The snowball of Sri Lanka
"Many Christians in Sri Lanka are believers, but not disciples," says Pastor L. A few years ago, our partner and his team therefore launched nationwide discipleship training programmes. The ‘School of Workers for Harvest’ (SOWH) soon had an impact: "The course participants began to share the Good News with others." Then came the pandemic in 2020, followed by a massive economic crisis. All training activities were cancelled. But our partner did not give up. On the contrary. He is pursuing the vision of reaching Sri Lanka on a broad basis with the Gospel.
From the capital to the regions
In the first phase, he succeeded in bringing together 40 of the already trained pastors in the capital Colombo. After four days, freshly equipped and encouraged, they were sent out to all districts of Sri Lanka. In a second phase, these pastors selected a further ten people in each of their regions who were also to be trained. It was decided to organise six regional training courses, each with up to 80 participants. ‘But by the grace of God, over 100 came each time! And in the end, 700 people were ready to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ up and down the country,’ Pastor L. looks back.
A family that gives strength
The project is currently entering phase number three: these 700 believers are required to pass on their knowledge to fellow Christians in their local churches. So far, 26 areas have done this and more are preparing to do so. The fourth phase lies in the near future. A Christian conference has brought together 500 of these 700 people. Their mission is to lead seven people each to the Christian faith. This snowball effect should lead to 3,500 new Christians within a few months. An important aspect of SOWH is dealing with persecution in the Buddhist and Hindu environment. "There are just under 8% Christians in Sri Lanka, the majority are nominal Christians. When a few disciples meet in a village, a feeling of isolation can arise. Thanks to the training courses, the small groups now perceive themselves as part of one big family. This gives them the strength to overcome obstacles, hostility and resistance."
