Reaching The Unreached in Ethiopia

Within the last couple of years, interest for the work in Ethiopia has increased substantially, particularly through the Ethiopia Committee appointed by Douglas LeRoy, General Director of Church of God World Missions and the support by Hugh Carver of Men and Women of Action. It is inspiring to see how much the people of the Harvest Church of God in Ethiopia themselves are accomplishing for Christ despite their very limited material resources.

The work among the large people group of the Selale-Oromo, one hundred miles north of Addis Ababa, continues to make good progress. In the district town of Kuyu, the Harvest Church is developing a training center for reaching the Selale and other tribes of northern Ethiopia. A multipurpose building for a kindergarten and a church is presently under construction.

Hiruy Tsige, national overseer, recently reported how the Church is now reaching out to the Ghurage, another largely unreached ethnic group of 1.8 million people west of Addis Ababa, the capital city. The Ghurage are deeply involved with Islam. Nevertheless, soon after the Harvest Church of God rallied some 30 workers to plant new churches among them, a congregation of new believers was formed. In December, the government gave land for the first church to be built for the Ghurage people!

Brother Tsige also reported of evangelistic thrusts among other unreached people groups. Several vibrant churches have been established among the Kaffa, a pagan tribe of Western Ethiopia. Among the Sheka people, who live in the mountains near to the Kaffa, God has brought together two strong congregations. And now, the new believers from the Kaffa and Sheka churches are evangelizing their neighboring tribes, such as the Menjas and Mezengir! The Qebegna, a tribe totally sold out to Islam and very antagonistic to the Gospel is being reached. A first church and school is being built for this new work in a nearby town. Ethiopia has more than 80 distinct ethnic tribal groups!

When I was in Ethiopia a year ago, I had the privilege of visiting a number of families in a major slum area of Addis Ababa. It was moving to see the impoverished families respond with much gratitude to the ministry they receive from the Church. In many ways, Ethiopia’s capital has become a modern boom town, but it is still home to a vast number of poor people who are trying to eke out a living in the big city—women by washing clothes for thirty cents a day; men by breaking rocks with a hammer for two dollars a day, and others by begging or giving themselves to prostitution. However, God is using the Harvest Church of God to bring salvation and healing to these destitute but precious people.

~ Heinrich and Lisa Sherz
Missionaries to Ethiopia
Project Number 060-0040