Eighteen months ago, World in Need met with Emmanuel Press in South Africa, to explore how both organisations could work together to further the good news of the Gospel in Africa. Emmanuel Press exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ through God's written word, and has been operating from South Africa since 1947, printing and distributing Christian literature - gospel tracts, songbooks and pamphlets. In more recent times new technology has enabled the company to write and produce bible correspondence courses, distributed initially through the postal service and most recently online.
Today, Emmanual Press works with many individuals who take its material into prisons, schools and churches to introduce and educate people in the Christian faith. Their work and mission to share God's message of Jesus Christ, seemed a perfect fit alongside World in Need's calling to further the gospel as part of its mission of discipling as well as providing practical aid. A Holy Spirit appointed meeting in 2021 led to World in Need introducing the Basic Discipleship Course from Emmanual Press to its Global Family leaders in 2022. The Discipleship Course is a 14-week course on biblical truths covering: repentance, salvation, how to love God, how to love others, giving, water baptism, baptism of the Holy Spirit, reading the Bible, how to pray, healing, and what happens when we die.
Our Global Family leaders in Africa and further afield have presented the course to their church leaders, who have shown great enthusiasm for this literature that is created for these nations in their own languages. This gives the Christian leaders the opportunity to disciple their own communities in the Christian faith and address many of the traditional views that may have been contrary to Jesus' teaching. Having material that clearly teaches the Gospel message in an appropriate language and culturally sensitive ways that the communities can understand, is vital to the acceptance of the true teaching of Jesus. Currently the course is being delivered to 49 key leaders in Kenya, 75 in Uganda and 30 in The Philippines, who will then deliver the course to their own communities - teaching the Gospel to new believers and strengthening exisiting believers in their faith. Many more leaders are interested in receiving the course in other African nations.
In March this year, David Goodchild - CEO of World in Need, had the pleasure of visiting the Emmanuel Press head office in White River, South Africa, to see the organisation's work first hand. David says of the trip, "It was such a joy to see the work and to meet the dedicated team of Emmanuel Press in South Africa. Whilst I was there, people popped in off the streets looking for Christian literature, bible courses and bibles. It was great to see the well organised correspondence course system that enables them to share the good news of Jesus. Emmanuel Press is bringing valuable teaching to so many who may never have the opportunity to grow in their faith, working with local churches, schools and prisons. They are also reaching into several other African countries, and it was wonderful to meet their worker who was visiting from Mozambique."
World in Need delivers the Basic Discipleship Course through it's Global Family so that participants can receive this discipleship for free. Attendees of the course receive teaching, times of fellowhsip, printed materials and a meal. Each person receives a certificate of completion upon finishing the course, which is highly valued to all who receive it, showing their commitment and achievement. It costs World in Need around £15 for each person to attend and complete the course. If you would like to contribute to the funding for World in Need to deliver the Discipleship Course then please visit the Discipleship Course appeal page.
To support Emmanuel Press further, World in Need has offered its services as a gateway to UK supporters who would wish to contribute to the Emmanuel Press ministry directly. If you would like to provide financial assistance to Emmanuel Press then you can do so via the World in Need website donation page. You can choose to make a single financial gift or a monthly donation. Please make sure to choose "South Africa (Emmanuel Press)" from the drop down list of options for where you would like the money to be used.
