discovering missions - Southern Nazarene University

245187 Disc Missions ins 9/6/07 1:04 PM Page 152
152 Contrasting Philosophies and Strategies of Mission
themselves: Should Haiti still get significant attention or should the resources
going to it be diverted to a country like Saudi Arabia?
Reaching the Unreached
In the 2001 edition of Operation World, Patrick Johnstone described
the Makhuwa of Mozambique as “the largest animistic unreached
people group in Africa, possibly the world.” 5 That designation may
soon have to be changed.
When veteran missionaries David and Marquita Mosher transferred
to Mozambique, they found that Jonas Mulate had already
started 20 churches among the Makhuwa. It soon became clear that
Mozambique, though devastated by a lengthy civil war, was seeing
the birthing of a people movement as large numbers of Makhuwa
turned to Christ. When leaders such as Jose Amisse reported to
Mosher that some new churches had been started, Mosher would
then visit the new congregations, writing follow-up reports like this:
We baptized 118 adults and children and married three
couples. We left and went to the next place where we baptized
adults and children by the light of a kerosene lamp about 8:00
in the evening. The next morning at 6:30 we organized the
church. At the next church we encountered 180 believers. We
wrote certificates of baptism until we had no more certificates.
In the late afternoon we baptized 151 children and adults. We
arrived at the next place with no certificates left, but we walked
to the river, which really was only a mud puddle about knee
deep. We then knelt in that mud puddle and with the strength
of the Lord baptized 235 men, women, and children. To the
Lord be all the glory! 6
Of this one missionary leader commented, “What is happening
among the Makhuwa is like reliving the Book of Acts!” Another email
report said:
We were undecided about going to Cotocuane since we
had people waiting for us at Moma Sede . . . but the Holy Spirit
guided us to go. We arrived to find a little chapel already constructed
in a heavily wooded area . . . I preached an evangelistic
message from 1 John 1:5-10, clearly explaining the difference
between the life of darkness and life in the light of God . . .
There were 30 new believers at the altar confessing their sins
and asking forgiveness from the faithful God. . . . We then traveled
down the dusky road to Moma Sede and, facing a brisk
wind, went to the beach on the Indian Ocean and baptized the
first believers there. The waves were rolling, but each person entered,
even a blind young woman, and all demonstrated to the
people on the beach their salvation in Jesus Christ. 7
One Easter weekend 446 new Makhuwa believers were baptized.
In one area, all of the churches almost doubled in a single
year. The people movement to Christ continues with 10,000 mem-