A Letter from the BGAV President

A Letter from the BGAV President

by Adam Tyler

In August 2013, I sat beside other Virginia Baptists gathered at Eagle Eyrie for MC2; I had been teaching the adult Bible study at the annual mission camp, and I went to worship that night with hundreds of campers, young and old. That night, I heard Dean Miller share about a new project in Ghana called More Than Nets. Right away, I felt my heart stirring. This was something I could do! Moreover, this was something I could encourage others to do. More Than Nets has been a partnership with the Ghana Baptists which aims to save lives through the distribution and use of mosquito nets in an area greatly affected by malaria, and it aims to save people through planting churches in villages with little exposure to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now, seven years later, we have completed our goal. In partnership with many local churches and individuals, and especially in partnership with the Ghana Baptist Convention, we have met the mark of 100,000 nets. In addition, a thousand churches have been planted, and over 5,000 people have come to faith in Jesus. I have had the joy of going to Ghana twice as part of this effort, and my church has joined many other BGAV churches in supporting this great work through prayer and giving. I am thrilled by the kingdom work done in the Yendi region, in part through our efforts, and I am anxious to see what comes next!

I am also excited to see how Virginia Baptists learn from what we’ve experienced in Ghana. The work we’ve been part of beside Emmanuel Mustapha and our Ghanaian brothers and sisters is different from much of the mission work we’ve done before, because the context is so different. The challenges of planting churches in a region where few vibrant churches have existed in the past is new ground for me and for many of us. But we have seen God’s Spirit at work, and we have seen new (to us) methods and techniques bear fruit.

Adam Tyler (fifth from left) stands with a group of fellow mission trip participants in Yendi, Ghana.

As we face new challenges in the future, and new opportunities, how can we learn from our More Than Nets experience? How can those lessons inform how we engage in church planting in areas where vibrant churches are few and far between, like in the Yendi region? How can we share the Gospel among people with many immediate and serious concerns, like our friends in Ghana who continue to face the dangers of malaria? How can we make inroads for the Gospel through serving others who may never darken the door of our churches? And how can we find new partners in mission and ministry to make a kingdom impact in our communities and all around the world?

I rejoice in the work we’ve been privileged to be part of in Ghana. I rejoice just as much in the ways God will build on what we’ve experienced and learned as we continue to follow his Spirit in the days and years ahead.