Five local church members spreading the gospel in Africa
By JOE L. HUGHES II Ledger Staff Writer joe@gaffneyledger.com

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Restoration Church Pastor Joey Turner and several members of his church pray over a woman on their recent mission trip to three nations in Africa. During their trip, scores of people gave their life to Jesus, in addition to three Bible schools being opened.

Just before Jesus left the Earth more than 2,000 years ago, He gave a command to his disciples to spread the gospel to the farthest parts of the planet.

In 2007, five representatives from the Restoration Church of Gaffney are doing their part, as they recently returned from a two-week missionary trip to Africa.

The contingent made its way to three countries during the visit, opening Bible schools and helping scores of people receive Christ as their personal saviour.

"Having so many people come to know Christ was definitely the highlight of the trip for us," Pastor Joey Turner of Restoration Church, said. "It is without a doubt a blessing."

The trip across the Atlantic Ocean and into the African nations of Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique took more than 14 hours to complete. But according to Turner, the flight was not the reason for the journey being so long.

"Much of our journey was on rough, dirt roads," Turner said. "These primary routes were rather difficult to ride, being mainly suited for rough terrain vehicles. But that was a small sacrifice because of all that we hoped to accomplish."

Taking a trip into these nations was put upon the heart of Turner by Bishop Richard Lutwanna, a pastor from Malawi who believed that thousands of people, including a particular tribe in Africa, had yet to hear the gospel.

"He called us and wanted us to come to help many of these people hear of the Christian faith for the first time," Turner said. "The main tribe he brought up was the Macua tribe, who had yet to be reached and was very rooted in other religious practices. We made a plan to go in there to reach souls, of which we were successful with the grace of God."

During their two weeks in these three nations, thousands of people made their way to the altar to accept Christ. Although the most important step for a believer is to surrender their life to Jesus, Turner said keeping them in the kingdom is just as important.

"A lot of people receive Christ and it is simply a temporary thing," Turner said. "But besides reaching souls, we wanted to start Bible schools over there to help these people be able to grow in their spiritual walk and in effect reach others who may not know Christ. It is one of those tools that keep them rooted and grounded in the faith."

The church has already founded several schools in the Latin American countries of El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. Additionally, Restoration also has a television ministry that is reaching further than even Turner had expected.

"We received reports from people in these countries who had actually seen our program on television," Turner said. "It was incredible to see how God uses the media to reach the most remote parts of the globe."

The work for Turner and several other members of Restoration is not done though, as they will be making their way back the continent this fall, making a second trip to Malawi as well as venturing into Zimbabwe.

"We want to continue to move and make disciples for the kingdom," Turner said. "I believe we have merely tipped the iceberg."