 Lomé pastors after completing children's ministry seminar Children's ministry
Not long after beginning correspondence with us, the Lord convicted Pastor Sika of Proverbs 22:6 and the need to focus especially on ministering to children, whose spiritual needs are mostly neglected in Togo even by Christians. During Shirley's visit in 2008, she trained over 150 people in two seminars, and since then several of Pastor Sika's team have been busy sharing the vision and need for children's ministry in many churches, and in fact training up many others who feel called to this important ministry. This photo shows a group of pastors in Lomé who recently completed a training seminar in children's ministry. Pastor Sika and his ministry continue to be active in starting new programs for children's ministry and planning special events such as VBS.
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 orphans receiving school supplies Orphanages
Pastor Sika and his wife have been ministering to orphans for over 10 years but in 2006, after holding an evangelistic campaign in the village of Agbodrafo in the prefecture of Yoto, they were struck by the pressing needs there of many orphaned children. As a result, they started a new ministry to orphans in the village, and their special emphasis is on teaching the children about our Lord Jesus Christ, since most of their parents had died without Christ. Pastor Sika's ministry continues to provide love, food and other physical necessities, school books and Christian teaching for these children, and is now also helping orphans in other needy areas. In January 2009 we were able to start on a wonderful new project to help the orphans in the village of Sika-Kondje, called the Joseph Project - we encourage you to learn more about this exciting venture! Joseph Project
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 first official prison baptism Prison ministry
The prison ministry began in the year 2000. As well as taking food, soap and other supplies into various prisons in Togo, local ministry partners lead regular bible studies in every jail. After prisoners in the program have been released, ministry partners continue with follow-up visits to them at home, in order to help them readjust to live successfully as believers back in their normal environment.On 24th November 2007, 26 prisoners who had accepted Christ inside the Lomé prison and completed a course on basic Christian foundations were baptized inside the jail! A special wooden baptistry was built by a carpenter and this was apparently the first time in Togo that the baptism of prisoners had been officially organized. In addition, special permission was granted for the event to be photographed and this picture shows Pastor Sika with one of the first to be baptized that day - what a joy! Since then more baptisms have taken place and the prison ministry continues to grow in prisons both in Lomé and in surrounding areas.
Pastor Sika and his team have recently become recognized by the government for their work in the prisons - both by bringing food and other necessary daily items to the prisoners, and also for bringing them hope and encouragement. They hold regular services inside both the men's and women's prisons, minister and help resolve problems, and hand out Bibles and other Christian literature to all who are interested - even including the guards! Pastor Sika has also been asked to share his views with government officials preparing to make important changes in the justice system in Togo. To read a fascinating personal account of how God has enabled Pastor Sika to accomplish the vision God gave him of taking the Gospel to certain "neglected" areas of society, follow this link Testimony.
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 idol worshiped in one village Church planting in the Interior
Every few weeks Pastor Sika travels into the interior of Togo, visiting villages where there are few churches or evangelists. He reports that there are many needs there due to strong tribal beliefs and fears, poverty and alcoholism. He especially noted how many young people seem to have lost their purpose for living, yet when the Gospel is shared, many people are eager to learn more. At the end of December 2007, Pastor Sika held several successful evangelistic campaigns in villages near the Benin border, and in 2008 he started developing a team that continues to evangelize and disciple new believers there. With the Promise Book and other teaching resources in French, villagers can begin to study the Word of God, and it is hoped that new churches will soon be planted in several villages.
 clothes distributed to flood victims 2009Bringing aid to the area in generalIn addition to the "normal" challenges found all over Africa, Togo has recently experienced several major disasters which have not been reported much outside the country. In July/August 2008 the capital city of Lomé in particular experienced terrible flooding which destroyed at least 9 major bridges in the city. Then in both September 2009 and October 2010 there was catastrophic flooding of the River Mono area on the border with Benin. This severely affected many of the villages where Pastor Sika ministers - destroying homes, crops, livestock and taking several lives. Tents had to be set up by the Red Cross to house the many villagers who had fled from the affected areas, and most settled in Sika-Kondji. So there is a great need to both continue with the Joseph Project Orphanage and plant more crops to feed the orphans as well as continue to reach out to these pagan villages with the Gospel and bring hope and encouragement to those who are suffering. The Joseph Project Orphanage opened in July 2012, and a small church (Bethany Baptist of Sika-Kondji) was begun in the compound some months later, open also to local villagers. We believe the Joseph Project, with its children's home, church and self-supporting agricultural program, will have a great positive impact on the people of that area. Truly a testimony of Romans 8:28! official beginning of shoebox distributionIn 2009 Pastor Sika was asked to join the Togo board of the internationally known ministry, Samaritan's Purse, and began to also make visits to the north of Togo, where there are many Muslim towns and consequently there is more resistance to the Gospel. But many are hungry to learn of the Lord Jesus Christ - especially women, who often accept Christ as Lord and Savior but have to keep it secret from their Muslim husbands and families. Churches in these areas have to find other ways to minister to those who cannot openly attend their services. In June 2012 Pastor Sika was made director of the Maritime Region for Samaritan's Purse, and is responsible for organizing the distribution each year of many container loads of shoeboxes with gifts for children. As a result, he travels around the country and visits many clinics, schools, churches and other groups where the shoebox ministry opens the door for evangelism and discipleship to both children and adults.
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 new church in Lomé Church planting in the capital city
Pastor Sika and his family live in the capital city, Lomé, and have already founded some churches in various parts of the city. In 2009 they moved to an area on the edge of Lomé and soon started a new church group in their home, beginning with just children. In December, the new church, Bethany Baptist, was inaugurated in a building down the street from Pastor Sika's home. This photo shows the members outside their new church - as you can see, there are about 40-50 children, most of whom are waiting as early as 7.00am on Sundays for the service which starts at 8.30am! A Christian movie was shown in the street outside the church, which drew a lot of attention, especially since the area is predominantly home to many Muslims.
 Lucie teaching Sunday schoolIn the following years the church has continued to grow strong, including with several recent converts from among the surrounding Muslim community. There is still a very large number of children who also faithfully attend (as seen in this photo of Lucie teaching Sunday School), and the church is having an impact on the neighborhood - which unfortunately has also brought trouble on several occasions. Thieves have broken in twice and stolen the few valuable items in the church - the simple wooden seats, barrel used for drinking water for the children and a clock! We pray the Lord will continue to watch over the church and its congregation and enable them to influence many in the area to turn to Jesus Christ.
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