By Matt Price, IM missionary to France
From October 14 through October 18, the Saint Nazaire Church in France sponsored the second annual Pastors’ Conference in Notsé, Togo. IM missionaries Dennis Teague, Matt Price, and Kenneth Eagleton (IM Director of Global Partnerships) partnered with Ivorian pastors Paul Amiezi and Samuel Ouattara to teach, train, and encourage 18 local Togolese pastors from the Notsé and Atakpamé areas. The subjects included Free Will Baptist doctrine as well as classes on servant leadership.
Many of these pastors have never had any formal training to know how to share God’s Word with their congregations. The Saint Nazaire Church has come alongside these pastors to give them a helping hand to better understand how to minister in their local context and not feel so isolated. Three of the pastors have already mentioned their desire to form the Free Will Baptist Association of Togo, with others planning on joining in 2025. Pastor Samuel is making plans to visit Togo three times in 2025 to help start the Free Will Baptist movement in Togo as well as offer discipleship courses for these pastors.
The third annual Pastors’ Conference is set for October of 2025 with NAFWB Executive Director Eddie Moody and IM Director Clint Morgan to speak. We are very excited to see where God is leading Free Will Baptists to help get the Gospel to this West African country. If you would like to contribute to next year’s conference, go to IMpact France—Togo Pastors.
We are very thankful for our Free Will Baptist family who have supported this endeavor. The results of the training have already made a lasting impact on the lives of these pastors and their churches. Thank you!
The trainers for the 2024 Pastors’ Conference
Each pastor received a Study Bible from Legacy Church in Gastonia, NC. Most of the pastors had never had any type of aid for preparing sermons.