Lifeword’s global partners are also pastors, ministry leaders, and church planters, so the media they produce is an important part of their ministries. Planting churches is their primary mission no matter where they are throughout the world. Each of these men and women has a burden for their people group and unique challenges to sharing the gospel with non-believers and planting churches. Whether they meet in homes on a rotating basis or sponsor events for hundreds of children at a time, their purpose is to establish churches that further God’s kingdom. 

With five new churches being planted in the area, Brother Joseph Eniowo in Nigeria is now conducting discipleship with the help of smart phones that share the gospel with children and families. Nigerian parents want their children to learn about the Bible and Jesus even though they may never attend church. Hundreds of children come to kids events, which is the first step to meeting parents and eventually reaching them. Three new missions are also in the planning stages, and Brother Joseph and his leaders are praying about a BMA church in the future. He says God’s Word is bearing fruit in the lives of their church members and disciples.

Eudo Rodrigues, who serves in Cape Verde, plants churches on other islands with the help of Lifeword programs he produces for both believers and non-believers. People on his small island often recognize him from his videos, which allow him to help people find the churches he has planted or point people to those on other islands. European beliefs like “gnosticism” create cultural and spiritual challenges. But “spiritism”, which eighty percent of Cape Verdeans claim as their belief system, makes it difficult to begin an evangelical work. However, Brother Eudo has recently baptized fourteen people and is planting a church on another island, which gives him the strength to continue. 

With the help of Lifeword, Oscar and Tamy Gaitan have planted eight churches in eight years in Nicaragua and Cuba. In an effort to strengthen families within those churches, they have partnered with Lifeword to produce Spanish-speaking videos that teach biblical principles of marriage to Hispanic couples who may never have seen them modeled. It’s rare that couples living together are actually married, and men often leave the mothers of their children and start new families, only to leave them and father more children. So the Gaitans teach couples how to repair broken relationships, parent their children, and faithfully love each other. New churches are important in their efforts to serve families.

Valmori Zelaya has been serving in ministry for twelve years and now leads the Central American Online Radio Station, which feeds online radio stations and other Lifeword Community Radio stations in El Salvador. Although he lives in the larger city of Chinameca, he was born in the countryside of San Miguel, where there is no mission or church . . . until now. He has a burden for both areas, but San Miguel has around fifty families who have not heard the gospel. Valmori has answered the call to plant a church there, beginning with a small group of fourteen people who are thirsty for God’s Word and have been meeting despite the many government restrictions in El Salvador.

Making media disciples is Pete Etabag’s main work, so he conducts seminars with Filipino broadcasters and technicians, many of whom are pastors and church planters. He teaches them to make short cell phone videos to reach people online with the gospel. Pastor Pete continues to add languages to Lifeword’s list so more tribes can know who Jesus is in their heart languages. Mindanao is the largest island in the Philippines and where many Filipinos remain unreached, so he installs transmitters that reach both the mountain and low land tribes where there is little to no WiFi. Churches have been planted in both areas, and Pastor Pete says radio ministry is still the most effective way to evangelize remote tribes. 

Lifeword Director of Operations Luis Ortega says, “The Great Commission of making disciples of all nations was given to the local church, and what an honor it is for the local church to invite Lifeword to come alongside and partner with resources and tools as she obeys her Lord and Master.”