Dafoe April 2024

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20).

The Lord is building His army with Rafiki boys and girls­—on their way to worship with the Church

It has been long since I communicated with you in a letter, but I have not forgotten that I told you I hoped to share with you other ways God is using Rafiki Foundation to distribute God’s Word throughout Zambia and the other nine African countries where Rafiki is located. The Bible is an integral part of our lives in the Rafiki Village. The Lord enables us every day to participate in the great commission by making disciples, not just converts. As we disciple our children, staff, college students, and community children, God’s Word is spread throughout our area and beyond.

Making disciples by going to worship with the church

Next to the family and the church, a classical Christian school is a fruitful discipleship environment. In this environment, God’s Word is foremost and one of the ways God’s Word ends up in the hands and hearts of our students is through the Rosemary Jensen Bible Foundation. Just recently, every student in grades three, six, and twelve, as well as the students in the RICE Teacher’s College received their own new Bibles.

Grade 3

Grade 6

Grade 12

RICE students and their new Bibles

The Lord has enabled us to be faithful in discipling those He has given us and now we are seeing that He is moving us forward in His strategy of disciple making. Rafiki has experienced another amazing year of caring for individual children as the groundwork has been laid to equip thousands of schools across Africa and beyond to adopt the Rafiki Education System. A network of friends and resources has been established to make this possible.

Africa, which is the future of the church, is ripe for cultivation. With 100 million children out of school, with major setbacks due to COVID, with governments trying one idea after another in education, the continent needs a time-tested Christian education system. And with the church in Africa having pastors who do not have a good study Bible overseeing five or more churches, and with the onslaught of Islam, LGBTQ+ pressures, China, and prosperity theology—God has placed Rafiki for such a time as this where we can come alongside the church with Bibles and materials to help them strengthen their congregations. By strengthening the schools and churches, the African church will be poised to disciple others, send more missionaries to the unreached, and be a light to the world.

Village church receiving Bibles

Another village church receiving Bibles

Dr. William Zulu of Reformed Church in Zambia picking up Bibles

Rafiki’s collaboration with Ligonier, Crossway, and the Rosemary Jensen Bible Foundation resulted in Rafiki being the distributor of over 45,738 Bibles (study Bibles, pew Bibles, and children’s Bibles) to our partner denominations in Africa in 2023. Orientation to the Rafiki Classical Education System or Bible study training has occurred in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Malawi, and soon in Zambia. Attendees include church leaders, heads of churches or Christian private schools.

In January, Zambia received Bibles, commentaries, and other books to equip pastors and seminary students of our partner churches. This March we received another shipment of Bibles, books, Sunday school materials, and Rafiki school curriculum to be available to equip churches, schools, and homes across the country to be discipled and to be disciplers! This is what we are seeing the Lord do to spread His word to the nations!

I am so thankful for the privilege to be involved in what God is doing through Rafiki. May He continue to bless you for your financial and prayerful involvement. If you are interested in Bible study or school curriculum resources for your church, school, or home,take a look at our website at RafikiEducationSystem.org.

You can imagine that the work takes many hands, too. So, if you feel the Lord tugging on your heart to become involved in other ways, please visit www.RafikiFoundation.org and see how the Lord leads you!

Joining with you in fulfilling our great commission, love.

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