How We Got Started: Chad
April 2025
Birth of the Movement in Chad
Thanks to the hard work of our pioneer missionaries in Central Africa, our movement steadily expanded throughout the continent from 1921 to 1945. Near the beginning of that time period, the first Charis Alliance member to take the gospel to a portion of southern Chad was a woman: Estella Myers. God used her to bring the gospel to Chad during an evangelism trip. By 1935, a mission station was built in the town of Békoro, which is located in northern Central African Republic (CAR). Pastor Curtis G. Morril and his wife served at that station while the Charis Alliance pursued a more aggressive expansion into southern Chad. Pastor Curtis, John Hathaway, and others ministered to Chad through evangelization trips in 1936. By 1939, Pastor Jacob Kliever and his wife, Freda, were also assigned to the Bekoro station to carry on the work. When Chad became a republic in 1960, our Charis churches there became independent from the oversight of the CAR leadership. The Chadian churches became recognized as their own association. In 1966, Encompass sent Jake and Freda Kliever to Chad as our first missionaries there, where they served for 11 years.Growth of the Movement in Chad
Encompass continued sending many missionaries to Chad over the decades, and a Bible Institute was formed in Bessao, which provided pastoral training. After being trained in the Acts strategy, Encompass partnered with evangelist Dadjé Samuel to found the Chadean School of Evangelism, which offered training for evangelists and church planters. While these institutes were critical to developing Chadian leaders, the union of churches in Chad were in need of a more advanced training school to equip people to plant churches among unreached people groups in Chad and neighboring countries. In 2009, Encompass World Partners responded to those requests and pursued the development of a formal missiological training program, “Faculte de Missiologie.” The first group of students completed their training and graduated in 2015. Thanks to this program, numerous Chadian leaders have been trained, transforming Chad into a Charis Alliance powerhouse. God has used His church in Chad to plant churches in Cameroon, Nigeria, Sudan, and the Congo. Today, the Charis Alliance in Chad has 244 Charis churches, 406 church plants, two surgical clinics, 14 medical dispensaries, and several agricultural projects.A Call to Prayer and Support
- While God has blessed our movement with explosive growth in Chad, the country remains 52% Muslim. Ask God to continue using the Charis Alliance in Chad to reach the unreached.
- As pastor, professor, and member of the Charis Council, Yerima Betelmbeye says, “Our churches are struggling to understand what it means to serve as part of a global movement.” Pray for God to bless our Chadian churches with a more global mindset.
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