Our target is to bring God’s grace to Muslims and Muslim-related communities in West Africa.

New Harvest Missions International’s objective in Togo, Burkina-Faso, Niger, and Mali is to bring God’s grace as catalyst to address the bondage of religiosity. This state of being superficially religious is a fertile ground for Islam in West Africa. The past decades have witnessed a rapid spread of Islam in these regions, as the belief in Christian traditions, versus a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, has become the dominant spiritual norm.

Islam is aggressively moving from Northern Africa towards the tribes of the Africa’s South continent. Islamists have their agencies everywhere in West Africa including Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali as they are steadily building mosques in major cities and on major roadways between densely populated areas. In addition to saturating the area with Muslim places of worship, they are erecting educational institutions and granting scholarships to students as a means of bringing them into Islam. The main reason for this explosive growth is the application of the resolutions of the West Africa Islamic Nation leaders. Their all-encompassing strategy is to expand Islam into West African countries by targeting the poor communities under the guise of social programs to improve the residents’ quality of life. They ingratiate themselves to the community by giving loans and grants to desperate people to start their own business and become economically stable. Unfortunately this social work appears genuine to the local residents; however, all such strategies are aimed solely at facilitating successful Islamic infiltration in West African countries.

 

 

1. Togo – Officially the Togolese Republic
New Harvest Missions International is directing its resources and energies toward Togo as a strategic baseline country for starting our church planting mission in West Africa because of its cultural, economic, and religious importance to French-speaking West Africa. Lome, the capital city, is an important regional trading center which distributes goods to many neighboring Muslim inland countries, including Burkina-Faso, Niger, Mali and many others. Because of Togo’s strategic position, the prominent entrepreneurial business culture, and the propensity for booming economic growth in West Africa, Togo is now being targeted and exposed to active and aggressive infiltration by Islam. We are thankful that in Togo over 47% of the population are professed Christians. 18.36% of the population in Togo practice Islam. This makes Togo a top-priority to NHMI’s vision to be salt and light within the West African culture and share the Gospel to men and women of the region. 

2. Burkina Faso – Previously called Republic of Upper Volta
Muslim population is 60% versus 17% of Christians (63.8% of the population practice Islam). A West African Inland and a neighboring country to Togo situated on the edges of the Sahara belt, French is official language. Burkina Faso is a country prone to drought and famine resulting in severe hardship for many. It is one of the poorest countries in West Africa, where most of the people makes just enough to meet their daily needs. Islam and animism are dominant religion and serve as the religion of the choice for most people. There are many yet to be reached with the gospel of grace. An estimated 28 unreached people groups remain to be reached. New Harvest Missions International initial work in Burkina Faso goes back in 1997, and have just returned back to the country and started a new but steady partnership work with the E PCBF.

3. Niger – Officially the Republic of the Niger
It is one of the largest and poorest country in West Africa and neighbor country to Burkina Faso. French is official language. Niger is predominantly a Muslim country. The Muslim faith is practiced by at least 99% of the population verses 0.3% Christian. Niger is also a landlocked country, 80% of the land is desert. The life expectancy at birth in Niger is 41 years. 12% of all infants die before their first birthday. Despite religious freedom, pressures exist to make the country more Islamic and Christian are daily persecuted. Although Niger is predominantly Muslim, there is a surprising openness to the message of the Gospel, many are willing to listen. The country is ready for the Gospel but there too few missionaries and church planters to cover all the opportunities. The Lord has recently opened ministry opportunities for NHMI to work in partnership with EEPN.