The devoted dozen: Church leaders invest four decades into discipleship in Cameroon

Thirty-four years ago, members of a Cameroonian church in the country’s capital city devoted themselves to making Jesus known among more of their neighbors.

The harvest from their labor became clearer this June when Mike Gaston discovered what God has done through decades of such devotion. He served as a Converge global worker alongside those disciples from 1989-91.

Cameroonian believers had started Etoug-Ebe Baptist Church for English speakers. But they quickly desired to serve French speakers, easily the majority of Cameroonians.

 “If we’re going to reach this city, we’ve got to reach all the residents,” Gaston said of the church’s perspective.

The Cameroonian Baptist Convention asked Converge for help, and Gaston and his wife, Murf, arrived in 1989. Mike Gaston returned to Cameroon for a week this past June to see what the Lord has done. 

What they witnessed stunned them: Etoug-Ebe Baptist Church has planted five more bilingual congregations in the country of 26 million people. Another church is starting soon so even more people can meet and follow Christ.

The Lord has called indigenous leaders as pastors, worship leaders and ministry directors from the dozen or so bilingual members from Etoug-Ebe at that time. The influence of one church in Cameroon ultimately spread to the Ivory Coast, Togo and other parts of Cameroon. 

“We were putting French-speaking Cameroonians in places of leadership as much as we could,” he said. “If we wanted anything to continue, it had to have leadership in place.”

Converge International Ministries is asking God for a gospel movement among every least-reached people group — in our generation. We offer a unique, encouraging Missionary Discovery and Assessment experience to help believers join Christ’s mission.

Gaston said that if someone had tried to tell them all that God would do from 1991 until this year, he and Murf would have struggled to comprehend it, even though they completely trusted their devoted partners.

“When I look back at what God did through those 10 or 12 people (on the first church’s leadership team) and what he’s done since, it’s just stunning,” Gaston said. “We’ve never felt weaker than we did when we were in Cameroon, and yet that’s where God did some things, and continued doing some things, that were stunning.”

Did you know 70,000 people die every day without a chance to hear a credible presentation of the gospel? Converge International Ministries emphasizes fruitful, faithful and Biblical service to start a gospel movement among every least-reached people group — in our generation.