After about two years I’m back in the leadership team of the ICF! No, not in Rotterdam, but in Dakar. Not only the city is different, the community is also very different from that of Rotterdam: many expats, embassy personnel, NGO staff or people working for large international companies. As a missionary in Africa it felt quite strange at first to to attend a predominantly Western church. But after visiting 20 Senegalese / West African churches in the city we have the conviction we should not join one of these.
Missionaries have had much influence in the young Senegalese churches. This has had advantages but clearly also disadvantages. We now see a promising movement of Senegalese Christians take charge and initiative. As a Westerner, it is not good to be interfering in this process. We do have had the opportunity to build strong relationships with quite a number of local pastors in this period.
My job in the ICF is on the interface between the Senegalese Christians and our international church. There may be a rich exchange between those two worlds, and it is my task to channel this. The initiatives we partner with can’t succeed without perseverance, spiritual insight and dedication. The Senegalese leaders make many sacrifices to serve their countrymen. This can be great inspiration for our church members. On our side we have a lot of expertise we like to share. We also support financially, with encouragement and prayer. The ICF supports for example a prison ministry and a Christian doctor working in the villages.
I’m glad you are not interfering the initiatives of the natives for history has always shown otherwise.