Growing up in an African nation where Christians face persecution for their beliefs, Teresa felt isolated as a new follower of Jesus. She wanted to grow in her walk with Christ but didn’t have anyone to talk to about it; she felt a call to spread the gospel but didn’t know how. Where she lives, there are no printed Bibles and no churches, and any believers who meet together must do so discreetly and in small groups. Despite those challenges, Teresa felt called to share the love of Jesus with her community.

Because it’s unsafe to discuss such topics openly, Teresa turned to the internet in her quest for answers. While searching for material on spiritual growth, Teresa found HabeshaStudent.com, the Amharic version of EveryStudent.com. She began emailing the volunteers and staff who provide support to the website. Her primary concern was finding a way to share the gospel without having access to a printed Bible. Efrem, an Indigitous volunteer with HabeshaStudent, introduced her to an Amharic Bible app for feature phones that he developed during an Indigitous event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She excitedly took this app and used it to share the gospel with her friends and family.

Teresa is especially concerned about helping her family members to know Jesus. “If I don’t share the gospel with them, who will?” she asked. Upon her urging, Teresa’s family has started reading one chapter of the Bible every time they meet. Her prayer is that her family will come to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Teresa has also started leading a Bible study group out of her home, though it is unsafe to meet in groups of larger than three or four. Teresa is passionate about evangelism, knowing what is at stake. “Whenever I think about eternity, I get shivers,” she says. “I believe that it is not good that our brothers and sisters go into eternal death as a result of not knowing the truth.”

Teresa’s biggest need is evangelistic materials that fit her context. She is grateful that due to digital strategies, she is able to get the help that she could not get locally. “Nobody around me was able to give me advice on how I could serve and do ministry, but even if you are 1,000 kilometers from me, God used you to equip me for this work.”

reblogged from Global Leadership site