Burning incense makes the air sweet and hazy. Four American women — a missionary named Molly, a journeyman named Susan and two volunteers — sit among a dozen or so African prostitutes in a circle of mismatched chairs and a couch. They all listen intently as the Old Testament story of Joseph and Potiphar plays from a cassette. From the hall outside comes the sound of Molly’s toddler, Joshua, playing with African friends.
In a home across town, Molly’s husband, Mike, sets out two pans of lasagna to thaw, getting ready for the evening’s house church. Christopher, the couple’s 3 year old, throws a ball outside with a neighbor.
Mike and Molly Turner serve as strategy coordinators for a capital city in northern Africa. They’re still working to determine the religious makeup of the city, but they know the overwhelming majority either follow Islam or are cultural Christians, people who follow a kind of Christianity but don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus.
Evangelical Christians make up a much smaller segment of people.
Though they’ve been missionaries for more than five years, the Turners adopted the strategy-coordinator role about a year ago. They look at the community, assess its needs, look for ways to meet the lost and then do those things. But they don’t do it alone. They’re building a team — made up of other missionaries, African believers, volunteers and even a Baptist church that works with them in the coordinator role.
Unlike many couples where just the husband or wife is the strategy coordinator, the Turners share the role. “God has created us to be a team. It’s as natural as it can be,” Mike Turner said.
Their family team includes their sons, too, who go with their parents as they minister. In a country where family is highly esteemed, the children often open doors for new relationships. But raising children in this country has its challenges, too. On visits to the market or countryside, Christopher often is spit upon — a blessing to keep evil spirits away from beautiful children. And Joshua has fought off three stomach amoebas, likely received from swallowing bath water.
The Turners don’t fear for their children, though. “They’re a gift from God,” Molly Turner said. “They’re His. It’s just part of our obedience to bring them here.”
The Turners spend much of their time pouring their lives into others. They have an “open-door policy” — both Africans and American teammates are welcomed at all times, whether they need prayer, advice or a home-cooked meal.
They meet weekly for house church with their teammates. On this particular night, they have a full house with their team, volunteers from the United States and a few missionary families on their way to other places.
After dinner, Molly Turner takes the children to another room to learn how Jesus called His disciples. In the living room, the adults sing along to CDs of Christian choruses and hymns. They share and pray together.
Then the journeyman shares the story of God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Susan doesn’t read the story, though; she tells it from memory. Sharing stories orally helps the missionaries practice for their own ministry, which often involves people who are more comfortable exchanging information orally rather than through the written word.
Occasionally they invite African friends, such as Matthew, to join them. The Turners have been discipling Matthew and his wife, Ruth. Now Matthew leads a new house church twice weekly. Many of the believers in the group are those that have been led to Christ, baptized and discipled. Matthew has started seven other house churches outside the city, with Mike Turner giving him guidance along the way. Though Matthew has asked him to visit these groups, he refuses.
“I don’t want the white face to be there,” Mike Turner said. “The movement must be self-sustaining. When my family has to go to the next place, the movement needs to be indigenous.”
The Turners’ dream is that in five or 10 years, they will move to another missionary assignment, leaving the work of church planting in their city to people such as Matthew and Ruth. But for now, they’re still sharing the vision and pouring their lives into their teammates and African partners.
“There’s no doubt we’re right where God wants us to be,” Mike Turner said. “That’s a good feeling when you wake up every morning.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — Names changed for security reasons. (IMB)
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