Lausanne World Pulse – WORLD EVANGELISM & MISSIONS REPORTS – Kingdom Advance in Gambia: A Veteran’s Perspective

By Rashida Bah

Below is an interview with Modou Sanneh, head pastor of the Reformed Evangelical Church of Gambia, on the advance of the Kingdom of God in Gambia. The interview was conducted by Rashida Bah.

Q. What is the state of missions in Gambia?

Modou Senneh

MS: There is yet to emerge a mature monolinguistic church among any people group. There are Mandinka, Fula, Jola, Balanta, Wolof, Aku, Serer, Manjako, Serrahule, Jahanke and others. There is no “people group church” teaching in these languages to reach the cultural hearts of these people. The work is much and the workers are still few.

The most concentration of church planting missionary agencies is in the Greater Banjul area, but the majority of the population is in the rural areas, which are harder to reach or live in. There are few indigenous workers trying to plant churches among the Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, Jola and Manjako, and most recently work has begun among the Balanta. I believe that this gospel must become part and parcel of this country.

Q. What was your life like before God called?

MS: My father died when I was six years old, so I had to stay with different families. It was a struggle for survival. My quest for independence led to my adopting a principle never to give up in the face of obstacles. Even though I did not understand it then, my Muslim grandfather told me the very last time I saw him alive that “God has a plan for you.” I was about eighteen years of age then. It means a lot to me now, to believe that somehow God shared his plans for my future with my grandfather.

Another thing of great help was and is my interest in languages. I can speak Jola (my mother tongue), Wolof, Mandinka, Fula and some French. My language capacity helped me work on the first translation of the New Testament in Mandinka.

Q. Could you share some of your early experiences as a missionary?

MS: In 1979, my wife and I moved into a Mandinka settlement in obedience to the Great Commission. The place was dedicated to a snake spirit. In trying to move with wisdom, I took kola nuts to the elders and adopted the Alkalo as my “father” in that town. We engaged in community development for them. With the Bibles and a hoe I would weed with them, asking them, “Why do we remove weeds? Sin is like weeds and God wants to weed out sin from our lives. Jesus is the weeder to take sin away permanently.” The people could relate to this description easily. We did medical work and explained both physical and spiritual cleanliness.