Africans make better missionaries to their fellow Africans. That's the idea behind a new movement to train African missionaries in Zambia. Coen Scholtz, founder of the movement, would like to see 5,000 missionaries trained and sent out to reach the continent before 2020. His team at OM Zambia has been equipping Africans to do just that.

Potential missionaries go through training, then are sent to an African community. They go in pairs, as listeners, finding out what the greatest needs are in the area. Through this, many creative ministries have sprouted in the region. Some workers have taught villagers how to grow their own food using greenhouses. Some have started schools. Others share mosquito nets, teaching locals how they help combat malaria.

When teams take something like a mosquito net to a local home, it's not seen as a utilitarian act of public health. It's a deeply personal gesture. Locals wonder, "Why would this stranger care so much about me?" In African culture, these simple acts open doors to dialogue and lasting friendships.

The vision for these teams is to see Bible-based churches thriving in all four countries that touch Lake Tanganyika, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world. To do so, the team has acquired a boat for reaching remote groups living around the lake.

It is estimated that a single African missionary can reach 60 people in a year, not just with a tract or a brief encounter, but with practical acts of service that form deep friendships. Yet 100 potential missionaries were turned away last year due to lack of space in the training. You can help expand this fruitful ministry by giving here. Or learn more about Zambia in the video below.

Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 1 Thessalonians 2:8