The harvest is ripe,
the needs are great,
the opportunities are many.
For the past 11 years, LibertyLive.Church in Hampton, Virginia, has ventured into the harvest field in Dakar, Senegal. Southern Baptist work has been in Dakar for decades and has an established presence through the Grand Yoff Baptist Center. This presence has served as a launchpad for outreach into the rest of the city, across Senegal, and throughout West Africa. LibertyLive has seen great fruit and has even seen incredible opportunity for their own church through this partnership.
Producing Missionaries through Missions Trips
Missions Pastor Ken McLemore recalls, “We take our high school mission program there every year. The students walk the streets, sharing stories about Jesus, ministering to children, and producing a kids’ camp for the children of Grand Yoff.” The student missions program has produced missionaries who have returned to Senegal and other nations with the Gospel.
McLemore continued, “Every year, we send adult teams into the Grand Yoff area to share the Gospel through storytelling, the Jesus film, and by building relationships with those on the street. The ministry does not stop when we come home, as many still have connections with those they met in Dakar.”
Serving through a Medical Clinic
This spring, a team from LibertyLive, led by laypeople and medical professionals, held a medical clinic in partnership with the Grand Yoff Baptist Center. The clinic served 428 people, shared the Gospel 322 times, and saw 25 people give their lives to Christ! Now, the IMB team on the ground is doing follow-up and planning a small-group discipleship study with the hope of seeing a church planted in the Grand Yoff neighborhood.
Community Outreach
McLemore believes the Grand Yoff Baptist Center is a crucial ministry point. “The center can have a huge impact in the area. The people are open to talking with us; they are super friendly, and the center offers value to the community through English classes, medical clinics, and ministry to help the kids in the community. Most kids just roam the streets with not a lot to do. The Center offers them programs to learn and grow. It has an open-door policy like few I have seen around the world.” There is an opportunity for the churches of the SBC of Virginia to walk through that open door.
During a Pastor Vision Trip in May, several SBCV pastors visited ongoing work throughout the Dakar metro area and spent a day at the Grand Yoff Baptist Center. A strategic partnership is forming to mobilize churches from Virginia to serve at the Baptist Center through construction projects, medical missions, English classes, and children’s and sports ministries. The needs are great, and the opportunities are varied.
A Multi-ethnic City With Many Unreached People Groups
“As a missions pastor who has been all over and worked with many missionaries in many places, Dakar tops them all. We can be part of joining God in His ultimate plan to see Revelation 5:9 and 7:9 become a reality. It is a multi-ethnic city with many unreached peoples. It is also a great place for churches that are just starting out. It is a friendly place, and the people are very open to sitting down with tea and talking for hours. They are interested in hearing about you and your beliefs. For churches that have a little more experience, there is also something for you in working to fulfill the Great Commission by reaching those people groups with the Gospel, training new believers, and helping to penetrate new areas of the city. It is one of the best mission experiences for our people. Most come back fired up and ready to go again. I believe that churches, large and small, can have a major impact on the Grand Yoff neighborhood and the city of Dakar,” McLemore shared. ●
