[Sonlifeafrica-newsletter] October Update 2005

["Mark Tittley" <mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings in the wonderful name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

I find myself all packed and ready to board a flight to Ghana and then on to
Sierra Leone in West Africa this evening and yet am waiting anxiously to
receive my passport with visas for both the countries.

World Relief and Christ Community Church in Chicago have invited Sonlife
Africa to be part the work and we will be exploring ways in which we can
help with the development of church leaders in Sierra Leone. My prayer is
that God will give us wisdom as we determine what is needed in the churches
that we will be connecting with. I fly to Ghana, spend a day with Amos
Kevin-Annan the Sonlife director there and then on to Freetown, Sierra Leone
for ten days of research and ministry.

It is thrilling to report that Gary Howell is currently training in
Cameroon - presenting Strategy and Vision seminars with young leaders - and
Edgar Ramsami has just returned from training in Swaziland. I praise God the
quality of our regional directors and am delighted to be serving God in
Africa with them. This past weekend I was given the opportunity to share at
the Vision Ministries Conference in Durban in the area of evangelism and
leadership development.

I have purchased tickets to fly to Kenya in November - from the 7th to the
14th where I will be presenting the second level of our leadership
development process - the Foundations seminar. I am following up on the
training that Doug Holliday (of Cadre Ministries) has been presenting over
the past year.

Then in January it will be off to Egypt where Gary and I will be training
church leaders from all across North Africa in following up the converts
that will result from the evangelism that takes place around the African
soccer event taking place in Cairo at the end of January. We will also be
exposing the leaders to the Sonlife training process and will be looking to
make connections to launch ministries across the north of Africa.

Just a last note on two great books I have just finished (and well worth
investing in):

1. The Revolutionary Communicator: Rediscovering Seven Principles Jesus
Lived to Impact, Connect and Lead by Erik Lokkesmoe and Jedd Medefind. The
book The Revolutionary analyzes seven principles that Jesus demonstrated in
His ministry to communicate with His listeners: attentiveness, empathy,
using questions, transparency, storytelling, solitude, and defining success.
The book is as much about Christ's character during His dealings with people
as it is about speaking.

2. The Jesus Habits by Jay Dennis explores 31 habits from the life and
ministry of Jesus Christ. Each habit is defined, then seen in Jesus' life,
enemies of the habit identified and finally a set of practical guidelines
for growth in the habit are present. I would suggest that you consider
focussing on one habit a day each month and grow in the same disciplines
that Jesus practised.

As you probably know, my family and I are in the process of adoption and
Andrew Nguvu is now four months old and bringing much joy (not to mention
sleep interrupted nights) into our lives. His heritage is Kenyan and
Nigerian - maybe one day he will take the baton from me and continue the
work of disciplemaking in Africa!

Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel - may God continue to give us
wisdom and courage as we seek to develop movements of multiplication across
the continent of Africa.

Regards

Mark Tittley
Director, Sonlife Africa