Miss the Snow?

Greetings from the Brannagans,

Springtime in North Carolina has beautiful birds and colorful blossoms. But, I miss the snow… Springtime in North Carolina has relaxing walks and gentle breezes. But, I miss the snow…

So when I visited Minnesota in late April, I was quite happy to wake up one morning to an inch of snow until I had to scrape it off of the car…

Miss the snow! What was I thinking?

Well, there will be no snow in the forecast for the Brannagans this month. Our daughter Wendy will be heading south from college to the warmth of Raleigh, North Carolina. Our son Michael will be heading off to the rain forests of Suriname, South America with his Peace Corps assignment. And I will be heading over to Senegal, West Africa for an amazing opportunity of ministry.

In West Africa, there is a tremendous need for Christ-like leaders and Kingdom expansion in areas of Muslim influence. Many Muslims are coming to Christ. Many churches are being planted. But, there are so few leaders. Imagine the joy new converts discover, followed by the discouragement they face when they encounter the opposition from the culture around them. Without a Christ-like leader, many fall away, and limited progress is made for the Kingdom. MentorLink is changing that.

One of the greatest investments in Muslim areas is to multiply Christ-like leaders who disciple and equip new believers. Without these leaders, evangelism and church planting tend to be short-lived. Building into these leaders through relational mentoring will result in fruit that will last.

MentorLink International has an enormous open door.

From May 17-28, over forty of the most strategic leaders from West Africa will come to Dakar, Senegal. They will arrive from the countries of Niger, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, and from throughout Senegal. Most of these leaders are directly involved in front line evangelism and church planting ministries among Muslims. The significance of this training is the development of Christ-like leaders. The significance of these leaders is that other African Christian leaders will listen to these key men and women. The result of our training will be strategic leaders of West Africa mentoring others within their own nations to multiply additional Christ-like leaders. Wow! Together we can be a part of impacting West Africa by working alongside these strategic Christian leaders.

Godly leaders cannot be mass-produced through books and lectures. But Christ-like leaders can be multiplied through relationships and mentoring. This is how Jesus did it. It is right, and it works.

Thanks for helping us by holding the rope...

Fast Food Arrives in Africa

Greetings from the Brannagans,

What a wild and wonderful couple of months. We moved from snowy Minnesota to sunny North Carolina – where the threat of snow sends many to the market for milk and bread!
  
Ministry with MentorLink International reminds me of Genie’s comment in Walt Disney’s movie “Aladdin”. Speaking of living in a magic bottle he says,

“PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER! … Itty-bitty living space!”

MentorLink International may work from a small office, but our impact is phenomenal. We are now in 33 countries around the world, with many of the mentoring movements led by national leadership. We are in partnership with nearly 200 partner ministries; thousands of churches and their leaders are being transformed. Not bad for having a total of 12 MentorLink personnel!

Mentorlink’s mission is simple yet profound “Developing Leaders to Lead Like Jesus.” The statement sounds common, doesn’t it? But it is unbelievable how many leaders and churches are being transformed … really transformed through relational mentoring. I was made for this!

One international ministry leader has stated,
Numerous ministries speak about spiritual reproduction through transformation and character development. But how many really make it the focal point of what they do? MentorLink International does just that—as a unique band of genuine, authentic men and women who model Christ-like character and give their lives to reproduce the same.

My next trip is February 22 – March 6 to South Africa and Malawi.

Nancy and I would really appreciate your prayers. There are nine nations in Africa that are clamoring for MentorLink’s attention.

• In South Africa, a mentoring movement is beginning in four regions of the country. On this trip, we will hold a 5-day training event unpacking the “Jesus way of leadership development” and starting to identify mentor-trainers who will help lead in other regions of the country.

• In Malawi, partnering with TransWorld Radio, we will be developing a Mentoring radio program to be transmitted throughout the country and reaching over 85% of the population. We will also be developing a national vision team and organizing training events in two key cities, which ultimately could lead to a mentoring movement throughout the region.

William Carey compared the opportunity of ministry to a gold mine. He commented, “I will go down, if you will hold the ropes.” Nancy and I are in a gold mine of ministry.

Thanks for helping us by holding the rope...