The Lashway's serve as the Team Leader Overseer for the Swahili Zone of East Africa, primarily engaging with our AGWM missionaries and national church leaders in Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda. Currently, 18 countries in Africa do not have any AGWM personnel and 12 more have only one missionary unit. In an effort to help the emerging churches on the continent, they have been asked by AGWM Africa to launch a Basecamp Missionary Development Center in Moshi, Tanzania to help interested people from the U.S. to Discover Africa, Discern their Call, and Develop their Skills in Cross Cultural Ministry. We will be the feeder program for East Africa developing teams of new missionaries for not only Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda, but also future efforts into planting the church in South Sudan and Eritrea as well as other nations in the region. In addition to my TLO responsibilities and launching a Basecamp, I am also the Executive Secretary for the Africa Assemblies of God Alliance serving the continent along side the AAGA Chairman Dr. Barnabas Mtokambali, promoting church planting, African missions, leadership development, and church growth across the continent.
As a children's pastor He went and served in Tanzania in May of 2000 doing regional children's training seminars. It was incredible.
Nate was called on his first trip to Tanzania and eventually became the first children's ministry missionary to Madagascar for AGWM.
Tammy Lashway - Wife
Africa is the fastest urbanizing region in the world. The cities are exploding with growth. According to the United Nations Environment Programme “By the year 2050, 60% of Africa will be urbanized.” This poses many challenges for these cities, but also great opportunity for the Church. Urban Tribes is positioned to plant high-impact churches in these cities to reach generations of Africans for Jesus Christ. Currently, our internship program has twenty-two participants, representing four different nationalities across Africa. We believe they are the future church planters for Urban Tribes to reach these cities.
Global Initiative has done trainings in over 91 countries. We work with National Church Leaders, Bible schools, and local pastors. We teach undergrad and graduate level classes as well as do many Lay minister and church seminars and conferences. Recently we have been creating resources and curriculums that we are (and have) been translating into multiple languages and posting for free online. Many of these resources can be found at our “connect link” above. We have a BIG DREAM that we are working on now. It is to create a secure app we’re christian around the world can download and receive training on reaching Muslims for free. **again on another note :-) when we are in Springfield, we help organize and participate In and English conversation club put on for the Saudi families here in town. Through this club we have built friendship with the Saudis that are here in the states for one year. We have them to our house for dinner, go to theirs and go on outings together. Each holiday season we host a large Thanksgiving dinner and facilitate multiple Christmas parties and events. These times give us many opportunities to share the truth of Jesus.
The Godwin family has been serving with AGWM missions since october 1994. They served in Mongolia (Asia Pacific) for over 18 years - pastoring, coaching and mentoring leaders, working with women in prostitution and coming out of prostitution, women's prisons, served in leadership for the bible school and helping to begin new churches. Never dreaming that they would leave the work in Mongolia, God began to put into their hearts that He was bringing change. In 2013, during the World Missions Summit in Fort Worth Texas the Godwin's heard Omar Beiler (Regional Director - Eurasia), speak about the great need in Estonia. Within a years time, through personal prayer and God bringing specific and incredible confirmation, Bob and Chrissy knew God was calling them to go to Estonia to plant the Church among the unreached of this nation. One of the great parts of this whole process and story of going to Estonia has been the commitment of the Mongolian Church to send us out - as we shared of God’s call on us to move to Estonia they began to share with us their desire to send us through their prayer and through their finances! We also believe that Mongolians Christians will be a part of church planting teams in Estonia! That’s exciting! We are now in the process of planting the church in west Tallinn (Haabersti).
Japan has 127 million people but less than 1% is Christian. We minister in Fukuoka city a 2.2 million. Japan is considered an Unreached People group by AGWM
Herb and Karen work in Manila, Philippines, in addition to the general Asia Pacific. Their main role is teaching EPHOD seminars.
Roger and Debbi Audorff want to help Mexico become a sending nation for missions, and they believe that with proper training, this will be able to happen. While the immediate spiritual battle is with the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses—Roger and Debbi believe that the Catholics in Monterrey could realize that God’s Word is for them to live out in their daily lives. However, idol worship of Guadalupe is prevalent in the city among the Catholic population, and the Audorffs are praying for the spirit of idolatry to be broken by the name of Jesus. Monterrey is also home to much poverty and has had many recent problems with drug trafficking.
Japan has a population of 126 million people with roughly 37 million of those living in the Tokyo area. We have close to 600,000 foreigners living in Tokyo with that number expected to rise dramatically in the next few years based on Japan's shrinking labor force. Less than 1% of Japan's population consider themselves an evangelical Christian, with an estimated 95% of the population never having had an adequate presentation of the gospel. It is widely recognized as the 2nd largest unreachable people group in the world. Japan also has one of the highest populations of elderly people in the world and one of the lowest birthrates in the world. Japan's culture is heavily influenced by Buddhism and Shintoism but with many living out an atheistic or agnostic existence. Our church is located directly across the street from Tokyo University, one of the largest universities in Japan. There are around 28,000 students currently enrolled there.
While the Dominican Republic is not in a crisis situation like Haiti there has been an influx of hundreds of thousands of Haitian refugees including many children. The majority of these Haitians live in extreme poverty and are unable to utilize/access the DR medical facilities, schools or assistance programs due to their immigration status. We have partnered with 14 Haitian churches/Schools to implement the Sport Disciple programming into their curriculum.
CASA DE ORACION FAMILIAR - 12 CAMPUSES PRISONERS OF HOPE INTERNATIONAL - 14 Prisons Maximum Security Prisons - 3,169 Medium Security Prisons - 2-Year Intensive Discipleship - 1,295 National Prison Institute Training Academy - 1540 Police Department (DPI) - 185 Total Prisons - 14
River Valley 500. We serve under Dareth & Thida Ly in Siem Reap, Cambodia for 2 years. They have been in Cambodia since the mid-90s working with children and young adults. They help run 3 schools and provide a place (The New Dream Center) for children from the floating village to live who want to continue their education past 6th grade. By living at The New Dream Center, these children are able to attend the junior high and high school across the street and have access to additional English and computer classes through Dareth & Thida’s ministry. They also hold a Sunday church service at The New Dream Center. In the late 70’s, after the Vietnam War, the Khmer Rouge killed roughly a 1/4 of the population of Cambodia. Anyone with a higher education or held a position of leadership were killed. Families were separated and taken to working camps, where they endured extremely long, hard days working in rice fields. Many were killed just to set an example of what would happen if you disobeyed and many others died from the harsh working conditions, long days and lack of food. This event has had a huge impact on the Cambodian people as they continue to deal with the effects of such trauma from PTSD to the lack of knowledge of what a healthy family unit should look like. They deal with a struggling economy, widespread corruption, the highest HIV rate in Asia and some of the highest rates of child sex trafficking in the world. They have prayed that God would use them; that he would reveal His plan for their lives and in February of 2016, He did just that. God has called them to be missionaries to Cambodia. Never in their wildest dreams did they think this is what He would have in store for them. God has given them a calling and theyre simply trying to be obedient servants; vessels to be used by Him to share His glory and truth to the people of Cambodia.