For a number of years, several of the seventeen nations in West Africa have been blessed with passionate men of God whom the Lord has used to start soulwinning churches. As souls have been saved and young men are taught the Scriptures, God has chosen to call some to preach and pastor churches! After fighting through various difficulties, obstacles, and hindrances to complete their Bible college training, several are now ready to serve full time and plant churches.

There is just one problem; these men do not have the means to serve full time. Out of necessity they are working a secular job to provide for their wife and family.

The role of Operation Light (a ministry of Immanuel Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL) is to remove this hindrance and support these national pastors as they start churches. We also raise funds to help them purchase a church property and build a church building. After three years, the support is cut off so that we can do this all over again with another national pastor who is ready to start a church.  

At the end of 2018, we started supporting three men in different regions of Takoradi, Ghana.

• Dare’ Olujomoye has just reorganized his church in the Apolo region. There are two men in his church that God has called to plant churches, and they were ordained to the ministry in January of 2019.
• Bro. Augustine Amoah will soon be starting the Shama Baptist Church in the Shama region of Takoradi.
• Bro. Frederick Aidoo will soon be starting the Aguna Baptist Church in the Aguna Nkwanta region of Takoradi. All three of these regions have between 60,000 and 100,000 people with no other Gospel witness.

There are several things that will be happening in the near future.

First of all, Pastor Dare’s church is in great need of a church property of their own. They currently meet under a borrowed lean-to and set up several small tents to accommodate the crowd. During the rainy season, the water runs right through this area where they meet for church, and it is extra difficult to have church.

Secondly, we will be looking for property in the Shama region and the Aguna region for the other two national pastors who will soon be starting churches there.

Thirdly, our director, Bro. David Crews will begin traveling in a few months to raise support from other like-minded churches for this great need and opportunity in West Africa. The design is to get many churches to back this ministry financially through monthly support and one-time donations in order to enable more soul-winning churches to be planted and properties to be purchased.

Fourthly, there are a couple of trips planned for 2020 to look at other areas in West Africa. In January of 2020, we will have the opportunity to visit Burkina Faso and missionary Keith Shumaker. He has several men in that area who are ready to start churches. Additionally, there is a trip planned to get back to Ghana to look at the existing church plants and look at other regions that are being considered to plant churches.