The former witch doctor’s eyes shone. Go-between to the spirit world for his people, he had been greatly feared. Then Bedada came to Eduka, the witch doctor’s village. Bedada was a trainee in the church-planting training led by Belay, an Ethiopian staff member. This training, “Multiplying Churches and Communities” or “MC2,” is being used with great effectiveness in over one hundred countries.
Bedada visited homes and prayed for the sick. He also showed the JESUS film under a tree in Eduka. Soon, using the church-planting training and model of MC2, he was able to plant a new church in the same spot, with 12 new followers of Jesus.
Two years later, spiritual multiplication has taken place, as 145 people meet regularly, have planted a daughter church, and plan a third generation church soon.
The witch doctor is one of those who came to know Jesus as the church members have multiplied spiritually. When asked, “Who is Jesus to you now?” his craggy face wrinkled into a smile. “Jesus is my Savior!” he declared, beaming.
The people who feared the witch doctor now worship the Lord Jesus with him. They, too, are free from bondage to the spirits. They are one family in Christ.
The church meets three times a week, to worship, to study the Bible, and to pray. The prayer service lasts two to three hours as the new believers pray for the sick, the demon-possessed, and witch doctors. They pray and fast for about one month before going to tell a witch doctor about Jesus.
A church leader explained, “We have many witch doctors around our area. We are praying to cast out demons and proclaim the gospel that brings freedom to people.”
Two years ago, Belay’s goal was to plant 30 churches in 30 villages of the Adama district — places controlled by witch doctors. Now 32 churches, with 30 to 150 people each, have multiplied up to three generations.