Five For Togo » Uncategorized

Visit to Illinois

ryanrichardson — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:10:22 +0000

Our family enjoyed our visit with Beth’s extended family in Illinois. We also had the opportunity to share our Togo plans with Fairview Heights Church of Christ. Several of them seemed very excited about the work there. Many of the people at the church have known Beth for a long time. We know they will be supportive of us through prayer even if nothing works out financially. Of course we’re hoping that a financial partnership can happen as well.

We submitted our applications for language school in Quebec last week. Our friends the Heads have already been accepted for January, which is when we also hope to go.

Finally, we had a wonderful weekend back in Memphis when our daughter Katie decided to be baptized. We are so proud of her!

Fundraising Update

ryanrichardson — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:23:05 +0000

We will be travelling this month to Fairview Heights, Illinois to speak about our move to Togo. Beth will be presenting to the children’s classes and Ryan will be speaking to a combined adult Sunday school. Please pray for us that our trip will be safe and mutually encouraging.

Our planned leave date for Quebec is January 2011 to learn French. The school there is encouraging us to stay for a year to get our French to a proficient level for work in Togo. Those currently working and who have worked in Togo have also encouraged us to stay at language school as long as possible to help us have a smoother and quicker adjustment once we reach Togo. This is longer than we had planned, so please pray as we think about this timeline.

Summer Happenings

ryanrichardson — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:32:31 +0000

It has been a busy summer of travelling so far. This week our whole family has been at summer camp, at different times. Beth is a full-time counselor and Ryan is full-time childcare and part-time Bible class teacher.

Beth will be speaking at children’s Sunday School at Fairview Heights Church of Christ on Sunday, August 15th. We are still looking for more churches to speak at and partner with. Our goal for departing to language school is January. Please keep us in your prayers!

Teamwork

ryanrichardson — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:02:57 +0000

David Watson has a great new blog post about teamwork in missions. http://www.davidlwatson.org/2010/07/01/church-planting-essentials-–-a-mythical-traditional-team-and-cpm/

Ten Great Years

ryanrichardson — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 19:18:01 +0000

After ten years of amazing service on the field, David and Becky Reeves and their family are departing Togo. David and Becky have been wonderful encouragements to our family throughout our preparation for Togo.

They plan to spend a year and a half in the U.S. before moving to Rwanda to begin a new work. Please pray for them as they will be looking for a new sponsoring church during this time.

visit to Arkansas

ryanrichardson — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:43:42 +0000

This past weekend our family travelled to Springdale, Arkansas to visit with Keith and Michele Kilmer and Robinson Avenue Church of Christ. I presented our plans to the missions committee, the Sunday evening assembly, and an area-wide ministers’ meeting.

The Kilmers were incredibly gracious hosts, even while having a sick child. I had a great time catching up with my friend Keith and our kids got along really well. Katie and McKenzie had an especially good time. Keith and I went to an AA baseball game and also had lunch with Todd Hook, another friend from college. God blessed our weekend and I am thankful that we had an opportunity to share about His work! (picture of McKenzie below)

Five Year Plan

ryanrichardson — Sun, 23 May 2010 20:06:44 +0000

The team in Togo that we are joining recently completed a planning time. You can hear some of the results in these comments by Matt Hangen.

“This Thursday-Saturday we held all day meetings as a team to finish up our 5-year team strategy. We’re organizing ourselves around a strategy that uses Inductive/Discovery Bible Studies in family settings, Access Ministries to gain organic access to communities and locate God-provided gate-keepers to communities, and rapid multiplication by having Bible-study groups teaching others in their communities before and after conversion. We as a team laid out a national strategy for providing resources for existing Church leaders and for having started at least 3 Bible study groups in each of the 5 regions of Togo by 2014. We’ll be sticking to the Kabiye at first because of our commitment to teach in the local language and then hope to see God using these people to teach their ethnic neighbors (Kabiye outside of the Kara region are minorities but typically live in clusters, speaking the other languages of surrounding peoples). If you’d like to see more detail of this document please let me know!”

Ryan’s thought: It’s exciting to be joining a group that is expecting God to impact the whole nation of Togo!

Church Visits

ryanrichardson — Mon, 10 May 2010 21:07:28 +0000

As part of our preparation for Togo, we will be visiting and speaking at Robinson Avenue Church of Christ in Springdale, AR on Sunday night, June 6th. My friend, Keith Kilmer, is a preacher there and he has also invited me to speak at an area-wide minister’s meeting that Tuesday. I’m thankful for his work on our behalf. We’re also thankful that his wife, Michele, is willing to keep us in their home.

We would love to speak with others about our upcoming work in Togo. Please contact me if you’re interested.

Church Planting

ryanrichardson — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:37:52 +0000

When Jesus sent his disciples into a new village, he asked them to go from house to house until they found someone to receive them. (See Matthew 10 and Luke 9 and 10). This “person of peace” was someone prepared by God to bring a family or group together to hear the gospel.

In Togo, we will be looking for these “people of peace” as we minister in the villages through well-drilling, AIDS work, or agricultural work. Once a group is ready to hear and obey what God has to say to them, a new church is ready to form. For next week, we will explore what should be taught to this new group.

Teaching the Gospel

ryanrichardson — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:43:08 +0000

Planting churches that will grow disciples and plant other churches is a challenge in our own culture, and much more so in cultures different from our own. Where do we begin?

First, prayer must be firmly established. God makes churches grow. It is his work and his timing.

Second, we must love the people we are working with. A love for God and a love for others kept Jesus on God’s agenda and on task for a lifetime.

Third, we must gain a hearing through service. The miracles of Jesus demonstrated the power of God over evil in the world and got people’s attention. He put on his spiritual glasses and spent time among the interested to find his future church planters.

Ministry among the Kabiye is done because we love people. As we do ministry, we must keep our spiritual eyes open for those who will open up their homes for the gospel. Current ministries among the Kabiye include drilling wells for clean water and helping those with AIDS find and take medication.

For next week, how do we make Scripture come alive for those whom God will call?