More that 3,500 Ethiopian Nazarenes traveled to a national conference for the Church of the Nazarene, held in the southern city of Hawasa from 12-14 May 2023. 

This conference is significant as it is the first of its kind in more than a decade. Some attendees traveled more than 700 kilometres to Hawasa. Some sold hens, foraged for firewood or auctioned off their own valuables to raise the money to attend.

At the conference, there were 146 local churches represented. Of the attendees, 80 were local pastors and leaders. Additionally, there were 20 groups of church choirs among the attendees.

Stanely Ushe, the field strategy coordinator for the Africa East Field, and Dany Gomis, Africa regional director, both attended the conference and delivered powerful sermons calling for unity and following God’s call. Attendees were profoundly impacted by the sermons, as well as by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The conference focused on John 9:4, which states, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” 

Many people experienced healing and new souls came forward to accept Jesus as their personal saviour. Approximately 500 people rose up and made commitments to the missions effort in Ethiopia following one of the sermons, which emphasised the necessity and call for every born-again Christian to go forth and share the Gospel.

Grace Ushe also inspired the women present to engage in ministry, using John 4 as her basis. Additionally, she offered prayer for the Nazarene women at the conference.

The leaders of the Nazarene churches in Ethiopia have a vision to send out 100 local evangelists to plant 100 churches every year. The current target is to plant 500 Nazarene churches by the end of 2027 in Ethiopia. 

--Church of the Nazarene Africa