A Pastor’s Reflections on Ethiopia’s Church and Bible Translation Movement

Several years ago, Pastor Michael Pottschmidt of St. Paul’s Concordia traveled to Ethiopia with Lutheran Bible Translators. “I saw a church absolutely dedicated to reaching more and more people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he remembers, “[their] evangelism outreach is not a tacked-on piece, an afterthought to the work that they’re doing, but it is built into how they view themselves, how they are looking at reaching new communities and new people groups. It is certainly tied in with the multitude of translation projects that are taking place there.” 

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) is the largest Lutheran church body in the world – and still growing!  

“I was looking for the secret sauce that’s there. What are they doing that created this exponential growth? And what I saw consistently was intentionality when it comes to outreach and evangelism. It is built into the fabric of the work that they are doing.” 

Lutheran Bible Translators wants all people to experience the hope, life, and transformation of the Gospel, just like Pastor Pottschmidt saw with EECMY.

Praise God for the joy of evangelism in Ethiopia. Prayerfully consider hosting a Bible Translation Sunday and ask God to multiply your efforts to share the hope, life, and transformation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in your community and beyond. 

Listen to the full interview with Pastor Pottschmidt.