Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso Partnership Council members include:  the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Burkina Faso (President Siaka Traoré, Vice President Abdias Coulibaly, and Pastor Calixte Bananzaro); the expatriate mission worker team (Jeff Warkentin); the French Mennonite Mission Committee (Jean-Paul Pelsy and/or Sonia Carminati); the Evangelical Mennonite Conference (Tim Dyck); Mennonite Church Canada Witness (Hippolyto Tshimanga); Mennonite Mission Network/MC USA (Steve Wiebe-Johnson); and Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (Rod Hollinger-Janzen). Siaka Traore currently serves as Partnership Council President.

 

Executive Committee for Evangelical Mennonite Church of Burkina Faso

Photo, from left to right (standing):  Daouda Traore, Secretary; Benjamin Traore, Assistant Secretary; Siaka Traore, President; Bala Sourabie, Treasurer; Abdias Coulibaly, Vice President; (crouching) Salif Traore, Assistant Treasurer.

 

 The Evangelical Mennonite Church of Burkina Faso (EEMBF) currently gives priority to urban church planting, after coming into existence about 30 years ago as an almost entirely rural church. It's church planting efforts focus on:

  (1.) Burkina Faso’s capital city, Ouagadougou, where the young congregation made up mostly of university students is jointly led by Calixte Bananzaro and Jeff Warkentin;

Photo: Calixte Bonanzaro Commissioning service at Ougadougou Church. 

(2.)Burkina Faso’s second city, Bobo Dioulasso, where Siaka Traoré and his wife Claire are providing leadership for another young congregation. The church in Bobo Dioulasso is also reaching out by beginning a church plant in a new and growing popular quarter of the city, called Colma. A young evangelist, Samuel Sanou, has been sent to begin the work there.                                                            

(3.) The border city of Koloko near Mali, where Paul Pohégnan is working to establish a congregation, beginning mostly with high school youth.  Paul works at church planting with the AIMM ICC and the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Burkina Faso.   Photo: Paul Pohegnan & family     

• Another major EEMBF priority focuses on preparing future leadership for the church.  Currently four persons are engaged in theological training in upper level institutions:  Fabé Traoré is attending the Christian and Missionary Alliance theological seminary (FATEAC) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Kari Traoré is beginning study at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Lomé, Togo; Emmanuel Traoré attends the Poundou Bible Institute of the CMA in Poundou, Burkina Faso; and Joseph Sinou is in his second year of study at the Maranatha Bible Institute (CMA) in Bobo Dioulasso.   The EEMBF, AIMM and its partners are all contributing in order to make these studies possible.
  
  
• The EEMBF’s focus on preparing the next generation has led them to begin their own leadership training effort in the Jula language.  2011 is the fourth year of this training, which seeks to equip  young people with pastoral and other skills.  Called “Basic Bible Training”, it is taught from January through May each year by four leaders:   Siaka Traoré, Abdias Coulibaly, Madou Traoré and Benjamin Traoré.  Currently 5-6 students are benefitting from this training.
  
  
• This focus on training over the last number of years has led to the effort to build a Training Center in Orodara (the geographic center of the church) to serve present and future training needs.  The Center includes classrooms, dormitories and offices.  The EEMBF has contributed many hours of volunteer labor and supervision, in addition to making financial gifts for this project.  AIMM and its partners have contributed around $48,000 for the Center.  At this point, the Center is already usable, and enough additional funds have been gathered to finish it. The Burkina Faso church is currently working to install electrical and plumbing fixtures, paint, and put in ceilings.                                                                                                        
  

• THANKS TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS TRAINING            CENTER A REALITY!
  

 When AIMM began work in Burkina Faso beginning in 1978, the focus was on a tandem of priorities:  the translation of Scripture into a number of local languages; and inviting persons of these ethnic groups to faith in Christ and the formation of local churches.  Language groups which have benefitted from this work have included Sicité; Nanerigé; Siamou; Samogho; and Toussian.

• A number of AIMM related expatriate mission workers have contributed to the Bible translation and church planting effort over the years, and some continue this work today under the supervision of the Partnership Council.  These include:
  
  -Anne Garber Kompaoré (Mennonite Church Canada Witness, www.mennonitechurch.ca) currently living in Ouagadougou, Anne's work for the Burkina Faso Bible Society has ended, and she is in discussion with EEMBF and Mennonite Church Canada about future work possibilities.
  
  -Lillian and Norm Nicolson (Mennonite Church Canada Witness www.mennonitechurch.ca) living in the village of Tin.  Lillian concentrates on the translation of the Bible into Siamou; Norm works with the radio studio in Orodara.
  
  -Paul and Lois Thiessen (Evangelical Mennonite Conference www.emconference.ca ) are currently based in Manitoba, Canada because of health concerns.  Paul travels to Burkina Faso twice yearly, and continues to assist with the Siamou translation from afar.
  
  -Jeff and Tany Warkentin (Mennonite Church Canada Witness, www.mennonitechurch.ca)  live in Ouagadougou.  Both work with the Ouagadougou Mennonite Church, and also as “house parents” of a small student dormitory which houses Mennonite and other university students.