Have you ever taken a moment to consider the difference a church can make? I like to think about the church’s influence in terms of widening ripples in a pond. It starts with an individual who walks through the doors as a stranger to Jesus — and walks out a new creation in Christ. The ripples widen as their family visits the next week. Soon, the church has grown in size and influence in the community. It becomes an anchor that changes the lives of not just those who attend each week but also those who benefit from the love the church lavishes on those around them. By being the hands and feet of Jesus, the local church becomes not an institution but a family, a safe place where people can grow in faith and support one another through the ups-and-downs of life.
The church family that we have here at The Rock Church is one of the reasons I’m passionate about church-planting in Africa. The ripples that start here in Utah have the power to reach far across the ocean to Sierra Leone—where villages are waiting to have a church to call home.
And, Church Family? You. Are. Amazing. To date, we have already sent $2,400 to Sierra Leone. With the matching $1,000 donation we will have enough to build a good-sized church in a village that’s been waiting—and begin to support its pastor.
The Lulu Tree has matched The Rock with a village called Layagui. This village is large, at 70 to 80 households—and despite this fact, they have no Christian church. Building a church in this village will allow the Gospel to reach many people, quickly. People from the area visit Layagui to use its market and medical facility. There are already several men committed to studying the Bible with Christians and those interested in Jesus in the village, preparing hearts in anticipation of this church plant.
In this video, Pastor Sonnel Kamara (regional director of Lulu West Africa) shares a little about the village and its need for a Christian place of worship. You’ll meet the men who are already preparing the spiritual soil as the village waits for a church and pastor. You’ll see the location where our partner church will soon be built!
Friends, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart on behalf of The Lulu Tree and those we serve. The love and generosity you’ve shown is overwhelming—from offering prayer, donations, and even seeds for farmers in Africa, this church family is sending ripples that will spark a whole new cycle of waves once the first person in the village of Layagui walks through the door of their new church.
United in Christ,
Erica Hale (VP of The Lulu Tree)
If you would like to receive our prayer updates and newsletter, learn more about The Lulu Tree, or contribute to the Layagui church plant, visit www.TheLuluTree.com. Please specify “The Rock Church” in the donation notes.
Posted in Missions, The Rock Cares