Nine nations present as Tent Niger opens
Jérémie Salifou Chekarao (left) and Yazi Adamou are key persons in the newly started Tent Niger resource center. “We believe the focus on tentmaking will enable the Nigerien churches to take the Gospel to new places both inside and outside of our country,” say the two.
With less than two percent Christians, Niger is regarded as a mission field among Jesus-followers worldwide. Still the Nigerien churches want to send people globally to serve in God’s mission.
People from nine nations were celebrating together when Tent Niger was officially opened in Niger’s capital city, Niamey, on April 2. This is a new record in Tent. From Africa there were representatives from Benin, Togo, Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger. In addition, both Germany and Norway had people at the event. The opening also marked the end of the first-ever GO Equipped course in Niger. 25 participants took part in the training. Several of them are already operating cross-culturally as expatriate students in Niger.
“Some of the other participants are also already active tentmakers, both inside and outside of Niger,” says Jérémie Salifou Chekarao who will serve as director for the newly started Tent branch.
Prepared for years
Yazi Adamou, a local business trainer, has been instrumental in preparing Tent Niger. He was one of the key persons behind a conference on tentmaking arranged in Niger in 2018. Soon the vision to start a Tent branch was birthed.
“Tent Niger will provide training that will help people to become good workplace ambassadors and make them intentional in how they serve God through their work. Our recent course has already contributed towards this,” says Yazi Adamou, who will now serve as the chairman of Tent Niger’s board of directors.
“We have high expectations to what God will do through this new work. He will help us to accomplish things,” continues Jérémie Salifou Chekarao.
“We believe the focus on tentmaking will enable the Nigerien churches to take the Gospel to villages and remote areas in our own nations. We also trust that we will send people to other nations.”
People from Niger are already working and studying abroad. Adamou and Chekarao believe that many of them can be activated as ambassadors for Jesus where they are. Christian students that come to Niger to study, will also be trained to serve Jesus through their studies. There are people from many nations living on campus, so the gospel can reach far from there. The students will also be prepared to serve God through their work when they return to their home nations.
Biggest approach
Yazi Adamou calls tentmaking “the biggest approach we have seen in mission” and he thinks this way of working fits very well with many African churches.
“Tentmakers are self-funded, so all churches can send tentmakers,” says the Tent Niger chairman.
Jérémie Salifou Chekarao believes that all churches across the different denominations are in favor of the start of Tent Niger.
“Invitations were sent out through the Evangelical Alliance in Niger. There were participants from all denominations at the tentmaking conference held four years ago. We believe there is still an interest to develop this further,” says Chekarao.
He imagines that the teaching Tent provides also may change the view on Christian ministry in the younger generation.
“Due to some problems, few of the younger people have a desire to become pastors. I believe that Tent’s training on how we can serve God through our regular work, will open new perspectives, and give fresh insights to what it means to follow Jesus full-time, says Tent Niger’s director.
