Real Life Community Church - Portage, IN

Vidal Cole

·24 min·2 clips

Vidal Cole shares how a church in Indiana directly enabled mission growth across 44 African countries.

The episode is a sermon or presentation by Vidal Cole, a missionary from Sierra Leone, delivered at Real Life Community Church in Portage, Indiana. Cole begins by expressing gratitude to Pastor Rich and the congregation for their support, highlighting the church's involvement in missions. He shows a map illustrating the expansion of the Church of the Nazarene in Africa from 9 countries in 1980 to 44 countries in 2023, attributing this growth partly to the support of churches like this one. Cole explains his role as Field Strategy Coordinator for the Africa West Anglophone field, covering Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. He moved to Nigeria for the Nigeria mission, which focuses on training local pastors to reach their own communities due to cultural and linguistic advantages. Cole delves into the core values of the Church of the Nazarene: being a Christian people, a holiness people, and a missional people. He connects holiness to heart cleansing and empowerment for service, citing Romans 5. The Great Commission from Matthew 28 is presented as a command for all believers, not just leaders, with an emphasis on Jesus' authority overcoming fear. Cole describes God as a sending God who invites everyone to join in redemption and restoration. Practical ways to participate include living out faith, praying for God's kingdom, and giving generously. He shares photos and videos from mission trips in Nigeria, showing preparations, treacherous roads with overturned trucks, and church construction. A celebratory video from a district assembly encourages audience participation. The episode concludes with a call for prayer and an invitation for his wife to come forward, with Pastor Rich leading a prayer for their mission work.

As heard by us

A West African missions sermon turns a global map into a personal Christian calling.

This PlayNext review follows a missions sermon that moves from the Great Commission to the spread of the church in Africa, then narrows the frame to the listener's own family and community.

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Why you'd press play

You want a missions sermon that puts West Africa on the map and your neighborhood in its frame.

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