Searching for New Disciples /Supporting Existing Followers and Disciple Makers

Each time MAF helps a local evangelist reach a mountain community, or flies local church leaders to strengthen a struggling congregation, or supports the efforts of Bible translators, or engages in gospel conversations with those who don’t yet know Jesus, we are filled with gratitude.

We wish we could share all of these moments from 2022 with you! But here are a few, so that you can rejoice along with us.

• 231 new believers in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) now have a relationship with Christ through the Centre Chrétien de Formation pour Evangélisation et Mission Intégrale (CCFEMI), a school that trains national Christians and, through MAF flights, sends them on one-month trips deep into the forest to share the gospel.

We want to acknowledge Mission Aviation Fellowship who have faithfully and generously provided transport for our students. The thousands of kilometers they’ve flown in support of our efforts have enabled us to promote the security of our missionaries and bring the Gospel into some of the least accessible parts of this country.”

—Excerpt from a CCFEMI report

• Three pastoral couples selected, sent, and supported by MAF now live and serve in the Lesotho mountain communities of Kuebunyane, Tlhanyaku, and Matsaile. In Kuebunyane, Pastor Masheane and his wife, Mats’epang, gather with their budding congregation in the recently completed church building whose materials were flown in by MAF.

• Hundreds of believers believers in the 90 percent Muslim area of Angoche in Mozambique meet each week to hear God’s Word in their heart language—thanks to the recent completion of the Koti New Testament translation after years of MAF-supported work by SIL, The Seed Company, and the local people.

• One new follower of Jesus, a recent graduate of our flight school in a restricted-access country who was brought to faith in large part through interactions with MAF instructors, was mentored by staff as he sought courage to remain faithful in light of potential religious discrimination in his future career.

Stones of Remembrance

You may have read the story of an MAF pilot being forced off his aircraft and held at gunpoint in the village of Pagamba in Papua, Indonesia, by rebels who went on to destroy the plane. The village pastors courageously surrounded the pilot for protection—one wrapping his body around Alex—and eventually he made his way back home.

That happened in January of 2021. It was not until May 21, 2022, that an MAF aircraft was able to return to Pagamba.

As part of the celebration hosted by the villagers that day, representatives from 20 surrounding churches served by MAF brought rocks and built an “altar of remembrance” as a testimony to future generations of God’s faithfulness. Stone by stone, they recounted God’s goodness to their valley through the years. MAF pilots and others added their own stones and stories.

In future years we will recall this day with gratitude, not only for God’s faithfulness in the circumstances but also for the mutual respect, affection, and partnership He gives us with our faithful brothers and sisters around the world.