In 2018, Charis Fellowship churches in North America marked the 100th anniversary of James Gribble leaving to minister in the darkest of Africa. In the Central African Republic, they are planning to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Gribble’s arrival, which occurred three years later. It took that long for the missionary to travel through the jungle and to gain the proper permissions to live and work in the region.
Pastor Bavon Jonas Aladoum, the new executive secretary of the Charis Alliance of Central Africa, and Dr. Francois Ngoumape, dean of the School of Theology in Bangui, Central African Republic, do not like to think about what might have happened had Gribble not made that trip.
“We are thankful that God planned to send James Gribble so that the gospel could come into our country, and many Central African citizens come to know the Lord,” says Pastor Bavon. He acknowledges that there would be hundreds of thousands of Central Africans who would be going to hell “forever” if the Lord hadn’t guided Gribble on his path many decades ago.
“We praise the Lord that he was sent,” Pastor Bavon adds. “He would be one of the icons of faith that we quote in our churches, for he was faithful to the mission, for his courage. We are thankful that God sent him.”
Pastor Jonas and Dr. Ngoumape are near the end of a three-week trip to visit U.S. churches, ministry leaders, and supporters.
Pastor Bavon, 57, is the lead pastor of a church of about 900 people in the capital city of Bangui.
A graduate of the Bible Institute and the School of Theology, he has been in the pastorate for 27 years. And while this is only his second year as executive secretary of the Charis Association of Central Africa, he is familiar with the responsibilities. He served 12 years as administrative secretary under previous presidents.
In addition to serving as the single pastor of a local church of 900 members, as executive secretary of the association, he oversees an office of three, including himself, a treasurer, and an administrative secretary. They work with the 29 districts through the 623,000 square miles of the Central African Republic, and a total of 3,700 churches.
“We come together once a year to report on how things have been and to get direction on the fellowship,” he says.
Bavon says that he was honored to be asked to lead the African group of churches. “My first thought was to thank God and to ask him to give me enough strength and wisdom,” he said, but he admits he wasn’t able to sleep the first night. “I felt the weight of the responsibility,” he remembers. “How am I going to answer to pastors, problems in churches, issues?”
He’d like to see the African believers committed to ministry. His dream is to see the Charis churches continue to grow as people reach out with the gospel. He’d also like to see the local congregations develop holistic ministries that help the widows and orphans and provide job training for the unemployed.
Recent political unrest has slowed the growth of many Charis churches in the C.A.R. “For example, we have many churches that were burned,” stresses Pastor Bavon, “and we’ve had some of our schools that have to be closed.
The conflict has strengthened Christian’s commitment to nonviolence.
“We preach forgiveness to other people,” he says. “We preach to love others as Christ has loved us. In this situation, it taught us how it is difficult but good to forgive someone and to love someone that hurt you. The church has learned a lot from that.”
He asks that the church in North America continue to pray for peace in the Central African Republic so that they may be able to do ministry and travel throughout the country.
He also asks for prayer for new leaders to be trained, recognizing that many pastors and leaders are approaching an age of retirement. “We have to pass the baton,” he concludes. “Pray for the training of our leaders through the Bible institute and the seminary.”
(Editor’s Note: There is an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the northern and eastern regions of the C.A.R. You can help supply aid to churches in eleven districts. For more information, please contact Charles Johnson at cjohnson@encompassworld.org.)