When some villagers opposed to the Gospel set fire to the small church in their West African community earlier this year, they expected the pastor to run for his life and flee.

They hoped that the fire would destroy the humble structure made from tree trunks, limbs, and a dry-stalk-roof, along with the pastor’s home, which was attached to it. They expected the fire to send a clear signal to everyone that this pastor and his outside Christian message were not welcome—they wanted to destroy the church.

The pastor did not flee, in fact, he was excited! They had managed to save everything—including all of the wooden benches from the fire.

This small fellowship of believers had been formed through Reach Beyond’s partnership with local believers to use clean water to bring the Good News of Jesus into Gospel-resistant places.

Private one-on-one spiritual conversations had led to one-on-one Bible studies, which had led to small groups, which eventually led to meeting together in public under the humble structure.

The pastor was also excited because they had been slowly building a new church and the fire gave him and the young believers the encouragement they needed to finish it—with a metal roof that could not be burned.

This church has risen out of the ashes and is now growing rapidly. In June, they baptized 19 believers, and were preparing to baptize another 20 people in July.

What man meant for evil, God has made into good. Nothing can stop the spread of the Gospel!