Exciting news—as of this coming Sunday the Presbyterian Church of Gambia will have it’s first ordained pastors! Today our team evaluated the final few sermons and then met with 4 of the 10 candidates to inform them that they had passed their exams and would be ordained on Sunday. It was a privilege to share in their joy! It will be a historic occasion when we ordain these pastors in a worship celebration on Sunday.
Me with Mamadou, the president of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Senegal. The mosque in the background is next door to where we are staying and is the largest in Gambia.
We also met with the group as a whole and encouraged those who didn’t pass to continue in their studies. It's not uncommon for ordination candidates in the Presbyterian Church of America to not pass their first time. And the president of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Senegal, who is part of our team, reminded the group that only two passed the first time they conducted exams in their denomination. These guys have no reason to hang their heads. They will continue the vital ministry they are doing at newly planted churches in Gambia and will now have the benefit of ordained pastors in their country to help them toward ordination. It was powerful to hear those who did pass pray for their brothers who didn't. They are truly a brotherhood. Many of them experienced rejection from their families when they became disciples of Jesus so they are like a family to each other.
The team I'm working with here in Gambia