMPOST, BEE HAIVING, FATTENING
WORSHIP, SCHOOL FOR KIDS