As I reflect on our recent history , 2019 and 2020 marked an inflection point in the work and impact of VCP . At least three major strategic decisions launched VCP into a period of strong growth . These decisions have also helped us establish a solid foundation for further growth in both geographic reach and impact .
In early 2019 , a major project to redesign and rewrite the VCP curriculum began to gain momentum . Under the leadership of OMS missionary Dean Davis , his team began to rewrite the previous curriculum to a reading level that villagers could understand . They also created new lessons that transitioned learning from lecture based to interactive adult learning ( discussion based ). These lessons leverage existing OMS Train & Multiply booklets .
The genesis of the second strategic decision transpired in the fall of 2019 during a meeting in Côte d ’ Ivoire . Our translator shared with us a desire to move to the north of his country and use his professional skills to evangelize and plant churches . This idea has matured from a desire , to a vision , to a reality over the past five years . In February 2024 , we launched the West Africa Missionary Movement ( WAMM ) initiative . WAMM has formed five cohorts in an accelerated two-year training program . Each cohort has “ adopted ” an unreached people group in Côte d ’ Ivoire , and in their practicum ( field ) work , they will plant churches in those unreached areas .
In April 2020 , VCP experienced a major change in organizational structure with the installation of Claude Douti , a Togolese man , as the VCP director . He knows the
cultures , understands the governmental and political landscape , and has earned the respect of the VCP supervisors under his leadership .
By the end of 2019 , our VCP ministry was in 21 of 54 African nations , with six supervisors overseeing the ministries of about 300 training centers .
Fast forward five years from that inflection point : OMS now has VCP ministry in 35 countries , with 8 supervisors overseeing more than 760 training centers . I believe we are in a season of God ’ s favor . VCP collects metrics twice per year ; in the first six months of 2024 , we recorded :
• 2,298 new churches planted .
• 112,940 decisions for Christ .
• 76,893 baptisms .
By God ’ s grace , when we tally the reports in early 2025 , I believe we could reach 250,000 decisions for Christ in 2024 ! We invite you to partner with us in this kingdom work .
photo , pages 4-5 : Village Church Planting teams in 35 African nations are training leaders to plant churches , lead people to Christ , and baptize new believers .
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